The woman on the other end of the line was clearly distressed.  Her two daughters were packed and ready to go.  In cooperation with another mission agency, the girls’ Cru campus ministry group was scheduled to fly to Central America that night to participate in a spring break mission trip.

But word had just come down that Cru’s participation in the trip was being cancelled, evidently due to concerns about the coronavirus.   When the mother contacted the partnering mission agency, however, they declared that the trip was still on.  So . . . was it on, or off?  And, if it was off, would the family be able to recoup the $1,700 they had paid for their daughters’ participation??

Needing clarification, the worried mother called the only Cru phone number she had available.  That happened to be our Cru Resources office here in Peachtree City, GA.  Betty took the call, and although she could not answer the lady’s questions, she was able to supply the phone number for Cru headquarters.

During the weeks since Betty took that call, significant changes have impacted us all.   We are thinking of you and praying for you regarding the difficulties and losses you may be experiencing.

Prudent social distancing will still be in effect on April 12th, meaning that church congregations will not be physically meeting together for special Easter services.  Rather than being frustrated and disappointed about that situation, we are remembering that every Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and that the Lord deserves our personal thoughts and expressions of gratitude and love.

We are praying that you are doing well and that you will find meaningful ways to worship and celebrate this most important date on the calendar.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the big impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on all of our lives, our Cru Resources office has been able to continue functioning, even if not in the usual way.  The wonders of modern technology have allowed our office personnel to access the files and data on our office computers at our home locations, thus enabling us to largely work out of our home offices. Professional Book Distributors, our partner in Alpharetta, GA that warehouses and ships our ministry resources, is considered an essential business, so they are continuing their operations, as well (while strictly observing social distancing guidelines).

And we recently received the following encouraging news from Cru headquarters:

“Even during this crisis, we are still seeing God at work around the world.  While the COVID-19 pandemic is causing fear and anxiety, it’s also lead-ing many people to ask major questions about life, death, and eternity.

In some of the most historically closed countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, people are searching online, and contacting Cru for answers. These men and women are scared, discouraged and fed up with not having any hope.  They desperately want to know the truth.

Because Cru runs websites and social media pages in Arabic (and just about every other language), seekers often find what they’re looking for on a Cru site. On these websites they can message and chat with trained missionaries and volunteers – who are available around the clock – to have their questions answered.

This is a time of fear, but also a time when we can clearly see God at work in the world!  God is still in control, and He is using this crisis to draw people to Him.”

Let’s pray that God will draw many people to faith in Christ here in the United States, as well!

Serving Him with you,