Summer Prayer Letter
Disappointment
My, Davy’s, trip over Spring Break to Ivory Coast was cancelled 24 hours before our flight was to leave and our whole family had planned to be in Ivory Coast this summer. It’s a bummer. We long to see our friends and to continue ministering to the students we met when we lived there. Ivorians are devastated by Covid’s economic toll and there is severe flooding currently. We wish we could be there. Perhaps you too are dealing with direct or even ambiguous loss. We pray you have been able to take that to the Lord as we all lament the challenges of this season. Perhaps, like us, you’ve had a chance to slow down, pay attention to family/friends and get to know and minister to your neighbors more directly. We’re praying for you and are thankful for your prayers.
When life gives you lemons…
Well, the school year wrapped up and although it didn’t go the way we planned, we are encouraged with how God is continuing to move. Our team flexed in the situation and began having statewide virtual weekly meetings with worship from YouTube, various speakers and breakout discussion groups. We held trainings on Instagram Live (I, Davy, did a talk on studying the Bible), had coffee discussion groups over Zoom, and one of our staff continued his Theology Thursday discussions virtually as well. We completed four weekly sessions of our student leader training (two more weeks at beginning of August). Thirty-plus leaders joined us each week from eight different colleges. Davy has been doing a virtual study on biblical adulthood with a few UNL guys every Tuesday night and Melissa continues to disciple one of the UNL leaders here in Lincoln. Davy has spent the summer figuring out how to engage church partnerships in the state and has promising leads. We’re making lemonade!
Prayer Requests
Pray for our fall planning and outreach. Lots of wisdom/discernment needed to know how to move forward right now.
Pray for the new couple joining our team, TD and Sarah. That they would assimilate well into our team culture and find their place in NE Cru.
Pray for new church partnerships to emerge and volunteers for us to train across the state.
The day we were supposed to leave for Cote d'Ivoire we dressed up in some of our favorite Ivorian clothes. We are so sad to not be able to go this summer, but we are thanking God that we have such dear relationships that makes not going so hard.
Aiden broke his arm playing at a park! Only four weeks total in the cast, thankfully.