Greetings from Colorado! We are currently in the middle of our biennial Cru staff conference, which began on July 16. On that day, Robin and I oversaw the registration of almost 3,000 Cru missionaries who had just arrived, along with the 1,700 Cru missionaries who had arrived earlier in the summer for various trainings. On July 21, about 300 of Cru’s ministry partners will join us for the end of the conference.
The theme of this year’s conference is “With”. This is a time for us to connect with God, to connect with each other as Cru missionaries, and to connect with others in the body of Christ. Cru ministry leaders and other speakers are challenging and inspiring us to grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord and with others.
Some of the seminars include “Using Social Media to Share the Good News”, “Essentials to Cultivating Cross-Cultural Partnerships”, “The Power of Godly Community”, and “Bringing the Goodness and Peace of Jesus to our Communities.” If you’d like to view some of the sessions, you can go to www.cru.org/cru17/archives.
One of our favorite parts of the conference is when the new Cru staff (photo on the right) from the last two years are recognized at the conference. It’s a thrilling moment when about 600 new missionaries are introduced to the crowd. About 200 of those new missionaries joined this summer (photo on the left).
Among this summer’s new staff were Michelle and Lauren, who were interns with us on the team in New York City, and Drew, who was with us on the Summer Mission last summer in NYC. It’s exciting to see these young people follow God’s call on their lives and is a privilege to be able to co-labor with them to reach people for Christ. Please pray for all of these new missionaries.
We will complete our summer assignment here on July 26, and will fly to Orlando. We’re going to house-sit for friends before moving into our apartment on August 6. We’ll have about 10 days to settle in before starting our new assignments at Cru’s Headquarters on August 16.
We’re looking forward to seeing Evelyn, Rachel, and Caleb. Robby and Annie will be visiting Orlando from New Zealand for the first two weeks we’re back in town. We’ll enjoy seeing everyone, and celebrating my birthday, Evelyn’s first birthday, and Robby’s birthday. Evelyn is now walking, beginning to say a few words, and making cat and cow noises!
Please pray for us as we settle into life and ministry in Orlando, which will be very different than our life and ministry in New York City. We are so grateful for your prayers for us and our ministry with Cru.
Yours in Christ,
Steve & Robin
