Snapshots from the last few weeks and going dark...

Today is graduation for UNC Greensboro and most of the students have headed home to prepare for their summer missions, work and school.

In the last few weeks we have hosted multiple staff training meetings, a cookout, two student leader dinners and multiple "over for dinners" and random visits.  This night there were about 35 students we were challenging to step up to leading servant teams and Bible studies for the fall semester.  Our living room seems unusually empty - even for a house with four kids and lots of friends to visit!

Jared came over a bit early with the hope of doing a load of laundry (we granted that request LOL!).  While waiting for the rest of the students to arrive for dinner, Faith offered to teach him how to make rainbow loom bracelets without the loom.  He was a quick study. 

On a different and also exciting note.....
Pete is headed to East Asia next week.  He's going to help give initial lift (10 days) to a five week summer mission trip. We'll be able to share more when he comes back.  But due to the sensitive nature of the location, we are doing all we can to eliminate our public online presence.

Feel free to email us, but our facebook accounts are / will be disabled for a few weeks, our Cru giving account will look very blank (that has already happened) and this very blog may disappear or just have a very striped down appearance.  We appreciate your prayers for Pete's travel safety and my stay home safety and juggling the kiddos, LOL!

Thank you!!  We look forward to sharing more soon!
Love, Carra

The feeding of the student teams

Carseats provide a great way of transporting 2 liter soft drinks. By the way, this carseat can hold one two year old or three two liters soft drinks. A stack of large Papa John's pizzas sit to my right as student leaders for the fall semester make their way into the house.

In the last five days, we've hosted a women's overnight retreat (air mattresses spread all over the house), helped with the impact leadership institute, hosted a dinner for potential leaders, hosted staff mtg and led a training & discussion on the discipline of fasting.

Feeling tired, but a good tired!

For those of you who may be trying to get to our normal "give site," it is currently showing a pretty generic "international staff" as a precaution for an upcoming trip.  We'll be sharing about that in our next prayer letter!

The Power of Cardboard

In the week leading up to Valentines Day, UNCG did a huge campus-wide outreach with Valentines Day cards, prayer gatherings, a worship night and lots of spiritual conversations.  One way the students initiated conversations was through an outreach day of cardboard testimonies.  Here's a video of some of those. We hope you find it a blessing!

You can click here to see the video in case it fails to display. 

Encounter Conference

What a great and super busy encounter conference. We've been challenged by wonderful speakers and had opportunities to share our hearts with the students. Tomorrow about 1000 high school and college students will literally pray in the new year. Here's a photo from a beautiful worship time on the opening night. Thank you for your prayers!

30 hours ago...

Thirty hours ago I met (in person) our new staff woman. She scheduled a quick trip to Greensboro to meet with a family that offered her housing one she moves here. Elise will be full-time in the Triad in just a few months when she completes her financial support team.

Last night we hosted about 30 people from UNCG and NC A&T leadership teams for a Christmas dinner. Elise was able to join us & meet students that we work with, train, coach and mentor. Today she came for part of our planning meeting, then met up with a student for a campus tour at UNCG. I took her to our favorite bakery/coffee shop called Delicious.

I'm so excited to see her passion. She is well trained, experienced and eager to share the Gospel.

Pete and I are so blessed! We're love our staff team & are privileged to have them co-laborers in the mission, but also as friends. Thanks for praying for laborers and a strong team for this critical work!

Love, Carra

Just a random reflection about being on staff with Cru...
We have so many friends who partner with us financially - laboring together in spirit and prayer to see the Gospel proclaimed and lived out.  And we partner with staff as workers in the harvest. And we partner with students in their own walks of faith steps. There is nothing in this work apart from Christ-centered partnership. That just struck me how connected this work is at every level. Not the most eloquent way to express it, but "that's pretty cool."

Surrender - MidSouth Staff Conference

Wow, what a challenging weekend!  We just came back from Black Mountain, NC where over 280 staff and interns gathered who all work in our region (NC, SC, TN, KY and part of WV).  The theme was "Surrender" and we were all challenged to go deeper in our willingness to be used by God.  One highlight was getting to meet and interact with an older staff couple - the McLeans.  It was humbling to sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" standing next to a couple that literally opened up Cru's international missions in East Asia.

They shared their journey and some of the privileges they have enjoyed in surrendering what they "wanted to do for God." What God lead them to ended up being so much bigger than they ever imagined.  -- very inspiring!

Love, Carra

Carra is halfway there and most-way better

Since my hemorrhoid surgery almost four weeks ago, I have fluctuated between feeling really miserable to optimistically "great."  I told our church couples group that I was 95% better about two days before I felt pretty uncomfortable again.

But finally I really believe I am mostly pain free!  It has been several days since any pain at all - Praise God!

The surgeon instructed me to avoid lifting anything more than 20 pounds for eight weeks.  Baby Micah is 24 pounds so if he is held by his mom, someone has to put him on my lap.  I'll need to continue that for a few more weeks.  I've been really impressed how the kids have stepped up. It has been a surprising side benefit of some maturity muscles growth in the girls especially.

I am so grateful for all the ways our home school community, our church couples group, neighbors and family have prayed for me, brought meals, carted kids to and fro, and just encouraged me.  Thank you!!