God's Hand at Work

Hello Faithful Prayer Warriors!


I just wanted to give you an update that Brittney came on Thursday and LOVED it! She wasn't able to stay for the whole time but is going to come back next week! God is working in miraculous ways and I'm am so enjoying watching Him act in students' lives. 


On Friday we had the third meeting of the Justice Bible Study that I started this semester. After two weeks of foundational preperation of looking into what the Bible has to say about justice and our role in God's plan we set out to talk to students about their beliefs about justice, injustice, and what they think to be God's reaction to both topics. There were three of us total on Friday, so I sent the two students out do the survey with the students. They spoke to three individuals and got their perspectives on justice/injustice and their belief of God's reaction to them. Our desire is to collect information on where the student body is at with questions like: why do bad things happen to good people, etc. This semester we are trying out the survey and improving the questions to best suit UMASS Dartmouth and the need we are trying to meet. The students seemed encouraged by what they had done, one said she could see how she could have gone into the gospel! This is our goal in all conversations; if God opens the door we need to be ready to walk through it.  "But in your hearts revere Christ  as Lord Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks  you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).   


We'll be going out again this Friday! Please pray for opportunities to share the gospel during our justice discussions with the students. Also pray for wisdom as we continue to develop this justice survey, with the intent on sharing the gospel through a topic that the campus feels strong about. Thank you so much for your prayers. To God be all the glory and praise!


God Bless,
Rebecca

April Prayer Letter

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

                                                                                                                                   -Acts 8:30-31

April 18, 2012

Dear Ministry Family,

“See this 2-minute video answer to a
tough question.”
An Eye-catching picture and engaging caption can
serve as a Facebook Ad that links to an article or video
at Everystudent.com that only costs us cents per click!

Imagine for a moment a student alone in his dorm room. He has recently come to faith in Jesus Christ and is excited about this new life. However, doubts keep creeping into his mind – challenging his new belief and leaving him without answers. Even if he has a Bible, he doesn’t know how to use it yet, but perhaps he opens it and finds comfort in reading the Bible. As the doubts continue to flow, however, he begins to wonder what he can do. He decides to visit Everystudent.com, a website of Christian articles, because the address is on the side of a water bottle he got at a campus giveaway, or because he clicked on a Facebook ad linked there, or because it’s on a business card he got. He begins reading articles about faith and doubt, sin and forgiveness. While he learns much, he still isn’t satisfied. At the bottom of the article is a link to ask questions – it brings him to an e-mail form and he nervously types in his questions and submits it. The e-mail gets sent to a Cru staff member or student volunteer on or close to his campus, who can then not only answer his questions but meet with him and connect him to a Christian community on campus.

I ask you to imagine this because it has just happened at UMass Dartmouth. I received an Everystudent.com e-mail just last week. I felt so excited when I realized it was someone I had never met before. I e-mailed him back with some answers to his questions and also a request to meet in person – hoping to get to know him. He hasn’t responded yet, but we’re praying for him and the chance to meet him!

Internet evangelism has an increasing role in Cru movements. It aids us with netting the Christian students and curious seekers out there who are isolated and too shy to reach out. We can see when a UMD student visits the site– and when they ask a question we get a name. If we get to meet them, then it’s a God-given opportunity to be a part of the process of “grafting them in” to the body of Christ.

One of the strong truths of the verses above is that Christianity is extremely difficult if not impossible to practice in isolation – without “someone to explain it to you”. Please pray that God will continue to use us and tools like everystudent.com to find and connect with the isolated students struggling to survive. With your prayers and support, may we see this student and countless others become members of God’s eternal family!

Grateful to serve,

                                                           

Matt & Rebecca Litchfield

Quick Update :)

Hello Faithful Prayer Warriors,

I just wanted to send you a quick note to update you on the current status of the relationship with the student I mentioned in March named "Brittney". This week I sent a second e-mail, after getting no response from the first one I sent awhile ago, asking her if she was still interested in coming to the Christian Fellowship student group. I heard back from her yesterday and she said that she will definitely be there and that she can't wait to meet new faces. Praise God! I'm so happy that God has given us another opportunity to spend time with her!

Please be praying that Brittney is able to come as planned and that she would experience God's love in a way that would redirect her to be His child. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. I look forward to updating you after Thursday's meeting.

Your Sister in Christ,
Rebecca Litchfield