Big News: Our First Great-Grandbaby

Our blog has been pretty quiet, but we are entering in again with the most exciting news! Our oldest granddaughter, Abigail, and her husband Addison, just welcomed their precious baby daughter, Lily Noel, into the world and into their arms, about a week ago!

You can imagine their great, overflowing joy and excitement! And also, imagine how very thankful and excited we are to enter into a new season as great-grandparents ("grams" and "gramps")!!

Lily Noel was born on January 5, at 9:36 am (9 lbs. 3 oz.), in Tokyo, Japan! Addison and Abigail started their new life as long-term missionaries in Japan with World Venture the beginning of March 2020. They made it into Japan just two short weeks before the pandemic struck and closed the doors into Japan for a long while. And now, after their two years of intense study of the language and half a year of full-time ministry, they have welcomed their precious baby girl into their lives.

Our hearts were very involved here on the other side of the globe, as they awaited her birth, and also as Abigail (with Addison's love and encouragement) labored through 10 long hours to give birth. How thankful we are to God for Lily Noel's safe arrival, and for good health for both mother and baby! Also, they are so thankful that they could find a hospital about half an hour from their home, which allowed for the father to be present during a good portion of the labor, and also for the delivery. 

We received the news of her birth the evening of Jan. 4, just two hours after she was born. Though her official date of birth is Jan. 5 (Japan time!), we had the great joy of hearing of her birth on Jan. 4th (our time)! And photos followed not long afterwards. Every photo, and also a FaceTime call, give us so much joy!

We are thanking God for many blessings surrounding baby Lily's birth, all evidences of His loving care. Our daughter, Cristy ("Granny"), on the left in photo above, was able to fly over to Japan to be with her daughter and brand new grandbaby for the first half of January. Cristy arrived just in time, on Jan. 3rd, for Lily's late arrival (11 days after her due date). And though the Japanese hospitals have a policy of requiring mother and baby to stay in the hospital for 5 days after birth, Abigail and baby were released on Jan. 7, just two days after the birth!! Cristy's loving presence there in Japan and her great care, together with Addison's support and encouragement, helped make that possible! 

Who would ever have imagined that our oldest granddaughter (and her husband) would be living long-term in Japan someday? And that our first great-grandbaby would be born in Japan? As many of you know, I (Cherry) spent my childhood years in Japan ... from the age of 1 1/2 to the time I graduated from high school. Lily's Noel's birth there, in the land where I grew up, fills me with much joy. 

My joy was also overflowing as I crocheted a baby blanket for our great-grandbaby in the month and a half before her birth. In the photo above, you can see the beautiful cuddly striped blanket that Abigail made for her precious daughter, and also the blush pink & white blanket that I made for our first precious great-grandbaby. So many memories to treasure ...

Memories: First Half of 2022

Our retirement from Cru began exactly two years ago, in July of 2020! And though we love to communicate with our friends and family here, it has been pretty quiet on our blog! We are definitely loving retirement, and also are finding that even retirement life can be quite full! For us, it is wonderful with many restful, peaceful moments, and time for many (unending?) projects.  Also with many sweet connections with family and friends, and then, of course, with the realities of the daily responsibilities of life!

We'd love to share with you some of our memories and highlights from the first half of 2022. Here are a sampling of our digital scrapbook pages from the past six months, giving a glimpse into the joys and trials of our wonderful retirement life together. The year started out with 43 days in a row (weekdays) of treatment for Gary's prostate cancer. You can read more in the journaling above on the scrapbook page. We are so grateful for excellent results from the 9 weeks of treatment!

The page of photos above shows one of several trips we've made to McCook so far this calendar year ... visiting Carrie & Tyler & family. We're so thankful they live just a 4 1/2 hour drive away, and always love our visit with them. It is hard to believe that our youngest grandchild, Eva, is now 10 years old, and older brother Cruz is 13 already!!

It was such a joy to have Amy & Joe, and also Sara & Sean, and their families, here for Easter! Both families live nearby, which makes it possible to see them often! Levi is in college now, and Ali finished up her freshman year of high school (Amy & Joe's two children). And Sara & Sean's two sons, Jake & Cole both finished up 7th grade. Our grandkids are all growing up too fast!

Family nearby means that we get in a fair number of sports events ... soccer games, and baseball games throughout the spring/summer. Also, we are so very blessed by the close friendships within our CityGroup, a small group within Citylight Midtown. it is a special gift from God to do life with these friends, in the same empty nest season of life we are in, and also retirement season for some of us.

Oh, how we love springtime! We both enjoyed the planting of our veggie garden, herb garden, and various flower spots in our yard, and also on our patio. We're so very thankful for the two lots that our home is on ... a source of much joy for us.

In June we had a special treat ... our daughter Amy (& Joe) asked us to "cat sit" for them when they went on a vacation trip to Colorado. Of course, we were delighted, and therefore had our own week-long "vacation" at their beautiful home right on Beaver Lake, just a 45-minute drive from us. It also happened to be during the week of Father's Day, and Gary's 78th birthday!

Many, many more highlights occurred during the first half of 2022 ... too many to be shared. Of course, we are missing being with the other half of our family (in Texas, and in New York), and have loved every bit of communication we've had with them from a distance. 

Thanks for your friendship and prayers! And above all, we are so thankful to God for the gift of each day, and for His Love and Presence through all of life.

Our Fall Colors Trip to New England

 An unexpected joy for us in this season of life has been to take several trips together with dear friends of ours. And this month we were so very blessed to travel on our third trip together, this time to see the gorgeous fall colors in the New England states!

We drove about 4,000 miles altogether on our 11-day trip! Our main destination was the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Vibrant, gorgeous fall beauty captured us at every turn ... we could hardly take it all in! These first two photos were taken during our 3-day stay in New Hampshire.

Since we weren't that far from the coast, we decided mid-trip to drive all the way to Bar Harbor, Maine! This was such a treat for us ... to be right along the Atlantic, re-visiting this beautiful spot that we had been to as a couple, back in 2012. A short overnight stay, and then the next day we began the journey back west, traveling the back roads of Maine for the first stretch. We were fascinated by the glimpse into that part of Maine ... winding roads, isolated homes scattered here and there, white churches nestled in the hills and trees, even more beautiful in the fall.

We continued our journey back home through New Hampshire, Vermont, and then enjoyed a meal right along Lake Champlain. The next day we drove through the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York (photo above), stopping at Lake Placid where we saw the famous spot of the Winter Olympics of 1980. 

Our last night on the road was at a peaceful, beautiful retreat spot (a surprise, as it just randomly came up as we searched lodging under Travelocity)! The next morning we drove to nearby Lake Michigan (photo above), before driving the final stretch home.

We are thanking God for this "retirement trip" with like-minded, kindred heart friends, enjoying the incredible beauty of autumn in the New England states! (Thank you, Jack & Linda, for the joy of traveling together!)

Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary!

August 14 was a very significant day for us in 2021 ... our 50th Wedding Anniversary!! As the time of our 50th approached, we could have suggested a public celebration, an open house, or something similar. And though we would have loved to see many of our friends, we knew that the best celebration of all would be if we could be all together with our family, especially with our six children. It had been an extra lengthy time since we had all been together, which made us long for this even more. And God granted us our wishes ... we had a very memorable time together with 21 (out of 26 total) of our family the end of July!

We have loved receiving anniversary wishes from you, our friends and relatives, as well, and here in this post, we want to share some of the photos that capture our time together with family! Thank you for your love, prayers, and congratulations to us at this mark of 50 years!

We'll share a few of the many digital scrapbook pages that I (Cherry) have created, preserving memories of our time together in a beautiful rental home in Missouri. It was in a beautiful, wooded area, with its own private dock, paddleboat, kayaks, etc., and the large home slept all of us!

Here are a few of the pages capturing the great fun we all had ...

Our dear family designated one evening for our 50th Anniversary Celebration, and made it so very special ... complete with an amazing grilled steak meal, a bouquet of flowers, a beautiful and delicious cake, cards, gifts, and a sharing of memories! It was just the sweetest time with our precious family!

We also were blessed to have some family photos taken in the very beautiful setting!

We are thanking God for the gift of 50 years together, and for the gift of time with our dear family. We are cherishing the memories of our 50 years, which we also captured in a 30-minute slideshow that we prepared and viewed together as family. Such a fun time that was ... filled with laughter and so many memories! So many, many things to thank God for! And most of all we thank Him for His love, grace, and mercy through all the joys and also the trials of life over the past 50 years. 

The Joys of Gardening

It is hard to describe the absolute joy that we both have in gardening, for watching beauty grow from seed, for seeing God's majesty displayed even in our own yard. And during our fresh new retirement, we have had even more time to give to our various gardens.

Gary is the main one with the "green thumb", having grown up on a farm. For me (Cherry), it's been a gradual learning from him, and we both admit that my thumb has turned a soft shade of green after all these years of living as "one".

The photos above were taken in May of this year, highlighting our herb garden (right outside our patio doors by our kitchen), our weigela plant that we moved to a new spot this spring, and also our 10x30 foot veggie garden spot that we started back in 2012. 

These next photos (above), were taken during the following month of June! You can see the growth in our herb garden, our veggie garden, our patio planters. Also visible are some vinca that we planted beneath our side steps. This is something we've wanted to do for quite a few years, and now finally had time to plant these vinca now that we are retired.

The photos above show glimpses into our garden during the month of July. Photos can hardly capture the beauty of the growth! There is so much joy in watching things grow. Now, at the time of this writing in August, things are changing even more. We've started some fall plants (zucchini, and butternut squash), which are now taking the space where the green beans and potatoes were earlier. 

A Glimpse Back at the Month of May

Our days and weeks were very full in May as we continued ministering to students through Zoom calls, and connecting with them in various others ways, while also being involved in other Cru ministry responsibilities. It was a challenge to continue to connect especially with some of our urban students, who don't always have the technical capabilities at their homes.

We were also busy preparing for our big transition to "Staff Emeritus" on July 1st. Who knew how many things there are to take care of to prepare for retirement, after nearly 48 years of full-time ministry (19 years in church planting, and then 29 years on staff with Cru)? We're thankful that God clearly called us to plan for retirement a year ago, for we have definitely needed a full year to prepare. 

We also mailed out our last Cru Communique newsletter to all our supporters and friends, a mailing list of close to 350. It's hard to imagine that this regular sending of newsletters will soon be changing after so many years. We're thankful that friendships will remain!

On the home front, here are three digital scrapbook pages that capture some of what took place during the month of May. It was a special gift to welcome the beautiful season of spring in the midst of the "stay-at-home" COVID-19 weeks/months. We loved the many opportunities to spend time outdoors!

From a Very Quiet Place

Citylight Omaha, now live-streaming 

How things change in just a matter of a few short weeks. Even just a month ago we would have never imagined what our new norm is now. And the new name that we have given to this blog space (renamed as we approach our retirement very soon) is more appropriate than ever ... this has become a very quiet place.

How are we doing in these days where we are staying at home due to COVID-19?

On the Cru front ...

Our days continue to be very full, but this is not quite how we expected our last months as full-time staff with Cru would look! This unexpected turn of events means that we no longer can meet with students on campus, or even meet with them anywhere. It has been quite an adjustment to switch to online Zoom gatherings instead of face-to-face meetings.

It is especially difficult for us to keep in touch with many of our inner city students, who may not have adequate resources to connect online very well. It has been a joy to watch some of the students take leadership themselves, reaching out to encourage their fellow students in creative ways.

On the home front ...

Our six grown kids are watching over us closely during these days, and are pretty much keeping us on lock-down here in our home. Because of being in the most susceptible age category for this virus, they are wanting us to be extra careful. We feel so loved and cared for, and are grateful. They have even been bringing us our groceries and other needs! 

Our family text group is active all through the day, each day, as we hear directly from NYC (two sons), Wylie TX (a daughter), McCook and Plattsmouth NE (two more daughters), and from close by us in Allen Hills (another daughter). We are loving this constant daily, continual connection, and also receiving first-hand updates on affects of COVID-19 in these areas. We also love hearing from our oldest granddaughter Abigail & her husband Addison, as they moved to Japan on March 1st as long-term missionaries with World Venture.

Please pray especially for our two sons (Seth, Lance) living in the epicenter of the coronavirus in the US now, and also our daughter (Sara) serving on the 'front lines' as a social worker in a hospital in Omaha.

And in our hearts ...

We are encouraged, sustained, and at peace as we continually adjust and lay our expectations before our faithful, never-changing, loving God. Even though we miss our physical connections with those we love and serve, we never have to miss His close presence with us. We are so very blessed to know Him, and pray for many all over the world to be drawn to Him during these days of challenge. 

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

for my hope is in Him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will not be shaken.

My victory and honor come from God alone.

He is my refuge, a rock

where no enemy can reach me.

O my people, trust in Him at all times.

Pour out your heart to Him,

for God is our refuge.

(Psalm 62:5-8 NLT)

How are you doing?

We trust that you are each doing well as you care for and love your families and friends during this time. We really would love to hear from you! Thanks for your friendship, your prayers, and for reading this ... and please share any prayer needs that you would like for us to pray for during these challenging times.

For more reading, you're invited (especially the gals), to read Cherry's posts this past month on her Pursuing Heart blog:

Two devotional posts:

What to Do in Hard Times, and in Every Time

Our Daily Joy

Two recipe posts:

In the Kitchen: Cupcakes, a few Main Dish Recipes, and More

Chicken Katsudon (Memories from Japan)

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!

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. 

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!

Our Autumn Overview

Our fall season has held quite a variety of things. From weekly staff meetings, to meetings with volunteers and student leaders, to the weekly student meetings on our seven Cru high school and middle school campuses. Fall is always a very full season of Cru activity and energy!

Our month of September was maybe even extra full for us, as we were also preparing our volunteers and student leaders to cover for us while we would be gone on our vacation trip from Sept. 27 through Oct. 16. It was unusual for us to plan a vacation trip near the beginning of a school year! 

We prayed, planned, and saved up our vacation days, and our money, to visit our son in NYC, and he had suggested that we come in the fall instead of during the heat of summer! So ... that's what we did! We also planned our trip around the time of the beautiful autumn colors in New Hampshire and Vermont, as we drove up there after time with our son. 

The highlight of our trip was our 5-day stay in NYC ... we loved our time visiting our son, Lance! The first day we arrived in the city, we also got to see my (Cherry's) brother and sister-in-law, Steve & Beverly, and one of their daughters, Izzy. Meeting up in Chinatown was such fun!

After our days with Lance, we drove north of the city to spend the weekend with Steve & Beverly ... such a treat! Then we headed up through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and into New Hampshire for a few days, and than a few days in Vermont, before we started the journey home. We had planned and hoped to be in NH and VT during peak fall color season, and amazingly, we hit it just right! It was simply gorgeous, as you can see from the digital scrapbook page below!

Our route back home took us by Niagara Falls, and then a very special overnight visit in Michigan with one of my (Cherry's) dearest friends from my childhood years in Japan. Though Debby and I have only seen each other three times since our childhood, our friendship continues, and it is always such a blessing for us to spend time with Debby and her husband Dave.

Just five days after our return home, we hosted three visiting Cru staff leaders for three days.  Our amazing Cru leadership try to visit staff regularly, giving encouragement and support. Bill came from Orlando (representing the leadership at our Cru headquarters). Scott (from Denver), and Nicole (from Dallas), are our new regional leaders who oversee and give support for our Cru Omaha team.

You can read more about their visit, and see more photos, by clicking here.

The first weekend of November held our annual Cru Harvest Party, hosted by a sweet, generous couple from our church, Citylight. Some students from four of our seven campuses came together for a fun evening of hot dogs, smores, games, hayrides, and an inspirational time around the campfire.

You are invited to read more, and see more photos about this evening, by clicking here.

Thank you so much for your interest in Cru Omaha, and in our lives as a couple and with our family! We love to give you these little updates, and we are so grateful for your prayers and support!

Wrapping Up Summer

Officially, the calendar still says it's summer for awhile yet, but in reality, the season has already made a change. The focus is now a new school year, both with our families, as well as for us who work with Cru. So here is one last post wrapping up some of our summer memories ... with family, and also with Cru.

We had a very special treat the first week of July ... a visit from our daughter Cristy together with her husband Mark, and the younger two of their four children, Luke and Brianna. Our grandkids are growing older, so two stayed behind: Crystal, with her summer job at DBU where she attends college, and also Abigail, who is now married and preparing for her first year of teaching after college graduation this past May! It's hard to keep up with everyone growing up and that also means that we are growing older, as well.

It was a wonderful time with family home! Then mid-way through the month, we headed off for Chadron State Park, in the northwest corner of our state, for a week of v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n. Our bigger trip of the year does not come until the fall season this year, but we knew that we needed a "week off" during our busy summer. We decided to stay fairly close to home, and reserved a cabin at one of Nebraska's state parks.

Our week away was just what we wished for, and more. Just the two of us ... resting, enjoying the beauty from our cabin deck, reading, extended devotional times ... it was glorious! And another special treat was driving back home to Omaha/Fort Calhoun via a stop in McCook. It was very fun to stop to see Carrie & Tyler, Cruz and Eva just three weeks after they moved into their new home there. We loved our visit with them, and getting acquainted with their new life there in McCook.

July and August have also been filled with Cru activity, as our involvement with students continues throughout the summer ...

Just a few days after our trip to Chadron State Park, we, together with some of our students, had the opportunity to partner with a group who serve the homeless in downtown Omaha once a week throughout the year. It was eye-opening, and heart-breaking, and such a joy to serve together providing a meal to nearly 175 of Omaha's homeless. You can read more and see photos by reading "Cru Summer Update" at CruOmaha.com.

Then at the beginning of August it was such a joy to have Jake & Chelsea, Eleanor and Audrey, over for a mid-morning breakfast gathering just five days after they returned from their month-long Cru mission to Tanzania, Africa. They, together with three other Cru staff, led a group of 16 college and high school aged students to love and serve students in Tanzania. We loved to hear many of the exciting things that happened, along with hearing about the challenges that were also present. You can read more and see photos of their trip by reading "Tanzania Summer Mission" at CruOmaha.com.

And now, as we near the end of August, schools have started up again, and we are very much involved meeting with our volunteers, our student leaders, and on campus in student meetings. On one of our campuses (Omaha North) a few of the students (above) joined us in a prayer walk around their campus at the start of this new school year.

Would you join us in praying for each of our campuses this year, as well? We desire to keep in touch often this school year, alerting friends and family to prayer needs, and also sharing what God is doing! You can check back here at GaryandCherry.com, as well as at CruOmaha.com for updates throughout the year.