Newsletters

November 1999

Activities of the Fall

Okay, I have changed my mind. I used to say that winter was my favorite season. I have now decided that I love the fall! All the colors and smells that go with fall are just wonderful! Apples, apple cider, pumpkin rolls, falling leaves in  so many colors, crunching leaves as you walk through them, cool crisp air, the smell of fires in fireplaces, hayrides, the squirrels and chipmunks scurrying around. Plus, we gain an hour! Yes, fall is definitely my favorite season.

Barn dance

Fall on campus is especially beautiful as there are so many trees and tiny animals. And fall activities are so much fun. We had a barn dance/hay ride/bonfire 3 weeks ago.  We came home covered in straw and smelling like the bonfire. About 100 students were there from U-M and some of the smaller, “expansion” campuses.

Expansion Campuses?

What is an “expansion” campus? It is a smaller school that has no full-time CCC staff working there. Someone from our staff team goes to these schools about once a week to meet with students and guide them as they run the CCC movement on their campus. We are always looking for students who want to get CCC started on new campuses in the southeast Michigan area.

Fall Retreat

This past weekend was our annual Fall Retreat. We went to a camp about 2 hours west of Ann Arbor, south of Kalamazoo. There were 213 students from U-M and the expansion campuses who were able to join us for the weekend. Roger Hershey (regional director of staffed campuses) and Terry Robinson (director of Detroit Here’s Life Inner City ministry of Campus Crusade) spoke on positional truths—what is true of believers at the moment they place their faith in Christ.

Many students said that God really opened their eyes to new truths about Himself and their position in Christ during the weekend. We even had three students who were not Christians when they came to the retreat leave the retreat as children of God.

We sensed that God really moved in the heart of our students in a special way. They were not just talking about how they feel more secure in their relationship with God or howthey know more about what it means to live a consistent walk with God. They were also talking about how they want to tell other people about Christ.

One of the guys in Nate’s Bible study came to the retreat not having done much evangelism during his Christian life. He left talking about his desire to go and tell the guys in his dorm about how they can know Christ personally.

One of the greatest things was seeing the 60 or so freshman who came to the retreat. We had a special gathering of the freshman to give them a chance to share about their experience  at school. Many talked about how they were scared and lonely or excited to be on their own. What one of the guys said was unforgettable: “When I came to school I was not a Christian, but Kyle came and shared Christ with me. Now I’m walking with God.” This is a good example of what we want to see happen. We don’t just want students to come to Christ. We also want to see them grow in that relationship by getting involved in our ministry and  in a local church.

Now we need to build off the success of the retreat and begin to involve new students in helping us reach out to every student on campus with the gospel.

We had students from the University of Michigan, Albion College, Adrian College, U-M Flint, and Kettering at the Fall Retreat.

Shelly with Sara, a senior at Michigan. Shelly disciples Sara—meeting with her every week to encourage and challenge her walk with the Lord.

Will, a senior at Michigan. Will leads the men’s Bible study in Couzens Hall. Nate meets with Will every week to disciple him and to do evangelism in his dorm. Will plans to go into full-time ministry.

Praise

• For what God did in the lives of students this weekend at the retreat!

• Students are desiring to take the next step in their walk with God.

• Healthy pregnancy—I go to the doctor next week and should get an ultrasound scheduled!

We got to experience our first “leaf raking” as homeowners!

Prayer

• For many students to attend Christmas Conference—our annual conference for students in Indianapolis from December 26 to 31 (More about that in January’s newsletter)

• For a student to lead Shelly’s Bible study next semester

• Safety as we travel to the regional Staff Conference in November and the Christmas Conference in December.

• Pray for an outreach we are having for international students at U-M. We are giving each student a gift packet filled with items to help them adjust to life in the US and with evangelistic materials ,including a “Jesus” video in their language. Pray we would be able to develop friendships with many of these students and that God would move in a number of their hearts to bring them into a relationship with Him.

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