NEXT STOP SAN FELIPE,MEXICO

      S A R A H  N G U Y E N  Hola! Como estas? Guess what, this team is headed to Mexico! God has done amazing things in our lives since our return to CSUS after our summer in Santa Monica. This semester, we applied the things we learned during project: I led outreach team, Cody led the worship team, and Mario led a bible study. The bonus: we are still good friends. Additionally, we had the privilege of living in a faith-sharpening, life-altering, & fun-exploding community known as the Cru Houses.

Cru Girl's House 2012-2013

As we have laid aside our own agendas, we have seen God radically transform our lives. God has given us a new joy and a new hope. We desire to share this with the world. We recently attended winter conference in San Diego (you can see we do many things together), and here we understood:  the reward of following Jesus is Jesus. There's no glitz or glamour, no great positions or paparazzi.

What lovely hair nets! Packing food with cru@sacstate at SDWC!

 I would rather be a "nobody" in this world if it means the people I encounter have the chance to know Jesus--to know his infinite and freeing love, his perfect plan, and the truly satisfying and complete life he so willingly offers. I am adamant about Jesus and I willingly lay down my life, because I know he is the way, the truth, the life. When I say the truth, I mean "the whole truth and nothing but the truth" kind-of-truth. I am referring to an absolute truth: there is one God. When I say the way, I mean that He is the only way to heaven. And when I say the life, I am taking about the forever kind. The kind people always talk about at funerals, the kind religions dispute over, the kind people don't think about because Kesha singing "to live like we are gonna die young."

MY LIFE: It is like I firmly believe have the cure to cancer and the whole world has cancer. They don't have to accept the cure. But because I so firmly believe I have the cure, I must at least share and offer the cure to as many people as possible. #ontomexico 
-Sarah

C O D Y  S C H I L L I N G Hello again to all the followers of our blog! Its been about 5 months since we finished our summer serving the Lord in beautiful Santa Monica. Since then, things have been pretty busy. School has gone well, and we have seen a great number of new students coming to CRU. I took on acore leadership position in CRU in which I am able to oversee several teams within and be able to help them get started and continue to win lost students for Christ. I have continued to lead the worship team and allow God to work in me through that by enabling students to glorify Him through music. With work in ministry continuing as well as academics, things have been busy and difficult at times to give God the time to continue to change me. It is funny though how He continues to do work even when we are caught up in that little thing called life.

CRU at Sac State just got back a few days ago from an amazing Winter Conference in San Diego and were able to listen to great speakers, attend seminars, pack 100,000 meals, learn about living missionally around the world, worship, and connect with friends from school and summer project. It was a great way to spend the New Year! Im also excited to say that myself, Mario, Sarah, and Kaitlin are packing our bags to head down South again, to San Felipe, Mexico starting at 4am tomorrow morning. Its a mini summer project reunion a little further south. We will be working with 99+1 Ministries there and we spend a week there. Updates to come as we embark on another adventure for the Lord. Please pray for the team, there are a total of 12 going driving down.

Hasta luego, Cody

M A R I O  G O N Z A L E SWhat's up, everyone, Wow. There is just a lot to say about life after project. There has just been a lot of opportunities to put into practice what I learned on project. Let me just share a couple with you guys.

So, this semester, I stepped into a Target-area Lead team role with Cru at Sac State. I was in charge of reaching freshman guys with the intent of getting them involved in a small group in the dorms. It was challenging to get the small group started, but I managed to get the small group off the ground. Next semester, if you would, I'd love some prayer toward getting more guys involved with the small group.

Welp, here I am again, embarking on another mission journey. This time, I will not be going with Cru (although my next project after this one would be with Cru). I will be going with a church in grass valley, called Pioneer Bible Church. We will be heading to Baja California, Mexico, to do some labor. I am really excited about this opportunity to serve the Lord. It's new, and I have never done anything like this before. It should be fun and interesting. I have a feeling that the Lord is going to humbling me with this experience. In fact, I am counting on it.I will let every know how it went via this blog. Prayers needed! Thanks, friends!

K A I T L I N K O R O N A Since finishing Project in Santa Monica last August, I am overjoyed to again work alongside Sarah, Mario and Cody in San Felipe, Mexico. Over the past five months, God has been doing incredible things that have stretched far beyond the span of time spent in Santa Monica. God led me to join the staff team with Cru at University of California, Irvine (UCI) while on Project, and since starting in September He has been moving in big ways on campus. While I’m still pursuing a career as a Registered Nurse, God has undeniably used my part-time work with Cru at UCI to pioneer the first Christian ministry for Greeks on campus. Between September and December we successfully launched the first women’s group, and through prayer and God’s hand we’re hoping to open the Greek ministry to young men, so that we can best reach all fraternity and sorority members on campus. Through small steps of faith and God’s light on our path, we’re hoping to express and extend the Gospel to the small, dark corner of UCI’s Greek system.

Before returning to campus, I am beyond excited to spend time in San Felipe, serving and learning more about God’s people in Mexico. I cannot wait to see how the Lord works in and through our small team of twelve. It is an indescribable joy to serve with my Christian family in Santa Monica, and to extend that service internationally. We would love for you to join us in praying expectantly, for safety and for God to do a mighty work!