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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Cru Communique Newsletter / Oct. 2019

Sharing a copy of our recent newsletter, which we sent out by MailChimp email. Featuring Cru Omaha's new Team Leader: Jake Loftis!
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October 29, 2019 Newsletter
View this email in your browser

Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Communique

Our Big Autumn News!


Many of you have heard our big news already, but we want to highlight it again for those who have not!  We are so very excited to announce that Cru Omaha has a new Team Leader!!  After 29 years of directing the Cru High ministry here in the Omaha area, we are passing the torch on to Jake Loftis!

Jake is so qualified.  He was with us as he came to know Christ back in 8th grade, and then as he transitioned to student leader, then to volunteer, then to part-time staff, then to full-time staff ... and is now at the helm of Cru Omaha!

He has proven himself through all these years and has been a tremendous source of support, strength, inspiration and encouragement.  So, this is an awesome milestone for all that God is doing in the lives of high school and middle school students in this area.  THANK YOU, JAKE!  And also, a big THANK YOU to Chelsea, Eleanor, and Audrey for supporting Jake in this big change, and for serving alongside him in this big endeavor!

Jake completed his 4-week Team Leader Training in Colorado this past summer, and the photo above was taken a few weeks after that as we were all at Cru's Biennual Staff Conference in Fort Collins, CO.
A few photos capturing Jake (clockwise from upper left) ...
1) While discipling students or having fun with them - Jake loves being with students
2) Jake in action at a volunteer training session - a  very gifted leader & developer
3) A great visit from our Cru regional leader, Scott, pictured with Gary and Jake
4) Jake leading our Summer Kick-Off event with students from multiple campuses
And you may ask - where do we fit in now?

We are so excited and thankful to continue serving with Cru for another school year in our new capacity of working under Jake!  We couldn't be more thankful for his leadership, and for how God has called a new Team Leader, with younger energy and new vision for Cru Omaha!

We will be on staff through this current school year, and will then be following God's clear direction to transition into retirement at that point.  This is a significant time in our lives as we have just celebrated our 75/70 birthdays this past summer and fall, and we are thankful for God's provision for Cru Omaha to continue on and flourish under Jake's leadership!  You can read more details about this transition on our blog ... click here.


Thank you!

You are an integral part of what God is doing through Cru Omaha!  Thank you for your continued prayers, and financial support that make this ministry to middle school and high school students in the Omaha area reality!  Please let us know if you have any questions, and also prayer needs ... your responses will come directly to our inbox.

Gary & Cherry

Saturday, October 12, 2019

September Memories


September is always such a beautiful month with a mix of summer and autumn. With patio planters filled with the bountiful pink begonias of summer, mixed in with pots of the rustic colors of fall mums. It really is the best of both seasons. Some days the weather reached into the 90's, and other days we felt the crispness of the coming autumn season.

It was also a month of a mixture of blessings, of work and of rest. A mix of busy Cru days, of times spent with family and friends, of quiet days at home. It was a good time of year, and I always want to hang on to September a little longer. But it goes by quickly, as each month does.

Sharing some glimpses from a few of our September days ...


Student meetings have started up for a new school year on six of our eight area campuses. It is an incredible joy to meet with students, often right on their campuses!  The photo above shows students at Omaha Central High School, meeting as an after-school club on Thursdays each week.  In the center foreground you see Seven, our amazing college student volunteer who helps lead, and also coaches the student leaders as they lead.  He works closely with Gary, who took the photo.  Please pray for these students, representing a variety of countries of origin, as they grow in their faith.    







And it's always a blessing when some of our national Cru leaders come to our area.  Here you see Bill Kollar, serving on the national leadership team with Cru High in Orlando. He also had served with the Cru collegiate ministry in Lincoln NE in the past. He took us out for breakfast at Paradise Bakery & Cafe on the 20th of September before driving to Lincoln to speak at the Fall Retreat for the Cru students there.  It's always an encouragement when we spend time with him.




What would life be like without grandchildren? These two live just a seven minute drive from us. Jake & Cole seem to always have a football, baseball, or soccer ball in their hands! This year they are playing tackle football as fifth graders, and are loving it. We are thankful to have these two close by, along with our daughter Sara and son-in-law Sean. 



The rest of our family lives a distance away, though two more daughters and their families are in our same state. Our two sons are in New York City, and our other daughter and family live near Dallas, TX. 

And Texas is where we went for a sweet visit the beginning of September! You can see some of our fun in the digital scrapbook page above. It was an absolute joy to spend time with Cristy & Mark, Abigail & Addison (married in May of 2018), Crystal and her boyfriend Braden, Luke (a senior in high school!), and 13 year-old Brianna!

September was a beautiful month, and now here we are already in the middle of October!

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Our 75/70 Year!


This has been a significant year for us!

Did you notice the numbers in the title for this post - "75/70"? Sometimes we wonder how these numbers can actually apply to us. And then at other times we are very aware that yes, it's true, the numbers 75/70 do belong to us now!

Our family put on a very special birthday party for us the end of July ... in between our June and September birthdays! And we have been celebrating in various ways all year long as a couple.

It is quite significant to turn these ages. And quite unexpectedly we have also been led to make a significant decision in the midst of our 75/70 year!

Just as God clearly led us over 28 years ago to this amazing adventure of sharing His love to middle school and high school students through Cru, He has now clearly led us this past summer to set the date for our retirement.

Our retirement date is set for July 1, 2020! 

This 2019-2020 school year is our "transition year", as we are transitioning things over to Jake Loftis (our amazing staff guy who is now the director here in the Omaha area), and also to our wonderful 20+ volunteers. It is already proving to be a busy, and also an emotional year for us, for though it is an exciting transition for us, it is also an emotional time for us as we make this big change.

We will continue receiving our salary checks from Cru until the end of September 2020, and are asking our financial supporters to continue on until the end of September 2020 if possible. Cru will give us a three-month additional period of pay after our retirement date, but only if the funds are in our account.

A New Name: From a Quiet Place

In anticipation of this significant change in our lives, we are making a change to the name of this online blog space. Just as the previous title - Our Cru Communique - reflected our calling as staff, our new title - From a Quiet Place - is a reflection of this transition time in our lives. Our lives are far from quiet, as this year at times seems busier than ever! But yet, in the midst of it all, we are seeking to still our hearts and listen closely to God as He leads us into next steps of following Him.

We'll be sharing more in the months to come about this transition time - sharing prayer needs for Cru Omaha, and for ourselves, and sharing the things that are on our hearts as we will be stepping into retirement next summer.

You are invited to come back here to read a variety of posts during this "transition year", and beyond. Thanks so much for your friendship, love, and prayers for us. 


Thursday, February 28, 2019

Our Cru Communique: February 2019

Sharing a copy of our Cru Communique newsletter that we emailed in February to friends and financial supporters! We hope you enjoy reading this, as well as other posts here! 
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February 2019 Newsletter

Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Communique

Hello, friends, during this cold, snowy winter month! We are using a variety of different means to keep in touch with you. Last month we mailed you a newsy letter with a fun family update, and this month we are using a MailChimp format again. No matter the format, we desire to keep in touch!
An exciting opportunity!
We love this photo!  You may recognize two faces in the photo: Jake (in the middle on the left) and Gary (front right). Let us tell you about the others!

Our Cru High staff team here in the Omaha area consists of three of us: Jake, Gary, and Cherry (taking the photo). We're always looking for opportunities to connect with the Cru Collegiate staff in our state and also in our region. And that opportunity happened earlier this month!

Seven staff leaders in our Cru Collegiate six state region (Cohort 15) came to Omaha for a connection time as collegiate staff in this cohort. We were surprised and pleased when they requested an opportunity to meet and serve our Cru High team while here! Cru's college campus ministry is so huge compared to the high school and middle school ministry that we don't normally interact that much unless we are located in the same city. This request meant a lot to us because when we have connections with collegiate staff it potentially results in more interaction with college students who often make great volunteers in reaching high school and middle school students! In addition, Cru college students are excellent prospects for recruiting much needed Cru high school and middle school career staff here on our Cru Omaha team.

Those present at our lunch together (with five of the seven regional leaders) were from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. After lunch together, they assisted Jake as he led our Cru Marrs Middle students for their weekly meeting.

It was a great opportunity to share with them, and then have them experience what high school and middle school ministry looks like. They caught our passion, and our time together has the potential of opening the door for some of their college students to pursue reaching high school and middle school students in their own college locations or even here with us! And in turn, we can help their college ministries by feeding our high school students into their college groups upon graduation from high school.

Please join us in prayer for great things to happen and for more opportunities to work together as Cru Collegiate staff and Cru High School staff! 
And, PLEASE PRAY for our team of three staff, and about 20 volunteers!

Specifically, would you pray for more staff and volunteers to join us?


To know His heart
 is to know compassion.

"When He saw the crowds,
He felt compassion for them,
because they were distressed
and dejected, like sheep
without a shepherd."
(Matthew 9:36 CSB)

To know Him, to follow Him
is to seek to have His heart,
to ask Him to open our eyes
to those who need His love.

"The harvest is abundant,
but the workers are few.
Therefore, pray to the Lord
of the harvest to send out
workers into His harvest."
(Matthew 9:37-38 CSB)

This year, this week,
and today ... Lord, give me
Your heart of compassion
for Your harvest.

(from Cherry's blog / http://pursuingheart.blogspot.com)

Thank you for being a valuable part of our Cru Omaha team through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support! Please let us know how we can be praying for you, as well! Your replies will come directly to our email inbox. 
Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Omaha
Home/Office 402 468-5345 / Cell 402 659-3340
PO Box 184, Fort Calhoun, NE  68023
gary.warrick@cru.org  cherry.warrick@cru.org
cruomaha.com / garyandcherry.com
pursuingheart.blogspot.com
Click here to donate to our staff account.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Highlights from December

It is a highlight of our year when family comes home! And this year, we were so incredibly blessed to have ALL of our family home for Christmas! And when all are home now, that means 25 of us all together ... four daughters, two sons, four sons-in-law, a son's girlfriend, ten grandkids, a granddaughter's husband, and another granddaughter's boyfriend!

Twenty-five of our family + Gary's older single brother, and we were 26 around our table(s) for Family Christmas 2018 ...
We gathered at our home on Saturday, Dec. 29th, out-of-town family from Dallas, San Francisco, Brooklyn, and McCook NE, joining us and our two daughters & families who live nearby. 

It's such a treat to be together, and also that we can still all fit around our table(s) for Christmas Dinner. The six youngest grandkids eat at a table set up in our living room, but they join us for a family photo "around the table" in the dining room, and also while Gary/Dad/Grampa shares a short Christmas devotional before we enjoy our feast.

Our special Family Christmas Day together continued until 1 am the following morning ... gift-giving, games, a fun snack/appetizer spread in the evening, and more games ... so much joy and laughter, and many memories made. We are grateful to God for His blessings. Life is full of trials and hard times for all (including for our family), but also filled with such special gifts from God. We are filled with thanks for His gift of family.

- - - - - - -

December was a very full month for us, as it usually is for everyone. Preparing for having family home, and also continuing with all the activities of Cru on our various campuses can make for a very busy time. But also a very blessed time.

Gary was in Dallas (Nov. 27 - Dec. 2) for the Annual Leadership Gathering of all Team Leaders with Cru, both with the college campus ministry and the high school ministry. While there in Dallas, he also was able to spend time one evening with family ... our daughter Cristy & Mark, and their family. And also blessed to go to a special Christmas Concert at Dallas Baptist University where our granddaughter Crystal and also her boyfriend Braden, attend. Crystal and Braden are both pursuing music-related majors while there, and had a part in the very special concert.


Back at home again, our days were filled with Christmas prep, a fun visit from our daughter Carrie & Tyler and their two children who now live in McCook, and various special musical and band programs that our four grandkids who live nearby were in during the month of December. We also greatly enjoyed time with our CityGroup (small group with our church, Citylight Omaha) at a sweet Christmas Party, and also an invitation from a couple within the group to be their guests at an amazing Christmas performance of the Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

And also, our weeks were filled with Cru ... staff meetings, student meetings, and all the day-to-day administration of Cru Omaha. We finished off the year so grateful for all that God is doing in students' lives. And also so grateful for blessing us with having Jake on our team. It is a joy to serve together with him, and with our 25 volunteers who make Cru Omaha a reality.

Students gathered on our various Cru campuses for Christmas parties near the end of the month. Here are photos of two of those fun gatherings ...

Cru Christmas Party at Central High in Omaha

Cru Christmas Party with Fort Calhoun students


And now, we are into another calendar year of family, Cru, and more! Thanks for visiting Our Cru Communique blog, and we wish you a very Happy New Year!