Dear Family and Friends:

So what's been going on with the Skinner family?

The end of March through the beginning of May brings lots of celebrations for us: first, we celebrated Luke's 8th birthday March 21st. Luke is homeschooled, and state laws require evaluations. His evaluator this year wrote of his advanced vocabulary and was very complimentary of his program of study. Allergies, eczema and asthma make it tougher for him, but Luke loves the outdoors. His insect collection won first place in his homeschool co-op’s zoology class. Luke’s birthday fun was taking a friend to “Dinosaur World,” an outdoor park near Tampa. Colorful, life-sized fiberglass sculptures with hard-to-pronounce names are posed for photos along the trails. Very cool.

Mike’s birthday is the next item on the calendar—literally. On March 22nd, Mike turned 42. Like Luke, Mike enjoys the local wildlife. Mike was raised on a farm, and his stories of interesting pets and unusual farm equipment make both kids wish we had 20 acres and livestock. Mike’s in a group of 12 men at our church called “Foundation Pastors”—each man shepherds a small group and meets monthly with our Lead Pastor.
Mike sings regularly in the church worship team, and on April 28th he again got to sing in the worship team at Campus Crusade’s semi-annual Worldwide Day of Prayer. This is an all-day event; virtually all of our staff members gather at locations across the world to worship, hear and lift up prayer concerns from our many ministries. I also used the occasion to again pray over each request submitted from our ministry partners.

Emily turned 10 on May 3rd, and we celebrated her birthday at Kissimmee’s “Pioneer Village,” a public park with donated buildings and artifacts from Florida’s past. Emily had 13 guests, all dressed up in “Little House” style dresses, some with lovely bonnets and authentic shoes. Emily is also doing very well in her schoolwork. She's in 4th grade and reading “markedly above grade level,” as her evaluation puts it. She’s in a great girls’ Bible study group called “Bright Lights.” She’s the youngest in the group, but won a prize for being the most consistent in her daily devotional and Bible memorization time.

Mike and Cindy’s 16th anniversary was May 8th. We love that we have been privileged to raise our great kids. We’re still awed at being called and chosen to help deliver the Lord’s message of reconciliation to seekers literally all around the world. But it was also nice to go out together for a simple dinner and a movie. We really enjoyed sharing a few stolen moments to celebrate each other.

Finally, May 10th was Mother’s Day. I think if you’ve read this far, you have probably already guessed how much our family’s success in every category is directly related to Cindy’s hard work, creativity, faithfulness and love. Our kids are doing just great in their spiritual and educational development. Their mom creatively challenges them in their growth along the way. And I’ve been blessed with a wife with determined faith who builds me up and helps me have courage to ask God regularly for His power to dare to do what's far too big for me to do.

For instance, we recently learned that two million have indicated decisions for Christ already this year through our 91 websites. As part of a group assigned to develop a plan for improved follow-up, Mike drafted a letter this month to be sent automatically to any who are unresponsive to online mentors’ e-mails. It challenges them from 1 John to be sure they have been saved. Other recent efforts resulted in big increases in those taking a second step, like going to our LookToJesus.com site, where Mike’s chat is hosted.

What’s coming up for the Skinner family?

July 21-29 - Biennial CCCI U.S. Staff Conference in Ft. Collins, CO. (Estimated expenses: $4500)

Ministry Partner Development time - yes, it’s been about two years now since we’ve spent significant time raising support, and we have lost 14 financial partners, most of them directly related to the economy’s struggles. (Estimated monthly need: $990)

What’s been going on with your family? Please write or call to let us know. It’s our privilege to hear how God is working in your life and pray along with you. Thanks so much for your faithful ministry to us!

P.S. Please see our latest photos!

Mike and Cindy Skinner
"One day closer!" (Romans 13:11)