Saw this interesting blog about various health tips, it's interesting. Not sure what to think about it. It's a natural health blog.

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Hello everyone!  I apologize for the mass email but I wanted to give a quick update about Big Break 2008.  I am also looking for a productive reason to take a break from studying for my Greek exam! 

Hello! Wow, the last two months have disappeared. Since we returned home from Christmas Conference, where more than forty students from Detroit and Central Michigan University were able to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ, life has been fast paced! Ethan is playing indoor soccer and has had his skill assessment for spring baseball. Libby has started taking gymnastics at our community recreation center. Ministry has been incredibly busy. Almost every weekend has found us engaging with students about Jesus. Seminary is also in full swing as I am taking four classes including my second semester of Greek. There is light at the end of the tunnel! By the end of this semester I will be one third of the way through.

Have you heard of Facebook? It is a social networking website where students from High School through College along with large corporations can connect with one another. This semester we have begun to take advantage of this technology! We have been advertising our evangelistic website, everydetroitstudent.com on Facebook targeting the campuses that we have movements on. It has been great to see the response. Thousands of students have visited our website and over twenty have indicated decisions for Christ. We are trying to follow up with those students where possible.

The other side of this coin is the opportunity to enter into conversation with lost students about Jesus. They are able to email us questions about anything they want. I have been able to dialog with a handful of students who are honestly struggling with what they believe about Jesus. They have many questions and are able to ask them in a way that is non-threatening. I wanted to give you a sample of what one of these students is wrestling with in his own words. I have been able to email back and forth with him over many of these issues.

This is from Neal:

“Have you read Richard Dawkins "The God Illusion"? You should. You should understand that the "truth" is not within the bible but rather when we look at ourselves and the world around us not into a single book which results intellectual inbreeding. Relying in the false hope that your bible preaches to solve problems is a path to generational stagnation. Look at this through a historical perspective. The dark ages for example were ruled by a religious overtone. Now in contrast look at the age of enlightenment and all we have discovered since then. It was only when the grip of the church was released that any real discovery was made in the sciences and true understanding. You can stick with a flat world, a 14,000 year old earth and the boogeyman. I prefer the REAL TRUTH of science and you should too because when your family member is really sick. You can take him or her to a church for a faith healing by a fake who or you can take that person to a hospital where science prevails. What will you choose?”

It is amazing! This is only one example of many students asking real questions! Thank you so much for helping to make it possible for us to be on campus engaging these students. Amy and I love to be able to enter into the lives of these students. On behalf of these students we thank you!

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Hello! The Christmas season is well on its way. This past weekend we celebrated the second week of Advent at our church’s worship gathering. It was a great reminder of how great our Savior and our God really is. The best part of Christmas is the fact that the glory of Christ is revealed everywhere! The first Saturday in December is Noel Night in Detroit. The culmination of the evening was the Salvation Army Band leading a few thousand people in the singing of traditional Christmas Hymns. Amazing!

At the end of each semester we take time to evaluate and think about what God has done and where we believe God is leading us in the future. This semester is no different. Amy and I praise God for how he is clearly at work in the lives of college students. I think of Jose as he faithfully and passionately leads our movement at the University of Detroit-Mercy. Then I think about Lawrence Technological University and how a leadership team is beginning to slowly catch the heart of what it means to be a movement. Finally, I sit in awe of God’s goodness as he provides for the movement at Central Michigan University with solid laborers who love one another.

A few weeks ago our staff team went to the University of Detroit-Mercy to share our faith. Jose and I wrote our own survey to use while engaging lost students. One of the questions on the survey was “What are the three biggest questions you want answers to right now?” I think the answers will both encourage you and break your heart:

o Why am I here?
o Does God exist?
o Will I die being a loser and a failure?

As I read those questions my heart is broken for these students. We sat and discussed these questions and talked about the answers. The really fun part is that the students came from every walk of life. Sitting around a table in Grounds there were white students, Hispanic students, and African American students. It was incredible. The Lord used this scene to remind me again why we are on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. God is at work on the college campus.

Amy and I are so grateful for your ongoing and faithful support. Each year that goes by we are humbled by your faith and how the Lord continually uses you to bless us and thousands of college students.

The last few weeks have flown by! As I head out to campus every day I am blown away by the creativity of our God. The trees in Southeastern Michigan are in full blown color and it is truly amazing. Each weekend we have been treated to Tiger and University of Michigan victories. The World Series has reached fever pitch here as the Cardinals and Tigers are facing off. Our family loves baseball and now our two favorite teams are battling it out for supremacy. Ethan’s t-ball season is over and he loved playing. Libby informed us that her favorite baseball player is Ethan!

There is so much to share this month but we wanted to do something a little different this time. Amy and I thought you might enjoy hearing from some students and the influence that your partnership with us is making. First, one of our former students, Emily Perkins, has recently moved to East Asia where she is serving as a teacher and sharing the message of Jesus. Here is a portion of the letter that she sent us just after deciding to go overseas.

“Last Thursday I was offered a job with Network of International Christian Schools. There is a school in East Asia that had a sixth grade opening. After much prayer I accepted on Sunday night…

My family is slightly leary of me going. They worry about my safety and loneliness, but I have prayed continually that if it is not God's will for me to go that he would slam the door shut. It looks like instead of closing the door, he has left it wide open. I've told some of my friends that while so many things about teaching in East Asia scare me to death, I feel like I would be disobedient if I decide to stay here instead of going where the Lord is sending me….
I think and pray for you and Dan often. I can't tell you how many times in the past few years I look back on my experience at Illinois State and am thankful that you called to do a follow up with me after I filled out a survey. There is no way I would even think to go to China without the foundation that I received from my time with Campus Crusade. I pray that you continue to have a strong impact on the lives of the college students you work with. They are so blessed to have you in Michigan…

Emily”

October 13-15 was our annual Fall Retreat. It was amazing! The keynote speaker was Kevin Butcher a local pastor here in Detroit. He is a gifted preacher. Here are some quotes from the students who were there. These quotes are from our website and so I didn’t edit them.

SO from this whole weekend. It just feels as f the fire is burning threw my whole body. I am just in comfort right now. I have not felt like this in a long time. Plus the people from this weekend that were helping me out. just simply being a brother or sister in christ. Just the way they loved on me and the way I was able to love on them. I never felt so comfortable around so many people. It was awesome. I never knew people could be so cool and loving. Thank you Jesus.

the fall retreat was amazing, (which is different from a hazing).

the speaker seemed to be describing the last 2 years of my life in many respects.

at first i was like, "wow, there's so not many people here i know, this sucks".

after running into a good friend i had no idea was going to be there in my own cabin and meeting tons of other new people, my mind was changed much.

i am encouraged.

i still don't know why i am where i am. i still don't know where i'm going. but we shall see

.


One highlight from the weekend occurred on Saturday night when Kevin opened the floor for people to share. One student, Mona, stood and began sharing about how the weekend had impacted her and then said that God had been impressing on her to share her story. Mona spent the next ten minutes sharing how as a freshman at the University of Detroit she was a devoted Muslim. Up until the time she went to college she had worn her head covering and was fully observant. She was dating a nominally Christian young man and anytime he brought up Jesus she would swear at him and curse the name of Jesus.

During her sophomore year, Mona’s R.A. was a woman named Martha (who is now on our staff team). Martha sat down and shared the Four Spiritual Laws with Mona. Mona wanted nothing to do with Jesus or with the Four Spiritual Laws. A year later Mona found the little booklet in her book bag and read it again. This time though she did not curse Jesus but trusted Him for the forgiveness of her sin. A few weeks later she saw Martha at a Gospel Choir Concert on campus and embraced her and thanked her for sharing Jesus with her! It has not been easy for Mona since trusting Christ. Her family does not understand or like her decision to follow Jesus. Many of her family will no longer even acknowledge her. Mona trusting in Jesus has cost her more than most of us can imagine. The amazing thing is that this is happening in Detroit, USA not Istanbul, Turkey or Tehran, Iran.

In closing, I wanted to ask you to pray for a few things. Please pray that the Lord would continue to make in roads on the campuses of Detroit. He is at work and it is fun to be a part of it all! However, we long for an even deeper and wider outbreak in response to the gospel. Please pray for our student leaders as they continue to deal with the complexities of leading and being students. Please pray for us as we continue to trust the Lord for our support.

God is at work in the lives of students. Your partnership with us is helping to bring spiritual renewal to Metro Detroit and beyond. Thank you so much!