Vacation Bible School

So this summer, I'm not going anywhere. Not going to Alaska, not going on any other missions trip. Just staying in Pittsburgh. To be honest, at first I was bummed, because after last year in Alaska, I just felt so encouraged to see how God worked in the kids' hearts, not only the natives, but also with the ones on the team. It made me feel that much more drawn to youth/college ministry and I wanted nothing more than to go back and continue the work we had done in the previous year. Well God had other plans, and with a messed up schedule among other things, here I am in Pittsburgh preparing for Vacation Bible School.

It's not like I'm a stranger to VBS. Having grown up in the church, I am somewhat of a "product" of VBS's and Bible Camps and the like, but at the same time, there is a strange unsettling feeling at the bottom of my stomach (which might also be because I'm hungry....) from this anxiousness that I might not be ready. I get it a lot because I doubt my abilities as a leader, as a anything. But I feel like that's also showing me my lack of faith in God. I've realized that like before, I need to trust in God to work through me, not because of me. I've also realized that while these kids aren't little natives dealing with drug, alcohol, and sexual abuse. And maybe they're relatively well off....they still need Christ regardless. God's love knows no bounds. It's not just for the rich or for the poor, it's for everyone. And in that, VBS is like a mini-missions trip. There are still seeds to be planted. Hearts to be touched. Lives to be changed. I pray that God will do great things in these next 4 days, and that he will use me despite my flaws to help lead these kids in worship and prepare them for the day.

Please pray for the VBS at PCC. Pray for the children who are attending, for those that do and don't know Christ. Pray for the volunteers, that God will work through each of them, and that we can share God's love in all that we do. Pray for me, as I lead worship...it's been a long long time for me...so yeah.

I guess I'll blog about each day (teehee) Thanks for tuning in.

--xtinee

Last Day

Today was a mixed kind of day for me. My workshop didn't go as planned. I wouldn't let the kids listen to hip hop with any cuss words in it, and they got mad and walked out. While at first I was like wow, that stinks; it actually gave me an opportunity to work with these three guys that just wanted to dance. They listened to what I said about the music, and they even wanted me to help them with their talent show routine. It was really encouraging to be able to just leave some type of impact on them, however small.

Bible Club was a pretty good turnout as well, we did our skit and our Everything skit, and I really pray that it made a lasting impact on these kids. With Bible Club it's a very different atmosphere from how it was in Glennallen. Glennallen was very flexible with a little bit of structure, where as Bible Club is very structured with little flexibility. Having to switch from such extremes was kind of difficult for me to be able to feel out how people were reacting to the Gospel, and also, how much of an impact we were making. It really made me realize that I just have to keep doing the things that I'm doing, to be the light, and that God would do the rest.

Tomorrow I'm leaving Alaska, and I think one thing I really learned on this trip was to have faith. I think many times I learn lessons of grace and love, but faith has been something that I've really been tested, and something I'm hoping to keep strong. God has a plan for our lives, and while I might not know it, and I might have many plans for myself, nothing is random. I think for me going into my last year of college and really thinking about my future and what I'm going to do with it, is something that I need to not freak out about. Although that's kind of hard, I know that God will place me and use me wherever he sees fit, and he will protect me and guide me through all parts of life. I'm really blessed and grateful to have gone on this trip, and I really thank everyone who was praying for me and the team, as well as following my blog.

Please pray for our safety tomorrow as we fly back to Philadelphia. God Bless!

Anchorage Day 2

Today was the second day at the Boys and Girls Club, after getting a very sore night of sleep, I surprisingly felt very well rested regardless. During the first hour or so, it is very hard for me to get into the groove of things, mostly because I'm like the floater helper. I have no workshop of my own, so I feel like I have no place, however I just walk around and try to help out as best as I can. When it comes time to dance though, I feel right at home. Although it is a relatively basic routine, it is still fun to be able to dance and teach them and see the kids get so excited to learn something new and then show it off. Seriously, if I get an opportunity to train better and then later on teach, I would do it, it's such a great feeling; and then on top of that getting the opportunity to talk about God to them and the type of music that they listen to. It's really great to be able to use something I love and share that alongside the Gospel. :D

Today's program went well. We had a way bigger turnout than yesterday, so it was really encouraging, and the craft we did allowed us to share the Salvation message with the kids one on one...or two on one. The two girls I had were like polar opposites. One girl was really listening, but the other girl was all over the place. She kept interrupting me and telling me different stories, but it was okay, because it gave me opportunity to share how God applies to those different things. They ended up praying the prayer accepting Jesus into their lives, but based off of how things went, I'm not quite sure how the one girl was really thinking about it. So I'll just keep praying for them. At such a young age, many of these kids see a lot of bad stuff happening around them, and have no answers as to why, or what to do about them. Please pray for the kids in Mountain View Boys and Girls Club.

Prayer Requests:
- That God will lead us through the last day, and we will remain focused.
- That He will work in the hearts of those that accepted Christ today, and help them find good mentors that will nurture their spirit and help them grow.
- For Perry's safe flight home tonight.
- For our health and energy.

That's it for now!

Flexibility

So yesterday was the first day of our camp, and I must say when they told us to be flexible, I didn't think it would be this flexible. We had planned a message, skit, craft, games, etc. and we barely did anything we planned. I guess this is God's way of showing us again that it's not about us, we just have to remain faithful and trust in him. I am really glad that we had some teens come out for our program, as well as some younger ones that wanted to tag along.

It really touched me how simple the Natives' lifestyle is, yet they are so grateful. At church when they shared prayer requests, they had more praises than requests. And when some of the kids were showing us where their houses were; to me, it looked so small and simple, but to them it was their home and they loved it. It made me see how different our culture is from theirs. We spend so much time focusing on our material things, that we take for granted our 4 bedroom houses and 2 cars and all the other things we have. It really opened my eyes to be more thankful for the blessings I have rather than grumbling all the time.

Another thing is something Mrs. Hui mentioned, is that some teams come in and they're just the sowers, some are the waterers (i know it's not a word), and some are the reapers. It was encouraging to hear, because I'm a person that likes to reap what I sow. Oh Christine of such little faith, I was too impatient to wait for God to work, but just wanted to see what would result from my efforts. It really checked my attitude for the rest of the trip to just work faithfully and let God work out his plan and just trust that what we are doing here during this time, is all working towards the bigger picture.

Prayer Requests:
- That our team will continue to work faithfully for God's glory, and that our conversations and actions are pleasing to him
- For those that are seeking something more from their life, and that the Bible Conference would be a blessing to them.
- For wisdom for learning how to deal with the situations that we're facing >> the teens are very aloof at what's going on and there are lot of barriers to break
- That God will help us prepare for the people that He's going to send for us to work with

Ciao-der!

God is an Awesome Creator

I think being from the city, it's so easy to get caught up in the business to recognize the vast beauty of God's creation. Being in Alaska, however is totally different, because there's less buildings, less busyness, less...a lot of things, and oh there's a lot of light throughout the day. Today we spent the day sight seeing and equipment shopping. Just driving and taking pictures and seeing these huge animals up close, was just amazing to me to be able to marvel in how beautiful Alaska is, even in rain! To see how small I was compared to these mountains and glaciers and just the beauty of how a glacier looks when the sun hits it through the clouds. Amazing.

We also visited the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club to see the facilities and meet some of the kids. I think meeting them really made me realize that it's for real now. We had our few days of break, now was the beginning of getting everything together, starting relationships, creating friendships. It was really cool.

Tomorrow we leave for Glennallen, where most of our trip will be.

Prayer Requests:
- Safety in Driving
- Praise that Perry made it to Alaska safely and for the wonderful creation from God
- that the hearts of the kids we met today will be open and they will come to our camp
- for the hearts of the teens in Glennallen, as we go to prepare for their program, that they are receptive to the discussions and messages we have prepared and just that they will accept us as we try to get them better
- Continued prayer that God will reveal his plans to us throughout the trip and that we will be open and stilll to see what He is trying to show us

Anchorage, AK

Hey Readers!

We got into Anchorage last night, and went straight to bed, so I didn't get to update. But just a quick update, we were blessed to have first class on our flight from Detroit to Anchorage. To me I was just so thankful, it was really all God. I've traveled a lot, but this is the first time I've been in first class and it was on our way to Alaska. I really felt like God was showing us how he gives and takes away (through our missed flight and then hotel + first class) and how he provides us with rest. As Vivian shared with us last night, "It's like we came to serve but we were served in a fantastic way." Seriously!

Today we're going to go around Anchorage and buy supplies and a little of sightseeing. I forgot how beautiful Alaska was, so it'll be really nice to get reacquainted with it and just see how awesome God's creation is. (ps, Alaska tap water is BOMB!)

Prayer Requests/Praises:
- That we will continue to be open to God markers and what He has in store for us
- For our health and safety
- For Perry's (our last memeber) safe trip to Anchorage
- "That God will reveal each persons spiritual gift so that we can not only use it but develop it even stronger" -- HH
- "Please pray that we keep our focus on God and what he is going to do during this YMT." -- VC

And we're off!

Oh hi everyone! Well tomorrow is the day, where 6 of us will depart for Anchorage, AK. Perry will join us later. Of course with last minute packing, I'm going over all the things I need, but I also spent sometime trying to prepare my heart. It seems like more and more I feel like God has prepared me for this trip, and I can only hope that He keeps me focused on the trip.

Please pray for our safety tomorrow! I'll try to update as soon as I can!