Aloha!

Last month we spent some time in Naomi’s hometown in Hawaii, to connect with our ministry partners, family and friends. We shared the vision of Bridges at churches, Bible studies and personal appointments. God provided several new people for our partnership team, and many others were encouraged and challenged by the stories of how God is moving in the lives of international students.

And of course, we had a few trips to the beach. It was the first time for Cassia and Paxton to be there. We had not been back to the islands for 6 years previous.

It was a delight to see those of you we had a chance to visit with, but we know there are many we sadly missed! Be sure to check out the Videos page to see some new stories we have been sharing.

Every International

Can you imagine a day when every international in North America knows someone who truly follows Jesus? Can you imagine the day when every student, refugee and immigrant has the chance to hear the gospel in a clear, loving, and culturally relevant way?

This is the vision of “Every International” — a long-term initiative we are joining with several other international student ministries (or ISM’s). We want to see every international in North America know one follower of Jesus, and we want every Christian to know and befriend one international.

We just wrapped up three video recording sessions of twenty different speakers. We will use these training videos to help mobilize the Body of Christ all across the U.S. in effective “trans-cultural” ministry. Topics include:

• God’s Heart for the Nations
• Meeting & Befriending Internationals
• Overcoming Common Barriers
• Understanding and Reaching Chinese / Indian / Middle Eastern Students

We had so many talented and well-spoken teachers and experts, it’s going to be an incredible training curriculum. Our hope and prayer is to equip thousands of believers across the country with this material.

Upcoming

The next two months will be largely devoted to the post-production of the Every International training videos. Zack will be working with a team of creatives and ministry leaders to get this curriculum ready for the Fall semester.

Praise Reports

• A productive and enjoyable trip to Naomi’s hometown.
• Many new people are excited about the vision of reaching international students.
• Filming all 20 ISM experts went incredibly well.

Prayer Requests

• For all the video editing and other post-production to be done with excellence and ease.
• For the development of the Every International website and mobile app.
• For our work to glorify God and effectively train many in trans-cultural ministry.

“This is Real!”

As 2017 came to a close, 1,286 students, Bridges staff, and volunteers from 83 nations gathered for a 5-day spiritual journey in Washington DC — the Vision Conference!

One of those students was Iris (pictured below), for whom this was her third time at Vision. Many things have changed in her life since she first got involved with Bridges, and she boldly spoke in front of the whole conference about what God has done.

“I came from a Buddhist family,” said Iris. “Twice a year, we would do a big service. I’m always asking Buddha for everything. But I didn’t feel a connection because it didn’t make me become a better person.”

Then two years ago, Iris came here to Austin, as Vision was held at a hotel downtown that year. Naomi  was her discussion group leader. Naomi could tell that her heart was very open and asked for prayer for Iris in her daily Vision emails. Iris shared about what happened then:

“I didn’t really know anything about Jesus, anything about the Bible. I met an amazing group of people that helped mentor me, coach me, and help me understand who Jesus is.

“I remember very clearly that I prayed on December 31st at two o’clock in the morning. I became a Christian because of the Vision Conference. This is real! This conference changed my life!”

There was a loud a cheer when Iris said this.   I (Zack) wished in that moment that Naomi had been there in DC. But as you know, my job is to capture these stories on video.

Watch the rest of Iris’s story below. And be encouraged: Iris came into the kingdom and is growing in her faith as an answer to your prayers!

(Due to the audio quality, please click the CC button for subtitles)

Annalei’s Outreach

Annalei (11) came home from school one day and told me (Naomi) that she decided to spend her recess sharing the gospel with kids in her class! She used “The Four Fantastic Facts” (a gospel tract/kids version of “The 4 Spiritual Laws”) and read it through with three of her classmates. Two of them: Colby and Mary Jane prayed to receive Christ!! And she left the booklet with Gabby, who said she would think about it. Annalei has been faithfully praying for Gabby to make the decision to follow Christ as well. As a missionary mom, nothing could make me prouder than to see my kids sharing the gospel and having a heart for the lost! Please pray Annalei (and all my kids!) would be active in sharing their faith their entire lives.

Neighborhood Outreach

I am very thankful for two ladies in my neighborhood: Sheryl (in the purple) and Marie (in the stripes). Both of them love Jesus and are eager to share Him with others. I’m really thankful that the women that God is brining into our path are mostly internationals! It’s so kind of God to give me international friends, even though I can’t be with international students on campus in this season of life.

This pic was taken at a baby shower for Marie and our friend from China, “Eileen”. Also in the pic is “Jenny” from China and Mariana from Mexico. Marie, Sheryl and I all were able to share about different aspects of the gospel and our walks with Christ by sharing about why we named our kids what we did. It was a really good and Spirit filled time. Please pray for the salvation of these three as well as some other international moms that I want to share the gospel with: Ana (from Yugoslavia), Ana Maria (from Costa Rica), Sonu (from India), Suzy (from Mexico) and a new neighbor Fadima (from Africa). I’m super excited about God bringing the nations to my neighborhood!!

Getting the Other 90%

“Students from everywhere are everywhere, but we’re only reaching 10%, so we’ve got 90% to go.” That was the rallying cry our national director, Trae Vacek, gave to our new Bridges staff and interns. We had gathered together in New York City for several days of training in reaching internationals (pic below).

I (Zack) was there to film the training to leverage for wider use. It’s the first step in our “Every International” campaign. Our vision is provide training videos to American students and laypeople, who will work alongside us in reaching the other 90% of the 1.3 million international students in the U.S.

One fun part was about “Peach vs. Coconut Cultures.” Can you guess what it means? Which fruit represents the West? The East?

PRAISE REPORTS

• Annalei is sharing her faith and led two of her classmates to Christ!
• Naomi is joining with Marie and Sheryl in neighborhood outreach to other moms.
• More than 20 new laborers with Bridges!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Annalei’s friend, Gabby, to come to know the Lord.
• All four of our kids would become life-long laborers for Christ.
• Eileen, Jenny, and Mariana would desire a relationship with Jesus and think deeply about what we shared at the baby shower.
• Opportunities for Naomi to share the gospel with her international mom friends.
• Wisdom as we develop the Every International training curriculum for churches and Christian students.

Cru17 Conference

We gathered with 5,000 other Cru staff for our biennial conference in July (pic: header, left). There’s nothing like fellowship and worship with all these other campus missionaries. Whether spoken or unspoken, so many of our colleagues offered us lots of encouragement to continue our efforts for the Great Commission.

One speaker truly encouraged Naomi and I: Jennie Allen. She’s the leader of the If Gathering, which gathers, equips and unleashes women to disciple a generation. Her 10-year involvement in this movement began as a college student in Arkansas. A Cru staff woman took Jennie on a “Sonic run” and invested in her spiritual growth. The rest is history. Watch her talk here.

Marshall in the Spotlight

You may remember how our ATX student interns produced a short film about a Bridges student named Marshall. Well, his story was shown on the big screen at Cru17! It was a great moment to see the hard work of my interns pay off, and to see Bridges’ ministry be celebrated. Marshall’s story will be online soon.

Harvey Relief

Hurricane Harvey not only flooded or destroyed 136,000 homes, it affected the lives of friends dear to us. I’ve counted at least a dozen people we know personally who have had to throw out their flooring, walls, furniture, possessions and whole cabinets full of things. Our hearts have broken again and again. Having gone through our own home disaster in 2015, the pain is very familiar to us.
Recently, Annalei and I did relief work with Crosspoint, our church in Houston. We helped Mrs. Darby (pictured below), alongside Rice students, others from our church and her friends and family. It was gut-wrenching to throw away most of what she owned.

Cru is in the process of mobilizing students from across the country to come help, so others like Mrs. Darby can rebuild

Roof Damage

We had a minor disaster of our own: a large tree branch crashed into our house (pic: header, right). We had to get a whole new roof. Three major appliances also broke. We usually like to spread these things out a bit.

Upcoming

As part of the Harvey Relief effort being mobilized by Cru, I will be producing videos to challenge students to come volunteer in relief work. We will tell not only the story of how people have suffered loss, but how God has been working mightily, and how students involved with Cru and Bridges are playing a part.

Praise Reports

•The ministry of Cru has had long-lasting fruit on leaders like Jennie Allen.

•Our faithful ATX interns, Zoe and Nikki, who did great work alongside us this summer. The videos they helped produce will expand the reach of Cru, Bridges and Destino.

Prayer Requests

•Massive mobilization of the Body of Christ to help Texans rebuild from the vast damage inflicted by Harvey.

•The production process of Harvey videos to be anointed and for our new Media team to work well together.

ATX Summer Mission

Currently within the world of Cru, many of our fellow staff are headed to another city, state or country to participate in or lead a summer mission trip. In fact, short mission trips to Asia are how Naomi and I (Zack) originally got involved with Cru 15 years ago.

This year, our Summer Mission comes in the form of hosting 13 college students in Austin. They’re working with us on national priorities for our ministry operations: Video, Graphic Design, Finance, Digital Marketing, and Conferences/Events. We just kicked off!

On Tuesdays and weekends, these students are also going out on the UT campus or around the city to engage other students in spiritual conversations. They’ve already met several international students and received training on evangelism with different cultures.

The students I’m working with are Zoe (L) and Nikki (R). The three of us will be creating several videos: promos for Destino (the ministry of Cru to Latinos); testimonies of Bridges students from Malaysia and South Africa; and teaching & evangelistic videos about work, marriage, church, and overcoming habitual sin.

Michelle

On a flight that Paxton and I (Naomi) had taken a few months ago, a sweet gal named Michelle sat next to us. I found out that Michelle was Jewish and had recently moved to Austin. We had a great conversation about spiritual topics, and I invited her to join us for church sometime. To our delight, she joined us on Easter Sunday!

During our lunch afterwards, Michelle told us her observations of a Christian worship service from a complete cultural outsider. It was fascinating. What really stood out to her was the strangeness of our focus on a violent act (Jesus’ crucifixion). Zack and I then had a wonderful, gospel-centered discussion with her, reading passages together from Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. It was a rich and pleasant time. Even though she is not an international, the whole experience of discussing Christianity and Judaism was very cross-cultural.

Angel

Last month we were joined by Angel, our dear friend and former international student from Malawi. Angel is at several crossroads in her life, and we were able to impart some wisdom and guidance.

UPCOMING

We’ll be in Colorado for the Cru Staff Conference and to connect with our ministry partners. If you’ll be in Colorado we would love to see you there!

PRAISE REPORTS

• Annalei & Miah and friends were extras in a short film for Cru (pictured in header, left).
• God brought 13 students to join us in Austin for our a jam-packed Summer Mission.
• Spirit-filled conversations with Michelle and Angel.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Michelle to take the next steps in investigating who Jesus is and how he fulfills Scripture.
• God to open doors for Angel to pursue vocational ministry.
• Students from ATX Summer Mission to get a vision for life-long ministry, and for several of them to join us full-time.

The Defining Moment

“I was a pretty aimless guy,” said Alex, a student from India. “I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I wanted to do something significant in life. I thought I’d join the army, dying for the country. I thought of becoming a movie star, musician, sports star.”

Alex shared with me (Zack) how he came from a Christian background; in fact, his ancestors trace back to the ministry of Thomas the disciple, who traveled to India after Jesus’ resurrection. But even with a rich spiritual heritage, to Alex, religion had become routine. As an undergraduate, he began searching.

“I was curious about what my life was meant to be? I was afraid that I would die and what would happen after that. All this brought me to a position of reading the Bible. I never knew that so many things were there in the Bible about life and how to live. It’s been there all along. I realized that Jesus Christ was the way, the truth, and the life. That was the defining moment. It was like I found a treasure.”

Parenting for the Kingdom

The kids and I (Naomi) have recently started attending a weekly playdate. It’s been great for Cassia (2) to make friends her own age, and for me to make some new mom friends. One of those friends is a Chinese gal who I call “Eileen.” Her daughter is pictured below with our three girls.

Right away, Eileen struck me as an easy person to talk to, and a kind mother. She also gave the other moms in our group a great tip on how to re-use a pasta jar (use a hairdryer to remove the label). We’ve swapped all kinds of advice and wisdom together.

Like most people from China, Eileen was not exposed to Christianity before she came to America. The other moms in the group are all believers, so Eileen is seeing firsthand how our faith affects how we live and parent.

I was able to have a spiritual discussion with her, and she is open to learning about the Christian faith. It was very natural and comfortable to talk with her. I gave her a copy of the Chinese book, Song of a Wanderer, by Li Cheng. This book is similar to Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, but it is written by a Chinese author. Cheng shares his story of how he came to faith in Jesus during his time as an academic in the U.S. It is an excellent resource for sharing the gospel with Chinese students and adults, and gives many reasons to believe.

Eileen has started reading Song of a Wanderer, but has told me as a busy young mom she doesn’t have much time to read. Please pray that she would make time, and for God to open the door to further discussions.

Praise Reports

•We recently celebrated “Four Decades of Naomi” (pictured above, top right).

•Alex is a growing disciple with a passion to share the gospel with fellow Indian and international students.

•God has opened door for me to talk about Him with Eileen.

Prayer Requests

•Pray for Alex to grow in becoming a leader and multiplier on campus, and to be encouraged by the Lord. It can be very isolating to be one of only a few Indian believers in a Master’s program.

•God would use Song of a Wanderer in Eileen’s life to bring her to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

•For our family to stay healthy during the oak pollen season

Special newsletter from our national office:

MOON-WALKER URGES STUDENTS TO SEARCH FOR THEIR ‘DESTINY’

International students from 64 nations pursue a quest for life’s purpose at “Vision 2016.”

NOTES, QUOTES, & ANECDOTES

Vision 2016 brought together students from 64 nations. This remarkable mixing of cultures coincided with an important spiritual development—individuals drawing closer to God

“It was encouraging for me to see the Chinese believers sharing the gospel with nonbelievers. One of the believers at my table was so full of joy! You could see how much God had changed her life.”
–Ayla Norris, student staff member “I learned that no matter how sinful you are, you can always turn to Jesus and believe on Him. I also learned why Jesus died on the cross.”
– Male student from an Arab nation Vision’s South Asian track drew 83 participants, an all-time high. “This generation is more open than their parents,” says a Bridges leader. “If you compare our opportunity to share the gospel (with South Asians) with boogie boarding, the wave is coming in, and it’s time to start paddling!”

“To have all these students from all over the world in this one place, I could stay here forever.”
– Male student from Africa

“Vision 2016 opened my eyes about my relationship with Jesus and my responsibility to express the Kingdom of God wherever I go.”
– Noadia Rodrigues, visiting faculty member from Brazil

“It (the conference) helped me to understand what Jesus did through miracles to prove that he is Messiah.”
– Male student from Iran 

Because of the rich spiritual environment at Vision, amazing breakthroughs are possible. Iris Wang, a Chinese student on a campus in Indianapolis, arrived at Vision 2015 with confusion and doubts about Jesus. Staff member Chuck Goertzen talked with her there and he remembers that “she thought that Jesus was a myth, just like Santa Claus.” But with an open heart, Iris soaked up apologetics and Bible truth throughout the 2015 gathering in Austin. Then, on New Year’s Eve, the Lord opened her eyes to faith and she asked Jesus to come into her heart. With a year of spiritual growth under her belt, she arrived happily at Vision 2016, having helped staff members Mike and Rachel Frost bring a delegation of 14 students from their campus in Indy.

Notes and Numbers

A quick summary of results from Vision 2016 

ATTENDANCE:

665 conferees; 255 staff members; 150 volunteers; 90 children…a total of 1,160 individuals

NATIONALITIES:

64 nations represented, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe

GOSPEL RESPONSES:

At least 27 students indicated that they had placed faith in Jesus

FUTURE SERVICE:

Approximately 60 Christian students indicated interest in future service with Bridges—volunteer, internship, part-time staff or fulltime staff. Some 120 students, including many of those 60, expressed interest in Bridges’ spring or summer missions.

This Big God

It’s not every day I (Zack) go to Daytona Beach (above, L), meet moonwalking astronaut Charlie Duke (above, R), and most importantly join 700 students from 60 nations. In other words, the Vision Conference was incredible!

“God is not just in our lives and our community, but He works all over the world,” said Andrea (pic. below). About her conference experience, she told us, “I saw people from different language worshiping God…the God of every tribe, every nation, every language. We are part of that big family that He has created.”

>> See the 1-minute highlight video! <<<

“I’m part of this big promise, this big God that loves all of these people from different countries. I love that about this conference, how people who have never heard of Christ come.” For many of the students in attendance, it was their first time to ever sing a worship song or see other people raising their hands to this God.

For almost all of us, it was our first time to sing in Swahili or Uzbek! One of the songs, “For this Purpose,” was translated into different languages each night and we learned together. It was a continually amazing, holy experience.

Discovering Their Destiny

Students were invited to write down their answers to these questions: “Who do you say Jesus is? What questions do you still have about God? What is your next spiritual step?” Their answer cards were put together to form a mural that spelled DESTINY, our theme.

As for Andrea, she said: “When I was not a Christian we were all in the darkness. My vision is to really reach out to those people in the darkness. That’s really hard in Malaysia,” she says, as Christians are a minority. “Some people get really in trouble if you actually share Jesus with them. But it’s something I think God is challenging me to do.”

Thank you for your partnership in reaching these students for Christ!

Praise Reports

•Vision Conference was a powerful time of lives being changed for eternity. At least 24 international students have come to know Jesus personally. Hundreds have heard the gospel clearly, learned many reasons why they can trust the Bible, and seen how the Christian faith makes sense.

•Andrea is getting a clear vision for her life as far as the work God is calling her to do.

Prayer Requests

•For the many other students who heard the gospel for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time but have yet to take a step of faith. Pray that the seeds that were planted would be watered.

•Pray for physical and spiritual protection for new believers who are from countries that are hostile to Christianity.

Check out the highlight video I made about the conference!

Fishers of Men

“I’m just a country boy from Belton, Texas,” said Tony. “I’m not the most well-versed man, I’m not the most educated man, I’m not the most qualified man, Biblically, to tell people things. But my love for God is so unbelievably strong because He has shown me the rewards of trusting in Him.”

Update: watch this video of Tony and others to see the full story.

I (Zack) tried to hide my smile behind the camera as Tony shared all this. He was recounting a conversation he had with a college student from Pakistan, who we’ll call “Omar.” Omar was one of 150 international students from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and all across Texas that had come to Lake Buchanan for a Bridges Fall Retreat. Tony was one of many ministry volunteers that took students out “jug-fishing” on the lake (pictured above).

Explains Tony: “We take a piece of foam with a fishing line on the end of it and push three hooks down with bait, and we out and we harvest fish. But more importantly, as time goes, we harvest people.”

Of all the spiritual conversations he initiated, Tony was most impacted by his talks with Omar: “He felt so much love on the boat, that he was literally confused about why it was that he met us – individuals that love Christ. He asked me, ‘Would it be ok if you and I talked to God and ask God to forgive me for where I have been in my life?’”

This made Tony a bit choked up: “I’ve done a lot of amazing things. I’m very blessed, despite any hardships I’ve had. But having him hug me and call me ‘Uncle Tony’ shows me that Jesus died for a reason.”
In Bridges, we love to give people like Tony the chance to minister to students, like Omar, who have come here from across the world.

A Party in Heaven for Miah

One afternoon, Miah and I (Naomi) were working on her AWANA’s memory verse, Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Miah and I talked about what we “earn” for sinning is eternal death (spiritual separation from God). But the gift that God gives us is eternal life in Heaven. With great vulnerability, Miah said, “I’m not sure that I am going to Heaven.” Miah had prayed to “give her sins to Jesus” when she was three years old, but she didn’t remember it. So we talked through the basics of the gospel, and that this is simply a gift. All you have to do is take a gift. You don’t have to “earn” it or work for it.

Miah was ready to ask Jesus in her heart. So I asked her, “Miah, do you have sin in your life?” She said yes. So I told her to tell Jesus that. Then I asked her, “Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins?” She said yes and told Jesus that, too. “Do you want Him to be your Savior and save you from your sins?” Yes! After she prayed there were tears…in both of our eyes. I told her that the angels were having a party in Heaven to celebrate!

She said with great joy, “Yes. They are celebrating because today is the day I became a Christian!” That evening, she, Zack and her sisters went to a kid’s worship album release party at our church (pictured above, in the header). She got to have a party worshipping Jesus with hundreds of other kids, just like the party in Heaven that was happening for her. She wants to get baptized soon as well.

Upcoming

Zack will be in Orange County, California from 10/25-10/28 for Cru’s Creative Arts Guild. It’s the annual gathering of “missionary artists” – designers and filmmakers on staff with Cru – to foster community and further our professional development.

Praise Reports

• 150 international students came to the Fall Retreat in Central Texas and heard the Word of God clearly.

• Miah clearly understands the gospel and received Christ!

Prayer Requests

• For effective, continued evangelism with Omar, and also for his safety as he looks more into Christ’s Word.

• For all the students who came to the Retreat to take the next step of faith.

• Miah to grow strong in her new life in Christ.

Bridges’ annual Vision conference offers you a strategic opportunity to touch international students with God’s truth.

Not just any Christian conference assembles 600-800 students from 50-60 nations—especially when half of those students arrive without a prior commitment to Jesus. Bridges’ annual Vision conference is unique and packed with spiritual potential.

This year’s Vision gathering will be held in Daytona Beach, Florida, from December 28 to January 1, and conferees will explore the theme of “Destiny.” Says Griff Housemeyer, the conference’s co-director, “These students are asking, ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life?’ and ‘What do I want my future to be about?’”

The conference will seek to deliver answers through a variety of small group discussions and evening plenary sessions.  And the first plenary will showcase one of only 12 individuals who has ever pondered the deeper questions of life while standing on the moon.

Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke, the 10th man to ever land on the moon, will describe his lunar experience and tell how he met Jesus six years after that mission ended.  Duke’s message on the evening of December 28 will dovetail with the next afternoon when students will have the opportunity to tour the nearby Kennedy Space Center.

Other plenaries will utilize videos, testimonies and perhaps drama or art to convey the truth of the Bible regarding destiny.  On December 29, says Housemeyer, “We want to help students understand God’s plan for the world.” Then on December 30, “We want them to see God’s personal plan for them as individuals.”

Aside from plenary meetings, conference sessions will be organized according to five tracks.  Chinese, South Asian and “Children of Abraham” tracks will provide contextualized teaching to both Christians and non-Christians from three major cultural groupings.  “Multi-Nations” will offer input to students from cultures not included in those first three tracks.  “Ambassadors” will provide training for Christians—international or American—who want to develop a ministry to international students.

Many participating students will be financially stretched by the $335 registration fee, so Bridges is seeking to raise scholarship funds to subsidize the cost of travel to Daytona.  Those who wish to invest in this fund can go to give.cru.org/0776598 for information and direction.

Article by Bill Horlacher, Bridges Staff at Penn State