Prayer Requests

1) February 25-26 we are taking a group of teenagers on an over night retreat. We are going to a retreat place called Maranatha. The retreat is the first of many we will do throughout the year, and will begin to lay the foundation for a growing year in the lives of the teens. Please pray for open hearts in the teens and for all details to fall into place.

2) Safety- last week the house across the street from mine (which is also owned by LifeBuilders) was broken in to. This house is empty right now, so that is why someone tried to get in. I am not scared that my house will be broken in to, but it is always a possibility.

3) Finances- I am learning how to live a strict budget and it is new for me. I am trying to save so I can buy a car, but it is hard because I don't have much to begin with. I need to discipline myself better.

4) Financial Support.... Currently I am at about 4 months of support; which is great. But I am still in need of more.

5) My Grandma- it is hard being so far away and knowing that she is failing. She is requiring almost 24/7 care now. This is difficult on my Mom, Dad and Aunt Susie. Please pray for their strength and ability to get my Grandma through this. Also please encourage them any way you can.

6) My dad's kidney transplant (Feb. 28th)- Pray that ALL will go well for both he and Marian. This is an amazing sacrifice she making, and I pray that she will recover quickly.

Hello friends and family :)
I have been so busy here at Lifebuilders, and have not stopped to update this in awhile. I love that each of you can experience God's work in Detroit through what i'm doing here. Great things are happening here. I have been hosting an after "hang out" time every Monday and Thursday for teenage girls. It has been great having the girls come and just chill with me. We play games, have a snack and I give a short devotional from the Bible. Tuesday nights is when we have our programed night; it is called H2O. I have been put in charge of picking kids up in the van, and then teaching the memory verse for the week. It is fun teaching the verse because I am able to use some of the methods I learned at Camp Kearney. Something we are VERY excited about is coming up in March. We are launching an after school program for children. Kids 1st-5th grade will come to LifeBuilders Monday-Thursday for tutoring. We don't have all the logistics worked out yet, but it is going to be great, I already know! We are still looking for volunteers, and still have spots available for kids. So please pray that God will send people our way that can help out. I've been trying to get girls together to do "spontaneous" bible studies, but since they are in school it is a little more difficult that I expected.

The support I need to remain at LifeBuilders is coming in. I am so thankful for every person and family that has sacrificially given to support me. I have been overwhelmed with the response I have gotten from people. If you still want to give to support me you can do so at any time. Most importantly I need your prayers. So please, please, please pray for me and for what God is doing in and through LifeBuilders.

Feels like I never left

I have been back in Detroit and at LifeBuilders for a week now. It has been an incredible week, kinda slow at getting things going, but good all in all. Last week I settled in to my new house and met my new roommate. It is amazing how easily we have clicked and its to funny how a like we are. God definitely knew what he was doing when he put Michelle and I together as roommates. Saturday we had a discussion hour with the teens, we asked them a bunch of questions and asked to just be real and open to us. They were so open, it was awesome. We were able to have great discussions, and then had a meal after. When I walked in the building before our time together I saw several teens that I hadnt seen since the summer. Two of the girls came running up to me and embraced me and had tears in their eyes. One of them said, "I didn't think you would come back, no one ever comes back. But I'm so glad you did, I prayed that you would." WOW, talk about heart wrenching. I went to church on Sunday at Hope Community Church with all the kids and teens, it was great being back. Sunday night I went to the young adults service that I had gone to during the summer at the suburban church. I love the worship there, but sometimes I feel like I don't fit in there, everyone seems to "rich." But I still feel like I am to get plugged in there with a small group. So I signed up to join a small group, which will start in February. I'm excited to see what God will do through this opportunity. Hoping to spread the vision of urban ministry to the suburbs! Tonight I went to all 3 kid/teen programs (boys KidBuilders, girls KidBuilders and girls H2O.) I introduced myself and explained why I came to live in the neighborhood and how excited I am to get to be a part of all their lives. It was so nice seeing all the kids/teens again, many of whom I did things with last summer.

I have been overwhelmed by the support that has come in for my ministry here in Detroit. God is so good, and I can't even begin to thank everyone enough. Some of the support is from people I don't even know, and that just proves God's faithfulness even more.

More to come as I start getting more and more settled. Tomorrow afternoon I will lead my first of many bible studies with some teen girls, please pray it goes according to God's plan and not my own. Praise HIM for everything, it is all about HIM!

Oh, pictures will hopefully come soon. I currently am without a camera, since mine broke last fall. But hopefully I can afford a new one soon, so keep an eye out for pictures in the near future.

SixWest... its the best!

I have lived on the same floor my entire time at Moody. Over the years the floor has evolved and many have come and gone. Many have graduated and several have gotten married. Each girl in these photos has made a special impact in my life. Some i'm closer with than others, but each one has been a sister to me. One of the bittersweet but amazing things about Moody is that each student that graduates from here will end up somewhere around the world building God's kingdom. Six West has a wide variety of majors; elementary education, pre-counseling, urban ministry, music, varieties of international missions majors, theology, and so on. No matter where we all end up I think each of us will have a special place in our hearts for the girls on Six West; I know I will. I'm sad to leave, but these girls have been so encouraging to me and make me believe that I can do it! I love you all, and know that you're each in my prayers and I hope to stay in close contact with each one of you. You are all beautiful women inside and out.

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010

Lydia Children's Home

I have been going to the Lydia Children's Home just about every Thursday night during the school year for the past 2 1/2 years. My friend Gabby and I have remained consistent in leading church for the kids, and have had some great people from Moody with us through the past 3 years. Working with the kids at Lydia has not been an easy task. Every child and teen living at Lydia are wards of the state and have very difficult backgrounds. I have learned to love these kids, some have been there the whole time we have been attending, others have been placed in foster homes. Trying to teach a lesson or play a game with these kids is always an adventure. This year has been one of my favorite semesters going on Thursday nights. Scott joined us, and also another guy named Spencer. The four of us have gelled together so well, and have been able to each use our specific gifts to make church a better experience for the kids. Usually there are three churches that come one week of the month and help lead the night but this semester they have been very inconsistent, which has been nice for us. We have been able to lead the entire evening, starting with a game in the gym, then teaching the lesson which we have made very interactive. I have learned so much about my brothers and sister this semester from working with them at Lydia.

Lydia has had a special place on my heart since I was a small child. My church supports Lydia and they use to come give a yearly presentation during our service. I remember having my heart melt when they would talk about their programs the kids. In high school I wanted to work there for a summer. It didn't end up working out, and I ended up at Camp Kearney instead (which is another story all in itself). When I came to Moody I heard that PCMs were done at Lydia and I wanted to bad to serve there. God answered my prayer and it has been wonderful.

Because the children living at Lydia are wards of the state I am unable to post any pictures of them online. Instead i've posted pictures of the Moody group from the Christmas party we had last night for the kids.

Urban Missionary

What is a "MISSIONARY"?

I did a google search of images for missionaries and without much surprise almost every picture displayed was of people overseas. The past month or so I have been struggling when it comes to calling myself a missionary. When I was little and in AWANA we had to interview a missionary in order to complete our books. The only missionaries I knew of were people who were serving God in a foreign country. No one ever told me that you can be a missionary in the United States. A harsh reality that keeps me on my toes is this: Urban America is one of the least reached people groups in the world. Why is that? Honestly, I believe it is because as middle class Americans we're scared to go into the ghetto. In the ghetto parts of America there are shootings regularly, drug and alcohol use, abuse, and trash and glass all over the sidewalks. If I wouldn't have started working for Camp Kearney five years ago, I may never have experienced the ghetto. I grew up in a comfortable town, where I was loved on by my parents, friends and church. The first time I stepped into the South Side of Peoria and walked into the housing projects it was like I experienced culture shock. I didn't know people lived like that so close to my comfortable life. That first summer working with urban kids changed my life forever. God has led me into some pretty dangerous areas, but I have walked in there with confidence because I know that is where God is leading me. I want to call myself a MISSIONARY but satan keeps attacking me and telling me that I can't be a missionary unless I go overseas. No where in the Bible does it say GO OVER SEAS. Instead it commands us to go and make disciples to every tribe and nation. Why do we think that command excludes The United States of America? We are far from being a Christian nation, and that is not okay with me. I want to make a change by starting with one of the least reached people groups in the world. I never realized until recently that the unreached were literally at my fingertips. My first experiences of missions were overseas, Romania, Mexico, and the Philippines. The picture above is from the Philippines. God has given me a new mission: GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES IN DETROIT. There is no turning back, this is my command that God has given me. No fear, no hesitation.. HERE AM I, LORD, SEND ME!

Moody Bible Institute

I am facing a bittersweet reality right now... in a month from now I will graduate from college. I will be expected to leave Moody Bible Institute, and that is it; I'M DONE! I have started to get emotional about this. It seems silly, but I'm going to be really sad when it comes to leaving MBI. They have treated me well, I have been incredibly blessed to attend this school. As students we're reminded all the time how "lucky" we are to have been accepted, because for every student that is accepted to MBI there are 4 who wanted to be but were rejected. By far MBI is the best Christian college in the country, with such a biblical focus for ministry, I couldn't imagine going anywhere else. I was in chapel the other day and it was a special "DAY ONE" day, which is college visit day. I was looking around at all the hopeful high school students and realized I was just like them not to long ago. I visited MBI fall of my senior year of high school. Upon stepping foot on the campus I knew right away this was the school God was leading me to. I had no idea the amount of hoops I would have to jump through, and how many lessons of patience I would learn while I waited to be accepted. But in the end, here I sit at MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE about to graduate. It will be an enormous privilege to be a graduate of MBI. I have learned more than I ever could have dreamed, some things have stuck more than others though. Originally when I came to MBI the plan was to graduate and go overseas and work in an orphanage. Wow, have things changed... Not only has God closed the door for me to go overseas I am now being led to what is known as the "worst city in America" right now. Talk about culture shock compared to the cornfield county I grew up in. MBI has broadened by view on so many things.

I know i'm going to miss MBI more than I can even comprehend at this time. The community is something that can't be duplicated. 1700 students all studying to further the kingdom of God, all focused on the same goal. I think I might have taken the past 3 years for granted. But all in all I can't help but be eternally grateful. Thank you, Lord for this amazing experience. It wasn't always easy, but it was way worth it!