Day 2 - PandaMania

Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting more time than actually doing something. I guess that's part of the frustration with just doing worship, and even when helping with games, sometimes I really question if anything is making a difference. Come to think of it...I didn't pray before we started today. Look at me getting all cocky. Thinking I can make a difference, or lead worship, and get kids excited all on my own, and yet leaving feeling like something just wasn't right (and I'm not just referring to my attitude). I think it's important when doing God's work, to turn to God first. It's not about how well I can jam to these songs, but ultimately everything I do should be pointing to God. If I expect these kids to be excited about God, then I need to get on the same page.

Silly Christine....

Well tomorrow...erm today is another day. Maybe I'll stop being stupid and actually turn to God.

Thanks for tuning in. Please keep praying for Friday + Saturday.

--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!

Last Day in Glennallen, Back in Anchorage

Happy Independence Day! It's our last day at the Native Bible Conference, and wow what a day today. We went to service at Glennallen Community Chapel, and the service in itself was a God marker. From the songs, to the sermon, to even the Breakdown of the Gospel in Romans on the back of the bulletin, was like God giving us exactly the message he wanted us to give the teens; and then Mrs. Hui came up with the idea of having a teen service after our typical program.

At the service, about 20 people showed up, maybe plus or minus the team, but it was still a good crowd, we did worship and our rendition of the Everything - Lifehouse skit and Bob Wendt from ABC spoke a little bit. For me, it was so powerful to see how God was working, especially in this guy Mikey's life. For those of us that met him, he's the friendly, funny, all smiles kinda guy. He was so focused during the whole service, it was like you could see the gears turning in his head. And what a "coincidence" that he just so happened to come home for the weekend because it was the holiday and he got to come to the service. He was telling us after, that he felt like it was a wake up call in his life because even though he accepted Christ there were still somethings that weren't in line in his life. I'll be praying for him, please do too.

Tomorrow we leave for Anchorage! Please pray for our Bible Club there from Tues-Thurs!

I will fear no evil, for my God is with me
and if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?
Oh, no you never let go
through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no you never let go
in every high and every low
Oh, no you never let go
Lord, you never let go of me

It's not about Me. Not at all.

I need some serious prayer.

Maybe this is God's way of constantly reminding me that it's not about me. That instead of teens I'm working with kids. Out of our team and the CEF team, I am the only one my age, which makes it very difficult to talk about day to day things without feeling either too old or too young for the conversation.

I was excited for this trip because God has given me a "great story" which could very much relate to the teens in Alaska, and just how God has been faithful and gracious throughout my trials, yet God has shown me through ^^ above, that it is really not about me. It is His will that I am working with the kids, and it will be on His time for me to have a chance to really share with someone the Gospel. I think today is the first day I really felt some spiritual warfare in my heart, as my attitude was becoming very bitter towards the end of the night, and I was really just torn apart by the various frustrations I felt building up over what I wanted rather than what God has in store.

Before I ask for prayer request, I have a praise. Praise God that we have other ministry teams that we can fellowship with and share how God is working throughout this week. It has been nice to hear from people that have ministered at this conference for some time now, and it has been a blessing.

Please pray:
- For my attitude, that God will continue to show me how to trust in Him, and to wait for Him to work. Also that I can continue to show love to these kids in a very genuine way and not in a way that seems obligatory because I am ministering to them through our program.
- Please pray for the continual recovery and just overall health issues our team has been encountering
- For safety as we travel to Liberty Falls in the morning and will do hiking and a picnic; and also strength and energy for the evening conference.

Thank you, and In Him,
xtinee

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!

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