A New Year 2020

This online space, "From a Quiet Place",

has definitely been quiet.

But not necessarily because it's 

been quiet here in our lives,

but because life has been so full!

We started this space up again last fall with a new title, sharing about our 75/70 year, and our plans for retirement from Cru (coming soon on July 1, 2020). We put up two more posts in the fall, and now, here we are at the beginning of 2020. And it's past time for an update!

What has life been like for us on the Cru front?

The first semester of the 2019-2020 school year went by in a blur! Our main focus with Cru has been encouraging Jake (now the director of Cru Omaha, as we will be retiring soon). He is doing a great job, and we are so grateful for how God has brought him to this place, at just the right time! He is perfect for this position!

Our next focus has been (and continues to be) to encourage our volunteers at the three campuses that we have been primarily in charge of ... Omaha North High School, Omaha Central High School, and Accelere Alternative School. They are doing an amazing job! Our focus is to build them up, and help them feel equipped to lead as they continue on in the coming years. We thank God for Syndi, Seven, Bill, Vicki, Danette, and Ron. They'll continue to receive leadership from Jake in the future, and will play a significant part in Cru Omaha as capable and passionate volunteers.

Volunteer, Syndi (left in back row) with some of her Cru North students!

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

* Syndi (in photo above) and our other volunteers as they give of their time to love and disciple students in the midst of already-full lives. That they would be encouraged during this time of transition as we step away from the campuses.

* A part-time Cru staff guy, Daniel, who may be placed in Omaha this next fall - he would be an amazing addition to the team here, and a great help and encouragement for Jake!

* Jake as he has many responsibilities, including leading a Cru High summer mission team to Columbia this coming summer.

* Students from our area to join Jake on this summer mission to Columbia. This mission is one of seventeen groups from Cru High going overseas on mission this summer.

Click here for more info as you pray.

And what has life been like for us on the home front?

Though God has clearly led us to plan for retirement in the middle of 2020, this change also clearly holds a wide variety of emotions for us. Change is exciting, and also can be difficult. It means slowly releasing God's calling to serve full-time through Cru, while at the same time continuing to embrace the heart of ministry that He has for us as long as we are on this earth. 

What will life look like for us on retirement? We are curious to see ourselves how this will look! We do know that our lives as followers of Jesus will continue to be an everyday listening to Him, and following His direction. Abiding in Him day-by-day, and having His love and grace flow through our lives to others.

We are anticipating spending quality time with our dear children and grandchildren ... four daughters, two sons, and their families. This is of high priority for us. We also anticipate continuing to encourage those in leadership here with Cru Omaha, being available to mentor and build into the lives of others in ministry. 

Another pull on our hearts is to have time to write and record our stories of how God has been faithful in the midst of great joys and also great trials. Desiring to pass on these stories of God's grace. And, of course, we are anticipating some slower days, more times of quiet, and time to pursue various projects we both have.

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PLEASE PRAY for us as we "let go" in the next few months, and as we embrace the new season ahead. Also, for all the tangible matters that need to be cared for ... changing from Cru's BCBS insurance to Medicare (which can be quite confusing as we search for the right plan), and also as we make adjustments to live with a smaller income upon retirement.

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Some special highlights with family recently ...

* A visit to see daughter Cristy & Mark & family in TX this past September. It was our first time there after they moved into a beautiful brand new home last summer.

* Several day trips to see daughter Amy & Joe & family at their new home by Beaver Lake (a 45-minute drive from here), including spending a very special Christmas Day with them there.

* Time with daughter Sara & Sean & family (just a 7-minute drive from us), including a delightful Thanksgiving Meal at their home. And also attending multiple events their boys are in.

* Two trips in December to see daughter Carrie & Tyler & family in McCook (5-hour drive) - the latter one to be with them at the time of the memorial service for Tyler's grandpa. We're so glad we could be there at that time.

* And though we miss seeing our two sons, Seth (& girlfriend Fer), and also Lance, all in NYC, we love every phone call, text, and connection that we have with them. We are hoping to make a trip to NY to visit them on one of our first trips after retirement!

And, sharing our most recent highlight ...

Our Family Christmas

with 23 family members here in our home! 

Schedules were too full to make it happen in December, so we celebrated a January Christmas! It was wonderful, and extra special as we also got to experience a "White Christmas". We were missing three family members who would have loved to be with us, but couldn't make it work this time. 

We also had a special evening together honoring our oldest granddaughter & her husband (Abigail & Addison), as they will be moving very soon to Japan to serve long-term with World Venture! It was a joy to honor them, and also emotional to say good-bye, as this was their last trip up from Texas before they fly to Japan on March 1st.

Just look at these wonderful grandkids of ours ... all home for our January Christmas!

We are cherishing the memories of our January Christmas, and thank God for His gift of family.

And thanks for reading this long update ... we value your friendship, and your prayers! 

Thanks also for your generous gifts/donations to our account in recent months (meeting our end-of-year need!), and thank you in advance for your prayers and support this New Year!

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! _____________________________ 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

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!  ________________________________________________________ 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.

Our March 2018 Newsletter

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We've been trying out various formats for sending out our Cru Communique newsletter ... sending by postal mail, by email, or a combination. Our most recent choice has been to send our news in the format of a large-sized two-sided postcard. We hope that it is easier to read, as it is very visible when it arrives in the mail. 

We greatly appreciate the prayers and financial support that we receive from churches and from individuals, and want to keep in touch with you! 

It's Official - Celebrating 25 Years / and 45 Years!

August 2016 Newsletter Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Communique

Celebrating 25 years as Cru staff! It's official! This summer marked our 25th year as Cru staff! We joined full-time with Cru in 1991, after several years of serving as volunteers with Cru. We praise God for 25 years, and we look ahead to more years! This summer also marked another milestone, as we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary! And we thank God for the great gift of our marriage, and the joy of living life together! We celebrated both of these very special milestones in July with an 18-day Pacific Coast Trip (click here). Our 25-year award gift from Cru enabled us to make this dream trip come true! Our days visiting two of Cherry's brothers & a sis-in-law, driving along the beautiful Pacific Coast, and then visiting our son, Seth, in San Francisco, were so memorable! We thank God for the gift of that trip, and for the milestones that we have celebrated!  The photo above was taken on our last day along the coast before flying home on July 29th. It's also official that another summer has come to a close, and a new school year has started up again! It has been a good summer of Cru for high school students in our area through what we call Cru Summer! Jake (our full-time staff team member) along with Abbie (a volunteer with Cru for a number of years) coached a group of college students to lead our Cru Summer program! The college leaders met once each week, and then in turn, led the student meetings each week. It was an amazing time for both the college leaders, and the high school students! The photo above was taken at the end-of-summer event held on Aug. 8th. Click here to see more photos.  These weeks we are meeting with some amazing individuals who help make Cru happen on the campuses we are on: our student leaders! In the photo above you see three of these student leaders who are juniors at one of our Cru campuses. They are an encouragement to us with their passion and desire to help lead their peers in a relationship with Christ, and are the ones who really  do make Cru a reality on their campuses. And also, Cru Omaha would not even exist without the gifted and passionate adult volunteers who serve with us. We are focusing on meeting with each group of these volunteers during the month of August - meeting with them in their own surroundings, on their campuses - catching up with their lives, and encouraging them at the start of a new year of reaching students. We are so grateful for each one of our 20+ volunteers! PRAISE GOD WITH US ... 1) For the healing God has brought to Gary after his health concerns earlier this year. His two outpatient heart procedures (in April, and in May) have taken care of the earlier concerns. Thank you for your prayers! 2) For the restful, refreshing trip that we had during the summer - beyond what we even dreamed of. 3) For Jake, our part-time staff member, who is now full-time staff and raising his initial full-time financial support at this time. He is a great gift to our team! 4) For the volunteers who work with Cru Omaha, giving of their time and energy to reach students, while they also work at their own full-time jobs. They are the ones who make this all possible! PLEASE PRAY: 1) For Jake Loftis, as he is raising financial support to be able to devote himself full-time to reaching students. 2) For our volunteers (about 20 at this time) who unselfishly serve and love the high school students on our Cru campuses. Pray for us as we meet together with them this month.

We also thank YOU - those who pray for us, and also those who give financially so that we can devote full-time to reaching middle school and high school students in the Omaha area for Jesus! As a couple, we are being drawn to more faithful and fervent prayer than even before - the Gospel is so needed, and so necessary in our day. Please join us, our staff team and our volunteers, in praying for many students to be introduced to know God intimately during this coming school year. "Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things He has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. it is the way we know God, the way we finally treat Godas God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to." (Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God) Thank you for being part of Cru Omaha through your gifts and your prayers! Gary & Cherry Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Omaha Home/Office 402 468-5345 / Cell 402 659-3340 PO Box 184, Fort Calhoun, NE  68023 cruomaha.com / garyandcherry.com pursuingheart.blogspot.com Click here to donate to our staff account.

Our April Newsletter

Gary & Cherry Warrick News and Prayer Update - April 2016 View this email in your browser

Spring Greetings! How we love spring! It is one of our favorite times of the year! With it, comes fresh, new life ... and with this new season of spring this year, comes a very exciting announcement, an answer to many prayers over the years!

Jake Loftis Applies for Full-Time Staff! We are so thankful for Jake! He came to Christ in our Cru Blair movement (back in the "Student Venture" days!), grew consistently in his faith, became a student leader, graduated from high school and then from Grace University, all the while staying involved as a Cru volunteer. Jake then married another former Cru high school student, Chelsea, who was also volunteering with us in various ways. After their marriage, and with a full-time job, Jake applied with Cru as a part-time staff member and began taking on more and more responsibility with our Cru Omaha area movement. In all this, Jake has been so dependable with a natural instinct about what to do to lead high school students to Christ in ways the students love as they are drawn to more and more involvement. He has become an indispensable part of our work. As many of you know, we have prayed over the years for more full-time staff to assist us as our Cru Omaha movement has grown to 8 and sometimes 10 campus movements. At times we asked you to join us in praying for a certain young person we had "on the string". For several years we did have one other part-time and one other full-time staff person with us for awhile, but nothing stuck. (Thankfully, God has provided many faithful volunteers over the years!) Through much of this time, we have prayed for Jake specifically, that he would sense God's call to become full-time with us. He continues to be such a key component of our area ministry, and Chelsea is such a great co-worker with him, even as she cares for their two beautiful daughters, and works full-time. We are so thankful now that Jake & Chelsea have sensed this call of God on their lives. It is a huge step for them to take. It means that Jake will be resigning from his position at Castelar school in early May and will travel to Cru headquarters in Orlando for up to 10 days of New Staff Training. When Jake returns he will need to give priority for a season to raising the funds needed to devote full-time to reaching and discipling teenagers for Christ. Please pray for them during this time. We would even ask that you would pray about committing to be a financial partner with them to enable him to become fully involved in the work as soon as possible. Most of all, join us in praising our all-powerful, loving God, who knows our needs and provides for us so masterfully! In Personal and Family News ... We have had an interesting and unexpected turn of events in the past six weeks. Many of you may be aware of the fact that Gary had a stroke on Feb. 28. We are thanking and praising God that there was NO lasting damage as a result of the stroke! You can read more about the circumstances and details of the stroke by clicking on this link: An Unexpected Event. There have been many doctor appointments and tests done since then in an effort to find the cause of the stroke, and also to find ways to prevent a repeat stroke. We invite you to click on this following link to read more details: Six Weeks Later. Also within this link article on our family/ministry blog, you will see a list of things we would love to have you join us in prayer for - all related to the findings from the medical tests after Gary's stroke. In other family news, we are looking forward to celebrating Cherry's father's 95th birthday one week from today! He lives nearby in an Assisted Living facility. We are also looking forward to welcoming one of her brothers (from Portland) for a visit over this special birthday time. THANK YOU for your prayers as we serve with Cru! Another school year is drawing to a close already. We appreciate your prayers for each of our eight campuses, and each of our 25+ volunteers as they continue building into students lives in the weeks ahead. God is at work. At a recent outreach event six students indicated decisions for Christ! With our praise and thanks to God for His faithful love and care, Gary & Cherry Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Omaha Home/Office 402 468-5345 / Cell 402 659-3340 PO Box 184, Fort Calhoun, NE  68023 cruomaha.com / garyandcherry.com pursuingheart.blogspot.com Click here to donate to our staff account. Copyright © 2016 Gary & Cherry Warrick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because of your interest in Cru Omaha.  unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Our February Newsletter

Gary & Cherry Warrick News and Prayer Update - Feb. 2016 View this email in your browser

Winter greetings everyone! We trust you are like us in hoping that the groundhog was right and we can expect spring very soon! We also hope that you are sensing God's blessings even in the midst of the realities of winter! The school year is speeding by! We are loving all the smiling, youthful faces on our 8 campuses greeting us or others on our team each week. Many are eager to learn more about Christ and how to live for Him. Others are asking questions or sitting back wondering ... Is this really true? Can I really believe in a God I can't see? Could He really love me? We would appreciate your prayers as the school year is now 2/3 over on these 8 campuses ... that God would anoint all these maybe up to 200 students at times, awakening them to the truth and causing faith and spiritual life to spring forth in ways unique to each one so they might sense that God's love is just what they need.

Annual Cru High Leadership Conference in Orlando ... We flew to Orlando the day before the Feb. 2nd snowstorm hit Nebraska! We enjoyed the warmer weather for the next days, and also were blessed to hear from God through our leaders at this annual conference for Cru High City Directors. It was such a great time connecting with other staff through worship, teachings from God's Word, and participating in sessions covering topics such as multi-ethnic ministry, partnerships, and more. As we Nebraskans just cannot fly to Florida without spending some time on the coast, we stayed for a few extra days at a hotel in Jacksonville, with a gorgeous view of the Atlantic from our room. This was just what we needed at the start of another year of ministry! From Our Family to Yours ... We are sharing our family photo now instead of at Christmas time! Here is our most recent family photo, taken this past Thanksgiving when we were blessed to have family home from CA, TX, and NY, joining those of us who live here in NE. What a joy to be together! This does not happen very often, as spread out as we are geographically. One family member is missing in this photo, as Amy's husband, Joe, was with his mother in Houston, offering support as she was receiving treatment in her fight against cancer. We are saddened that Sue passed away in mid-January, after her two-year battle with leukemia; please pray for Joe & Amy, Levi & Ali, and Sue's husband Mike, as they grieve their great loss. Names of family in photo (with ages of grandkids): Standing in back (left to right): Carrie & Tyler, Seth, Sara & Sean, Amy, Cristy & Mark. Seated on couch (left to right): Abigail (19), Levi (13), Cherry & Gary, Ali (8), Crystal (17), Lance. Seated on floor (left to right): Luke (14), Brianna (9), Cruz (7), Jake (6), Eva (3), and Cole (6). Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support! Many of you contribute to our Cru staff account so faithfully throughout the year, and many gave an extra special year-end gift. All in all, we are very grateful as your 2015 year-end giving gave us just the boost we were praying for! We love and appreciate you all so very much! May God continue to bless each of you in many special ways as we continue through all God has planned for us in this near year! Gary & Cherry P.S. Be watching for our next newsletter as we think we'll have some extra special Cru Omaha news to share! Gary & Cherry Warrick / Cru Omaha Home/Office 402 468-5345 / Cell 402 659-3340 PO Box 184, Fort Calhoun, NE  68023 cruomaha.com / garyandcherry.com pursuingheart.blogspot.com Click here to donate to our staff account. Copyright © 2016 Gary & Cherry Warrick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because of your interest in Cru Omaha.  unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences