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 22nd. 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.