PRAISE THE LORD!!! I just accepted a job teaching at Downey Christian School. I will start on Jan 15th. The job looks a little different than I was hoping for but I know that God put this open door in front of me. I will finish this school year teaching 3rd grade. They said that next school year I could move up to middle or high school English. The school is just a few miles from my house which is great. Also, they have a preschool which Hannah can attend at no cost!! The free preschool and insurance for me help balance out the lower pay. It seems like a very supportive environment. I'm excited to see what God has for me there. Thank you for praying with me!!!
All this means that I have 7 working days left with AIM. My repacement, Bill Pagel, is quickly learning the ropes of being the Project Staff Coordinator. It's been great to help him through the transition. I feel I'm leaving AIM with everything taken care of.
God is so good to always provide. He led me to leave AIM, showed me in would be in January, and that I would be teaching. So here we are in January 2007 and I'm wrapping up with AIM while preparing to start teaching a class of 3rd graders in a week and a half. How awesome! When we follow His lead, He will be faithful. The outcome isn't always just the way we think it will be but He is always true to His Word. All the glory for this goes to our Lord & Savior!!
Thank you for your prayers last Saturday while I took the subject area exam. As I waited for the instructor to hand out the exam, I prayed. Before I could pray more than, "Lord, I need you..." He answered me with several Bible passages. The call of Isaiah rang the loudest. The Lord God asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Then the Lord empowered Isaiah with all he needed. I felt God say to me that He is sending me out into this mission field. He will empower me with all I need. I won't know until after Dec 15th if I passed the exam or not. But through the whole exam, I felt God's peace and power. I'm trusting that I was able, through Him, to pass.
Several schools have posted vacancies for Language Arts in the last week. Each school now has a copy of my resume.
Today, I received an email from the state department of education. It says that my application is awaiting review but they are several months behind. Just now, they are processing applications from October. This email implies that it is humanly impossible for me to be certified to teach in January. I can not get hired by the public school system until the state processes my application and sends an official statement of eligibility for certification. At their current rate of review, the state will not get to my application until late January or February.
Still, I believe God is in this and He wants me teaching in January. I'm walking in blind faith here. It's a scary place to be. Doubt creeps in and asks, "Did God really want you to do this?" "What if God doesn't pull through? What will you do then?" My spirit is unwavering in confidence that I am following God.
God called the people of Isreal to march around a city in order to make the walls crumble. The people obeyed and just as God promised, the walls fell to God's glory. Now, an impassable wall stands between me and the place God has called me. Only He can bring that wall down. Will you be bold enough to pray with me for this miracle?
Pray for my application to the state to be processed in the next two weeks. Pray that a school hires me before the next semester begins.
Thank you for journeying with me. I can't wait until we are rejoicing together as God moves!
Since my last update, God implanted the call to teaching English in middle or high school deep in my heart. When another good opportunity presented itself, I wrestled with this call asking God to confirm it. He lovingly reminded me of the time in college when He revealed my place in the Kingdom: "Teenagers are your mission field."
My time at AIM matured me in Christ, teaching me to closely listen and follow as He leads. The work I've done at AIM has impacted many, many teenagers although fairly indirectly. Now, I know God is sending me out to be a light in the dark halls of school.
This Saturday at 8:30am, I will take the English 6-12 Subject Area Exam. I must pass this exam in order to be eligible for a temporary teacher certification. The application process is long and complicated, both for certification and for employment. The mountain of red tape ahead of me seems overwhelming. Please join with me in praying for God to prepare the way for me.
I wrote the devotional on God's Power (posted below) as I was waiting in the Orange County Public School Board Office. I needed to fill out a questionnaire before I could officially apply for a particular position. The gentleman responsible for the questionnaire was at lunch. So I waited for an hour only to be told that they were having a glitch in the system and couldn't send me the questionnaire. The next day, the questionnaire arrives in my inbox. Excitedly, I open it and realized I can't submit it until I receive my letter of eligibility from the state department of education! It feels impossible for all this to take place in less than 1 month. Fortunately, I know that God is more than able to accomplish all that we ask.
Thank you for your prayers and support on this journey! I will happily update you on this situation as God answers our prayers.
"It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses," declares the Lord, "And I am God.
Even from eternity I am He;
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?"
The past few weeks, together we discovered the depth of God's love for us as we dwelt in His Presence allowing His Passion for saving people to infuse our hearts. This week we see how He gives us the Power to act upon it.
Impossible.
Our marriage is falling apart. We're too tired to keep trying. We'd love to avoid divorce and be happy again, but it's just impossible
My sister is an atheist. In fact, she hates anything to do with God. She was just diagnosed with cancer and I want to see her accept Jesus into her life. But she won't listen, it's just impossible.
I saw a video of orphans in Africa and wept. I want to go there and help somehow. But I have a family, a job, responsibilities; It's just impossible.
With God, ALL things are possible . He is bigger than all of our impossible's put together. As we dwell in His presence and his passion fills us, He will call us to achieve the impossible. The good news is that He won't send us out on our own. Through prayer and the Holy Spirit, He gives us the power to do whatever He calls us to.
Right now, as a church, He is calling us to reach the 80% of our community that does not attend church anywhere. God is at work around us, drawing people to Himself. He wants us to be His witness. As we obey, He will give us the boldness to speak out. When He is working, no one can reverse it.
No matter what your personal "impossible" is, God is more than able to help you overcome it. Trust Him with it and then go out into battle with the Lord on your side.
Reflection: What seems impossible in your life? Do you believe that God can handle it?
Application: Boldly share God's love with someone this week. Pray for God to do the impossible.
This is the second devotional I wrote for my church. Enjoy!
Longing for God's Passion Isaiah 43:8-12
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true."
"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God."
I vividly remember the first time I read these verses. It was early March 1994. I was a young teenager excited to learn about my Savior. My church was preparing for a big youth crusade. My youth minister pumped us up to invite ALL our friends. That night, I felt an urge to read my Bible. As I thumbed through it wondering what I should read, Isaiah caught my eye. My heart raced as I read today's passage in chapter 43. I caught a glimpse of how badly God wants others to know Him. He loved me and saved me. Now, He wants me to be His witness. I am His representative to the rest of the world!
I remember feeling a sense of awe & urgency as God's Passion washed over me, filling me with a new love for people. Suddenly, I didn't see my friends, classmates, or family members the same. I saw the hurt & pain within them from being separated from God. I suddenly longed to see them come to know Him intimately. That night of discovering God's passion for people forever changed me.
Slowly read through the verses again letting God's passion fill you. Sometimes, we let other things in life take precedence and we loose the urgency to tell others of Christ's amazing love. However, His passion and love for all people washes over us again whenever we focus on dwelling in His presence.
Reflection: How does your life testify to God's love and presence? Do you have a passion for reaching the spiritually deaf & blind?
Application: Be God's witness by sharing His love with someone this week. Pray that God will show you how He views others.
Our church, Odyssey, is preparing to re-launch in January. We'll be changing our name, doing prayer walks, flyers, etc. But before we begin all that we must be ready spiritually. This month we are focusing on Longing for God. Each week we are sending out 2 devotionals tied into the previous sermon. I feel priveldged to write one each week. I'd like to share them here with you all.
Longing for God's Presence
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Isreal;
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name;
you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you…"
In our church, we have many little children running around each week. It's a joy to watch them play, interacting, and loving being at church. But what does a child do when he falls and hurts himself? Naturally, he runs into the loving arms of his parents. He knows there is love and security in those arms. This past Sunday, Hannah wasn't feeling well so she sat through the service in her stroller. During the sermon, she reached out and just held my hand. When Eric joined us, she held onto his hand. As parents, our hearts filled with love and joy as our daughter just wanted to hold our hands. Young children have an intense longing to be close to their parents. As we turn into teenagers or young adults, we fight for our independence often rejecting that longing. As adults, whether our relationship with our parents is good, bad or indifferent, we still feel that longing surface from time to time.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. As brand-new believers, we can't get enough time with our Savior. Then we get busy and set our relationship with Jesus aside. Occasionally, we feel the longing for His presence. Sometimes we answer it, sometimes we don't. It is our hope during this preparation time is that all of us at Odyssey will focus on knowing our God more intimately. Look at Isaiah 43: 1-5. Our Heavenly Father is with us, no matter what is going on in life. He loves us deeply and we are "precious and honored" in His sight. His heart swells with love and joy when we reach out to hold His hand.
Reflection: Right now, how close do you feel to God? Can you remember a time when God was with you as you walked through the waters or fire?
Application: 1. Reflect on God's intense love for you while slowly reading each statement in Isaiah 43: 1-5. 2. Make it your goal each day this week to spend 10 extra minutes drawing closer to your Heavenly Father. You can pray, read the Bible, worship, etc.
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. There's been a lot in the works that needed to go to the next level before I could make it public.
In January, I will be leaving Adventures In Missions. For some time now, I feel that God has been preparing my heart to move on. I still love AIM and am passionate about the ministry they do. But God is calling me out. I know God's plans & purposes are bigger than our own.
After it became clear to me that I was being called out, the next question was then "What's Next?" At this point in our lives, I can't be a stay-at-home-mom. I need to work. God knows that. So what's he calling me to? I wrestled with this for quite a while. Finally, the clouds lifted and I could see a little ways in the distance. Teaching emerged. I've begun to take the steps necessary to get my teaching certificate in 6-12 English. I've also started looking at some Christian schools in the area (many don't require certified teachers). I won't be certified until the fall which means I can't teach in public schools until then. Please pray for me that God will guide me to the right place in January.
This career change will affect a lot in our lives. The most obvious is that I will no longer be able to stay home with Hannah during the day. Please pray that this transition will go smoothly.
Thank you all so much for the prayers and financial support during my 4+ years with AIM. (Please continue to send your support in through January!) We appreciate each and everyone of you! You've all touched out lives in some way and we pray for blessings for you all!
Hannah is almost 15 months old and loves to do whatever her daddy does! She is facinated with the forbidden X Box controller and TV remotes. She beams so brightly when she gets to hit his drums with the drum stick. She tries to play her little "guitar" like daddy plays his. And the games they play...oh, it will stop a mother's heart! Hannah can't wait for daddy to get home and flip her around, throw her up in the air. She asks for him to do it again and again.
As I looked at the recent pictures of them playing together today, I was reminded of Jesus' words in John 8 where He says that He does and says only what the Father has shown Him. We are also to be imiators of our Heavenly Father...like a child that imitates her daddy. The other thought that came to me was that our Heavenly Father longs to play with us, have fun and love on us. He loves to make us "giggle" and smile. So let Him toss you around today!
August has turned out to be a very exciting month for our family. On the 4th Eric & I closed on our first home. We had tremendous support from family & friends come help us get our new house ready by cleaning, painting, moving. THANK YOU SO MUCH to those who helped! We could not have done it that quickly without help. As Eric & I walked around our house that first weekend, we were overcome with the feeling that this is God's house. While we feel the pride of ownership, we also know that God has given us this place to be used for His Kingdom.
The other big news I briefly mentioned in the last email I sent out. Eric & I are teaming up to serve as the youth ministers at Odyssey Community Church. This is the church that we've been attending since March and Eric plays drums in the worship band. We've really felt like God led us to OCC for a purpose. Initially, it was an answer to our prayers for a community of believers to join. OCC is a church that really cares for each other in good and bad times. It's a fairly new church, only a couple years old, that meets in a local elementary school. The pastor and staff have a vision for really reaching the community for Jesus. I really don't think we could have picked a church that suited us better. Right now, there are about 10 students in the youth group. We have a lot of work ahead to grow this group for the Lord! Please be praying for us as we begin with this ministry on Wednesday. (meeting in our house!)
Last weekend (Aug 17-21), Hannah & I travelled up to Clayton, GA for the annual AIM Staff Conference. About 140 people gathered together from all over the world to celebrate what God did in the last year and how HE is moving AIM forward in the next year. It was a refreshing time to unite with my co-workers, plan for the coming year, and renew our vision for advancing the Kingdom of God through missions.
I also received an update on the ophans in India. The AIM team that served there this summer was a Godsend! They were able to provide for the orphans when the leadership of the orphanage could not. The pastor that was in jail, went to court and the judge ordered that the persecution of the orphanage by the police was to stop. Praise our Lord!
Another update, my support account has dropped low again. Would you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter? You will receive a tax deductible receipt for your donations. You can now support me online by clicking the red link to the left. Your support and prayers are what keeps me working for an organization like AIM that is passionately reaching this generation of students for Christ! Thank you so much for the faithful in this!! You are a blessing in my life!
To be honest, as I was packing my bags and preparing to leave husband & daughter I was asking myself that same question!
Why am I going to Tunica? There was a youth group also preparing to have thier first mission trip there and many were asking themselves that same question.
I arrived in Tunica, a small town of only 2,000 people, with my worship leader (pictured right)and 2 staff members late on Wednesday night 7/12. We only saw the nice houses as we drove to the bunk house off main street. The next day we got the full tour of the town. We headed 5 minutes north to what's called the "North Sub"--the black part of town. The houses and living conditions gave me flashbacks of Mexico as many were little better than shacks. I was beginnng to see the needs of the extremely racially divided town as we made the final prepartions for the youth group to arrive.
Hot, tired, and eager to load off the bus, 27 people from Greenville, IL (a town smaller than Tunica) arrived on Saturday afternoon. We gave them some general orientation, worshiped, played games, and went to bed. The next morning we headed across the tracks to a little black church called First Community Church. Greenville, IL is a 99% white town so it was a very new experience for most of the students & adults. Worship was viberant and swinging, full of soul. Pastor Rodney (who was also our speaker for the week) paused the service to introduce the group of white folks in the congregation. But before he did, he preached straight to the group...and our eyes were opened.
Pastor Rodney told his story of how a revival broke out in 1993 and God charged him to lead the way to tear down the walls of racial division in Tunica and that he is to serve his "Jerusalem." He had no clue how that would happen so he began praying and praying and praying. God answered with a verse, "
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matt 9:37-38.
So as he and his congregation began serving the community, they began to pray for more workers. Pastor Rodney saught out the other pastors in the county-both black and white- to join together to serve the county. They began "pulpit swapping" a black pastor would preach at a white church and vice versa. There was friction with this initially but slowly the walls started to crumble. That same year, one of the white churches went on a missions trip to Mexico with Adventures In Missions.
When they got back and saw the need in their own Jerusalem, they asked why couldn't mission teams come to Tunica? The very next year AIM sent the first mission team to Tunica. Each year, they see more and more fruit as the racial barriers are melting away and the love of Jesus is being poured out. Pastor Rodney faced the group and with a crack in his voice said, "So you see, I've been praying for you to come since 1993."
With a broadened vision, the group was eager to get out there and minister...well, that is until I asked them to go door to door in the North Sub to pass out Vacation Bible School flyers. The first few houses were approached with timidity but after that they were moving along inviting everyone one they saw to come to VBS the next day. As the bus pulled away, kids chased it down the street waving, eager for us to come back.
Monday...Time to get neck deep in ministry. The group split up into 3 groups. One worked on painting the local women's club. One went to the park in the North sub to play and meet kids. And one went on a prayer walk. This was the routine the rest of the week. The prayer walk group got to see the deeper needs of the North Sub. Groups of men were sitting in the yards playing cards and pretty drunk...it's only 9 am. Children played alone and took care of themselves.
Now, let me tell you about VBS...We got started around 1:30 and in 10 minutes the number of kids jumped from 9 to 49! That first day was so wild, to put it mildly. So many of the kids, mostly boys, were running up and down, screaming, hitting or kicking us, fighting each other. I had never seen a VBS that chaotic! We were suprised by 5 or 6 year old children bringing their one or two year old siblings or cousins to VBS all alone. One mom came with her two children (which behaved like angels). She told us how it broke her heart to see this because she knew that the parents were basically absent. The boys that were the most rowdy probably couldn't read. And their only examples of men interacting is with violence.
Jenny, one of the adult sponsors, attempted to calm one 7 or 8 year old boy name TT down. She told him, "Jesus loves you and I love you and I'm going to pray for you." TT responded by covering his ears and yelling "La La La La". But everytime TT came near Jenny she told him again, " Jesus loves you and so do I." He would shout and run away...but he kept coming back to her. He (and all the children) was so hungry for love.
Each day at VBS, the kids were better behaved. By Thursday, they were telling us "I love you" and asking when we could come back again. I could go on for days telling the many stories and lives that were touched through just 4 days of loving on kids. If you'd like to read the students reports of what happened, visit the Mission Trip Reports.
One thing that I love to see when I am leading a missions trip, is the student's lives that are changed. The first day or two, it was like pulling teeth to get them to pray out loud. But by Thursday night, many shared how much their faith & prayer life was deeped. One girl, Brittany, shared that before coming on this trip whenever someone told her to pray about something she would go and think about it. Never before had she actually prayed about it and waited on the Lord to respond. She said that now she would actually wait to see what God wants instead of just thinking about it. I love those stories!
It was a good trip even though it was really hard to be away from Eric and Hannah for 11 days. I was so glad to see them both again! Thank you so much for all your prayers for us during this time. It's been a busy but good summer.
Hannah is almost 15 months old and loves to do whatever her daddy does! She is facinated with the forbidden X Box controller and TV remotes. She beams so brightly when she gets to hit his drums with the drum stick. She tries to play her little "guitar" like daddy plays his. And the games they play...oh, it will stop a mother's heart! Hannah can't wait for daddy to get home and flip her around, throw her up in the air. She asks for him to do it again and again. 
Now, let me tell you about VBS...We got started around 1:30 and in 10 minutes the number of kids jumped from 9 to 49! That first day was so wild, to put it mildly. So many of the kids, mostly boys, were running up and down, screaming, hitting or kicking us, fighting each other. I had never seen a VBS that chaotic! We were suprised by 5 or 6 year old children bringing their one or two year old siblings or cousins to VBS all alone. One mom came with her two children (which behaved like angels). She told us how it broke her heart to see this because she knew that the parents were basically absent. The boys that were the most rowdy probably couldn't read. And their only examples of men interacting is with violence.