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