The Miller Runner

October is apple-picking, colorful New England leaves and Cru Fall Retreats.

Fall Retreats are weekends away from campus that build community among students.

This fall, Fall Retreats in the Northeast have exploded, with Fall Retreats growing by an average of 30% over last year!

Riley (L) with a Cru staff member

Over the past year Riley had been meeting with Emily, one of our Cru interns at the University of New Hampshire. She sometimes attended a bible study. She was afraid to talk in a group of any size because she was afraid of being rejected.

Riley grew up in a very dysfunctional family where she learned that weakness would be mocked.

Emily invited Riley to the UNH Cru Fall Retreat, saying, “You will see that Christians are not perfect.”

Riley  reluctantly attended to “prove Emily wrong.” She said, “Christians are perfect and they will reject me.”

The first night of the retreat the women spontaneously spent three hours confessing sins and imperfections to each other as a result of the evening message. Riley was astonished at their openness and is now a Christian!

The spirit of confession has continued in UNH Cru as students seek to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

God also greatly impacted the Yale Fall Retreat. The main speaker challenged the 65 students in attendance to give their lives fully to Jesus.

To the surprise of the Cru staff members, nearly every student stood and raised their hands.

Since the fall retreat, students have been eager to pray. Twenty or more Yale students have crammed into the apartment of a Cru intern each Friday night to pray.

Like many Ivy League students, Yale seniors are heavily recruited to join high paying firms. In the past Cru Yalies have jumped at such opportunities; this year many of them are slowing down and seeking to discern what God would have them do with their gifts and talents.

God is at work among students in the Northeast. We are excited to see what He will do through students like Riley and the Yalies.

Joe and Jeff

Joe and Jeff came to the Wildwood Summer Project expecting God to use them.

Summer Projects are Cru summer mission trips. Attendees grow in relationship with Jesus and ministry skills.

First the brothers had to find a job. They hopped in their car to visit prospective employers. A young lady noticed them at a stop light and asked if she could have a ride to work. When they mentioned they were looking for work, she introduced them to her boss.

Jeff and Joe spent the rest of the summer intentionally bringing Jesus into their workplace. They included their fellow workers in their daily visits to the gym—modeling true friendship and biblical masculinity.

And the girl? Joe and Jeff showed Jesus to her as they spent time together. She regularly attended the weekly meetings of the Wildwood Summer Project—participating in praise and worship and hearing the Bible preached. She also spent much of her free time hanging around the Wildwood Summer Project housing.

Jeff and Joe are learning to be Christ-centered laborers wherever they go.

Auzy, a deaf student from Rochester Institute of Technology, shares his experience helping to lead the 2011 Cru Wildwood Summer Project.