July Newsletter

MARRIAGE IS GREAT

We have been married for over two months now and the time has gone so fast. We are enjoying the married life and look forward to the years to come! Thanks for your prayers. We spent the majority of our first two months together in Orlando, Florida with 180 young men and women being trained as new missionaries with Cru.

The history of the organization, seminary courses, and vision for the future comprised our six weeks of training and we are now headed into a season of full-time prayer and financial partner development. Thank you for your support over the years. We look forward to now connecting with you as husband and wife rather than just individuals! 

If you'd like to see more photos of our wedding click here: WEDDING PHOTOS

AN UNLIKELY CONVERT

”I guess I had to travel around the world to find Jesus.”

This summer three MSU athletes who lead Bible studies in Cru traveled to Uganda for a two week mission trip serving orphans and widows and sharing the good news of the Gospel.

Karly, an MSU basketball player, took her dad with her on the trip. Karly and Melissa have spent the last year praying for her dad during their weekly discipleship meetings. Karly was so excited that God was working on her dad’s heart by sending him to Uganda.

One Sunday, the group attended a local church service. At the end of the sermon the pastor invited people to enter into a personal relationship with Christ. Karly’s dad realized he had never made that commitment himself. He came forward that day and surrendered his life to Christ. He traveled halfway across the world to discover his need for Jesus.

We are so thankful for students like Karly, who have understood the vision of reaching the world: both near and far. This is our hope for all our students involved with Cru in Southwest MO. 

Tyler, Karly, and Kinsey in Uganda

NEW STAFF TRAINING CLASS
Cru hosts four trainings throughout the year for new field staff.This summer’s group was one of the largest they’ve had. Praise God for more laborers!

SUMMER IN THE IVORY COAST
We were sad we couldn’t be with the mission team in West Africa this summer, but were encouraged to hear 80 Ivorian students accepted Christ in six weeks!!

PRAYER REQUESTS

We are embarking on a journey to find partners who will join with us financially over the next several months. Pray the funds come quickly so we can return to campus soon!

Married Life Update

Hi friends!

Well, we've been married for 3 weeks. It's been a fun ride so far. Literally. We've driven over 1,300 miles since getting married. Good thing we're used to spending a lot of travel time together. This summer pales in comparison to last summer's travel adventures. Last summer. we drove from Springfield to Houston then flew to Africa then flew to Turkey then flew back to Houston then drove to Tulsa where I flew home for a few weeks. Apparently that wasn't enough because we then proceeded to take a 3,000 mile road trip from Oregon back to Springfield with my best friend Lizzy, stopping at all the sites along the way (Redwood forest, San Francisco, Vegas, Grand Canyon, etc). Needless to say, we're used to traveling together.

And the reason we drove 1,300 miles in our first 3 weeks of marriage is because we are in Florida! We got to spend our honeymoon in beautiful Sarasota, Florida (rated the USA's #1 beach). We enjoyed relaxing, salt water, sand between our toes, and gorgeous sunsets. And if all that isn't great enough we saw a manatee when we were in the ocean. He swam close enough touch. Unfortunately, I'm a baby. I got scared and jumped behind Davy. In my defense, a large black figure coming toward you in the water is a little bit intimidating... I don't care who you are.

The good news: we don't have to leave sunny Florida just yet. After leaving Sarasota, we headed to Orlando for Cru training. This is sometimes very confusing to explain to people, but I will try my best. Three years ago, Davy joined staff with Cru. He has been working in full-time ministry at Missouri State ever since. Two years ago I decided to do a one year internship with Cru. I also worked in full-time ministry at Missouri State (you've probably put two and two together and realized that is where we met). After my one year internship was up, I decided to do another. I loved my job! And just like that my second internship year was up. Sometime in that second year, I started dating Davy, got engaged, and married him which leads us to right now. Over the last two years, I felt God calling me to join staff with Cru full-time. My job won't be that different than my internship. I'll still share the Gospel with college students, lead Bible studies, disciple girls, and attempt to launch movements where none exist. The main difference is the time commitment. Rather than a year to year commitment with an internship, I'm committing at least the next 3-5 years to working for Cru. It may be longer, but will see what God does.

So, this summer I get to attend a 4 week training in Orlando. This will prepare me to raise support and better equip me to lead students. I will be taking 2 seminary courses in addition to learning more about Cru. Since Davy already joined staff 3 years ago he doesn't have to redo the training. However, he's here with me taking a higher level seminary course and helping run the New Staff Training conference. We're really excited for what the summer holds and wanted to keep everyone updated. We'll attempt to keep updating you on our experiences this summer.

Here are some pictures from the last 3 weeks:

A sneak peek of our wedding photos. We can't wait to see the rest of them!

Here we are on our road trip. On our way through Georgia we found this fun cow statue at a gas station. Random, so we decided to take a picture in front of it. 

In case you're not sure what you're looking at, this is our tent from our stop halfway to Florida.  We did not read the directions and therefore did not "verify package content." Which means we ended up with only one tent pole. We improvised. Thankfully, that campground had tall posts to mark each campsite. Also, it was dark when we set up camps. Oh, and there was a hole in the tent (fails all around). Davy found a frog in the tent when we were packing up to leave. Good thing we're pretty chill.
 

We set up our tent in the dark, but woke up to this beautiful sight. Totally worth it. 

After our camping debacle we finally made it to Sarasota. The beaches there are GORGEOUS. Here's a sunset we enjoyed.

Enjoying a walk on the beach.

May Newsletter

My last newsletter as an unmarried woman! From now on you'll get to hear from me and my soon to be husband, Davy.

Fresh Bread

Recently I read the book of Esther. I love the drama of that story and the faithfulness of God in the midst of persecution and evil. What struck me the most, however, was how personal our God is, how he can change the course of history through one person. He can   alter the course of our life so drastically for His glory and our good. As you know Esther was chosen to be the new queen and her identity as a Jew was kept a secret. All the seemingly random and strange events that took place were part of a bigger plan.

As I read in my study Bible I learned that when Haman wanted to destroy the Jews, it would have been every single Jew that remained in exile under King Xerxes. At first I didn’t  realize the magnitude of that fact. But as I read my notes I realized that had the Jews been destroyed so would the lineage that led to the birth of Jesus. Queen Esther had no idea that her brave actions would someday bring salvation to the world. I think back to last summer when I read the book of Ruth. She too, could have no idea that her actions would be directly linked to bringing Jesus to earth. In the midst of her suffering, God reached down and intervened. He met her personally and used her life for good.

The stories of Esther and Ruth are not isolated accounts. I see evidence of God’s hand all over the Bible and all over my life. When I think about the “random” events that led me where I am today I’m in awe that God would see me. Of all the billions of people in the world, he knows me by name. Isaiah 43:1 brings such peace to my heart: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” I pray that we experience the overwhelming peace and security that comes from knowing that God is personal; knowing that he sees me and knows me and loves me deeply. 

 

We can't wait to get married! It's only a week away.

From Campus

Our semester is coming to a close and summer is fast approaching. The reason I love summer is because students get time off of school and many of our Cru students choose to go all over the world to serve God. They could do anything with their summers and they choose to bring the gospel to the nations and comfort to the hurting. Please pray for the girls I disciple this summer as they serve God.

• Kiley is heading to Juneau, Alaska for her second summer project. She will be on student leadership,   helping fellow students grow in their faith and teaching them how to communicate the gospel to their co-workers.


• Jess will be in Seattle, Washington working for a ministry that serves disturbed youth through outdoor therapy. She will be leading them in Bible studies and taking them on hikes, rafting trips, and other outdoor adventures


• Alaina and Olivia are traveling to Vail, Colorado on summer project. They will be sharing their faith daily and learning what it means to live on mission in their workplace.


• Karly and Kinsey are going to Uganda to serve orphans and widows. They will share the love of Christ with the hopeless and encourage local communities to care for the less fortunate.


• Ruth is heading to South Africa to work in a children’s hospital. She is looking forward to providing comfort to hurting children and taking opportunities to share the gospel with the girls that are on the trip with her.

Be encouraged! College students have had their lives changed by Jesus and are taking the message of grace to places at home and all around the world. 

 

 

Ways You Can Pray

• Please pray that God will provide support for Davy and I as we head off to New Staff training in June. The training will cost $5,500.


• I’m still on the hunt for an affordable computer. Please pray God provides for that need.


• Please pray for our wedding. We want Christ to be honored and the gospel to be preached. Please pray that unbelievers are impacted by our ceremony.

April Newsletter

Fresh Bread

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 

2 Corinthians 4:7

I’ve felt very much like a clay jar lately. I’ve been reading 2 Corinthians in my quiet times lately and I found this verse so incredibly encouraging. I don’t have to be anything special because Christ lives in me. Even in my weakness he uses me. Paul says it again in the chapter before. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” I praise the Lord that I am indeed a clay jar, because God’s power shines through all the more clearly.

Our staff team went to a painting class together. We had so much fun! I decided I liked blue more so I went a different direction with my painting. 

My roommates and I at my bridal shower. These lovely ladies showered me with gifts and sweet, encouraging words. I'm so thankful for their friendship.

From Campus

• Allie - Her steps of faith continue to be encouraging to me. I met Allie two years ago when she went to Big Break, a conference focused on evangelism. She had never ever shared her faith before. Over the past two years she has been sharing her faith non-stop. She’s a leader on Cru’s evangelism team and gone to Big Break the last two years. And even cooler than all of that, a few weeks ago, she was brave enough to enter into a spiritual conversation with her Dad. She used one of the evangelism tools she learned at Big Break and used it with him. I’m thankful that her passion for sharing the love of Christ extends into all areas of her life.
• Ruth - She’s doing an internship for her major with a company that administers sleep studies. She entered into a spiritual conversation with a fellow student named Steven, who is an atheist. She’s loved his openness in discussing spiritual things and is excited to continue talking with him throughout the course of her internship.

My roommate, Tracy (R), and I with Nicolette (L). She is going on summer project. She’ll be sharing her faith with other college students all summer in San Diego, CA. So proud of her for trusting God with her summer and taking a big step of faith!

Ways you can pray

• Please pray for Davy and I. The wedding is SO close.! We’re excited and want God to continue to bless us as we prepare.
• Pray for Steven, the student Ruth is talking with. Pray God softens his heart and helps him understand the Gospel.
• Pray for God’s provision: a computer and funding for the summer. The training I will attend in June costs close to $5,000. Please pray God provides abundantly in all areas.

Special info/requests

• Our wedding is about a month away! If you’d like to check out our wedding website the link is http://www.theknot.com/wedding/Davy-and-Melissa. The story of how we met and the proposal are on the site as well as more about Davy.
• Sadly, my computer has decided to give out. I’m praying that God would provide me with a new computer before I go to New Staff Training in June. If you know of any great sales happening or know someone selling their laptop for a reasonable price will you please let me know? It’s difficult to keep up with emails and such without a working laptop. Give me a call or shoot me an email. THANK YOU!

March Newsletter

Fresh Bread

 

Davy and I have been reading The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller together every week. I’ve been learning a ton and what has struck me recently was this quote by Keller: “Jesus died not because we were lovely, but to make us lovely.” What an amazing truth! How humbling to be made lovely by the sacrifice of Christ. I pray that truth sinks in this month and leads us to a heart of gratitude.

From Campus

 

Thank you for your prayers as I traveled to Cote d’Ivoire. The trip was incredible! Here are some of the highlights:

• Our team spent 3 days in Bouake, a city 220 miles north of Abidjan (the biggest city in Cote d’Ivoire). We spent the following 2 days in Abidjan on a campus of 60,000 students. Our team, together with the current team of Americans living there full time and several Ivorian students were able to have 161 Gospel conversations. 21 people accepted Christ, 2 of those being Muslim students! We were also able to do discipleship with students and build upon what God has already been doing in their lives.

Chrissy and I sharing the Gospel in Bouake.

• You may remember me telling you about Suzanne from this summer. I was able to see her again on this trip. I can’t tell you how much joy this brought to my heart. She has been continuing to grow in her faith and is still very involved with Cru. I’m so thankful that God has continued to teach her. She is planning on going on one of the upcoming mission trips with other Cru students. They are going to a city up north and will spend a few days sharing the gospel with students on a campus there. Suzanne wants to be a part of furthering the kingdom and I’m so thankful I got to spend time with her while I was in Cote d’Ivoire. Suzanne is not the only student from last summer that is still involved. It is so encouraging to see students that accepted Christ this summer continuing to grow in their faith. I know Cru summer projects are good for our students in the USA, but it’s amazing to see that Cru summer projects affect the lives of students all over the world. Eternities have been changed because of what happened last summer.

Suzanne and I, on campus doing a discipleship lesson. We were learning what it means to put on the armor of God.

• One of the big things I wanted to be true of this trip was that I would be an encouragement to the team living there. The team consists of 4 girls, 2 guys, and a family of 5. Although they love being in Cote d’Ivoire, life can be hard living overseas as they miss their families and the comforts of home. I was thankful to be an encouragement to them and bring a little piece of home. Thankfully, our time there was a refresher for them and the Cru movement. I pray this helps them finish the year strong.

On the road to Bouake. Chrissy (sitting next to me) and Kelsey (directly behind Chrissy) were my two of my roommates from last year. It was such a joy to encourage them on this trip.

Ways You Can Pray

• Please continue to pray for Davy and I as we plan a wedding and prepare for marriage. Our wedding is just 2 months away! Pray God continues to teach us what it means to love selflessly.
• Pray for the students in Cote d’Ivoire, specifically Suzanne. Pray they continue to grow and boldly tell others how to have a relationship with Christ.
• Please pray for Bethany. She is a senior at MSU and has been involved with Cru for years. She lost her fiancé in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago. They were two months away from their wedding. Pray that God would cover her with love and peace in this incredibly difficult time.

February Newsletter

Fresh Bread

Wedding planning, ministry, preparing for marriage, heading for Africa… my brain is spinning! Life has been crazy, but very joyful and exciting. The big thing on my mind right now is Africa. I leave on Friday, February 28th and I can’t wait. Please pray for me as we travel and share the Gospel with Ivorian students. We will be joining the American team there which includes two of my roommates from last year. Please also pray that I will be a great encouragement to them as they have been far from home, missing some of the comforts that home brings.

From Campus 

Summer Opportunities

• As I write this, I’m sitting with 5 of the girls I disciple as they write support letters. 3 of them are going on summer mission trips with Cru. One is heading to Africa with a local ministry to serve in orphanages and the other is going to Washington to serve at-risk youth using outdoor adventures as therapy. 

Athletes

• One of the things I’ve been most excited about is the Field Hockey Bible study. Last semester I had the opportunity to  attend a few of their studies. One week 10 girls came which is incredible. One of the girls started crying during the study and said, “I’ve really needed something like this. I’ve been struggling a ton lately and I’m so glad we’re doing this.” I’m so thankful for the leaders Jessi and Leah for being spiritual leaders for their team.
• A swimmer named Ibby is going to Big Break, our spring break conference in Panama City Beach, FL. This is a huge step of faith for her. She even had already put money down for another spring break trip with her friends, but felt like the Lord calling her to do something eternal with her spring break. Please pray for her as she learns to share her faith at the   conference and puts it into practice  by sharing the Gospel with students partying on the beach. 

The Maze

• We had the opportunity to have Jim Munroe, a Christian illusionist, come to MSU and put on a magic show. He uses the illusions to encourage students to think differently about the world. One of the things he says is, “Maybe there is more going on behind the scenes than what you can perceive with your 5 natural senses.” He uses his story to share the gospel with students.
• 1,700 students attended the event at MSU. 200 students attended the event at a local 2 year school in West Plains, MO. 184 students indicated that they had prayed to  invite Christ into their lives.
• During a follow-up conversation, one of our staff members, Emily, shared the gospel with a  Chinese student. She had a lot of questions after the Maze and after talking with Emily more she surrendered her life to Christ. Praise the Lord for our new sister in Christ!
• I got to talk with one of the women’s basketball players last week. She had attended the Maze with one of her teammates and it was exactly what she needed. She went to a Christian high school so coming to MSU was a very different experience for her. She opened up to me and said her relationship with God has been struggling lately. She has been looking to school, basketball, and relationships for fulfillment, only to find each area has failed her. She wasn’t planning on going to the Maze, but that day she felt like she was really supposed to go. Jim’s message and the truth of the Gospel hit her heart and that night she rededicated her life to the Lord. She’s excited to move forward, trusting God to meets her need for fulfillment and purpose in life.

CHECK OUT JIM'S STORY AT I AM SECOND

HERE IS THE LINK: http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/jim-munroe/

Ways you can pray

• Pray for the follow-up of students that attended the Maze. Pray that the Spirit would lead us as we answer questions and share the Gospel with students.

• Continue to pray for Davy and I as we plan a wedding and prepare for marriage. We are   reading through The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller before we begin marriage counseling in March. Please pray that God continues to teach us to love each other sacrificially.

• I am going back to Cote d’Ivoire February 28th through March 9th. Please pray for safe travels, boldness as I initiate spiritual conversations with Ivoirian college students, and that I would be a great encouragement to the Cru team serving there.

January Newsletter

Fresh Bread

Happy New Year! Well, what a year 2013 has been! The year ended with quite a bang for me. As some of you may know I got engaged on the first day of Denver Christmas Conference. I have a ton to report as far as what God did in ministry at DCC, but first I’ll tell you about the wonderful man I get to marry.

His name is Davy McVicker. We met a little over 2 years ago in the Fall when I was student teaching. We hit it off at DCC that year and became good friends. Even before we got together I admired his deep love for Christ and enjoyed his fun loving personality. We started dating last summer when we were in Cote d’Ivoire together. This is his third year on Cru staff at Missouri State. He is from a small town two hours east of Springfield. I am so blessed to be marrying someone who has a heart to see the world changed for Christ. I hope that each of you get to meet him very soon. God is so good and my heart is so full!

Many of you may wonder what’s next for me. I will explain in more detail in the future, but I will be joining staff with Cru this summer. This means that rather than a year to year internship I will commit 3-5 years at a location. Over the past few years God has been leading me to join staff and make my commitment with Cru a little more permanent. And thankfully, he brought me a man who shares the same passion. I’m excited to embark on this journey of reaching college students with the gospel together. 

From Campus

Other than getting engaged here are some of the highlights from DCC

• Many students including Kinsey, a sophomore on the volleyball team, participated in an online outreach. The words on her sign describe her life before and after Christ. She used this to initiate spiritual conversations with her friends.

• Sebastian, a freshman, accepted Christ into his life at DCC. Praise God for a new brother in Christ.

• The community that was built amongst MSU students was incredible. It was so fun to see new friendships being formed and students being vulnerable with each other. 

• Allie, a senior girl I disciple, said that DCC really helped her surrender her future to the Lord. She says she wants to go wherever He calls her even though she's not sure where yet. She is considering interning with Cru and regardless of what she chooses I’m so thankful for her heart to follow God no matter what.

• Caleb, a student that went on summer project with me, shared about his experience in Cote d’Ivoire. He encouraged students to do something meaningful with their summer. We had over 100 students come to the Cote d’Ivoire summer project info session. Praise the Lord that the work we did last summer will be built upon this summer! 

• I gave a seminar on believing the truth and using God’s word to fight lies the enemy feeds us. 120 girls showed up and I was able to have several one-on-one follow-up conversations with girls that desire to fight for the truth in their lives.

• Learning about and worshiping God with 1,200 plus college students is an incredible part of my job. By God’s grace DCC 2013 changed lives. I can’t wait to see how he builds on it throughout the spring semester.

Ways you can pray

• My roommate, Lizzy, is moving to the Middle East this semester to do ministry with Cru. Please pray for her transition and ministry next semester.
• Pray for Davy and I as we seek to follow the Lord in our relationship and build a strong foundation for  marriage.
• Our semester will be starting January 13th. Pray for  that we would boldly proclaim the Gospel and build into students this semester.
• We will be doing a large evangelistic outreach called the Maze in February. Please pray for our planning efforts and for the students that will be hearing the Gospel message.