Mary Ann Lent lit a match and blew it out. "This is like your virginity," she explained to her 13-year-old daughter, Cheyanne (left, at left). "Once you light it, it can never be lit again." The illustration came from Passport to Purity, a kit designed to help parents have a fun, memorable way to guide their children on biblical principles for dating, romance and abstinence.

Mary Ann had taken her daughter on a mother-daughter weekend getaway in a one-room cottage to teach her from the Passport materials, published by FamilyLife, a subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ focused on building godly families.

A lot was at stake. Both Cheyanne's half-sister and half-brother became parents at 16, and though her parents taught her otherwise, Cheyanne had secretly thought she might have sex with a boy if she really cared about him.

But she learned so much that weekend by listening to audio sessions and other practical illustrations that she even signed a contract from the kit agreeing not to date unless her parents gave her permission.

"It's backed with Scripture," says Mary Ann. "So instead of just saying 'Mom says so,' I showed her God says so."

Now 18, Cheyanne has a boyfriend. He asked for her dad's consent before they started dating a year ago.

Cheyanne, the former student government president of her high school, showed him the match illustration and recounted other things she learned from Passport to Purity more than five years before. "When you light a match, it burns and it's beautiful," she says, "but you can't relight it, just like you can't get your virginity back once you've lost it." Understanding why it is God's plan, they've maintained their virginity and set other conservative boundaries in their relationship.
—Jennifer Abegg

For more information about Passport to Purity call 1-800-FL-TODAY or visit www.familylife.com/passporttopurity.

After hearing a speaker at her Christian summer camp, 12-year-old Georgia made a decision. When she grew up she, too, would be a medical missionary in India. But her dreams were dashed when her parents didn't share her excitement.

Even though Georgia Cohen became a nurse, she often prayed about her desire to go to India. "In His gentle, loving way," says Georgia, "God always reassured me that I was the medical missionary He called me to be."

Georgia (left), who is now retired, became a regular speaker at the Medical Evangelism Training and Strategies conferences hosted by the Medical Strategic Network, a medical ministry affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ. Georgia helps Christian physicians and other medical professionals see the importance of providing spiritual care for their patients.

Most METS conferences are held in the United States, so Georgia was surprised to learn the location of an upcoming METS conference: Vellore, India.

Fifty-two years after Georgia's decision, God made that dream reality. Not only did she speak at the conference, but she also talked to nurses, nursing students and faculty members, many of whom are Hindu, at Vellore Medical Center. During her presentations, Georgia was able to clearly explain the gospel.

And Georgia's mother, who originally told Georgia she'd never go to India, paid her way.
—Jessica Cline

For more information, visit www.gomets.org.

As the afternoon June sun beat down, Tariku Fufa sunk to his knees and cried out to God.

After giving his life to Christ two years earlier at age 13, Tariku experienced severe persecution from his family. The Ethiopian also suffered from asthma and wasn't able to attend school, and eventually his father kicked him out of the house. In contrast to the bright, overhead sun, he felt only darkness.

Twelve years later, Tariku still remembers God's immediate, clear answer to his prayer. "I heard the Lord speaking to my heart saying, Tariku, you are not without help," he says. God then promised healing, that Tariku would graduate from high school and college, and eventually work in full-time Christian ministry.

God's promise gave Tariku hope.

One by one, God faithfully answered each prayer, and in 2002, after graduating from Jimma University, Tariku joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ.

As the campus coordinator for southwest Ethiopia, focusing on Jimma University's 18,000 students, 27-year-old Tariku helps students learn about the God who turned his life around.

He started with six students, and his group quickly grew to 25 and then to 238. For 18 months he led these students, broken up into eight groups, through a training curriculum focused on prayer, fasting, evangelism and leadership. Many who graduated last year are now mentoring a new group of 250. "My ministry is now student-led," says Tariku. "I no longer take the driver's seat."

"Tariku is full of passion and believes God for the impossible," says Tracie Kifelew, who works with Tariku in Ethiopia.

And Tariku aims to never lose focus on the God who saved him. "When everyone hated me," says Tariku, "God loved me. When I was denied a place to sleep, food to eat and a school to go to, God was my refuge and provider."
—Jessica Cline

As Gail Prindiville grew increasingly sick, she and her husband, Terry, began to wonder if their dream would ever happen.

For Terry's 70th birthday, they wanted to give their children and grandchildren a gift—a trip to Russia.

Their dream wasn't just any trip, but a mission trip with Global Aid Network, the humanitarian arm of Campus Crusade for Christ. But as Gail's condition worsened, it was doubtful she would be able to go. She could barely walk a block, let alone fly to Russia.

She thought about her first trip to Russia in 1991 with Operation Carelift, an earlier version of the GAiN trips.

"The people were so hungry for what we were saying," Gail remembers. "We gave away Josh McDowell's book More Than a Carpenter, and people sat down right where they were to begin reading."

Over the years, Terry and Gail returned to Russia over a dozen times, most of them on mission trips, and they wanted their children and grandchildren to experience the culture and have a chance to tell the Russian people about Christ.

But when Gail got sick, they had to put plans on hold. Family, friends, church members, and even Josh McDowell (who is a family friend) prayed for Gail. In a few months she was much healthier, and they began to dream again about the trip.

By July, 17 family members were on a flight to Russia, ready to use their gifts to help the Russians understand the love of Christ. Aubrey, 17, performed ballet, and 10-year-old Matthew used his skills as a magician to entertain the kids.

The Prindiville's dream of a legacy had become a reality.
—Becky Hill

College student Josephine Lim accepted Christ as her Savior almost two years ago, but she was afraid to tell others about Him.

"I was really worried at the thought of myself going up to strangers and asking them about Christianity," says Jo, "which is a topic that they may find uncomfortable to discuss."

But in Student Life, the college ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in Australia, where she found out about Jesus, Jo (left) learned about the value of telling others. She began talking to God about her fear: "I knew what my weakness was so I prayed and prayed about it."

With new boldness, she talked to a girl on campus and told her about Christ. They later began a study called "Christianity Explained."

"I still regard myself as a 'novice' in the Christian family," says Jo, but during the fifth lesson, Jo's new friend placed her trust in Christ.

"God was able to use me to extend His Kingdom," Jo says, "and to teach me a valuable lesson about keeping my faith in Christ and leaving the results to God."

Geoff Folland, a Campus Crusade staff member at Jo's university, agrees. "It's so encouraging to see how Jo became a Christian [recently], is growing in her relationship with God and has stepped up to serve God while she is still on campus," he says.
—Jennifer Abegg


California

Last October, Samuel and Mona Estefanos converted their garage and living room into the only 24-hour Christian TV station for Arabs in North America. Broadcast by satellite, Alkarma TV sometimes airs the JESUS film, a movie distributed by Campus Crusade for Christ and based on the Gospel of Luke. They also offer a copy to interested viewers. Mona says viewers often call with spiritual questions, and the station offers them a Bible and the JESUS DVD. "It tells the real story—the core story—of Christianity," says Mona. Watch online at www.alkarmatv.com.
—Erik Segalini


Survival Kits

This fall Campus Crusade for Christ will distribute 55,000 Freshman Survival Kits—but not just to freshmen, as is traditionally done. The focus has become using the kits primarily as a tool to help begin ministries on new campuses. The packages contain a variety of evangelistic items like a Bible, a book (for example, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller), a water bottle (with a Web site like www.everystudent.com printed on it), and a music CD.
—Jennifer Abegg

For more information about the kits, visit www.FSKonline.org.