Newsletters

March 2003

Daytona Beach Spring Break

Fear is the biggest barrier to people not sharing their faith. We fear looking foolish. We fear we won’t know what to say. We fear the response of others. This is the same whether you are a 70 year old grandparent, a 40 year old mother, or a 20 year old college student.

The best way to combat the fear that comes with sharing your faith is simply to do it—to step outside your comfort zone and share the gospel with someone else. This was the purpose of our trip to Daytona Beach over spring break.

I went with 50 other students and staff to spend a week on the beach, learning more about God and sharing our faith with other spring breakers. We had students with a wide range of spiritual maturity come on this trip, from those who are very experienced in sharing their faith to a couple who are not yet believers themselves.

Most of the afternoons of the week were spent on the beach doing evangelism. Every student I talked to had a great experience talking to people on the beach. Our students talked to many different types of people, from college students from Canada, to retirees on vacation, to atheistic doctors in town for an ear, nose and throat conference. Not only did our students step out in faith and conquer their fears related to evangelism, but God also honored their faith by allowing them to see at least 5 people come to Christ.

Once again, I had a very enjoyable week living with students and being able to minister alongside them. Many of the guys that I work with on campus came with me on the trip, and I had much more time to talk with them and see them interacting together than I do back in Ann Arbor.

The group of 11 guys Nate lived with during the week (Nate is right of the sign); Most of these guys (above and below) are discipled by Nate or are in one of the small group Bible studies on Nate’s area of responsibility at Michigan. These pictures were taken right before we left on our 22 hour bus ride back to snowy, cold Michigan! 

The Future of Our Movement

Please pray that God would give us wisdom over the next few weeks as we determine the direction of our ministry next year. We are doing questionnaires  with students on campus, researching other campuses, and getting input from our key student leaders as we try to determine how to more effectively reach lost students here at Michigan.

Kids' Corner

February was a busy month! Daddy was gone a lot so Mommy tried to do a lot of fun things with us. We went to Ohio for a few days and I got to go sledding down a big hill. At first I didn’t think I wanted to do it, but when Mommy and Lauren decided to try it I couldn’t let them go alone! It was fun after the first time!

Mommy took us to Big Boy one Sunday for lunch. I think it’s neat that a restaurant was made just for me since I’m a big boy, too! I make sure Mommy sees that place every time we pass it—she hasn’t gotten the hint to take us there again, though.

It was fun to have 2 birthday parties! I think a kid like me needs a lot of cake and ice cream to grow up big and strong!

Daddy’s home now and I’m glad. It’s  a lot of fun to play my new Ohio State computer game with him. Sometimes I have to remind him that it is my game and he needs to share it with me.

Some day soon I will be signing these letters myself. I keep asking Mommy to teach me new letters. It is so much fun to practice on my easel! I can write A, H, D, O, P, C, and L .

-Andrew

Andrew practices writing his letters [Mommy did the one on the bottom]

My favorite thing when Daddy was gone was when we went to the pet store. I saw ferrets for the first time. They were running and playing and I just had to squeal. We saw fish, snakes, spiders, hamsters, chinchillas, and birds, too, but I kept coming back to the fun ferrets. Mommy said I shouldn’t get any ideas—what does that mean?

Andrew’s parties were a lot of fun. When we were in Elyria, Andrew asked to take a nap during the party. I wanted to stay up and play, but Mommy said I needed a nap, too. She just doesn’t understand. I love to be around people. And especially my cousins who are both one year-old now. We’ll get into a lot of trouble in the future—you just wait and see!

-Lauren

Lauren is fascinated by the video camera

Update on Bill Bright's Health

We received an email from Vonette Bright late last month. Apparently Bill had been in the hospital again and is now home with hospice care. It looks like his mansion in heaven is almost finished. Please pray for Vonette as Bill’s homegoing is drawing near. Pray also for Bill, that his pain will be eased and his breathing will be less labored. Praise God for what He has done through Bill and Vonette! Fifty years after they started Campus Crusade for Christ it has grown so much that it is reaching people all over the world with the message of Christ. To learn more, visit  www.ccci.org . 

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