Summer projects!

We didn't have room in our monthly update for all the things we wanted to share about summer projects, so consider this a bonus :)

The school newspaper at Southwest Minnesota State actually wrote an article about 4 Cru students from there who are going on summer project.  Check it out here. Kind of neat how clear they were about the spiritual component.

Also, we wanted to share this picture from a recent conference called "Kingdom Called".  All students who are going overseas on summer projects, interning, or stinting (overseas internship) with Cru this summer attended.  I just love seeing the quantity of laborers preparing to go into the harvest!  Praise God for the faith of these college students from around the Upper Midwest!

(click image to enlarge)

A Reason for Hope

Our pastor was going to be out of town this past weekend for a retreat, so he asked Matt if he'd be willing to fill in for him and preach at all three services on Sunday. Matt took up the challenge and gave a talk on A Reason for Hope, looking at 1 Peter 1. With the events of the week, the sermon topic seemed well timed...neat that the Lord put that passage on Matt's heart during the prior week.This was Matt's first time preaching in a church and he looked like a natural! We were grateful he had the opportunity!

These are from a few weeks back, but Maggie had her first Easter egg hunt this year.  Here are some pictures!

Success! She found mini reeses' inside!

This was a dress my mom made for me as
 a little girl. It was perfect for Maggie ;)

Jesus week!

The school year is winding down - less than a month left! But we're still seeking ways to share the Good News of Jesus with students around southern Minnesota. Last week at South Central College, in North Mankato, students organized 'Cru week' and had daily events to connect with students there.  This week at MSU, student leaders organized 'Jesus week' with the hope of sharing the gospel but also to give younger students an opportunity to learn how to share their faith with others.

Today, students are using an evangelistic tool that Cru developed called 'Soularium'. Soularium is a set of 50 pictures that students can choose from to describe their lives, how they view God, and their spiritual journey. We've found it to be a fun way to learn the story of whoever we're sharing with and a natural way to transition to spiritual conversation.  Two girls I work with, Nikki and Brenda, are leading the charge today as students use Soularium.

Please pray for our students as they step out in faith and pray that lives could be touched in eternal ways this week.  We're excited to see what the Holy Spirit might do in the hearts of students!

from our MSU CRU facebook page: Throughout the week we will be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the campus of Minnesota State University! Tomorrow we will be interviewing students on their views of Jesus, so meet at Jazzman's at 2 pm if you want to be a part of that! Everyone's welcome! We will also have more details for the upcoming week at our weekly meeting at 9 pm on Tuesday!

Check out Cru's facebook page for more info during the week: http://www.facebook.com/mankatocru