Do It To the Glory of God

Hey guys
So the last summit was very great and I really enjoyed sitting in the services! I really learned a lot more than I thought I would because we just had Life Action come in January. But let me be the first to tell you that once you are on the team, the services are that much harder. God was really showing me things that I needed to get rid of in my life so I can focus on Him; granted it's a day by day process. We, as a team, had some tough times, but with God's grace we got through them. God has really shown His mercy to our team. At the end of the summit we went to the City Museum. It's pretty much a playground for adults. We had so much fun with that. We also had our Fall Formal on our last day. It was a great time as a team. We had our ornament exchange and we did some games. It was an awesome end to that summit.
We are now in Goodlettsville, TN. The church is Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church. They are super great people and they have great accents. I am in a host home with Sarah B. And we are staying with Renee. This week, Matt Fredericks is overseeing all of the CMs. Matt is from the blue team and it's been awesome getting to see him again. Our first day of the summit went pretty well. In Happy Heart we had about 8 kids. I think that God will do something really great here, and I am really exited to see what He has in store for this church.
One of the verses that God hit me with today was 1 Corinthians 10:31... Whether we eat or drink, or what ever we do, do it ALL to the glory of God.  We are to bring Him glory in the small things and in the big things. Even things we dont think are important, we need to do it in a way that points to Him.

One end is another beginning

Hey guys! Its been a while, and the New Lenox summit was pretty good. The size of the group we had in Happy Heart shrunk from the first Sunday to the last by about ten kids. But we had a good group. They were pretty rowdy and wild most of the time, but we did get the lesson in.
    Inside the sanctuary, we had 28 testimonies! So that was pretty good. I really wish I could have heard some of them, but just knowing that God was working in the church was great!
   We got to have a fall cookoff at the church. What that included was, some people teamed up, and others did it on their own. I, however, did it on my own. We could either make a dessert or an appetizer. I made a turkey cheese ball. It took me like four hours to make, but I did win best Fall Theme. During the cookoff, we worked with our tables to make the best pilgrim village. And our table won :) Pictures are on facebook, somewhere...
We also got to go to Chicago!! It was so much fun and a great time to spend with the team! Even though we got rained on a lot, it was a great memory! (pictures are yet to come)
    We are now in Hazelwood, MO. We just finished the first night of the summit and it was very good. I have the privilage of sitting in for ALL of the services this time. I am very excited to see what God has in store for me to learn this time. Today was about our nation and why we need revival. Tonight was about Biblical family principles, and revival in our own lives and why we need it. We took the Complete Spiritual, which you can get online at www.lifeaction.org under the Revival Resources tab and under the Revival Worksheets, which is most definitly not made to pass... which is good, because I dont come close. One thing that I have been asking God about is surrendering. What have I surrendered? What do I need to surrender? Is there anything I am not willing to surrender? All those questions run through my mind. But God has been showing me some of the main areas that I do still need to surrender to Him. I want God to be the Lord of my life, not just someone I can talk to and ask for things from. I want to be able to let go of the reigns and know that God has everything in control. I am very excited about the rest of the messages this week!
    Oh, and the girl who I sent the Bible to has recieved it and started to read it! PRAISE GOD! Please pray for understanding and a willingness to read.
     Please be praying for Danielle, a base camp instructor and a great friend of mine, she was sent home this morning due to health issues. She had an allergic reaction to something a few nights ago, and she will be further monitored at her family doctor. Please be praying that everything will be fine. I know that God has it all in control, but its very scary when we dont know whats going on.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Summit #4

We are in New Lenox, IL this week. We had a great 4 day break at the camp! I really missed being there, so it was nice to be back. I got to catch up on some sleep as well! We arrived in New Lenox on Friday night. I am in a host home with Tara this time. We are staying with Rich and Ann. They have 4 children, but only two are still living in the home. Brett (19) and Alyssa (22) are in the house. Amber lives next door and has four children who come over to the house every day. So I have gotten to know their grandchildren as well as their children. This summit has been pretty good so far. In Happy Heart, we have had up to 28 kids! Angela is sitting in this week, so its just me and Matt teaching. I am so greatful for the helpers that we have. They are so great. During one of my quiet times I was prompted to write out what I had to ask forgiveness for, to write out all of 1 John, and to give my old Bible to one of my friends back in Wisconsin. Please be praying for her to accept it well and to read it daily. I am praying that God will do something great in her life. As far as other prayer requests, please be praying for my focus and attention to be aimed at God. Also for the team to have selfless love toward everyone. For the people at this church to have open hearts to what the Spirit will have to say. I know that God is going to do so many great things.
Thank you for your prayers!!

Sarah

Marion, KY

Hey y'all. We are in Marion, KY right now. We got here last Friday and this Sunday is our last day. This summit was only an eight day summit. Everything has been going pretty well. God was really moving in the church last night. In happy heart, we have anywhere from 5-10 kids. It has been different teaching this week because our head teacher is sitting in on the services. But God has definitely given me grace through it.
I am loving the host home we are staying in. I am staying with Hilary again and we are with Stuart and Pam. They have two girls, Maggie(16) and Mauri (12) It has been great getting to know them this week. It has gone insanely fast and I can't believe we only have two more days left. I am going to miss them once we leave.
After this summit, we have about three days off. We are going to the Life Action camp. I am so excited to be going back there! Please be in prayer for the rest of this summit and the previous summits. God is still working in the church in PA! praise the Lord!
Thank you all for your prayers!

Sarah

How a leaf changed my life

As I was sitting on a log, admiring God’s great creation, a leaf fell on my foot. It wasn’t a green leaf; it was a beautiful orange leaf. As soon as it fell from the tree and landed on my foot, I started to think about my life. We as Christians are so much like leaves. A leaf is only alive for so long. It is always attached to the tree; however there are certain things that can tear it off. There could be a storm that blows the leaves off, or people could decide to rip them off. The ones that are still on the tree change color when autumn comes. The leaves become beautiful once they begin changing. But once they have changed, they fall off of the tree. We need to become like a leaf. When we were born, God accepted us as His children even if we don’t accept Him. If we accept Him, we are on the “tree” and if we don’t accept Him, we always have a rope leading to the tree. The rope is Jesus and the tree is God. There are things that will try and take us away from the tree. People will come and pull us into the worldly side of things, or a spiritual storm will come and make us question why we are hanging on so tightly. The funny thing is, that when we are full of ourselves, and prideful and arrogant, we are a green leaf. We are like everything around us. But when we fully surrender to God and die to ourselves, we become a beautiful, colorful leaf. It is then that we can “fall off” of the tree and land on someone’s foot to change their life. Then, when they are finished with us, we can simply sit on the ground, on our faces and worship Him for His greatness and power. While we are waiting and worshiping, He will send someone else to pick us up, examine us and start the cycle all over. But if we don’t surrender, we won’t be completely effective for the work God has for us. Because we won’t be changed by God, so we will still be on the tree, watching people pass us by. We need to be like a leaf, die to ourselves, surrender to God, and LET HIM CHANGE US!

How have you impacted someone lately?

Alexandria, KY

     Here in Alexandria, KY, things are going very well. We got here on Friday and the day after, we got to attend a Beth Moore simulcast here at the church. It was such an encouraging message and I am so thankful that we were able to attend. God really worked it out for His good because we were talking about faithfulness and faithlessness. They had Travis Cottrell doing worship and it was definitely everything I needed. Beth Moore is such a great speaker and it was so great getting to hear her stories.
     The summit has been very good. Last summit we had about 10 kids in Happy Heart City, and this summit we have 20-28 on any given night. It is definitely different than last summit. But the kids are really getting into the songs and the skits. I think the most fun thing is teaching them the Ten Commandments. Tomorrow night they will be going up in front of the church and reciting them. God has been working in the people that have been coming and it has been good so far!
      I am staying with three other girls in my host home. Ms. Imogine is our host mom and her friend Bev is over a lot to visit with us. They are such great ladies and I am so blessed that she has taken us in for the week. The other night we went out to Newport, and we got to see the city. We ended up finding a sushi restaurant and we got to eat there! It was so much fun and I am going to miss those two ladies so much!
     Tomorrow is our last night of the summit. It has gone by so fast! Please keep the Pennsylvania church in your prayers as well as this church. On Friday, we leave to go to our next church which is in Marion, KY. That will be only an 8 day summit. After that summit we get a few days off back at training camp. I am so thankful and blessed to have this opportunity to serve with Life Action. I am loving it so much and I love our team!!!

Where God Guides, He Provides

The last day of the summit in Altoona, Pennsylvania was very good. It was fantastic to see a few people come up front and share what God had been doing in their lives through the past week and a half. Happy Heart City went very well for the whole summit. We got a very encouraging word from the pastors wife that their granddaughter was putting the lessons we had been teaching into action. The amazing part is that she is only 3 years old. God is so amazing! We ended up leaving a day earlier than expected. It was sad to leave our host family but I am so excited to see what else God is going to be doing in all these churches. The church we are at now is Main Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, KY. We are staying with the sweetest lady, Ms. Imogine. The first Sunday went very well in Happy Heart City and I am excited to see what today holds. Please keep Calvary Baptist Church (Altoona, PA) in your prayers as well as for Main Street Baptist Church. Please keep praying for our team, as well as the other two teams. I have been greatly blessed in a way I can't even comprehend this past week and I thanked God for providing. Where God guides, He provides. His timing is never early or never late... Always right on time. That is a very hard thing to remember. Thank you all for your prayers!
Matthew 6:19-21

Nothing Can Separate Us

         I cannot believe how fast this summit has gone. Tomorrow is our last day and God has really been working at the church. All of Happy Heart City knows that none of this would have been possible without God's help. Last night was the first night of testimonies and I heard that there were a few people lined up. Praise God that He has been working in the hearts of people here in Altoona.   
        One thing that the girls are doing together is a devotional book called True Woman 101 Divine Design. It is a book written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Mary A. Kassian. I am so excited to go through it, and I would recommend it for all the ladies out there. It tells about what True Womanhood is all about. Nancy is a great author and I would recommend checking out her stuff. You can go online at www.truewoman.com and look at what she does. I would encourage all ladies and young ladies to listen to her radio program. She is a great woman who loves the Lord.
       God has really been working in my life recently, just by showing me what I need to change before I can "help" others. Just like it says in Matthew 7:5- "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." But God has revealed things to me and I have given them up to Him. Nothing feels as freeing as when you give anything up to God.
       I was reading through Max Lucado quotes and came upon this one:
"The Bible is the story of two gardens: Eden and Gethsemane. In the first, Adam took a fall. In the second, Jesus took a stand. In the first, God sought Adam. In the second, Jesus sought God. In Eden, Adam hid from God. In Gethsemane, Jesus emerged from the tomb. In Eden, Satan led Adam to a tree that led to his death. From Gethsemane, Jesus went to a tree that led to our life.”
― Max Lucado-
Romans 8:38-39:  "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Praise the Lord!

Group Picture

Happy Heart City Group... Altoona, PA

Altoona, PA

Hey guys,

So we left the camp on August 30 and arrived in Altoona, PA on the 31^st. Me and Allison are staying together in a host home. So far I am loving it. They are great people and they are on fire for the Lord. The husbands daughter traveled with Life Action back in 2004, so he is aware of what we do. The first day in Happy Heart City was interesting. We had 4 kids in the Sunday school hour and 5 teachers. We were all up doing a song and none of the kids were doing anything. Later on through the day they got more active in participating though. It has been an encouragement to hear the kids recite what they learned.

                God has really been working in my heart and showing me where I need to step up… I know its Him and not me because I don’t usually think in the ways that I have been. The other day, He put a picture of a dog in my mind, and told me that is how I am to love Him. I need to be excited about spending time with God and eager to see Him when I have been away. I need to want to be everywhere with God, and to miss Him when I walk away.

                Another thing that God has been doing is changing my attitude. I noticed it right away and the first thing I said was “THANK YOU! I know I couldn’t do it on my own!” There has been no shortage of God’s love and mercy being poured out into my life as well as the teams lives. I can honestly say that this is the best place for me to be right now, right where God has called me.

                So far I have taught 2 lessons and they have gone very well. God definitely has given me grace throughout this week and I am so grateful. The kids seem to be receptive and somewhat focused on the lesson. Please be in prayer for continued revival after we leave the church.

                I will keep you all updated!

Thank you so much for your prayers!!

First "Summit"

Hey guys!

So this last week has been a lot more hectic than other weeks. We left on Saturday morning to head to Battle Creek, Michigan. We did a “one day summit” for a trial run. So I had my first experience with everything. We had to set up the church and everything we do at normal summits. We ended up setting up for Happy Heart City on Sunday morning. However, we had no Happy Heart City. We did get to team up with Base Camp and we had a very good morning. We got to stay at host homes as well. I got to stay with Sarah Bearden, so it was the two Sarah’s. Our host parents took us out on the boat the first night and we got to go tubing behind it. Then they had a picnic for the church at their house where we got to go boating again. It was a really great first experience.

                We are leaving this Friday morning. So please keep us in your prayers. Red team is the first team to leave. Our first church will be in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Please be praying for open hearts at their church and for divine opportunities to be presented.

                Today I got the opportunity to go to the White Team’s Thirst Conference. It was such a blessing to be able to go. Ryan Loveing is the lead revivalist and gave the main message. God really worked in my heart! Praise the Lord.

I will keep you all updated as much as I can. Thank you for all your prayers!

 

Miss you all and Love you all

 

Sarah Russell

Training Camp Week 2

Hey guys!

This week has been very good. We have been training a lot still, but with all of my assignments done, I can finally start to relax. We have been performing skits in front of all of the other teachers, and learning more songs and dances and games. So there is always some time for goofing off J But this past Thursday we had Frontier Night. That was where the camp staff set up the Tabernacle to look like a tavern… so it was now the Tavern-acle. We ate out of tin pans and had root beer out of bottles. They put so much thought into this night, and it showed. They had watermelon seed spittin contests, and slingshot contests, and a horse riding contest. Proud to say that the Red team guys won everything for our team J But the white team girls won everything for their team. In all, it was a great night. Everyone came dressed up in plaid and jeans and hair in braids. I even got to wear my boots. The camp does such a great job taking care of us. Today (Saturday) is a Foster Kids day here at the camp. They are taking them out on the boats, and canoeing. They have bouncy houses set up for them and grilling hotdogs for lunch. It is so nice to get to spend time with all of them. Yesterday we went team shoe shopping! God helped so much, because we all found shoes for the year! I know this week there hasn’t been as much spiritual growing this week, but God is not done working. Praise the Lord! But it has been so nice being here, because I have been in the Word every day! So I feel so good every day.

                Praise!!! The pink eye only lasted about 2 days.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

 

Sarah

Life At Training Camp

Hey guys!

So far, I have been having such a great time here at Life Action. We have been so busy training, but we all get along so well. It is such a God thing that the Red Team is already like a family! I couldn’t have asked for a better team family! Sometimes it feels like information overload, but I know that God will help me through it all. We have 3 different 3 hour training sessions a day. But during our afternoon session, we have a half an hour of prayer time and it is really fantastic!  We went to the director of the camps house for dinner and ended up with a challenge. All three teams had to make a rap video about One Cry. (www.onecry.com) there is no video up on the website though. They are trying to get the artist to vote on which video is the best. Starting Sunday morning, we have “Revival Week”. Revival week is pretty much a mini revival for the team members. So we get to hear all of the revivalists speak before we go on the road. I am praying for an open heart for myself so I can take in what they are saying and apply it to my life. God has really been showing himself to me even just in the past couple days. Just a few ways that you can pray for me: for God to prepare my heart for revival week and on the road. For me to have an open mind as we go through the year. For me to not forget that God is over everything, and without Him, nothing is possible.

I will keep you all updated. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! I love you all!!

Sarah Russell

These are all of the CM’s on Red Team.