Hey everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that I have reached the $1,000 mark! Only $2,000 left to go! God is pretty awesome! That includes the raffle money, but is about 2-3 weeks behind with personal donations - so!!
And next week is MARCH - which means I will find out my assignment for the summer! Can't wait to see where God wants me to be!
Hope you all are doing well.
Joy
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Work - a lot is going on at work, so just pray that I will have wisdom in handling certain situations and patience. God has been teaching me a lot about trusting that He is in control of everything.
2. My Middle Schoolers - that God will bring someone to lead my small group while I am away and that my girls will grow in their walk with God and that I will be a good role model for them to look up to.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Raffle Winner!!
Congratulations to the raffle winner: Chris Groover!!
Definately a deserving fellow who gives a lot to serve God and he is totally appreciated even though he may not hear that a lot...
Thanks to all of you who are helping support me this summer through your donations from the raffle tickets!I
raised $215 to go directly towards my trip!!
YAY GOD!!
Thanks again,
Joy
Definately a deserving fellow who gives a lot to serve God and he is totally appreciated even though he may not hear that a lot...
Thanks to all of you who are helping support me this summer through your donations from the raffle tickets!I
raised $215 to go directly towards my trip!!
YAY GOD!!
Thanks again,
Joy
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Public Speaking Debut?
So I am still trying to soak everything in from my "public speaking debut" last night - haha! Thanks to everyone for your prayers! You guys are awesome!
I had been preparing for about 2 weeks - rolling over different life experiences I might want to share, lessons learned along the way, words of wisdom, stories, jokes... Yeah, thought I had it pretty much planned out with some flexibility in there.
Funny how when you get up there, you can use some of the same stories, but totally emphasize something else. I didn't even realize how much I used to say, "No, God; I can't..." until tonight. Holy cow, like I never would have thought I would be where I am today: standing in front of MY youth pastor (Russell: you are da bomb, man!) and his youth group giving my tetsimony about what great things God has done in my life and how I am serving Him in so many ways. I always wanted to be the Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, picturesque Christian.
God kept nudging me, wanting me to serve Him with youth ministry. And with my signing ability... And I kept saying, "No, God... You can't choose me... I am not good enough... I am not the person you want..." Wow, even tonight I was so nervous but I knew God wanted me to do it and I had some awesome people that believed in me... I tried to say no so many times because I thought I knew the big picture and I just couldn't comprehend how it would all work out in the end. In reality, I didn't know anything about the big picture. I only knew a skewed minute fraction of it.
Now, I am finally to the point of saying, "Yes God! No matter how crazy this may seem, I am trusting you to equip me to do Your work." Like agreeing to speak tonight, and especially this 2 1/2 month internship (mission trip) where I have no idea what the big picture is. This is totally opposite from where I used to be... Wow... God has brought me through so much and brought me so far... I can only imagine what things will be like down the road if I continue to trust Him and seek Him first and continue to say, "Yes, God! No matter the cost!"
Just say, "Yes, God!" Whatever the reason you are holding back, it isn't worth it! Our time is so short, we don't have time to say, "No!"
Peace, love, and JOY!
I had been preparing for about 2 weeks - rolling over different life experiences I might want to share, lessons learned along the way, words of wisdom, stories, jokes... Yeah, thought I had it pretty much planned out with some flexibility in there.
Funny how when you get up there, you can use some of the same stories, but totally emphasize something else. I didn't even realize how much I used to say, "No, God; I can't..." until tonight. Holy cow, like I never would have thought I would be where I am today: standing in front of MY youth pastor (Russell: you are da bomb, man!) and his youth group giving my tetsimony about what great things God has done in my life and how I am serving Him in so many ways. I always wanted to be the Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, picturesque Christian.
God kept nudging me, wanting me to serve Him with youth ministry. And with my signing ability... And I kept saying, "No, God... You can't choose me... I am not good enough... I am not the person you want..." Wow, even tonight I was so nervous but I knew God wanted me to do it and I had some awesome people that believed in me... I tried to say no so many times because I thought I knew the big picture and I just couldn't comprehend how it would all work out in the end. In reality, I didn't know anything about the big picture. I only knew a skewed minute fraction of it.
Now, I am finally to the point of saying, "Yes God! No matter how crazy this may seem, I am trusting you to equip me to do Your work." Like agreeing to speak tonight, and especially this 2 1/2 month internship (mission trip) where I have no idea what the big picture is. This is totally opposite from where I used to be... Wow... God has brought me through so much and brought me so far... I can only imagine what things will be like down the road if I continue to trust Him and seek Him first and continue to say, "Yes, God! No matter the cost!"
Just say, "Yes, God!" Whatever the reason you are holding back, it isn't worth it! Our time is so short, we don't have time to say, "No!"
Peace, love, and JOY!
Support Letter
Dear Friends and Family,
As you know, last summer I was blessed with the opportunity to go on not just one, but two missions trips: one to Memphis, Tennessee as a middle school leader and one to Moose Pass, Alaska with my church's college group. Each mission's trip touched my life in a different way. In Memphis, words can't even begin to describe what it feels like to see a teenager serving God and drawing closer to Him. I also realized that I struggle with living in the future (ex. planning different ways to serve God next month and next year, but forgetting about today). While living in the future, I was forgetting to make the most of today – and reach out to people today, even if it as simple as listening to a teenager talk about their day or answering their questions about God. I had forgotten that I can serve God with the little things in my life. The mission's trip to Moose Pass taught me that God can use anyone if we just say, "Yes!" I had never done street evangelism before or just gone up and started talking with homeless people, and one of my group leaders challenged me to be the first to start up a conversation. I shied away at first, and then I noticed a deaf homeless man. I was the only one on my team who knew sign language. I didn't see him come into a saving faith with Jesus Christ, but I can tell you that many of the homeless people, who had discouraged me from talking with the man, noticed a change after I just "listened" to him talk about his life. I was scared and nervous and inexperienced, but God will provide and equip you in your time of need.
I say all this to you because last summer, I began to feel a call on my life to serve God through LeaderTreks (the company that organized my Memphis trip). LeaderTreks is for youth groups (middle and high school) across America to go and reach the world and to develop strong Christian leaders from this generation. I have such a burden for the youth for today. It is hard growing up in today's society and maintaining even an ounce of faith because it seems everything is against you. I was hesitant at first because of all of the "details" but once I said "Yes!" to God, I have seen Him take care of almost every detail I once worried about.
I have no idea where I will be as of yet, I should find out in March. I could be in one of several places in the United States or I could be sent to another country. I will be working as an intern and will be building relationships with students and challenging them to become more like the awesome God we serve everyday from the beginning of June through the first part of August.
I don't know all of the details right now, but I do know God knows them. I have to raise my own support (this helps keeps the cost lower for youth so that they can experience a mission's trip). My goal is $3000 to cover food, housing, transportation, and other essential costs for this 12 week internship program. Please carefully consider if God would have you donate. A response card is enclosed with more details and all gifts are tax deductible.
More than finances, I also need your prayers (there is also a section on the response card to become a prayer warrior). I learned this first hand at the Passion Conference that I interpreted the first week in January this year. Two prayer warriors prayed for our interpreting team for strength because we were absolutely exhausted and I can't even begin to describe how God came over us and gave us His supernatural strength. Without prayer, this mission's trip won't be possible.
If you would like for me to keep you updated, please send me an email (joyful_in_christ@fastmail.fm) so that you can receive any future updates and prayer requests.
Thanks again for your time and may God richly bless you,
Joy
As you know, last summer I was blessed with the opportunity to go on not just one, but two missions trips: one to Memphis, Tennessee as a middle school leader and one to Moose Pass, Alaska with my church's college group. Each mission's trip touched my life in a different way. In Memphis, words can't even begin to describe what it feels like to see a teenager serving God and drawing closer to Him. I also realized that I struggle with living in the future (ex. planning different ways to serve God next month and next year, but forgetting about today). While living in the future, I was forgetting to make the most of today – and reach out to people today, even if it as simple as listening to a teenager talk about their day or answering their questions about God. I had forgotten that I can serve God with the little things in my life. The mission's trip to Moose Pass taught me that God can use anyone if we just say, "Yes!" I had never done street evangelism before or just gone up and started talking with homeless people, and one of my group leaders challenged me to be the first to start up a conversation. I shied away at first, and then I noticed a deaf homeless man. I was the only one on my team who knew sign language. I didn't see him come into a saving faith with Jesus Christ, but I can tell you that many of the homeless people, who had discouraged me from talking with the man, noticed a change after I just "listened" to him talk about his life. I was scared and nervous and inexperienced, but God will provide and equip you in your time of need.
I say all this to you because last summer, I began to feel a call on my life to serve God through LeaderTreks (the company that organized my Memphis trip). LeaderTreks is for youth groups (middle and high school) across America to go and reach the world and to develop strong Christian leaders from this generation. I have such a burden for the youth for today. It is hard growing up in today's society and maintaining even an ounce of faith because it seems everything is against you. I was hesitant at first because of all of the "details" but once I said "Yes!" to God, I have seen Him take care of almost every detail I once worried about.
I have no idea where I will be as of yet, I should find out in March. I could be in one of several places in the United States or I could be sent to another country. I will be working as an intern and will be building relationships with students and challenging them to become more like the awesome God we serve everyday from the beginning of June through the first part of August.
I don't know all of the details right now, but I do know God knows them. I have to raise my own support (this helps keeps the cost lower for youth so that they can experience a mission's trip). My goal is $3000 to cover food, housing, transportation, and other essential costs for this 12 week internship program. Please carefully consider if God would have you donate. A response card is enclosed with more details and all gifts are tax deductible.
More than finances, I also need your prayers (there is also a section on the response card to become a prayer warrior). I learned this first hand at the Passion Conference that I interpreted the first week in January this year. Two prayer warriors prayed for our interpreting team for strength because we were absolutely exhausted and I can't even begin to describe how God came over us and gave us His supernatural strength. Without prayer, this mission's trip won't be possible.
If you would like for me to keep you updated, please send me an email (joyful_in_christ@fastmail.fm) so that you can receive any future updates and prayer requests.
Thanks again for your time and may God richly bless you,
Joy
Welcome and THANK YOU!
Hey everyone~
So this is going to be my blog site!! I am so excited!!
I want to post updates about my fundraising progress and most especially prayer requests. I always found it hard to pray for some missionaries because I never knew what to pray for. So, by creating this site, I hope to provide you guys with more specific prayer needs along the way leading up to my internship and also throughout the summer! Prayer is a powerful tool and so often we save it for last but I know that it needs to be first in our lives.
So anyways... Check back every so often for updates!
Love you guys!
Joy
So this is going to be my blog site!! I am so excited!!
I want to post updates about my fundraising progress and most especially prayer requests. I always found it hard to pray for some missionaries because I never knew what to pray for. So, by creating this site, I hope to provide you guys with more specific prayer needs along the way leading up to my internship and also throughout the summer! Prayer is a powerful tool and so often we save it for last but I know that it needs to be first in our lives.
So anyways... Check back every so often for updates!
Love you guys!
Joy
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