One of our favorite things to do as staff in Cru is our annual Winter Conference. From December 28 to January 1, students gathered in Baltimore, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Dallas! About 45 students from all over New Jersey joined us in Baltimore for daily worship, Bible teaching, to make friends and hear about amazing mission opportunities. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to scholarship many students from around the state. Two of whom I wanted to zero in on. 

Roman and Shawn both go to Hudson County Community College and had different journeys to Cru, but both had a great time at the conference. I asked them for feedback. This is what they shared.

Shawn, who has been a Christian for decades, is returning to school to pursue a degree in computer science. He was so thankful to find a solid Christian community in which he can grow. Here are his responses: “The seminars and the sessions taught me a lot. The proceeding breaks in between were definitely important cause I used that time to reflect on the messages as well as use the skills from the morning prayer sessions to connect with Jesus in a way that I hadn’t before. I plan on continuing my alone time with God on a daily basis. Definitely will continue to learn to defend my faith by reading the Bible and studying it more deeply. Continue to pray and listen for God in everyday encounters.”

 Roman just came to faith in Christ back in November after years of involvement in the ministry as a seeker! You may remember in March 2020 we asked you to pray for a Hindu student “Ronald” (name changed then for privacy) who happens to be blind. Roman (real name) has since been regularly going to various churches (including ours), and after I shared the gospel again at an evangelistic event at his school in November, Roman decided to place his faith fully and only in Christ as Savior and Lord! 

In fact Jenn and I were able to host his parents for dinner one night in December, and he plans on getting baptized this year at our church! He loved Winter Conference and was able to grow a ton. Here are some of his responses: “The conference has taught me to be more humble and kind towards other people. It really grew me as an individual. And I was really happy to find my community there. I found out that I can be friends with Jesus, and he is most humble guy ever. He teaches how to get closer to God. I can apply all of these knowledge is that the Cru have shared in my college by spreading love and peace, and spreading the gospel.”

Thanks so much for being on our team and making life-changing opportunities like Winter Conference possible! We pray you have a wonderful 2022!