Merry Christmas!

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:17-18 ESV)

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. (Ps. 112:4)

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. (Is. 42:16)

"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord , who does all these things. (Is. 45:7)

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (Gen. 1:3)

Christmas outreaches.

This past week I was so blessed by an outreach we did at church. We invited 4 of Vt. Vincent's houses for girls to come and enjoy dinner, a concert, and a free thrift store we set up. As I was scooping chicken onto their plates I was overcome by how much was going on this night. We had girls preparing food, girls serving the food, people setting up for the concert, people setting up the flea market, people collecting clothes, and much more I'm sure. And It was the Holy Spirit who organized it all! We all showed up with no idea as to how exactly the night was going to run... but the Spirit led us and totally organized the whole night!

Then at small groups we made Christmas cookies and talked about Jesus!

Finally after staying home for 4 months just to get my finger prints taken, sending in two full applications, pestering the bank to make special documents for me, begging the post office to give me free express mail on a sunday, and taking really bad passport photos at a right aide with a broken digital camera, I finally got a Visa to lovely England.

PTL.

One reason I love my Job.

Because they are simply adorable.

Pray for Gia

Yesterday one of my friends from high-school got diagnosed with Leukemia... It really shocked me and broke my heart. It was very out of nowhere. Please keep Gia in your prayers. This is a very scary time for her. Please pray that the Lord would comfort her, and that through this she would really know Him. Her boyfriend's name is steve, he was one of my best friends when I was younger, please pray for him also as this is going to be a difficult time for both of them.

The beautiful thing about the body of Christ is that when one hurts, all hurt with them. I haven't even been very close to Gia these past two years of crazy Bible College life, but it doesn't even matter.

The Lord is good in His timing, I am going to visit her tomorrow hopefully. Please pray that the Lord would do an awesome work in both of their lives.

Oh how lovely it is.

I am glad to call this wonderful young lady my friend.

The Lord has been showing me how great and how lovely it really is when brethren dwell together in Unity. I am privileged to talk to some girls from Coatesville about Jesus every single week. This girl right here, her life is so much harder then mine, yet she smiles and laughs every week. The things that these girls go through makes me sometimes feel sick with sorrow. It's unimaginable to me what they go through, but every Thursday, I see their troubles, however great they are, melt away, because of the Love that we have for one another, because of the Love that God has for us. No matter what struggle we enter in this life, nothing can steal the joy that comes from having fellowship with our brothers and sisters, and even more so fellowship with Christ, fellowship with God. THE ABBA FATHER! A pastor from England recently shared at our church, so of coarse I was there and attentive! He taught from John 17, and during his sermon I was greatly reminded of how important unity is to God. Here we have Jesus praying for the church, he says:

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one

in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have

given them, that they may beone just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be

made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them

as You have loved Me." John 17:20-23

Jesus took this opportunity to pray for the church, He could have prayed for many legitimate things... like the persecution He knew the church would go through, or the temptation that he knew we would face. But the first thing He prayed for wasn't all those things, He prayed firstly for unity. Whether we like each other or not, we are brothers and sisters. It is love for one another that has the power to get us through persecutions, and strengthen us to stand against sin. Jesus understood that Loving one another, and being one with Him was they key to facing all things. Unity doesn't mean we compromise, Unity gives us the strength to stand against compromise. The greatest thing on earth, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is being compromised. The true church needs to stand together. We need to Love one another! The last verse says that God loves us, AS HE LOVED HIS SON! I can't imagine that if I sacrificed my own child, to save someone else from their own sins (sins my child didn't even commit), that I would in turn love that person as much as my child, whom I sacrificed. But God does! So who are we to NOT love one another?

When words aren't enough to change hearts, love is. When we love one another, that is a testimony.

Love is a lot of things, in fact, it's the greatest gift. But What I have learned, and what I never want to forget, is that the Love of God saves. The Love of God sent Jesus to the cross, that Love, it's power unto salvation. That Love saved us, and that love guides us, it gives me strength everyday. When I get discouraged, and when I think there is nothing left in me, when every footstep seems to turn into a stumble, at the end of the day God still loves me as He did his only son.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Running down on the beard,

The beard of Aaron,

Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing—

Life forevermore.

Psalm 133

Blessed is he that waiteth. (Dan. 12:12)

"It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still.

There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption?

No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid.

Wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come, and shall not tarry.

Wait in quiet patience. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses. Accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, "Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities; but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower."

C.H. Spurgeon (from Streams in a Desert)

I do not believe that there is such a thing in the History of God's kingdom as a right prayer offered in a right Spirit that is forever left unanswered." (Theodore L. Cuyler)

For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
Psalm 61:3


The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10

Confirmation after Confirmation

A lot of people keep asking my why we are praying about buying a old worn down building in North Philadelphia.

This is the story of how God led us to the point we are at. This is why we are praying.

In the words of Leah Wagner:

1. When researching the building, we discovered that it was actually used for ministry by its original owner. That means there was a kitchen on the first floor used for a soup kitchen, AND there's a chapel on the 10th floor.

2. The current owner, who wants to turn it into condos, has been tied up in paperwork for the past few years because it's part of Philadelphia's Historical Society. (Note the history includes ministry, which is what we want to restore it to)

3. Darla and Erin immediately set up a meeting with Gary Gordon, our church's financial pastor, during which we learned that the building has switched hands every 3 years since it was sold by its original owner. That means it was sold in 2000, 2003, 2006 and... (this is OUR year!!)

4. Sara mentions to us before that meeting that it would be cool if we could use part of the building for a youth ministry school of some sort.

5. That next Sunday, Sara, Erin and Darla go to walk around the building and notice that it's only a block away from the Salvation Army headquarters, and only about 5-6 blocks from Calvary North Philly. So location is pretty much perfect.

6. They then walk to see if Mark Abrams is still at his church (Calvary of North Philly). He is, and they begin talking about the Divine. Mark gets really excited about it (his church has been praying about a building in the area to use for ministry as a soup kitchen, shelter type place). While they are discussing, Mark mentions that he just had a meeting with Pastor Joe concerning finding a building that they might be able to use as a school for youth ministry. He then asks if we might be interested in having that be part of the ministry of the building. Sara and the girls almost fall over.

7. Meanwhile, Leah has asked her family to pray about a date that we should call to ask the owner about donating the building to us. Her mom calls her back a few days later and tells her that a certain date keeps coming up. Leah doesn't mention this date to anyone; she just prays about it and asks for confirmation. 4 days later, after this group was launched, Sara (unbeknownst to Leah) sets up a date for us all to get together to pray for wisdom and direction for this building. The date she set: Tuesday, November 17th. The date Leah's mom had said to her earlier that week? November 17th.

Here is our facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=195128837473&ref=nf

We need you to pray!! Each of us four have had some major emotional, mental, familial struggles begin around the time we started heading in this direction. We believe it's warfare-- the enemy does not want people helped and saved in Philadelphia. Please pray for God's will to be revealed and accomplished. Please join us in seeing what God will do with this journey of faith!
We will be posting updates on this site, so visit regularly! Share with us what God is sharing with you.

Abide in me and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me

I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified.

Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

As the Father hasloved me, so have I loved you.

Abide in my love

That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1

"The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus." Hudson Taylor

Thursday's.

In September I started driving up to the Camp at Old Mill every Thursday afternoon. The Camp at Old mill is a camp located about five minutes outside the city of Coatesville. Every Thursday the camp has a ministry that busses the kids over to the camp for a Bible Study.

This beautiful camp is used every summer to teach these kids about God's word. I've been going there in the summers for years, but just recently I have started to realize just how bad these kids lives are. Violence to them is every day life. A day without seeing a fight at school would be strange.

Since I have started going up on Thursdays, I have learned more and more about these kids and their everyday lives. They go to School in fear that they could be killed, yes killed. They go home to houses that are barely functioning and families that are broken. In this city, your lucky if you have one parent. It's so startling to me that this is the place where I am from, yet my life is so different. 40 miles separates my life from theirs, that is all. Some of the kids come through the program and either end of dead or in jail by the time they are 18, so we need to take every chance we can to get the gospel to them.

The people that run this ministry are such role models to me. They have been so faithful to these kids, they have fully given their lives to this ministry.

When I first started driving up I felt totally incapable of helping the teenage girls I was hanging out with. I felt like I was so unaware of there troubles that I couldn't even relate. But I was reminded that God knows their troubles and He knows exactly what they need! As a missionary in a "foreign" land, I have such need of the help of the Spirit. I need to be desperate for the Lord to work through me. Without His help, I could not help them.

Habakkuk 2:1 says "I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch and see what He will say to me"

This is the attitude we need as ministers! We need to be watching, because it is God who will show us what the people need. He knows their needs, and even when we don't feel like we can help, with Him we can. He can build bridges over oceans to help us relate to people, we just need to trust Him.

I'm so blessed to know that My God is the one who helps these kids, not me. When I feel like I'm failing them, I know that He is not. He is Faithful.