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News from the President
December 2007
Believe it or not, “Changing the World One Person at a Time” really works.
Kyle and I got a surprising reminder of that just last week. We were traveling in China, visiting friends and also some very cool projects that are currently underway in that country. In Xian (where the terra-cotta warriors are located), we were met by Judy and Diane, who served as our tour guides for a very fun day in Xian, then chaperoned us back by train to their home city.
Just to back up a bit: We’re at the end of the year, so we are reflecting on how God has worked in CSM overall in 2007. And we are doing a little “What’s It All About?” reflecting as Kyle and I search out what we will do next, now that we are transitioning from CSM, effective October ’08.
We are really grateful that 2007 will be CSM’s biggest year ever. In our nine cities, nearly 10,000 young people and adults from over 600 different groups will provide nearly 44,000 days of service. And we hit three significant “lifetime” benchmarks in ’07—our 100,000th person, our 600th group, and our 400,000th day of service. That’s a lot of good work, done by a lot of good kids and adults, serving in partnership with a lot of great urban workers. It’s a little overwhelming (in a positive sense) to see what God has done over the last 19 years.
So that’s the macro. What about the micro—each individual life that comprises those bigger numbers? How has God used CSM to touch individual lives, for the short and long term?
This is where our China visit was so cool. At one point on the train ride, Diane (a mother of two who is teaching English along with her husband at a truly fabulous school run by Christians with the official cooperation of the local government where lots of terrific spiritual stuff is happening and everyone knows about it and they let ’em run anyway) asked Kyle and me what we did for day jobs. As we explained CSM, her eyes lit up. “I did your program!” Turns out she had participated in Chicago and Washington, DC, both as a student and later as an adult chaperone. “I know it sounds a little corny, but CSM had a lot to do with my being in China right now. It’s what got me motivated to step outside of my box and serve others. And look where I am now!”
Look where she is now indeed. I won’t lie to you, we got a little choked up realizing how God has used CSM in her life. And I believe she represents literally thousands of others whose individual stories we may not know about, but are doing great stuff for God in all kinds of contexts… because, through a short-term mission and service trip with CSM, they got a glimpse of a bigger world and the part that they could play in making it better.
It is something to thank God for, and feel good about, as we look ahead to CSM’s 20th year. THANK YOU so much for your ongoing friendship, prayers, and financial support! And thank you for what you have done, and continue to do, to help God get His hands on people like Diane… your partnership is truly making a difference, literally throughout the world.
Blessings,
Noel Becchetti, President
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