I'm a Terrible Blogger!

Well, it's been about four months since my last blog and not too much has changed. Life is good. Still loving marriage, and Chad, and our home, and most of the time Green Bay. (We got a BLIZZARD yesterday, and the temperature is supposed to get down to -15 today... wind chill -35!) Really, it's not that bad though, when you're used to living in Michigan.
I'm working fulltime now at ACS. It's a great job, but we're adjusting to a busier lifestyle with both of us being gone almost 10 hours each day!
I love getting to speak at our school chapels. I'm in such a perfect ministry opportunity! A few weeks ago, I challenged students to start reading their entire Bibles, and the school caught hold of that vision and now we even have a bulletin board tracking students' progress on reading through Scripture! I get to preach so often and have such a relationship with these kids that I see the messages impact them. I see how they're growing and remembering what I've been teaching and it's so exciting! I'm definitely blessed!

God's blessings

I've yet to be convinced that anyone actually reads my blog, so I don't know if this is worthless writing for me and all those advertisers, but in case not, here goes:

I LOVE MY JOB! God has blessed me so much. I love the constant interaction I have with the kids, I love integrating teaching them about God into everyday subjects, I love leading chapel, challenging them, and loving on them. I have friends on my staff and life is good!

So why then, do I become like the Israelites? When times were bad I was constantly relying on God and seeking Him, and now that things are going so well I almost forget about God like the Israelites constantly did in their wanderings in the dessert. Amidst my time of blessing I need to see my need for Christ!

I'm a teacher!

When I resigned from Young Community, I really didn’t know what I would do next. I knew that I still want to start a camp someday, but I didn’t see how that was going to happen quite yet. Without a camp nearby to work at, my next thought was that I would love to teach Bible at a Christian school. I realized I had awful timing since the school year had just started, but nonetheless, I sent my resume to every Christian school I could find within an hour of here. I sent out the resumes less than two weeks ago. As expected, several schools merely replied that they were full, but Mrs. Pat Tofte, the administrator of Appleton Christian School (ACS) emailed me and said she was very impressed with my resume and didn’t have any openings at the moment, but she would like to meet with me.

I tried not to get my hopes up, but I went down to Appleton (about a 35 minute drive) last Friday to meet with Mrs. Tofte. When I got there, she explained how God had been working in miraculous ways to bring just the right people to the school at just the right time. She then said that between the time I emailed her and Friday she had developed an opening. The opening wasn’t for Bible, as I would have hoped, but she needed a part- time 1st and 2nd grade teacher. Knowing my passion for teaching Bible, she also offered for me to lead both the elementary and middle school chapels every Wednesday. My interview went well and I went back on Tuesday to meet the students and teachers. When I saw what I would be doing, I immediately fell in love. I accepted the position and started work yesterday (Wednesday)! (This whole process happened in about a week!)

Since ACS is a small school, 1st and 2nd grade are combined. However, they need to be split up for some subjects, so I work from 7:45-12:45 each day, teaching 1st grade Math, 2nd grade Reading, and 1st grade English. Every Wednesday I stay the full day and lead chapel in the afternoon. This is very different from what I was doing with Young Community, but I’m so excited about it because I love the constant interaction with the kids! With Chad working days and our only time to spend together being evenings and weekends, it was a great challenge balancing ministry time with kids and time with Chad. Now, I get to see the kids while Chad is at work! The school has great curriculum that brings Bible lessons into all of the subjects, so I am doing ministry while I teach Math, English, and Reading! I am so excited to lead Chapel as well because that will be a great time of ministering to the whole school. This is such an honor and privilege!

I realize now that one of the reasons I was struggling at Young Community is that I wasn’t getting to use my gift of teaching very often. Now, I use it many hours a day and it just lights me up teaching those cute 1st and 2nd graders! Also, the staff is amazing. There are several other young female teachers on staff who have welcomed me in with open arms and I rejoice because I will finally be working with friends throughout my day rather than being lonely working mostly out of my home.

I give God all the glory for providing just the right job (though it’s not what I would have expected going into this) at just the right time (now I know why God suddenly told me I must leave Young Community!). I did not expect answers this quickly, or honestly even to be this happy, but PRAISE THE LORD, prayer is powerful!

Please pray for:
· My teaching and ministry at ACS
· The young adults group Chad and I lead (We had one new student at our outreach dinner, but she and a couple other new people are interesting in coming to our group!)
· Megan and Kaiti, the high school students I mentor
· God to provide a way for my dream camp to start in His timing (if it’s His will)
· Chad’s and my marriage

September Ministry Update

Dear Ministry Partners,

Following God is tough. That is definitely what I’m learning right now. When I sent you my last update, I knew I needed to be honest and confess that there were some things that I was struggling with. I was seeking God and His direction and thought that process might last quite a while. However, His direction was revealed to me last week. I was overwhelmingly confronted with the fact that God was calling me to leave Young Community. I thought this was a possibility down the road, but that if it happened it would be because God had shown me the greater path He has for me. Well, God hasn’t shown me that path yet, but He’s calling me to be obedient and leave now out of faith. God directed me through circumstances, I sought counsel from my pastors and leaders at my church, and He confirmed this decision with the truth of His Word.

This said, I’m sure you’re wondering why I am leaving. Both Chad and I did not feel Young Community provided an environment where I was challenged, experiencing growth, trained, or encouraged to use and improve my ministry skills. We felt my talents weren’t being used for the Kingdom as they should be. I love the missionaries in Young Community, but they have a much different ministry philosophy than I do. Young Community is very laid back, casual, and unstructured. They feel this allows freedom for the Holy Spirit to work. While this may be true in some cases, I am a person who needs structure. I want accountability. I want a plan and steps to follow on that plan. I recognize I’m young and new to the ministry, and I want someone overseeing me, encouraging me and helping me grow. I don’t know why God called me to Young Community to be leaving so soon, but I don’t discount for a minute the work He did through me and thus through you in these past seven months! I got to lead so many youth to Christ, I developed discipleship material for kids who accept Jesus, and I set the foundations for ministry at Lake Owen Camp for years to come. God did some mighty things through your prayers and support, and I thank you so much for that!

This past month, it became apparent that the ministry I was doing was ministry I had sought out, not Young Community ministry. Therefore, if you’re wondering if I’m continuing in the ministry, I say, “YES!” with no doubt in my heart. My church has talked of their willingness for me to come on board as a staff member there. They don’t have the funds to pay me, so perhaps I will keep raising support, but through First Christian Church rather than Young Community (Young Community will no longer accept support on my behalf). I ask that you keep your hearts open to this possibility, but since I still don’t know what God is calling me to, I’m asking you to hold off on your support for the month of September. In the absence of your financial support I need double the prayer support! I’m asking 20 of my supporters to commit to praying for me every day this month. Please email me if you are willing to commit to this. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and that God’s will be done! Please pray also for the camp that God has placed on my heart… that He would provide the right land and people at the right time!

I can never thank you enough for your love, support, prayers, and giving of your finances to support me and this ministry. None of it was in vane, you have won eternal rewards! If you have any questions or concerns about my decision or my future plans, please let me know! Otherwise, you will hear from me again in a month (or maybe sooner) and I will share with you where God has taken me at that point.

Honeymoon

A couple fun honeymoon shots

Pictures of us

Here's us in front of our house!

Lake Owen Camp

Here are various pictures from ministry at Lake Owen... top is a skit for Prime Time (the half hour session where we hare about God, play games, etc), second is campers acting out a skit, third is Prime Time, fourth is me with some of the gymnast campers, and bottom is Eddie Bieber skateboarding (the camp has gymnastics and action sports like skateboarding, BMX, and inline)

More Lake Owen Pictures

Top, we have me teaching at "crazy hair day" Prime Time (the kids are acting out a Bible story as I read). Middle are some of the older girls from Prime Time, and the bottom is Rebecca, a gymnastics coach, sharing her testimony with the girls.

Home Fellowship Group

College/Young Adults Home Fellowship Group Chad and I lead

August Update

August 4, 2005
Dear Ministry Partners,

In ministry, as in life, there are many ups and downs. The past couple of months have been filled with a lot of both. It’s often hard to talk about the downs in ministry, but they are very real and I must share them with you.

The skatepark has been a huge burden and stress on our ministry. Back in May, our numbers dropped severely because as the weather gets warm, kids can skate for free at outdoor parks. With an average of only 4 kids at the park each day, we weren’t able to pay the rent or keep ministry going (I even cancelled my Bible studies because no one was coming anymore). Also, a few months ago the missionary who was managing our skatepark resigned. We went through a couple of stressful months where little ministry took place and try as we may to keep things going, it wasn’t working. God sealed the door when our fundraisers flopped. Just a couple of weeks ago, we decided to turn over Skateside so it is no longer a part of our ministry.

This means more time and resources for our other ministries, but it also means that all of our work at renovating the front room into a coffee shop is now down the drain. While that is disappointing, it actually has been a good thing for me. As time went on, I was getting more and more frustrated with the coffee shop. I had great vision for how ministry would take place in that atmosphere, but I had no desire to run a coffee shop. It became apparent that I would be spending a lot of my time in areas God has not called me to. Therefore, I am no longer working toward a coffee shop. Young Community still would like to start a coffee shop down the road, but I will not have an active role in that.

Lake Owen has been going wonderfully! We’ve had over 100 kids pray to receive Christ and over 300 have been presented with the Gospel message. I am going out to camp August 6-13th to wrap up the summer, so please pray for God to work this week and that the kids who’ve accepted Christ throughout the summer would find a way to grow in their faith back home.

With no more teen center, Bible studies, coffee shop, and Lake Owen wrapping up, as you can imagine, I came to the point of saying, “What am I doing with my ministry?” This was another low. I’ve had various frustrations and discouragements over the past few months, and I’ve spent some very serious time asking God what it is He would have me do. I definitely feel He has called me to start a camp at some point in time, and I keep praying, “God, is that time now?” I am praying, trying to get word out, and watching for opportunities, but the godly counsel I have received so far says God is seasoning me and preparing me; keep waiting on His timing.

Where am I going? In this time of transition, I expected Young Community to provide a path and direction for me. But I’m beginning to learn how tough it is working for a small, new, para-church organization. I don’t feel God is directing me to leave Young Community, but He did direct me toward my church. I went to my pastors for advice, and they took me in. Our children’s pastor has started to meet with me weekly to help me set goals and vision for my ministry, since I felt that was lacking. I also expressed my interest in plugging into the church more (one of the benefits of Young Community- it’s important that I be doing Kingdom ministry, but it doesn’t really matter where) so I’m starting to attend the church weekly staff meetings. Our church’s youth pastor, Ricky, expressed a desire to see more people pour into the youth. I suggested setting up a mentoring program where young adults (mainly from the group Chad and I are leading, which is going great!) meet one on one with a youth to pour into his or her life. Ricky loved the idea, so I’m helping get that off the ground, and already we have 8 youth who are willing to commit to a weekly mentoring relationship! Also, my mentor from the church, Michelle, has really started to pour into my life and come alongside me.
What am I involved in right now? I’m spending a lot of time getting fed, whether it’s through Michelle, Jill (our children’s pastor), staff meetings, or the time I’ve been encouraged to spend alone with God. Chad and I are leading the young adults group, and I’m taking extra time to pour into those young women. I’m organizing the mentoring program, and once it’s underway I’ll continually be training the mentors. I’m mentoring two high schoolers: Kaiti, the girl I met at Skateside who came to church with Chad and I, and Megan, who is from our church and just got baptized The Young Adults Group Chad and I lead at our home
this past Sunday!
Otherwise, I’m seeking where God is at
work and trying to jump on board.

Thank you for allowing me to be so honest. I appreciate your prayers for continual wisdom on where God wants me pouring my efforts. And, praise Him, I am seeing so much fruit from focusing on individuals in my ministry rather than large groups! Thank you for believing in me and entrusting me with your prayers and support!