Just recently I was part of a summer long lunch program for low-income families. This week I was able to help as the team served lunch, led a craft and spent time with the kids.
With sculpting balloons and pump in hand, it was with great excitement that I was able to make and teach kids how to twist a variety of balloon sculptures. On the last day I presented each child a balloon cross letting them know that Jesus loves them. Though it may seem like a small act of kindness it is showing the love of Jesus through service and time committed to bringing hope to families.
Now we turn our attention to a summer filled with kids camps. Our first camp is the beginning of July as we prepare for Camp Wannahockalugie, a day camp in Hagerstown, followed by 3 weeks of district kids camp and then a trip to the Sioux reservation in South Dakota to conduct a sports camp, serve meals, share ministry and help as needed with home improvements on the reservation.
Please be in prayer that as we plant and water the seed that God himself will make it grow and that many children will be added to His family this summer.

Deut. 15:11 “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”

Spelled slightly different, Camp Wannahockalugie, won’t be taking place in a fish tank but rather in the West End of Hagerstown MD, July 7th through 10th.

I’ll be working with LIFE House West and NO LIMITZ youth group to conduct a 4 day long camp for the community kids. Arriving at 9:00 am and departing at 5:00 pm each day the campers will be involved in off-site activities such as swimming, karate, a visit to city park and Wacky Water Day. They will also attend daily sessions such as crafts, music, recreation and Bible study. NO LIMITZ youth team will be leading the sessions, acting as chaperones for each group and helping to serve breakfast and lunch each day.

It is the desire of LIFE House West, the host church, that the community will be ministered to through this camp and that this week would be an extension of Jesus’s amazing love.

Join us in prayer that God will be preparing the hearts of the kids that will be attending that they will be open to the gospel and that their families will be touched by the love and the caring spirits of the people that will be ministering to the kids that week. We are expecting eternal change to take place in the lives of kids during Camp Wannahockalugie.

I was encouraged from the very beginning of the summit when Pastor Hardy challenged the men to be strong leaders in their family, especially spiritual leaders. He stressed the importance of raising Godly sons and that their community will only change through men that follow after God.

The topic I chose to share with the boys that day was obedience. It seems that obedience to both God and parents is the foundation for strong relationships and I was led to share this with the boys. We discussed the importance of being obedient and that God commands it. If we know we are to be obedient to God then it follows that we must be obedient to our parents. Ephesian 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise— that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Everything that day revolved around obedience. As the day progressed we made a few gifts for the fathers as well as reinforcing our topic with some fun games.

It was a blessing to see a pastor that desires to turn his community around by reaching the spiritual leaders of the home first. May God continue to work in the lives of the men that attended and may they influence many other men who will turn their hearts to Jesus.

Our team is heading to Wagner South Dakota to help missionaries Tim and Elaine Harris on the Yankton Sioux Reservation. We are taking a team of 25, 13 adults and 12 children (Ages 10-15) Our plans are to conduct Sports Camp, serve dinner to the kids and present the gospel message each day for three days. We will also be introducing “Drug Free” in the United States on day four. “Drug Free” is a program developed by Steve and Mindi Benintendi and is used to talk about Substance Abuse and evangelize simultaneously and has only been used internationally until now. We would appreciate it if you would join our team in prayer as we make plans and preparations for our trip coming up August 10 through 17.

Prayer requests for our team

• Pray that our team would be under the control of the Holy Spirit, pray that the fruit of the Spirit-the very beauty of Jesus-will be manifest in our lives.
• Pray for Spirit-Controlled Lives. We have a tendency to do the Lord’s work in our own energy and human ingenuity. Pray that our team’s actions will be under the control, and by the power of, the Holy Spirit.
• Pray that the people will have receptive hearts and that the Lord will lead our team to people whose hearts will be open to hearing and receiving the gospel message.
• Our team along with Tim and Elaine are prime targets of the enemy. Join Jesus in praying to the Father: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15) so that we will have the freedom to move in God’s will for our time in South Dakota.

Prayer requests for Tim and Elaine

• Pray that the Lord will supply the financial and material needs of Tim and Elaine “according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
• Pray that the Lord will grant the measure of health and strength that will bring his greatest glory and the greatest good for the missionaries. Tim and Elaine are putting in long hours and face numerous struggles that drain their strength.
• There are two young women that are helping with Children’s Ministry but haven’t fully committed to ministry. Pray that God will give them clarity and direction for the call He has on their lives.
• Pray that God will provide a full-time, self supported COMMITTED children’s leader and youth leader to work alongside of Tim and Elaine to reach all ages on the reservation.

Prayer requests for our team leaders

• Pray that the Lord will give Pastor TJ, Pastor Josh and I wisdom as we make preparations and arrangements to get our team to and from South Dakota safely and that we not forget any of the important details.
• Pray for steadfastness as we plan and prepare for each aspect of ministry Paul gave this same advice to the Corinthians, “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Whether you are standing in here or are seated,
Let us all be missionally motivated.

The writer of this poem, Shashi Jatiani, penned it while listening to a message that I was sharing at their most recent missions conference.

It is God’s design that all people should know and love Him. Our mission as Christ followers is simple, to tell as many people as possible about Christ’s forgiveness and it begins by telling just “One More”

Acts 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

“Thanks so much for all you guys do.  I just wanted to let you know that my nephew Eric accepted Jesus Christ as his savior today in kids church.  He was able to tell us the whole story of Easter.  The day before we had asked Eric what happened 3 days after Jesus died on the cross and he said they had a funeral.  He now knows that after three days Jesus rose from the grave and that he now lives in his heart.”

This was received after Pastor TJ and I shared an Easter service with the kids at Warwick AG. That morning nine children gave their hearts to the Lord. Knowing that these children now have the love and hope that only comes from knowing Jesus truly touches my heart and reminds me of the importance of taking every opportunity to tell people about Jesus’s life, death and resurrection offering forgiveness to everyone.

We celebrate Easter in many different ways; egg hunts, candy, family dinners, football, new outfits, and yet there will never be a better way to celebrate than to hear that a child has asked Jesus into their heart.

Preparation for the day takes on many forms, hours of drama rehearsals, shopping, decorating, spring planting, cleaning and a flurry of activity but no amount of preparation should exceed the amount that we put into the spiritual preparation that could lead someone into a personal relationship with Jesus.

Why can’t every day be like Easter? Why can’t we spiritually prepare for every Sunday like we prepare for Easter? Jesus didn’t raise from the dead for us to celebrate one Sunday in the year, he rose from the dead so that we can celebrate every day. Make a commitment today to treat every day like Easter.

Faith Community church in Mount Airy MD decided to bring in a professional chef (that would be me and I’m far from a professional) to prepare and reward it’s congregation with Chef Tera Masu’s signature soup, Missions Soup. A recipe only shared with congregations that have a heart and passion for the lost, Chef Tera Masu’s recipe is more secret than Bush’s Baked Beans. Even Duke couldn’t persuade her to reveal the secret ingredients.

Although the recipe may be secret, it’s no secret that BGMC is meeting critical needs around the world. Chef Tera Masu was able to share the many projects that impact lives such as disaster relief in Kenya, Haiti and Jamaica, building orphanages in Venezuela and the United States, providing clean water and water buckets to Africa, assisting children in Bolivia who have imprisoned parents and providing Bibles to Iran, Iraq and Russia. These are only a few of the ways BGMC is “Shaking it up to Change the world.”

Chef Tera Masu broke it down into bite size portions as she shared how much can be done with just a little. The cost of a McDonald’s happy meal can provide 7 complete meals to a hungry child. For the price of a magazine, a child could purchase the needed supplies to attend school and for price of a new release DVD movie, 36 children could have a new pair of shoes. A small price to pay to relieve hunger, provide an education or protect the feet of a small child.

That morning the congregation raised over $4,500 toward their goal of $5,000. May God continue to work in this congregation as they continue to help missionaries through BGMC.

Plethora of balloons

Over 150 sculpting balloons were inflated and secured in a large bag so that with the onslaught of children we would be free to concentrate on interacting with the kids and twisting a plethora of balloons.  Before long there were dogs, cats, hats, swords, rabbits and a few unrecognizable animals. But it’s safe to say that each twist brought a look of amazement and excitement on to the faces of the children. The event wasn’t intended to evangelize that community but it was to show the families that the people at Calvary Assembly of God cared about the children and wanted to invest in their lives. If we are unable to show people that we care, then we have not earned the right to share the gospel with them. Each step and each act of kindness brings us one step closer to bringing a life to Christ.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2Pet. 1:5-8

“We are able to get food but it’s slower getting other needs. But that’s okay, our life is when we see children come to God and we our happy for it. Sometimes when we go out to visit the parents, they serve us food so we can save our food money for the next meal. I think that is how God is helping us to continue in ministry.

What a wonderful testimony to God’s faithfulness. You are walking proof that God provides our needs when we honor Him in our lives and in our speech. You are continually giving Him praise through your life and your deeds.

People come to me and solicit for donations but I honestly told them. I am sorry I cannot give you anything but they don’t believe me.

God will and is rewarding your faithfulness.

Yes, that is why I am continuing the fight because the prize has not yet come.

I am encouraged by your testimony of faith.

I am glad you are encouraged. Although we have different situations, surely God is faithful to us all the time.

If you find yourself in a difficult situation that is causing you to worry, remember you are not alone. As long as you remain faithful to what God is calling you to do, God  promises to be faithful in providing your needs.

Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.