Stuttgart, AR

     This summit is in Stuttgart, AR. Tomorrow is our last day here, but this summit has been pretty good. We have been staying with Darren and Tricia. However, we ended up moving halfway through the week, because Dylan got the flu. So we moved in with Teresa and Bruce. They have two girls, Jenny and Samantha. We are once again back with Tricia and Darren and Dylan is doing fine. Instead of being in Happy Heart, I have been in Teens for the beginning and in service during main. I have really enjoyed getting to listen to what the teens are learning from Michael. On Sunday, we talk about salvation. He really put it in perspective of what it means to die to self.
     I got to see my parents this summit! I missed them so much! They came bearing pies :) They brought 9 pies, and a lot of love. I got to spend the night with them Thursday and Friday. They left on Saturday morning and made it home safely. It was really great to visit with them and to just have fun with family.
    Next summit we will be in Harrodsburg, KY. I am very excited about that summit. It seems like revival has already started. There has been many people saved already, and just some of the activities that have been going on, it gives me a new excitement. I know that God is working here and in all of the other places we have been and are going to go to.
    Please keep praying for our team as we only have 4 summits left this year. We need to finish well and not get distracted. Also that we will continue to walk with God daily and He will strengthen our faith.
Thanks for everything you do!!

Faithfulness None Can Deny

      This past summit went really well. We were in Hernando, MS. God did some really amazing things on the first Tuesday night. We ended up going for about 3 or so hours. God really moved in families. In Happy Heart, we had our biggest group at 34. It was so much fun to have that many kids, and it seemed like they understood the lessons too! I really enjoyed our host home. Andrea and Dave were generous enough to host three of us. They bought me a cheesehead! (Go Pack Go!) They have two children, Elizabeth and Joshua. It was awesome getting to know them.
      We are now in Stuttgart, AR. The summit just started yesterday. I am sitting in for main service and I am working with the teens during pre service. I really enjoy being in with the teens. I have made some connections with some of the girls already and I am excited to see what God will teach me. I am staying with Angela and Jodie at Tricia and Darren's home. They have two children, Dylan and Haley. I am very excited to see what God is going to do at this church!
       Laine and Janet are in Texas for the Vision Gathering, so we have a guest speaker for this summit. I cant believe how fast February went by! Its already March, which means we have about 2 and a half months left of traveling!
      Today during team meeting, God really put on my heart how important it is to please God and not man. Also that it is impossible to please God without faith. God has really been working with me on that one. I know that God is faithful because He has proven Himself time and time again. But I struggle with trusting that He will be faithful again... Time and time again He proves me wrong, He always comes through. Praise the Lord.
    I am super excited to see my family this week!!! I miss them and will send love with them for all of my "Rustonians"

Thanks for all your prayers!

White Flag

          This past summit was good. We were in Social Circle, GA. It was a quaint little town and I liked it. I stayed with Allison at CL ad Joyce's house. They were so sweet! Unfortunately they got the stomach bug that was going around and were not able to attend many services. Despite that, there were many who went up and testified about what God had been doing in their life. We had about 16 children in Happy Heart the entire time. Matt was sitting in again so it was just me and Angela, but we did it well! There was one night where I went home sick, slept for 4 hours and then went back to bed at 11:00 that night. I felt much better the next day. :)
          We are now in Hernando, MS. I am staying with Sarah and Hilary. We are staying at Dave and Andrea's house. They have two kids; Elizabeth, 13 and Joshua, 15. I am very excited for this summit to start and see what God is going to do here. In Happy Heart, we are going to have (estimated) 45 kids!!! That is the biggest group we have had all year! I have a good feeling about this summit and I know that God will do great things!
       So as I was getting ready this morning, Sarah was playing her music. The song White Flag came on. I absolutely love that song. Its a good reminder that we need to surrender daily! God has already won whatever battle we are going to face that day, and we need to surrender to Him and let Him fight it for us. What a great reminder! I appreciate all your prayers and will try to keep y'all updated more often.

Rediscover You

Hey Y'all! This past summit was really great! We had so many amazing testimonies of current addictions, and breaking addictions. It was amazing. I had never heard so many testimonies like that before. God was really working in that church. We had a big group of Happy Heart kids all week, which was awesome. And one of the kids, Jedadiah, wanted to auction a cow. So we let him :) He was pretty good at auctioning too. There were so many great times at this church. We are currently headed to Social Circle, GA for our next summit. It will be our 10th church of the travel year but our 3rd church of 2013. The time is going by so fast! I cant believe its February 1st already. In 14 days, we all have to tell Head Quarters if we are traveling again or not. I have already let them know that I will be traveling. God has really showed me that this is where He has me for the next year. I am so thankful and appreciative that I have y'alls prayers! (I have been pickin' up on the whole "y'all" thing) This past week we had a team meeting and Laine talked about faith.. It really hit me, I dont have faith and I need to. Its not something that happens over night, but God is definitely showing His faithfulness to me. He provides time after time and yet I doubt. I am asking Him to help me believe and trust Him. This week I heard this song again. It is called Rediscover You. The chorus is this: "You told me, look for You and I will find. So I'm here like I'm searching for the first time. Revive me, Jesus, make this cold heart start to move. Help me rediscover You"
I think its very fitting.
Thank y'all for everything!

You Are

This week, we are at Pump Springs Baptist Church in Harrogate, TN. I am staying with Danielle at Steve and Christy's home. They have two girls, Baileigh and Addison. We had some really great conversations with Steve and Christy already. It is so great to see what God is doing in this church. On Wednesday night, Laine was planning on speaking about Forgiveness, like normal, but God had other plans. Many people went up to confess sins and six base camp students went up to ask their parents forgiveness infront of the church. We normally dont do testimonies until the second week, but God really was moving in the church that night. Happy Heart City has had a great group! They are very energetic children and we have about 26 every night. Its great to have a big group, because most times we have super little ones. So me and Angela are enjoying it. Unfortunately, last summit, we missed two days of the summit due to ice storms. And this summit, we had to change the time of Home Life Cafe. It is normally at 9:00-1:00 but its going to be from 1:00-5:00. This is the biggest HLC we have had, and that Wilson has had. We are expecting 125 adults. That is so amazing. We set up 20 tables, and we are praying that they will all be filled.
God is still working in my life and teaching me many things. One thing He is teaching me right now is how to wait on His timing and to trust Him. It's so easy to find myself in a situation where I am doing things how I want to do them, but I need to catch myself and LET GO AND LET GOD. Don't get me wrong, I am still working on it. But I am farther than I was 6 months ago. This coming February, we all have to tell Head Quarters if we are returning next year. I have made my decision and am waiting for the date to tell them. I have prayed a lot about this, and I feel that this is where God has me for the next year.
This week I started a devotional by Matt Redman. It has really been good for me. The first day was about finding 10,000 reasons to praise God. When you think about it, it sounds like a lot, but he went through and explained it... Every single thing that God made is a reason to give Him praise. And he made everything, therefore, we wont ever run out of things to praise Him for.. I am so glad I worship a God like that.
One of the songs that I hear so often is You Are by Colton Dixon. It really makes me think about if that describes my life.. in the bridge he sings, "If I had no voice if I had no tongue, I would dance for you like the rising sun. And when that day comes and I see your face I will shout Your endless glorious praise." I am turning this into a prayer, one that can be fulfilled before that day comes. I want to be filled with His praise and shout it to everyone.
Please be praying for our team as they make the decision to travel next year or not. Also please be praying for my coteacher Matt, he is with his family for the time being. Pray for peace for all of them.

Never Once

Hey guys! Its been so long since I have updated. So here goes:
         Our last summit before break was in Athens, AL. It was such a great summit. However, the attendance for Happy Heart was very few.. towards the end of the summit, we only had the revivalists daughter. So we combined with Base Camp for a lot. The teens were open to what Michael had to say, and I think all around it was a good summit. I stayed with a really awesome family who had three kids. Jake, Hannah, and Mary Beth. I had such a great time with them.
        Once we left Athens, we went back home for the month of December. It was so good to be back home with my family and friends. I got to see my grandma and my brother. I really just now realized how easy it is to take family forgranted. Because the people you live with you see everyday, and now that I am traveling, I really realized how much I miss them. But I know that this is where God has me for now.
        Right now we are in Corinth, MS. Our summit started this past Sunday and we have had a pretty good group of kids in Happy Heart. We have about 10-12 on any given night. Base Camp has about 20-30. I am praying that God grabs ahold of their hearts and that the kids would really understand everything that we are teaching. Before we left for break we all switched up lessons. So we are getting back into the swing of things with new lessons. But so far its going good. My host parents at this summit are very sweet. They are an older couple, but its so awesome to see them together. They are coming up on 49 years of marriage tomorrow!
     Its such a blessing to be able to do what I am doing. God is so great and He has really been teaching me, and the team, that without Him, we are incapable of agape love. 100% sacrificial love, expecting absolutely nothing in return. Another thing He has been teaching me throughout this time is to wait on Him. Its not about what I want and when I want it... Its all about HIM and HIS timing. He is never late, and never early... always on time.
       If y'all could be praying for our team to stay healthy, that is much appreciated. We are trying to not get the flu, and where we are right now is where the flu is hitting the hardest. Also please pray for me as I just came off of break.. My mind is still back home, and I need to be 100% here.
      As I was sitting here writing this, I was listening to my music. One of the songs that I had heard a thousand times came on. It really hit me this time. Never Once by Matt Redman. Listen to that song when you get a chance.. really listen, meditate on the truth that is in the song. Prasie God for NEVER leaving us!

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.