Emma, a senior at UC Davis, with a young girl named Sinesipho in a township in South Africa

When Emma entered McDonald’s in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, she never expected to encounter God.

Emma left for Cru’s summer mission trip to South Africa in July uncertain of God’s power and whether He really is in control of everything. Although she had been involved with Cru at UC Davis for 3 years, she continued to have doubts. For instance, she questioned whether the God of the Bible is really who He says He is, and if so, how could she be sure of His power?

Yet, Emma knew that she had entered into a relationship with Jesus and wanted to be a part of giving college students in South Africa the same opportunity. In conversations with the South African students, Emma could see God working in their hearts and lives, but when it came to personally believing that God was all-powerful and in control, she was still struggling.

One afternoon, following a morning of ministry on the college campus in Port Elizabeth, Emma and a friend went to their regular hangout—McDonalds. Sitting in a booth nearby were four men in American military uniforms. Wanting to encourage the service men, Emma approached the table and joked, “Man, you Americans sure love your McDonalds.” Upon hearing her accent, the men laughed and engaged her in conversation.

One of the men, Larry, asked Emma why she was in South Africa. She mentioned her work with Cru. He immediately lit up and shared that he had come to Christ through Cru in the 1980’s, been discipled by a well-known leader in Cru, and had been on several mission trips himself. Excited to hear this, Emma asked what he was doing in South Africa. Larry was on an hour layover in Port Elizabeth. He is an Army chaplain and had just been training 40+ new chaplains in the Congo.

Emma was hit with the reality that this meeting was no coincidence. The orchestration of meeting Larry, a man who knew exactly what she was doing and had been discipled by someone she knew, all while on his hour layover in Port Elizabeth, South Africa while she just “happened to be there,” was divine. That is when Emma understood that God’s power and control are far greater than she could comprehend.

After this event, Emma experienced deep assurance in her faith and a sense of renewal in her desire to walk closely with God. She decided to be baptized and was baptized in the Indian Ocean before leaving South Africa.

Emma has now returned to Davis with fervor for God’s work. She says, “I’d be happy if everyday I’m glorifying God and having conversations about Him.”

Thank you for partnering with us as we see students like Emma grasp the greatness of God!

Prayer Requests

Pray for Emma. Pray that she grows in faith and remembers all God did this summer. Also pray for her as she makes decisions about her future.

Praise God for the 17 South African students who placed their trust in Christ while Emma and her team were in Port Elizabeth.

Pray for the thousands of incoming freshmen and the returning UCD students who are getting ready to start school in two weeks! Pray that they would be receptive to the gospel and want to know more about Jesus.

Anna, a 3rd year student at UC Davis

Anna left home for college as a self-proclaimed Christian. She had grown up going to church and had a basic knowledge of the Christian faith. But, when Anna started getting involved socially at UC Davis, it wasn’t through a church or a Christian fellowship. Anna, like many freshmen, was quickly immersed in the party scene, where she sought the attention of guys and found her identity in the approval of others.

By the middle of her sophomore year, Anna was in a verbally abusive relationship, was constantly partying, and had flunked out of school, all of which she hid from her parents.

After managing to get back into school, Anna decided to attend a Cru meeting. She was then invited to a Bible study, where she personally studied the Bible for the first time. Anna was still keeping up with her social life, but her fervor for the party scene had begun to wane.

Unsure of her plans for the 2012 summer, Anna was intrigued by Cru’s summer mission trips and decided to go to one in Santa Monica. Upon her arrival, she was shocked to be in the midst of more than 60 other students who were truly living out their faith.

By the second week of her stay in Santa Monica, Anna realized that she had sought her security and life in many things other than Jesus: having a boyfriend, partying, and her parents approval, just to name a few. And, all of these things had left her wanting. Her boyfriend’s verbal abuse and manipulation had damaged her self-esteem. Her active partying had led her to ignore her studies and be put on academic dismissal. Her desire to hide this from her parents caused her to feel ashamed.

She had also come to understand that Jesus is the only true source of life, and she wanted to surrender fully to Him. This desire led Anna to break up with her boyfriend and call her parents to honestly share about her college experiences. Contrary to her fears, her parents embraced her with forgiveness and grace. All of this marked the beginning of Anna’s relationship with Christ and an open, safe relationship with her parents.

Anna (left), sharing her faith at 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica last summer

The rest of Anna’s summer in Santa Monica was filled with learning more about God and her faith. She experienced authentic, Christ-centered community. She began reading the Bible on her own for the first time. And, she learned how to share her faith and engage with non-Christians.

Since last summer, Anna has been using the skills she learned to share God’s love and her own story with students on the UC Davis campus. In addition, she has decided to intern with Cru next year (her senior year), so that she can impact others the way the Lord used Cru staff to impact her.

Thank you for partnering with us to see students like Anna find life in Christ!

Prayer Requests

Praise God for the work He’s done in Anna’s life over the last 2 years. And please pray for her as she prepares to intern with Cru.

Pray that all of our students, whether going on mission trips or staying home, would experience God’s presence and grow in their faith over summer.

Pray for all of the high school seniors who are preparing to be in Davis in the fall.

Matthew (right) on a mission trip to South Africa after his senior year

Matthew was like many kids who grew up in Christian homes.  He went to church and youth group, read his Bible, and prayed.

Yet, Matthew’s faith had never become his own.  When he left home and went to college, Matthew started to make his own decisions.  He soon found himself busy with studying and other college activities, so the Christian things Matthew had done in the past had now become inconvenient.  While he believes he had a relationship with God, he wasn’t living it out.

“I was just moving through life passively.  It became quite disconcerting and frightening.  I felt as if I had no direction and nothing to hold onto or aspire for when things got tough.”

In the middle of his junior year, Matthew began to come to Cru’s weekly meeting with some friends and found that he was enjoying the community.  Yet, he says he still had the mentality of checking his “Christian box, so to speak”.  It was in those weekly meetings that God began to correct Matthew’s thinking, helping him realize that following Christ wasn’t just something simply to add on to one’s life, but the thing dictated and permeated through all of life.  Matthew began to attend church later that year in addition to going to Cru, where his understanding grew even more.

That summer, Matthew began to think, pray, and reflect.  “I came to the realization that while I may have asked Christ to be my savior many years ago, I had never devoted myself to him and asked Him to be Lord.”  Matthew surrendered his life to the Lord and has seen many changes since.  Here are a few that he mentioned:

“I’ve recognized the importance of evangelism and that it’s not just a thing for ‘those’ kind of people, but for all Christians.”

“Even though I still struggle with engaging in it, I see the absolute necessity of community.”

“I’ve found myself not only reading the Bible much more, but enjoying it and studying it.”

“Most encouraging however, is that I now have no doubt about a sense of direction and purpose.  While I don’t know all the details of what God has planned for me, I know that there is a plan and that I can move forward each day, week, month, and year following in that and that there is no ‘waste’ or ‘pointlessness’.

Matthew is involved in many “Christian things” again.  What I love, however, is that these activities come not from a need to check a box on a to-do list, but from his realization that God is good and loving.  Matthew is surrendered.

Matthew is currently completing work on his teaching credential.  His dream is to teach missionary kids overseas, but he is holding his plans with an open hand in case God were to call him to something else instead.

Thank you for your partnership in helping kids from Christian homes, like Matthew, make their faith their own!

Prayer Requests

Thank God for working in Matthew!

As the school year winds down, pray that our staff and students would finish well, with energy from the Lord.

Pray for the funding of the many UC Davis students going on summer trips in the US and around the world.

Hannah, a junior at UC Davis

Have you ever had a time when your daily walk with Jesus became more about duty than desire?

Hannah (pictured above) comes from a Christian home. In fact, her parents have been on staff with Cru for longer than Hannah has been alive. So, when I (Cameron) met Hannah in the beginning of her freshman year, I was not surprised by her involvement in Cru.  She regularly attended my Bible study and had all the right answers to the questions I would ask.  Yet, I could see that Hannah was only in the early stages of taking ownership of her faith.

The previous summer, while on a mission trip to Hungary, Hannah’s perspective on faith drastically changed.  She understood for the first time that the central theme of the Christian faith was to glorify God. This moment of understanding was a major turning point for Hannah, but it was over the next few years that some of the implications of this truth would play out in her daily life.

While Hannah had grown up very goal-oriented, there wasn’t an overarching purpose for the goals she set for herself. She would strive to reach these goals from a sense of duty and performance. Even in her relationship with God, much of what Hannah did was because she was “supposed to” rather than from a desire to glorify God.

But, as she learned more about God’s transforming love and applied what she had learned the previous summer, Hannah came to realize that becoming more like Christ is not a contest to get the most brownie points; instead, it’s a process of surrendering daily to the Holy Spirit. This realization has led Hannah to desire to serve God moment-by-moment more than accomplishing her own goals.

Hannah is a key part of the UC Davis women’s water polo team.

Hannah has especially seen this transition from duty to desire affect her daily activities. As a member of the UC Davis Water Polo team, she desires to reach out to her teammates in love rather than because of “Christian duty.” She is getting closer to finishing her degree in civil engineering, but is holding her future with an open hand because she is open to however God wants to use her. And, she is pointing people to Jesus and involved in Cru because she desires to grow and help others grow in their relationship with Christ.

The simple truths can make a huge difference!

Thank you for your partnership in helping students like Hannah grow in understanding their faith!

Prayer Requests

Thank God for the transformations like Hannah’s that are happening in our students year after year!

Pray for Hannah as she reaches out to her teammates and seeks God’s will for her future.

Pray for Davis Cru’s spring break trip—specifically, launching a movement at Woodland Community College!

“I just don’t see what’s so good about this God,” Jon said to me (Jeff).

Jon’s view of God has changed greatly in the past year!

I met Jon his first week at UC Davis, about a year and a half ago.  He had come to our first weekly meeting of the year, and then to our first bible study.  He told me that he had gone to church for all 18 years of his life and that his parents were involved in Cru in college.  Jon was sure to be a Christian, right?

Nevertheless, we make it a habit of sharing the gospel with all of our incoming freshmen.  So, I asked Jon to meet up for about 30 minutes later in the week.  As we began our conversation, I asked him the question that I ask every freshman when we meet up for the first time: “So what’s your spiritual background?”

Jon answered, “I guess I would consider myself an agnostic.”

That definitely wasn’t what I expected.

I listened to Jon as he shared his doubts.  Among others, he didn’t trust that God is good.

I told Jon that I’m glad he’s in our group, that it’s okay if he has doubts, and that he can ask any questions that he wants.  I also asked if we could meet up again.

Jon became a frequent attendee to our bible study, weekly meetings, and social events.  He began to make friends and genuinely enjoy himself within our community.  He had a safe place to which to belong and explore his questions.

As Jon and I would continue to meet up, however, I would ask the question, “Can you say that God is good?”  He could never answer yes wholeheartedly.

I met with Jon once again last month at In-N-Out.  It had been awhile since we had hung out.  Just by talking with him, I could see that he had grown a ton.  I also asked the recurring question, “Can you say that God is good?”

Without hesitation, Jon said, “Yes.”

Praise God!  I’m so thankful that God is working in Jon’s life, that he is revealing more of His character to Jon, and that Jon has found a safe community to which to belong.

Thank you for being part of Jon’s spiritual journey and helping to allow students like him to have a safe place to explore their questions.

Prayer Requests

Thank God for revealing more of His character to Jon.  Thank Him for the growth in Jon’s life.

Thank God for the impact that he made in the lives of our students attending our annual Winter Conference.

Pray for students to apply to our summer missions opportunities.  Application deadlines are coming up soon.  These make such an impact both to the places that students go and in the lives of the students themselves.

Jason recently decided to follow Jesus!

“I’m tired of making excuses,” Jason told me last week.

I met Jason over a year ago, during the second week of his freshman year at UC Davis.  After following up numerous freshmen who indicated they were interested in getting involved in a bible study or talking more about spiritual things, Jason was one of the more intriguing people I met with.  He had hardly any spiritual background and new hardly anything about Jesus.  However, he realized something was missing in his life.  He had decided that when he got to college, he would investigate a religion, and somehow decided that that religion would be Christianity.  As I met with Jason, I realized he was essentially saying, “Educate me!”  While Jason and I continued to meet up frequently to talk over his questions, he also started attending numerous Christian events on campus with different college ministries.

Jason and his family had placed a big emphasis on academics.  His main goal was to do well in school.  So, while he was thoroughly investigating Jesus and the nuances of Christianity in his spare time, his search would take a backseat when there was a homework assignment to do or when exams came up.  He had to do well at school.  He definitely had his priorities.  It continued this way all throughout his freshman year.  Yet, and the end of the school year, he had a fairly good understanding of who Jesus is.  He still wasn’t ready, however, to fully place his trust in Jesus and surrender; he felt he needed to do more research.

Jason began to see how his academic drive and his need to do more research were both excuses that kept him from placing his trust in Jesus.  He saw this theme of making excuses come up again and again in his life.  “I’m tired of making excuses,” he told me.  At last, he had decided to take the plunge.  After a year of investigating and still not knowing everything, a few weeks ago Jason finally decided to surrender his life to Jesus at a fall retreat!

Jason is now learning what it means to follow Jesus daily.  He desires to be grounded in his faith and consistently walk with God.  Yet, he has a fear that he will repeat his tendency to make excuses and somehow fall away from Jesus.  I’m thankful that God has the power to keep those who belong tom him.  I showed Jason the following verse and am praying it for him:

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…” – Jude 24

Thank you for your partnership in reaching students like Jason with the gospel!

Prayer Requests

Thank God for his work in Jason over the past year.  Thank him for placing within Jason the desire to seek out truth.  Pray that Jason is grounded in his faith and continues to place following Jesus above everything else.

Thank God for working in the lives of our juniors and seniors at our recent Crossroads conference.  They were challenged to live fully for God wherever they go after they graduate and were given practical tools to make an impact.  Pray for discernment in their upcoming life decisions.

Pray for our upcoming Winter Conference (Dec 28 – Jan 1).  Every year, God uses this conference in so many ways in the lives of our students.  Pray that God would place it on the heart of freshmen to attend.

Pray for Carmen, the searching student that Cameron was meeting with this summer, who is currently in Rome.

Mirei, a second-year student who just surrendered her life to Christ

It was just a year ago that I (Cameron) met Mirei.  Like thousands of other freshmen, Mirei (pronounced Meer-ay) stood in line to register her bike on campus.  While waiting, she was given a Cru water bottle in exchange for filling out a spiritual interest survey. On that survey, Mirei marked a box indicating that she was interested in a Bible discussion group as well as talking about spiritual things.

As I met with Mirei to follow up her interest, I noticed that she is very sweet and soft-spoken. She is driven and has big goals. And, she likes to be in control. Because of this, despite growing up in a Christian home, Mirei hadn’t yet made a decision to follow Jesus.

During that first meeting, I had the chance to share the gospel with her, as well as invite her to a Bible study that I helped lead in her dorm area.

She immediately began to attend. She was extremely quiet but faithful to come and learn what it means to be a follower of Christ. However, as she finished her freshman year, Mirei left for summer break without having surrendered her life to Jesus.

On September 27, Mirei started her sophomore year at UC Davis. At the end of her first day of classes, she attended Cru’s first weekly meeting of the year, which she had rarely attended the year before. Encouraged by Mirei’s interest, my co-leader, Amanda, offered her a ride to church the following Sunday. Mirei accepted.

On the car ride home from church, Amanda asked Mirei a question that we had asked her many times before: “Have you made any decisions about placing your trust in Christ?” Mirei simply said, “Yes, I’m ready.” Right then and there in the car, she prayed with Amanda that Jesus would be her Lord and Savior. Despite being unsure for a whole year, God had brought Mirei to a point that she could finally give up control and surrender to Him.

Pray for Mirei as she grows in her faith and relationship with Jesus. Thank you for partnering with us to give students like Mirei the opportunity to know and follow Christ!

Prayer Requests

Praise God that Mirei surrendered her life to Jesus. Pray that she would get connected to a Bible study and grow in her faith.

Continue to pray for Carmen while she is in Rome and searching for God.

We are currently following up students that filled out spiritual interest surveys this year. Pray that these new students, whether followers of Jesus or not, would continue to get connected to Bible studies and fall in love with Christ.

Carmen, a third year student at UC Davis, has tons of questions.

Jeff and I were recently asked to share about our ministry with Cru in front of our home church. We shared about our desire to see students encounter Jesus and grow in their faith.

Immediately following the morning service, a tearful, but beautiful young woman approached me (Cameron). She pulled me aside and said “You have a heart for college students, and I’m a college student.” I didn’t really know how to respond, so I introduced myself and found out her name is Carmen and that she is a third year student at UC Davis. She then asked if I would meet with her to talk about God.  I said “OF COURSE!”

Carmen and I started meeting on Wednesdays to talk about Jesus, her experiences with church and religion, and the things keeping her from trusting in God.  Carmen grew up in a Christian home, but over the last year, her faith has wavered. She has very real and tough questions that keep her from fully surrendering to God, like “why does God let bad things happen to good people (despite how much I pray)?” and “what does it mean to follow God but live in the world?”

In response to these questions, I have tried to continually point Carmen back to the cross. More than once, I have come home from our meetings worried that Carmen was on the verge of giving up. And also more than once, I was amazed to see how the Lord had worked in her life the previous week. She is now at the point of wanting to surrender but hesitant to give up her sense of control.

Carmen just left to study abroad in Rome for four months. I am trusting that God will continue to show her that there is no place better for her than in a relationship with Him. Please pray with us.

Prayer Requests

Pray that Carmen would surrender to the Lord and that her time in Rome would lead her closer to Him.

Praise God that we saw 24 students place their trust in Christ through our South Africa Summer Team.  3 new campuses were pioneered.

Pray for this year’s freshman class, arriving on campus on September 22^nd. Pray for Christians to get involved in a Christian community and many gospel conversations with non-Christians.

Pray for our staff team as we transition with new members.