Miami University Cru Students Invest at Home and Abroad

Kate Stoneburner

On Friday morning, Andrew Ledford rolls out of bed at 6:50 a.m. He doesnt have
early morning classes to attend, and he hasnt made plans for an early morning jog
around his college town of Oxford, Ohio. Instead, he grabs his violin case and walks only
a few yards to the house next door, The Highlands.
The smell of coffee is the first thing that registers when he walks in the door.
Already, a small crowd is gathered in the living room, seated on a plushy brown sofa or
pouring coffee into a mug from a wide selection of ceramics on a kitchen table. He greets
his friends, who smile and turn back to the task of tuning their guitars, and grabs a chair
in the corner to start rosining his bow.
Ledford, a senior at Miami University, is about to begin his Friday by
accompanying singers at in informal weekly gathering known as Friday Morning
Worship.
What began as a morning tradition for three junior girls who live in The
Highlands quickly expanded when they decided to invite their friends to join them as they
spent time before the weekend in praise. Now they host a crowd of fifty (and sometimes
more) regulars every Friday at 7 a.m.
A public Facebook page keeps over two hundred people posted by asking for song
suggestions. It also serves as a message board for students who need rides to the High
Street residence, just a few blocks from main campus.
Ledford candidly shares his thoughts on the early morning meeting time with a
visitor.
You caught me on a good day. There are times when I get up and walk out the
door in sweatpants just to get a few extra minutes of sleep.
This Friday, though, he sports a button down and shorts and looks ready to take
on the day.
Early or not, I look forward to this time every week, Ledford says, I end up
feeling rested and connected to my faith, and it makes the rest of the day brighter.
 A decorative chalkboard holds the mornings set list, and the music starts even as
more students trickle in the door and find spots on the carpet of the now-crowded room.
There is no sheet music, but the songs are familiar to many. The morning crowd is made
up of students in Cru, an international Christian ministry organization with an active
branch at Miami University.
As the last chorus of How He Loves dies down, junior Megan Hansel sets down
her guitar and prays for every person on campus, particularly for those in the room as
they navigate college life as faithful servants of God.
The room explodes into talking and laughter as students stand to leave. Junior
Megan Elam reflects on the room with a smile.
I wish more people knew about this side of Cru, she says. I think people think
were not accepting of non-Christians, or were bible thumpers or goody two-shoes. But
its really all about relationships, and I know from experience that when people get to
know us, they realize this is really fun!
The Cru that Elam knows is not an exclusive club for students raised in Christian
homes, but a place for anyone interested in spirituality to come to learn more about faith
in Christ. Miami Cru is one branch of a worldwide movement that, according to their
mission statement on Miami Hub, serves to encourage all students to grow in their faith
and see it play out in their daily lives.
At Miami, members have huge variety in the ways they can participate in the
movement. Each week, an average of three hundred students gather for a meeting with
worship songs, games, talks from their friends and staff, and guest speakers. There are
student-led bible studies for each grade level, prayer groups that focus on and chains of
discipleship in which older students mentor younger students one-on-one.
Some students commit to building relationships with students at nearby
Tallawanda High School while others reach out to international students with the Bridges
program. On weekends, events such as retreats, barbeques, formals, and themed dance
parties also fill up Cru students calendars.
Yet on top of this, many designate another hour of their lives to worship at The
Highlands. The same lure of fellowship and deepening of faith that draws students
together on Friday mornings drives many students, including Elam and Ledford, to work
with Cru even when school is out of session.
Over the last forty years, hundreds of thousands of Cru students have traveled the
world to meet students from other cultures, learn about their religious beliefs, and share
the Christian Gospel with them. Crus webpage states that out of 5,300 growing
ministries worldwide, only 2,088 are in the U.S., giving students the opportunity to travel
virtually anywhere.
Mission trips can last only one week over spring break, or stretch for all twelve
weeks of summer, and U.S. colleges work together to target different areas of the world.
Miami Cru partners in particular with Montenegro, sending students to the University of
Montenegro in the capitol city of Podogorica.
Located in southern Europe with a coastline on the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro
boasts historic walled cities, spectacular mountain peaks, and deep canyons. The national
religion is Orthodox Christianity, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yet Elam,
who traveled there during spring break, reports that it was rare for anyone she
encountered to profess real faith in God.
So many people I spoke to said they were Orthodox, but in the next breath told
us they were atheists or believed in reincarnation instead Elam says. The concept of a
relationship with God just wasnt there.
Bill Henrichs, a Cru staff member and Miami graduate who has spent years
working with the Montenegro ministry program, agrees.
It is not uncommon at all to ask are you a Christian and hear the response, yes,
Orthodox, then ask do you believe in God? and hear, no. Identifying as Orthodox is
very cultural and traditional, rather than faith-filled. Thats what we feel called to
change.
According to the U.S. State Department 2003 census, more than 74 percent of the
Montenegrin population is Orthodox, while 18 percent is Muslim and 3.5 percent is
Roman Catholic. The remaining 4.5 percent comprises agnostics, atheists, and Protestant
believers. Henrichs experiences in Montenegro revealed a tension between Orthodoxy
and other forms of Christianity.
 Believers like you see in the States are often marginalized because the Orthodox
climate is so dominant. Its not hostile so much as ignorant of what it looks like to trust
Christ.
Crus mission to extend the Gospel to the world inspires Miami students every
year to share their faith on spring and summer vacations. But for graduating seniors like
Andrew Ledford, the trip might last more than just a season.
Ledford is one of five Miami students who will participate in Crus year long
Short-Term International (STINT) program. He will live in Montenegro, building
relationships with students on the University of Montenegro campus and telling them
about his faith. A zoology major with a violin performance minor, Ledford says he cant
recall an exact moment when he decided to go on STINT.
It was more of a revelation in light of where I am. I want to grow in my faith,
and a year in a foreign country is the kind of challenge that will push me out of my
comfort zone.
Ledfords anxieties about the trip stem from nerves about spending time in a
completely different culture than his own. He feels blessed to have a family supporting
his decision; not all students are so lucky.
According to Henrichs, parents are often skeptical about students taking an entire
year to share their faith, concerned either with financial implications or closer proximity
to the Middle East. But the problems teams have faced in the past have little to do with
terrorism and relate more to perception of Americans.
Americans definitely stand out over there. Once our guys apartment was robbed
because people knew that Americans had money. But overall, Ive never felt Montenegro
is any more dangerous than a tourist trip to Europe, Henrichs says.
Sophomore Mary Kate Kuchers had no qualms about making the trip over spring
break. She and her brother, senior Corey Kuchers, got to spend the week catching up with
their oldest brother Pittman, who is part of Montenegros current STINT team.
I had no reservations about the trip, myself, said Mary Kate. My family
supported him just like they supported us, and I was so excited to see Pittman that I
wasnt as nervous as I might have been.
 Like all Cru missions travelers, STINT students are asked to raise funds by asking
for donations from churches, family members, and other support groups, rather than
paying for the trips independently. By sending out support letters, students relieve their
financial burden and also build relationships and gain confidence that people will be
praying for them when they go abroad.
It seems that the rewards of going abroad to share the gospel far outweigh the
negatives for Cru students. Bill Henrichs described one of the most influential friendships
he built during his time in Albania, a past Cru partnership.
In Albania, we saw a guy trust Christ that ended up being one of the writers of
their constitution. That changes the fabric of that country because of Miami students.
Ledford is excited to have the opportunity to make an impact on a country with so
many potential followers of Christ. As he packs up his violin after morning worship, he
receives well-wishes from the chattering crowd around him, and a chorus of well be
praying for you.
Ill be pressure cooked a bit, and culture shocked, but I know its not all on me.
God can and will work through whatever I do over there. Theres no better reassurance
than that!
 Top Left: Cru students
linger in conversation
after weekly meeting
Top Right: Andrew
Ledford, Megan Elam,
and Mary Kate Kuchers
share their experiences
with Montenegro
Bottom: The Friday
Morning Worship
Crowd gathers bright
and early

Revised Budget Line:

Miami Cru keeps students involved at home and abroad

STUDENTMINISTRIES: Campus ministry organization Cru has started an informal gathering
with worship music every Friday at 7 am. Investing their time in their faith at Miami often carries
over to investing in evangelism in Montenegro, a primarily Orthodox country that Miami Cru
partners with. Senior Andrew Ledford looks forward to the trip despite potential challenges.
REPORTER: Stoneburner EDITOR: Blair LENGTH: minimum 750 words DEADLINE: May 12
VISUALS: Photo of Cru meeting. Photo of Ledford and others interviewed. Photo of Friday
gathering.

Social Media Campaign:

Tweets

Check out ways that students can travel to beautiful Montenegro through Miami Cru here!
http://linktoarticle.org

@MiamiUniveristys Andrew Ledford will join 4 other students in Cru to share his faith in
Montenegro this year. Good luck to all students traveling abroad!

Think youve got what it takes to spend a year in abroad? Ask Miami Cru students about STINT
or go to http://www.cru.org/campus/why-consider-a-year-overseas.html