Let the PRAISES rain!!!!

Springtime means rain, thunderstorms and showers.  Everything turns green again and comes ALIVE.  There are so many things that I can praise our GREAT God for that my imagination has praises raining down like a spring rainstorm!

Psalm 104:33-34  (NLT)  "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.  I will praise my God to my last breath!  May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I  rejoice in the Lord."

For the sake of time, I am choosing to focus on God's provision in relation to Emma's trip, although I am sure I could go on for pages and pages!  TONIGHT I feel like Jesus' disciple when he said, "Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25 nlt)

Reasons to PRAISE today!  

1.  774 blog views as of today!  Thanks to each one of you who are praying for her, encouraging her and supporting her!

2.  TOTAL SUPPORT COMPLETE!!!  God provided a few days after our last blog post, but it has taken me this long to make it public.  God has used each of you to provide the $3081.60 needed!  God used you to provide all of that from Feb 19 to April 29.  There have been over 50 different donors from all across the United States.  Emma's friends and siblings were able to raise $100 by selling some homemade jewelry and potholders at our local homeschool co-op presentation night.  Some of you have hired her to do some odd jobs, and others have anonymously given.  THANK YOU so much!  ONLY our GREAT God could provide in this way!  Thanks to each of you who have sacrificed so much to give to her.  Because I have the honor of helping to post the monies that have been given, I get to SEE the sacrifices.  This year, especially I was touched by the number of older saints on fixed incomes who gave out of their little to support this shy and quiet kid.  Nothing speaks words of affirmation, love and support better than what we sacrifice for!  THANK YOU!

3.  only 51 days till she leaves!  WOW!!!  Time is flying, and I am proud of her as I watch her serve others, and look for opportunities to grow.  I am hoping to post a paper here that she is writing to encourage young people to tithe or give out of whatever God has blessed them with.  This grew out of a conversation that our teen class had in Sunday School this past week.  

This mama is incredibly proud of her daughter.  More than I ever know how to say,  but I need you to know how "normal" we are.  We are rejoicing because God chose to provide for us, NOT because we deserve it, or because somehow we have gained His favor more than others.  This is what He has allowed, and we are humbled by it.  Em is fairly typical as far as teenagers go; she likes her privacy.  She loves music and reading.  She hates exercise and love to play video games.  She loves to try new foods, paint her nails and shop.  She backtalks to us, and annoys her brothers and sisters.  She does not like to do school work, and would be perfectly content to sleep all day.  Her room is a mess.

On the positive side, she also will sit and teach the younger kids for me.  She is a huge help to me each day by reading the younger kids stories, doing art projects with them, and playing imaginative games.  She crochets purses for her young friends, and sacrifices with her little money to make sure that her friends and family are remembered on their birthdays.  She even sent one of our single moms a Mother's Day card.

Perfect?  Nowhere close.  Growing and willing?  ABSOLUTELY!!!

And she has chosen to go on another missions trip.  Not because she is perfect or holy.  She is a normal human sinful teenager.  Just like any other missionary or pastor or whatever servant you would like to put in that space.  She loves God, His Word and desires to be a blessing to others.  She is learning how to share her faith.  And she is excited to stretch her wings of faith and see what God will do if she says YES!  Sound familiar?  As I have talked with many of you, it sounds like your teenager!

One of the things that I hope God does with Emma's story of going even though she's scared and insecure, is that it will inspire other teens to do something hard and terrifying also.  I am hoping God will allow us to see what happens when our kids learn at young ages what it means to step out in obedient faith and let God do what only He can and use us to write the next chapter in His incredible, life-changing story!

Psalm 78: 1-4 (NLT)  "O my people, listen to my instructions.  Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable.  I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.  We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders."

PRAISE to Our GREAT GOD!!!

The stats as of TODAY April 28!!!

.

PLANE TICKETS ARE FINALLY ORDERED!!!

ONLY $200 left to cover the remaining cost of plane tickets!!

She will be flying in and out of Binghamton!!!  She will travel with her friend Kyra!!!

715 blog views as of today!!!

ONLY 68 days left till she leaves!

Deuteronomy 10:21 (NLT)

Psalm 102:18 (NLT) "Let this be recorded for future generations,     so that a people not yet born will praise the LORD."

"He alone is your God, the ONLY one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes."

Why, oh, why am I so surprised when God does what ONLY He can do?  ALL of my rejoicing is to Him alone who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and can auction them off as He chooses to  in order to accomplish His purposes!  

Psalm 50:9-11 (NLT)  "But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens.  For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine."

THANK YOU GOD for what You alone have done!  Thank You for moving in the hearts of so many to donate towards this trip.  Thank You for allowing Emily and Kyra to have flights together.  Thank You for allowing these girls to SEE that serving You is the ABSOLUTE BEST way to spend their summer and life.  Thank You for using us!  

Some of you have asked what's left for her to be ready to go?  PLENTY!!!  Em continues to pray for those that she will meet along the way.  She also is diligently studying God's word and desires to be ready with an answer to anyone who asks of the HOPE that lies within her.  1 Peter 3:15(NLT) "Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."  She continues to serve here in a variety of ways with our local church.  There is still some travel paperwork and insurance paperwork to be completed, notarized and faxed.  There is also plenty of shopping and packing to do, which Em enjoys far far more than her mama!

PLEASE keep praying!  It is so neat to see young ones serving our Father and loving His people.  May they continue to be an example to all of  believers who are watching them!        

1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT) "Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity."

Thanks again for all that you do to love and support our family!

~Melissa for the Bunch  :) 

Emily's thoughts on Radiate!

 left to right: Sara, me, Sammie, Beca and Meghan

(we were trying to be a rainbow,  look at the colors of our shirts and skirts)     

A really cool thing that I didn't get to see on my last trip to NYC was the wishing wall.  Did you know that the confetti that drops out of the ball on New Years Eve is not your ordinary confetti!  Every year NYC tourism dept. allows tourists to write down their "hopes and dreams" and then they fill the ball with those pieces of paper.  Awesome right?  I thought so.  The picture below is us under the ball.  We actually wrote out some prayers to God, instead of wishes.  Why wish for something when you can pray to the One who holds the entire universe in His hands!

Thanks so much for praying for me over the past few days.  Personally, I loved "Radiate" and hope that I am able to participate next year.  I think it is a good thing for high-schoolers to be involved in even if "missions" is not their thing.  I think it is good for teens to learn to serve others and not expect everyone to serve them.

Once again, God did more than I ever dreamed that He could.  He quickly allowed my fears to be silenced.  He provided the perfect group to work with.  He not only provided some friends that I am anxious to keep in touch with, but He allowed them to be teens who love the Lord and are also serious about serving Him.  He even allowed it to be the perfect size group.  We were just the right size to get everything done but small enough that our group could get close even over a short amount of time.  Sarah, Beca and I were known as the lumber-jacks all week because of our hard work loading and hauling logs on Thursday. :)  Although it sounds like work I was with a great group who made it fun.  On Friday, we spent the day in Wilkes-Barre.  While we were there we went around asking people if  we could pay their parking meters for them, sadly people mostly turned us down.  We sensed that's how they felt about their lives; that they had it under control and they didn't need anyone else including, but not limited to, God.

I am excited to see what God has in store for me next.  I am studying hard so that I can be ready for whatever He puts before me.  Thanks again for praying for me!  I love how God has answered so many requests in such a way that I can see what He is doing.  I know it won't always be that way.  Would you continue to pray for me as I get ready for this summer's trip?

Radiate Friday: Serving in Wilkes-Barre, PA

OH the joys of parenting a teen.  They have knack of wanting to talk when I am sleeping!  :)  But, she is worth waking up for!

She called tonight at 12:15.  I assumed I wouldn't get to hear from her today, so we both had gone to sleep. In Sa world, this means I will be up for the next few hours trying to go back to sleep. but again she is worth it.  God has been incredibly kind to her/us with this trip.  She has had some neat experiences and made some good friends.  All things that we had prayed about.

Today,  she had an opportunity to travel south to the city of Wilkes-Barre.  Why Wilkes-Barre?  (This information is taken from the Restored Church website http://restoredchurch.org/).  The city of Wilkes-Barre is the seat of Luzerne County which is 2.9% evangelical. This area is in desperate need of a church planting movement fueled by the power of God and prayerful teamwork among the people of God. The area is resistant to evangelical Christianity due in large part to dead religious systems or apathy toward God as revealed in Scripture. Many feel the northeast corner of America has become the most un-churched area of our nation and basically “post-Christian.”

Combined with the city of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre forms the third largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania (behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). Wilkes-Barre was founded in 1769 and formally incorporated in 1806. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area had a population of 563,631 in 2010. Wilkes-Barre had a population of 41,498 in 2010. This area is depressed, spiritually needy and desperately needs the restoring power of the gospel.

She said it was cold, but they had the opportunity to meet with people.  The goal was to distribute literature about the church.  One of the ways that they did this was by waiting near parking meters with quarters ready to pay for someones parking.  This would then allow them to pass out information on this not yet launched church.  

Please be praying for this ministry as they prepare to reach this community with the good news of Jesus!  The following information is copied from the Restored Church website.  http://restoredchurch.org/

Grand Opening 2013

We are committed to building a core group of 40-50 committed individuals before we start holding weekly Sunday services. As we continue to build that core group we are having monthly “preview services”. These services will include our worship band, preaching from God’s Word, and vision casting for the church to discover more about who we are and what we’re looking to do. Each preview service will be held at 10:30 am at Downtown Arts (47 North Franklin Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702). These dates are:

April 14th
May 12th
June 16th
July 7th
July 21st
August 4th
August 18th
September 1st
September 8th (Grand Opening)

Please keep praying for her and the team as they travel to NYC tomorrow.  Their goal is to pass out 4000 bottles of water!  

Thank You!

~mama sa 

They were out all afternoon sharing the love of Jesus in very practical ways in Downtown Wilkes Barre!


The above picture and caption was completely stolen from Mel Walker's facebook page.  Em is "hiding" in the middle.  Her smile says it all.  I haven't heard from her yet today, but I can't wait to hear what God is doing!  ~mama sa

Radiate Thursday: Serving in Tunkhannock :)

Thank you so much for praying!  Guess what God has done!

RELATIONALLY:  He has provided as only He can!  He has allowed her a group of young ladies to serve with this weekend who are lovely encouragers.  She has found a circle of 5 teens that are making her feel at home.  They are all home schooled so she feels an instant connection with them.  Although Em is one of the youngest kids at Radiate this weekend, being the oldest of 6 does allow her some degree of maturity so she doesn't think any of the kids know that.  :)  She was thrilled that someone thought she was 17.
(For the record she is still only 14 although just for another week!)

not an actual pic of their work...but Mom was imagining!

SERVICE:  She had the opportunity to do some physical labor for a new church plant in Tunkhannock, PA.  She and two other girls were able to clear logs and branches from a piece of their property to make it more attractive and usable.  While it was not her first choice of service assignments, she had a good day and a great sense of accomplishment by the end of their work time.  Mr Jackson was VERY impressed by what the three girls were able to accomplish!  I love how God uses our "little" if we offer it wholeheartedly to Him.  I am so pleased that BBC is offering the teens opportunities to serve in a variety of settings.  Tunkhannock allowed the teens to experience a small town atmosphere, while Wilkes Barre will allow them to serve in a mid-size city.  Saturday they will be in NYC, definitely large city.  People everywhere need to know about our Savior, and we need to learn how to share in a variety of situations.  God's message remains the same, but our methods for sharing can be as varied as our temperaments and personalities.


TODAY:  weather permitting, they will be assisting a church plant in Wilkes Barre this afternoon with some literature distribution.  Please pray that the weather would allow them to do this.  Em is like her mama, door-to-door type service makes us happy.  But, God allowed us to SEE yesterday, that even if we don't get to do what we want, He has the BEST plans already in place.  Please pray that she and the other teens will joyfully serve however God sees fit today.

Thanks so much!

~Melissa

Destination...Anchorage, Alaska!

We just confirmed today that if God allows, Em will be serving in and near Anchorage, Alaska this summer.  

I am internet searching for information so that I can wrap my heart and head around where it is that she will be.  I found a ministry that sponsors missions trips to Alaska entitled Waaay Out Missions and I "stole" this picture from thier website.  They also have this to say about ministry in the Alaskan Bush... "Alaska is the greatest and most beautiful place in the world. Most mission teams come to the Anchorage area because it is cheapest and easiest to get to. However, we have more than 100 Native Bush villages with no church whatsoever, and many, many more villages with very few spiritual opportunities. Right now we are having an epidemic of teen suicide in our Bush villages. Unfortunately, the places with the greatest need here in Alaska are also the most expensive to get to...   As a Christian pilot friend here once told me, "Souls up here in the Bush are expensive." But what is the value of a soul???

While I don't know all of the details as to where Em and her team will be serving, I know that God has it all under control and that He will use this group of young people to plant seeds of hope. 

1 Corinthians 3:6-7(NLT)  "I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.  It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow."

Anchorage is located in Southcentral Alaska. The Chugach Mountains are east of the city, and waters of Cook Inlet border the city on the northwest and southwest. That means one is never too far away from a mountain adventure or a coastal stroll.  Anchoarge is the northernmost city in the US with more than 100,000 residents and one of the largest communities in North America.  It is Alaska's most populous city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population. 

This is a panoramic shot of Anchorage at night taken from the Cook Inlet.  What a beautiful city! 

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!  We appreciate each one of you.

~Melissa for the Bunch