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.