Each year, the South Orange County Cru team invites a bunch of us local staff to help connect with students at UCI’s (University of California at Irvine) annual “Anteater Involvement Fair” (AIF). It is one of my (Scott) favorite days of the Fall! This year it was Monday, September 20th. Every club on campus was there, and thousands of students swarmed the central park area. We had 500 Cru flyers and “Hello Panda” cookie bags to give away and use to meet students. If they took a flyer and cookie, we would ask them to scan a QR code with their phone and fill our our online survey.
Throughout those hours I encountered scores of students. Many freshmen, and sophomores who were “on campus” for the fist time. Gustavo, from the volleyball team, Dylan, Brittany, MJ, and Rodolfo, just to name a few. Some said, “no thanks”, many said, “sure”. Some asked questions about our group, and I got to share. I would ask them a few questions about year in school, major, and if they lived on campus. Sometimes, we would dig a little deeper into their spiritual background.
Nutsa (newt-sah), stopped to grab a cookie and fill out our survey. It turned out that she was from the country of Georgia! When I asked if she had any spiritual background, she said that Georgia was a Christian country. She had not found another student yet who was from her country. I urged her to head over to Cru’s “Bridges International” tent, where there is an entire ministry devoted to serving International students.
When the AIF was over, and the survey responses were counted, over 160 contacts indicated they were “interested” in getting involved with Cru at UCI in some way! Wow! God is always on the move!
Pray now for the 160 students to be followed-up in a timely fashion. That’s a lot of work for the South Orange County team and their student leaders!
Praise & Prayer Requests!
Praise God for all the students exposed to Cru, and the 160 who are interested in connecting in some way at UCI!
Pray for students this Fall, to find Jesus in communities of faith, like Cru, on and around their campuses.
Pray for Cru staff and students around the country who are giving tons of effort to put Jesus before as many students as possible.
Family Requests:
Praise the Lord with us for Sarah loving Biola and, so far, having a fantastic beginning! Pray for all of us as we adjust to a new normal around our house.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21
THE SLAMERS 