Psalm 73:26-"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Praise the Lord for another great week! We were so tired but the week was packed full of wonderful people and beautiful stories. It was really cool to hear that many of the youth ended up being placed at ministry sites where they were extremely uncomfortable and the Lord broke them down and they didn't want to leave their sites by the end of the week. We had some very mature youth that were such a blessing and encouraging to us as staff. The adult leaders were wonderful and spunky. They were truly a great group. Two of the adult leaders shared with me their stories after I had shared mine on Tuesday morning about losing Ryan. One of the adult leaders had actually been through the same exact thing at the same age. Her story was so encouraging and great to hear and see how far she had come since then and where she has gone and is going. I was comforted by her story and was reminded once again that I am not alone. God is good.
This week, Pastor Troy, the executive director of Halifax Urban Ministries (2 of our ministry sites are part of this organization) came and spoke to the youth on Wednesday night. His message about homelessness and youth without passion was extremely powerful. The youth were deeply moved and motivated to find their passion. He is a very passionate man and I really wish you all could meet him! Many of the youth came to me the next day said that they couldn't get what he said out of their heads. God was moving. Thursday night, the Holy Spirit moved with might and intensity. All of the youth had never been on a YW trip before, so they had no idea what was coming. There are no words to describe what I witnessed. Beautiful, simply beautiful.
This week we have 75 participants on site, our Area Director is here, and our Region Director and Director of Recruiting will be here Thursday. We will be overflowing! Please pray for yet another smooth, powerful, and Spirit-filled week.
Only 2 weeks until I come home. I can't believe it! I have truly enjoyed being here and getting to know the people of Daytona and the youth that have come to join us in our mission here. It will be really hard to leave but I am excited to see what the Lord has next. South Africa, maybe?
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Week 8-Once upon a time
This week was yet another great week! There were a couple bumps in the road like our Site Director, Casey, getting sick for two days, a quick trip to the emergency room with a youth, and a little more rain than usual. It was amazing to see how the Lord provided our team with the strength and wisdom needed while Casey was sick.
The groups we had were great and a true blessing. We really enjoyed hanging out with them and watching the Holy spirit move in them. Many of them had some amazing stories to share, Yay God's, if you will. The people in the community have loved working with the youth and are extremely thankful for the work that they have been doing. This community has been blessed by the willing hearts and hands of the youth who have come through.
This weekend my team and I were blessed with 4 free tickets to the Disney theme parks. We had a great time and I finally got to see Cinderella's castle and be sit in on story time with Belle. Another dream checked off my list. I am truly blessed. I can't believe that my time here is almost. I don't want to leave!
I have applied for a Recruiting Associate job with YouthWorks!, which is pretty much my dream job. I am praying for God's will and I know that if this doesn't work out that God has something, somewhere for me.
Please pray for the groups this week as the Holy Spirit breaks them down and opened them up. As well as for our team, for health, energy, and wisdom.
Love you all so much!
In Christ,
Jessica
The groups we had were great and a true blessing. We really enjoyed hanging out with them and watching the Holy spirit move in them. Many of them had some amazing stories to share, Yay God's, if you will. The people in the community have loved working with the youth and are extremely thankful for the work that they have been doing. This community has been blessed by the willing hearts and hands of the youth who have come through.
This weekend my team and I were blessed with 4 free tickets to the Disney theme parks. We had a great time and I finally got to see Cinderella's castle and be sit in on story time with Belle. Another dream checked off my list. I am truly blessed. I can't believe that my time here is almost. I don't want to leave!
I have applied for a Recruiting Associate job with YouthWorks!, which is pretty much my dream job. I am praying for God's will and I know that if this doesn't work out that God has something, somewhere for me.
Please pray for the groups this week as the Holy Spirit breaks them down and opened them up. As well as for our team, for health, energy, and wisdom.
Love you all so much!
In Christ,
Jessica
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Week 7-Spot On
Spot On was a saying that one of the adult leaders said when something was cool, good, or correct. It spread throughout the groups and now is something our staff uses on a daily basis.
The week went pretty well given the fact that it was the 4th of July, some ministry sites were closed on the 5th of July, and we had a new service coordinator. The Lord truly blessed us with great groups and a wonderful new staff in this transition. The week started out with fireworks on the beach, which was pretty cool.
Thursday was a pretty powerful day. The crew that went to the STAR Family Center, the homeless shelter, had some great experiences. They helped revamp the outside child's play area, which when it's done the shelter will receive $50,000 from GE Capital, and they worked with a guy named Joe who was homeless. They got to hear his story, share the gospel with him, and pray with him. He had some artwork with him and some of the youth bought some of his drawings. Then they were telling me about it and the youth pastor of the church overhead and said that he would like to speak with Joe and see if he would like to paint a mural in the church narthex. Joe has since called the youth pastor and they are working on the details right now. Also, the crew went around the area and picked up trash and did a prayer walk. Before we left to pick up trash, some of the people standing outside the shelter starting talking to us. One man, George, shared with us his story and how the Lord has been good to him. We circled up and prayed for him and he prayed for us in the parking lot in front of the all the people standing in front of the shelter. Then, as we were saying goodbye, he pulled me aside and asked if he could pray for me. Hands down, the most passionate and powerful prayer I have ever heard. It brought me to tears. I will always remember George.
Thursday's are my favorite days because in the evenings we have the foot washing ceremony. I have a front row seat as the Holy Spirit moves in the youth and adults each week and it is truly amazing. This week two of the adult leaders were a married couple and the wife was washing her husband's feet as he began sobbing. Powerful stuff. In the same group, the youth washed each other's feet. Simply beautiful. There are no words...really. And to think that every Thursday night, there are hundreds of youth who are being deeply moved by the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord!
This week we have 71 participants on site and they come from Ohio, Mississippi, and Georgia. Hopefully, this week will be a little bit smoother as things are closer to normal. Please pray for the groups this, that they will be open to what God has for them.
Also, I am trying so hard not to plan the rest of my life....like what I'm going to do when I get back. Please pray for direction in my life and that I can just focus on my purpose here in Daytona.
Love and miss you all!
In Christ,
Jessica
The week went pretty well given the fact that it was the 4th of July, some ministry sites were closed on the 5th of July, and we had a new service coordinator. The Lord truly blessed us with great groups and a wonderful new staff in this transition. The week started out with fireworks on the beach, which was pretty cool.
Thursday was a pretty powerful day. The crew that went to the STAR Family Center, the homeless shelter, had some great experiences. They helped revamp the outside child's play area, which when it's done the shelter will receive $50,000 from GE Capital, and they worked with a guy named Joe who was homeless. They got to hear his story, share the gospel with him, and pray with him. He had some artwork with him and some of the youth bought some of his drawings. Then they were telling me about it and the youth pastor of the church overhead and said that he would like to speak with Joe and see if he would like to paint a mural in the church narthex. Joe has since called the youth pastor and they are working on the details right now. Also, the crew went around the area and picked up trash and did a prayer walk. Before we left to pick up trash, some of the people standing outside the shelter starting talking to us. One man, George, shared with us his story and how the Lord has been good to him. We circled up and prayed for him and he prayed for us in the parking lot in front of the all the people standing in front of the shelter. Then, as we were saying goodbye, he pulled me aside and asked if he could pray for me. Hands down, the most passionate and powerful prayer I have ever heard. It brought me to tears. I will always remember George.
Thursday's are my favorite days because in the evenings we have the foot washing ceremony. I have a front row seat as the Holy Spirit moves in the youth and adults each week and it is truly amazing. This week two of the adult leaders were a married couple and the wife was washing her husband's feet as he began sobbing. Powerful stuff. In the same group, the youth washed each other's feet. Simply beautiful. There are no words...really. And to think that every Thursday night, there are hundreds of youth who are being deeply moved by the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord!
This week we have 71 participants on site and they come from Ohio, Mississippi, and Georgia. Hopefully, this week will be a little bit smoother as things are closer to normal. Please pray for the groups this, that they will be open to what God has for them.
Also, I am trying so hard not to plan the rest of my life....like what I'm going to do when I get back. Please pray for direction in my life and that I can just focus on my purpose here in Daytona.
Love and miss you all!
In Christ,
Jessica
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Week 6-Grace
Last week is kind of a blur, and sorry for not getting my update out before now. Last week was really tough. We had a great group, but God did some breaking down within our team. There were a lot of issues that needed to addressed and God definitely addressed them. I'm not going to go into all the details, but my fellow Service Coordinator was let go on Friday. It was a sudden change that we quickly had to adapt to. We had a lot of work to do and didn't really get much time off. Our new staff member, Liz arrived on Saturday. She is truly wonderful and has been a huge blessing to our team and our site. I will tell you more next time I write.
Please pray for our team, especially our new team member.
God is good.
Miss you all!
Love in Christ,
Jessica
Please pray for our team, especially our new team member.
God is good.
Miss you all!
Love in Christ,
Jessica
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