Cru sponsored over 130 Summer Mission trips for high school and college students this summer. These Summer Missions took place all over the world, from Alaska to Zambia. These mission trips changed the lives of those attending by deepening their walk with God and increasing their desire to make Him known, while developing leadership skills they will take back to their campuses in the fall.

One of these Summer Mission trips took place in the Smoky Mountains. For over twenty years, Cru Summer Mission students have traveled to Gatlinburg, where they find a summer job and minister to their coworkers and the hundreds of international students who come to work for the summer.

One of those international workers was Ahmet, a student from Turkey, who connected with Summer Mission students at social activities planned for Friday and Sunday evenings. He became especially close with Taylor, a sophomore from Eastern Kentucky University. Ahmet quickly demonstrated an openness to hearing about Taylor’s faith in Jesus.

As the summer continued, Ahmet went from attending social events to participating in the Tuesday night worship meetings. One Tuesday night in July, a Cru guest speaker named Holly challenged listeners to consider the story of their souls. At the end of that night, Ahmet indicated that he wanted to start following Jesus.

In the following weeks, Ahmet and Taylor spent a great deal of time together. Ahmet loved diving into God’s word and learning about his newfound faith. The Summer Mission students met often with Ahmet and his other Turkish friends, who displayed varying levels of interest in understanding what it means to know Christ. One of the summer mission leaders asked Taylor what he thought ultimately convinced Ahmet to place his faith in Christ.

Taylor responded, “It was the community. Just the love of Christ that he saw in and through us.” May this be true of all of us who follow Jesus Christ! Please pray that Ahmet and Taylor will continue to connect now that they are each back home. Pray also for Ahmet’s friends and for the countless others who heard the gospel from a Cru Summer Mission.

Robin and I are so grateful for your partnership in our ministry with Cru. “We always thank God for you as we remember you in our prayers.” (I Thess. 1:2)

Yours in Christ, 

Steve & Robin