Rioting Brings Relationship

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Nate Miller

BoatCruise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The insistent ringing of the phone interrupted our family dinner conversation. Nate looked at the caller ID and promptly left the table. The coordinator for a Cru summer mission trip was calling.

The first week of every Cru international summer mission trip is a time of transition—to a new culture, a new place, a new language.

But the team from the Northeast found they also had to adjust to civil unrest. The coordinator was calling because rioting had broken out close to the place where the team was living.

But God took what looked like a bad situation and made something good out of it. He used an emergency fund Nate created a few years ago to allow the team to move to a safer location. The alternative was to cancel the trip.

God used the new location to introduce the team to many students. The women on the team quickly befriended the women in the dorm. The guys were welcomed by their new dorm mates who introduced them to restaurants in the neighborhood and invited them to play fútbol.

Multiple Muslim students spent hours living with the Christians on the team —laughing, crying, and talking about life, Jesus and relationship with God.

Busra was one such student. After touring the campus where they would spend the summer, Sarah and Taylor, two members of the mission trip, asked God to lead them to someone interested in Jesus. They began to talk with the girl sitting next to them at the coffee shop. Over an hour later they realized that what began as a conversation about culture and family was now about religion.

Sarah invited Busra to spend the day with them on a boat cruise (pictured above) with the rest of the team and their new friends. Busra loved the day. She loved meeting and talking with Americans. She loved the dancing and games. And she loved the spiritual conversations. At the end of the summer it was hard for the team to say goodbye.

This fall another team from the Northeast will go to the same city for a year. God used the rioting this summer to reveal 33 students who are very interested in learning more about Jesus. They are looking forward to meeting the long-term team members.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. You are a part of changing the world!

Posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, Summer Mission Trip, Summer Project, Uncategorized, Year long mission trip | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Year of Firsts

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Nate Miller

year of firstsThis has been a year of firsts for Cru in the Northeast! Here are the highlights:

First Deaf Staff Member Dakota became a Christ-follower at Rochester Institute for Technology. His magnetic personality and love for Jesus have inspired many in the deaf and hearing communities to consider spiritual things. Dakota bridges a gulf between these two communities that has often kept deaf people from connecting with the Gospel.

First Short Term International Team to the Middle East Seven Northeast students and staff have committed to spending a year ministering with Cru in the Middle East! Josh, a second year intern with Cru, expressed his vision, “It is a joy to obey. It is no sacrifice. I will be with a team reaching out to Muslim college students in a large city where I am just beginning to learn the language. There will be many obstacles, I am aware. Yet, the promise that Christ has purchased men from every tribe, tongue, and nation continues to grip and strengthen me.”

First “Revelation 7” Movement Kevin, our Intern Coordinator, uses this term to describe a movement that represents a variety of ethnic and cultural contexts. UMass Amherst staff and students have established movements among Latin-American, Asian-American, and international students, in addition to the Cru movement on campus. They are truly going after every student on their campus!

First participant in a Nations Summer Project Nations is Cru’s ministry to Native American students. Emilee, a Cru Intern, has felt a growing burden for this population and is helping to lead a Nations Summer Mission trip.

First New York City Leadership Summit There has been a seismic population shift into cities over the past 20 years. The urban culture is the new mission field but most missionaries are woefully under-equipped for the task – financially, emotionally, and culturally. Cru is no exception – only a half-dozen staff have been able to navigate the rigors of city life and culture to minister to NYC’s population of over 1 million students. In May, our national leadership met with NYC Campus Staff specifically to address these issues. For the first time, leaders outside of New York are beginning to understand the hurdles we face there – and they are preparing to take action!

All this, in the region ranked the #1 “Post-Christian” and #1 least “Bible-minded” in the U.S. by the Barna Group!

Posted in Evangelism, Summer Mission Trip, Summer Project, Year long mission trip | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Impacting the world from his desk…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Nate Miller

Breakthrough STINT

Nate spends much of his day at a brown desk helping Cru missionaries reach lost students. He talks to them by phone, email, video conference and text. He answers their financial questions so the can stay out of the quagmire of financial details and in the dorms and student unions with students.

In April he received a note that was a great reminder to him of the importance of being behind the scenes. We wanted to share it with you:

I realized this week that I have never really taken the time to thank you for all that you do. You have been an incredible help as I have learned to navigate and oversee the Boston Metro [Cru staff team’s] finances…

You have helped me countless times over the past 4 years, always with patience and graciousness. It’s been such a relief to know that when a finance related challenge arises that I don’t have to handle it by myself.

Thank you for everything you do to keep the [Northeast] region [of Cru] in top shape financially.

Sincerely, Courtney 

[Boston Metro Cru staff team Financial Administrator]

This coming year Nate will continue to provide excellent customer service for Cru staff teams located in the Northeast, and he will also add an international component.

The six recent New England graduates shown above will spend a year in a university city in the Middle East, learning the culture and language while introducing college students to Jesus. Nate will help them with their finances throughout the year.

This team will follow-up with interested students identified by a summer mission trip to the same city. In a few years we may be able to tell you about a Middle Eastern student joining Cru staff as a result of these missions trips.

Thank you for being a part of what God is doing around the world through college students!

We would not be able to serve Cru missionaries around the world without your prayers and financial support.

Posted in Evangelism, Summer Mission Trip, Year long mission trip | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment