(this newsletter is available as a .pdf here.
Hello, Everyone. I’ve been sitting here not sure how to start this letter. There’s so much to be excited about, but in light of other people’s sorrow right now, well, let’s just say our hearts are torn. Many of you have already gotten an email with prayer requests for our ministry at Virginia Tech. In case you didn’t get that, here they are again:

1. The families of the students who were killed
2. The students who were injured and still in the hospital
3. Three (we originally thought four) students that were involved with Campus Crusade were killed. Please pray for their families and friends.
4. Survivors of the shootings who witnessed the horrors of that day. Pray for God’s grace and comfort
5. Pray for wisdom for the CCC Staff and other campus ministers and pastors as they seek to counsel and love the hurting students

What has happened is horrific beyond words, and yet, in the midst of such horror, there is Christ. He experienced horror himself, all while carrying the weight of the sins of the world! This one man’s sin seems more than we can bear, so can you imagine how much Jesus went through to save us from our sins? He is a God who truly understands our sufferings and is there to heal our hearts. That’s our prayer for all those wounded by what happened this week.

Praise God because He is Risen indeed! Easter for us was a fun, happy time. Anja had a couple of Easter Egg hunts (and still has way too much candy). One was at Campus Crusade’s Headquarters. We are able to invite neighbors and Mrs. Bright (our founder) shared the Good News through a great tool called Resurrection Eggs. Each egg contains something that tells a piece of the story.

She asked at one point who had already asked Jesus into their hearts, and Anja’s hand shot up. Her little friend looked at her and said, “You did?” and Anja proceeded to tell her all about it and tell her she needed to ask Jesus into her heart, too! As far as we know, that’s her first witnessing experience ;-). We did hear of at least one other little girl going home that night and praying with her parents to become a Christian. God is good! If you are interested in learning more about how you can use Resurrection Eggs, please check out www.familylife.com/eggs/default.asp or call 1-800-FLTODAY to order a set. Many Christian bookstores sell them as well.

Lastly, we have a lot happening in the near future. Every other summer, Campus Crusade for Christ has a whole bunch of events happening in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and we are happy to say that we will be working with the team that puts it all together again! It’s a privilege to be able to serve so many of our staff while they go through Biblical and leadership training. New staff will also be going through training (both Karl and I joined CCC staff in Colorado) and then all of our U.S. staff will be there in July for time to renew their vision and reconnect with their ministries as a whole.

All of this needs people behind the scenes to make it happen, and that’s where we come in. Karl has served on the tech team twice before and is already building the computer systems necessary. I’ll be volunteering time to whoever needs it as I’m able (there’s always something needing to be done ;-). It’s an extra blessing to our family, because Anja gets a really neat environment with all the other kids around in the apartments we live in. It’s a great chance for us to be refreshed as we serve in a different environment with people we don’t normally get to work with closely. We are thankful to have the support of our local team while taking this short time away and are really looking forward to it. We would appreciate your prayers for Karl especially as he prepares for this summer.