Laboring for Jesus

  1 Work Party for Great Wolf Lodge down, at least one if not two more to go to get some of these kids funded to go. The students did a great job ripping up black-berry bushes. Samantha helped her friend Elysa even though she has the trip already paid for.

  Sometimes I get that thought in my head, "I am out hear helping kids pull blackberries when I should be worrying about my paycheck." Not only do I hate this thought because I believe the enemy uses it as discouragement, but I also hate it because I do this job out of calling not because of the money. As some of you may know I have been applying to other jobs over the past 6 months. My intent is not to leave this ministry, but provide for my family. Not only is this an element that needs prayer, but it is an area I would like to see improved. I hope in the next couple months to start a community support team for the Fern Ridge Area for the Campus Life Programs in our community. This team will be an advocate for Campus Life and seek ways to support it through making it known and coming up with ideas to generate funding. It is my heart to see kids come to know Jesus. Salvation calls to these students for them to grasp it and realize the relationship that Jesus has in store for them. I want this ministry to survive when I am called elsewhere. My heart is behind these students and this community!
  I know that some of us have realized that our trip to Heaven has already been paid for. It is our job to help pull the blackberries from these students lives as part of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Another night at club, another 60 students who got to hear the gospel. Dave Williams was our guest speaker (he is a youth pastor in springfield), and his testimony challenged both those that call themselves Christian and those that don't. Hurt by an abusive adopted father, disowned by his church, starved, a thief, in jail for armed robbery, sentenced to death by a doctor for the cancer (one type he still has)... What excuse can you make not to believe in Christ or go to church? This testimony covered many of those areas of pain that these students have. It was powerful and I am grateful Dave brought the word! The students listened well, and Dave even challenged the Christian students to reach out to the hurting. May we all heed that call and reach out to the hurting!
  Thanks again for your support!

(Work party picture, with two pictures from the talk @ Monday's Fear Factor Club. The picture at the very bottom is me sharing the gospel at the middle school all nighter).

Bus load

  No Pictures from Commandos, and I keep forgetting to get a group shot of kids at these events. When you get around 60 kids it makes for a pretty nice group pictures (it also keeps the chaos contained into a small space).
  Commandos was a great event, the Fern Ridge Youth Center helped facilitate by having a place for students to go when they were tagged out. This also provided me an opportunity to give a small presentation of the gospel (the prodigal son) and the Love God has for us through that story, before we began the next round. I could tell some students were captivated by the story by their attention and also by the students whom asked questions after.
  I maxed out my bus with 60 students coming to putters. I was thinking different event, not the high mark of commandos, maybe 30 students to 40. Boy, was I under estimating. It was a great time to connect with students and for them to just have a time away. As one parent said "thanks for another (child's name protected) free night," a partial joke and truth I am sure. Though I do not take these students for a baby sit or fun, the goal is that they see who they are in Christ through the love and care of myself and the staff. Please continue to pray for the students as we head back to the Cafeteria at EHS for the regular mayhem of Club!