New Blog

Thanks for reading about my ministry in the Cloverdale community. If you would like to continue following my journey check out my new blog at: http://www.ambassadoroflove.blogspot.com/

One Last Time...

Well, that's it. Our last sleepover has come and gone, marking the official end of girls' group. It was a little sad but all in all we had a great time. For the first time ever, all 15 girls were there and as crazy as that was, I could not have been happier to celebrate the last year and a half all together. We had a blast playing some wild and crazy games in the gym...

The slideshow was a definite hit and the "Girls' Group Jeopardy" was a lot of fun as well. It was great to see how much the girls remember from all that we've talked about over the past 18 months. As we were settling down into our time of discussion I invited the girls to share about something they have learned, something that has touched them, or a way that they have changed as a result of our times together and I was so blessed by their responses – everything from making new friends and increased self-confidence to developing an actual relationship with God, praying more often, understanding that God’s love never changes, etc. We ended off the evening with a brief lesson in cake decorating which the girls then got to try out for themselves…

I am so thankful for the last year and a half and for the awesome privilege it has been to know and love these girls and to play a small part in the amazing work that God is doing in their lives.

Girls, in case you ever read this, I love you and I am going to miss you so much…

Final Sleepover

Next weekend I am going to be having my final sleepover with the girls. It looks like all 15 girls are going to be there which, considering various situations including the fact that one now lives in Ottawa, another's father has said no to the last several sleepovers, etc. is quite a miracle. The girls are really excited and so am I. The finality of it all is going to be sad for sure, but really it's going to be a time of celebration of all we have done over the past year including a round of "Girls' Group Jeopardy" and a slideshow of pictures from all of our activities over the past year. I'm especially excited about our devotion time. I feel that I have done everything I could to share the gospel with these girls over the past year and so my challenge to them on Friday is going to be to "choose for themselves whom they will serve" (Joshua 24:15). In His final address to the Israelites, Moses said to them: "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) That is both my challenge and my prayer for these girls, that they would choose to follow Jesus and hold fast to Him every day of their lives. Would you join me in that prayer? It is your prayers that have carried us this far.

The End...

Jesus is like Bread...

Sorry it’s taken me so long to update, I came down with a cold/virus at camp and haven’t been able to shake it… So anyway, as you know last week was our last girls’ group event for the summer and our topic for the week was how Jesus is like bread (gotta love the bread sculpture churches… I told them they could make whatever they wanted and that’s what they came up with!). Jesus being like bread is obviously not an easy concept for elementary school aged students but, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I was once again blown away by their understanding. I asked the girls what kind of things people hunger for, besides food, and as they sat there thinking I saw a light go on in one of the girls’ eyes as she responded with “money… love… friends” etc. It was a great way to end off our summer and I’m praying that these girls truly do turn to Jesus to satisfy their every hunger.

Now that the summer is over it’s time for me to talk about the one thing I have been avoiding talking about on this blog… As I imagine you all know by now, over the past few months I have felt God leading me into missions and, as a result, I am no longer working with Montreal Youth Unlimited. I am currently looking into opportunities abroad and hope to leave within the next few months. I am very excited about all that God has in store however, ever since I made this decision there has been one thing I have been dreading – saying goodbye to the girls. I let the girls know at the end of the retreat and it was a lot harder than I expected. The girls were more genuinely upset than I thought they’d be and, after having such an amazing summer with them, so was I. I remain convinced and totally at peace that this is what God wants me to do but that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to these girls that I have come to love so much. We will be having one final sleepover on October 9th and in the meantime I will continue to visit them and have one-on-ones with them until I leave. Please keep my girls in your prayers over the upcoming weeks and months, that they would understand why I am leaving, that they would not feel abandoned (so many of them have already been abandoned too many times in their lives) and that I would be able to set a good example for them of what it means to truly follow God. Pray also for me as I pray about how I might be able to continue to be involved in their lives.

Well, considering I no longer work for Youth Unlimited you probably won’t be hearing much more from me here but I’m planning on starting a new blog soon so stay tuned…

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

Goodbye Summer

So, the kids go back to school on Thursday making tomorrow the last official day of summer and our last week of girls' group... After spending such an amazing three days with the girls I miss them already and am anxious to see them tomorrow. Also, knowing that many of them took big steps forward in their faith over the past weekend, I am anxious to build on that and to continue to challenge and stretch them in their faith through tomorrow's discussion. The Topic: Jesus is like Bread - He fulfills our longings and fills the emptiness we feel in our lives. Please pray that this week would be the perfect conclusion to all that the girls have been learning and all that God has spoken to them over the course of the summer. Pray that they would once again be touched by the power Jesus has to fill their every need, to heal their every hurt and that they would invite Him to come and be their everything.

Camp

They say a picture says a thousand words and all I can say is I hope that's true because even a thousand words would not be enough to tell you how awesome the past few days with the girls have been… Nevertheless, let me throw a few words out there just to give you an idea: fun, games, Michael Jackson music, swimming, boating, catching frogs, scavenger hunt, singing, dancing, more Michael Jackson music, facials, movies, junk food, fireless campfire, s’mores, late nights, even more Michael Jackson music… laughter, tears, deepening friendships, good conversations, profound reflection on the Word of God, powerful times of worship, heartfelt prayer and many intimate encounters with God.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS

Camp Here We Come!

Well, this is it, only one more day before we leave for camp… We’ve been planning and praying for this retreat for months now and I can’t believe it’s actually here! As I mentioned in my last post, God has made it so clear that He is moving mightily in the lives of these girls and we are SO excited for what this weekend has in store.

The theme of out retreat is “Rescue Me” and we will be having sessions each morning and evening talking about how Jesus can rescue us from the storms in our life, in times where we may feel vulnerable, out of control/powerless, unworthy or invisible.

We are leaving for camp on Thursday morning and returning Saturday evening and we would appreciate as many prayers as you could offer up during that time...

Some specific prayer requests:

- Safety and health for all the girls and staff

- That God would give opportunities to Helene, Stephanie and I to really connect one-on-one with these girls, that we would be attentive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives and that we would make the most of every opportunity.

- That each girl would experience a personal and intimate encounter with God.

Finally, I want to conclude with the words of Paul… “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel… Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”