Dear Friends, We pray for you and your loved ones in the midst of this trying time and hope you are keeping well. We all are experiencing fear and anxiety as Corona virus spreads and we are staying inside our homes. Yet it is a great time to seek the Lord. As we prepare to celebrate Good Friday and Easter, we know that Jesus loves us and He is victorious over fear, sin, and death. When we spend time with Him, our hearts move from fear and anxiety to peace and thankfulness and hope, for He is our great hope!
We have been meditating on 2 Chronicles 7:14 which is a verse we have prayed over the years asking God to bring revival and awakening to our land. “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
But recently we noticed that in verse 13 God says “When I…send a plague among my people…” This reminds us that God is in control and using this for His Glory. He is calling all of us to seek Him and spend more time with Him now and to share His love with others.
We wish you a very Happy Easter, celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection with your family and online church
Ministry Updates and Prayer Requests
We are very thankful that technology has enabled us to continue doing our ministries online while our Headquarters is mostly closed. Many people are continuing to apply to join with Cru and go to the world with the Gospel, although our Spring New Staff Orientation conference had to be cancelled. We are hoping to still hold our Summer training in July. Our Bible studies and prayer groups are continuing online. We even learned how to show the DVD we’ve been using for our Parenting Class on Zoom.
Our boys, Josh and Nico (our foreign studies student from Spain), are now home with us all the time and are doing their classes online. They are missing school and their friends and extra-curricular activities. But the Cru club for high schoolers has been able to gather online as well as our church’s youth group. Those events are a blessing to the boys!
Pray also that God would protect us from catching the Coronavirus. We both have health issues that would make it hard on us if we catch it. So far, we are thankful for God’s grace and protection! Rochelle just recently learned that her immunoglobulin count is low, probably from her 2012 CLL chemo, but only tested recently. She is starting infusion treatment this week.
Erin and Leon
Our son Andy is safely home in their apartment in California, while Ryoko and Erin and little Leon are with her parents in Takamatsu, Japan. Pray for good health for all and grace for this time at home alone for Andy! We are thankful that all our family members are well.
Connect with us
We would be so delighted to specifically pray for you. Please let us know how we can pray for you by contacting us by email, (clarkfamilyorlando@gmail.com), facebook(stcjapan) or a phone call. We love you and so appreciate your partnership and involvement in the Great Commission with us. May God bless you with Hope and Peace today!
Cru’s responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Cru has had to make many changes to our ministry plans in order to keep our missionaries safe and to follow the guidelines of the government. See bit.ly/cruresponse for more info.
All our summer overseas mission trips had to be cancelled. We also contacted our interns and missionaries who were serving overseas and they prayerfully decided whether to remain in their country or return to the States. Most of our interns returned early and are safe at home. Offices were cleared of all but essential personnel and most staff are working from their homes. Our US field staff have been able to connect with their disciples and groups online and to encourage them to trust the Lord and serve others. We are thankful that the Gospel is going out and God’s Kingdom is still being built. Connect with digital resources at bit.ly/crudigital.