Hello again to my family spread far and wide!

As of today, June is half over! As of 1 month from today, many of us will be together for week 1 of WC Kennebunk, ME! It just sneaks up on you, doesn’t it! But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have things to pray for. I love hearing how God is working in and through each of our lives. Here’s the updates and some new info too:

Praise:

Jamie and I are back from California – I guess it’s a praise because we had a wonderful time and would like to have more time off, but alas… work continues to pile up as we are not there, so we must go on! Thank you for all the prayers – we had some much needed R&R and the hooding ceremony and graduation were amazing. We even had some great weather with some cooler temperatures… so that’s great for us as we both are not fans of summer all that much! Your prayers were felt and answered, so thank you all!

Prayer request:

An urgent request from our church here in Mississauga: Baby Owen (who was born 3 months early) has passed away suddenly. He had been released from the hospital and had gained a significant amount of weight. Over the weekend he began to vomit and they took him to the hospital where they had to resuscitate him once, but were unsuccessful the second time it was needed. Please pray for Abi and Bhag (Owen’s parents) and their family. This is especially hard as they had been trying to conceive for the past 6 years – please pray for comfort and healing in this family’s time of need. Pray that they would come near to God in their time of great sorrow instead of push Him away.

This is from Super Dave for a member of his church family, Dave:

“I learned from my doctor today that I have colon cancer. It snuck up on me with hardly a symptom. I will be seeing the surgeon early next week to discuss the treatment options. That’s the bad news……Now the good news…….Jesus Christ is in control of everything. It is 27 years ago this month that Trish and I lost our 3 yr old son Ryan to a backyard drowning. We survived that and came out victorious because God is in control and His peace sustained us. Compared to that, cancer is a chump. It cannot stand against the prayers of His people.
All of the kids are on board with this and we will all get to watch God be glorified.
Thanks for your prayers,
Dave”
Wow! What an awesome outlook to have! Please keep Dave and his family in your prayers as they seek healing, wisdom for decisions to make in the near future, and closeness with our Lord as they draw close to Him in this time.

Please continue to keep Tim in your prayers as he is facing the first of many weeks without his lovely wife Gloria. Pray for continued healing and comfort. Tim is very strong in the Lord and our prayer would be that he would only grow stronger and gain a relationship with God that can only be because of the trials he is going through.

Continue to keep Mark in your prayers as he battles prostate cancer. Pray for both he and Kelly as they work through this together. Pray that God would strengthen them as individuals but also in their marriage as they seek the Mighty Physician in the healing of Mark’s body.

Also, please continue to pray for Donna and Lucy in our church who are both battling cancer. Donna had a few setbacks with seizures. Jamie (just) told me that they have given her about a month. This woman is a champ, knowing this and being so gifted in hospitality, she wants our youth groups to come over for the end of the school bar-b-que. She loves people and I know that we serve and love a God who is bigger than all of this! Pray for continued healing for her and the support of her family that they would have strength. For Lucy, the doctors have given her only a few weeks. Pray for her and Jack (her husband) that they would look back on the fond memories and that the next few weeks would not be in hospital, but in rejoicing that the Lord is good and His love endures forever!

I would ask for myself that you would all keep me in prayer as I propose a new avenue in the medical clinic I work at. I’ve been trained in many things, and I keep being told that we are going to expand, with hopes of a raise thanks to them. Fast-forward 2 years later and I’m still waiting. I am proposing to take an investment with the training and product that I have many clients waiting for. Pray for wisdom as I speak to the doctors I work for. Pray also for an understanding of where I’m coming from… waiting 2 years is not exactly ideal when you are waiting for your raise/bonus to come in. Pray for discernment and that my boss and his wife would be open to me expanding the business – that this would be the step that is needed to prove that I can manage this area of our medical clinic. Both are Christians, but it’s a family business. The doctors I work for I consider my boss – his wife, the other doctor, makes all the decisions as to what goes on in the clinic and I feel that there is some doubt on her part.

For workcamp this week, I want to pray for health. It seems that over the past couple of months, it’s like we have been praying non-stop for health issues. This week, let’s pray that any illness or safety issue would not be the case for WC. Ask for protection on our way to WC, while we are there, as well as on our way home. Pray that there would be no issues for Kelly to have to take into account. We want Kelly to be twitteling her thumbs with the couple of weeks she is at camp so that we can get her working with some of the residents or even in front of the camera at the residents’ visits? =)

It’s been a long week for me, so if I have forgotten anyone, please e-mail me and let me know the prayer or praise/answer to prayers!
You are great! Can’t wait for July!!!
Mel

Hello Everyone!
I hope this update finds you all doing well. We’ve had some pretty amazing weather this week – just one step closer to the summer and getting to be together with you all to serve our Lord in Maine!

First of all, I have a correction from last week.
We are praying for Brenda’s friend Amy who is going to Israel. Well, Amy is not only a friend, but even more so… she is Brenda’s daughter! Sorry… I missed the mark on that one!

Praise! Baby Owen is now taking 4 bottles of milk per day! He’s gaining weight and can spend more time with mommy and daddy outside the incubator and off the respirator! Praise God! Continue to pray for his health and growth!

Praise for Scott – the surgery was successful to remove the blockage. Continue to pray for healing as he is having some difficulty with vocabulary. Another praise is that he was doing well enough to be at church on Sunday and even stayed after to talk with friends! Praise God!

Here is a praise/prayer request from Squeaky:
Please keep wedding in prayers…and more importantly my future marriage to Casey…
Casey hasn’t found a job yet.
I’ve been busier than ever (work, traveling, side projects) with very little sign of it slowing down till a month after wedding….
Thanks!
Josh
Squeaky, I love that you want prayer for your wedding, but it shows just how much you love Casey that you realize the wedding is one day and your marriage is for the rest of your life! We will definitely keep both things in our prayers… and that God would give you strength and energy as you are a very busy man for the next couple of weeks! Let’s continue to pray for the job hunt that Casey is going to be continuing on.

Praise from our workcamp staff – Jess and Marc are going to be celebrating their 1 year anniversary! Let’s pray that the Lord blesses their second year even more than their first!

Another praise is that Jess and Marc are now staff at workcamp and that has taken a lot of stress, responsibility and extra jobs from Ken that allows him to focus on other aspects of workcamp and what they are going to be doing through the year!

Please keep my mom (Debbie) in your prayers. She will be going on her first mission trip on the 27th. She is going with a group from our church to Albania to work in an orphanage. She is excited and scared all at the same time. Pray for safety as they travel. Pray especially for my mom as she has fibromyalgia and doesn’t want it to flare up to take away the focus of the trip. She’s a trooper and can get through lots of those painful times but she is very apprehensive about this part of the trip. Traveling is the worst as it causes a lot of pain to be in a plane for a large number of hours.

This week for workcamp I want to focus on the residents. We have many residents that are on the list, and we need to pray that the Lord opens the doors to which residents we are going to enter into a friendship with. Pray for the social workers to be very conscious of what is expected of them and that they will be opening doors for us in this very busy time of year! Pray for Marcia and Julie and the other volunteers that are going to the residents’ homes to determine if we can send our students to them. Pray that the volunteers would have a compassion for these people that just washes over them so that the people they come into contact with would know they are being served by people who love our Lord!

If there are any other prayer requests or praises… let me know!

You all rock!
Mel

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I have let you all know that once a month I get to spend an hour on the phone being encouraged and laughing and getting to hear what God is doing in the work and ministry of workcampNE already… and we are not even close to July! Oh wait… we ARE getting closer to July!

It was great to hear all the planning that is going on and how God is moving in the lives of so many people and it works out so that things are even better than we can imagine. I love that God is answering our prayers and THEN some!

Please keep Marc and Jess in your prayers as the prepare to make a big move back to NH. This is an exciting time, but also a very difficult time as Jess will be moving away from her family. Please keep Jess’ parents in your prayers as they support their daughter and son-in-law in a big move that will be an amazing life change for them with new obstacles, challenges, joys and adventures. But I’m sure for a parent it’s not easy to see your kids move away. On the other side of that, I’m sure Ken and Marcia are very excited to have one of their kids return back to NH with a lovely wife and opportunity to serve the Lord in wonderful ways. So I guess this is not only a prayer request, but also a praise!

Speaking of praises – I want to thank all of you for lifting up the worship team I lead this past Sunday. We did the song “You Are My Joy” by David Crowder… as most of you know, it’s a very intense song. I was fearful of people being snobby to the idea of a song like that, but I have to say it worked better than I thought! We had a guest speaker come in. As I was preparing the song list, I didn’t know what he would be preaching on. When he got there on Sunday, it just so happened that his topic was “The Joy we have in Jesus.” How amazing is that?! And the congregation loved the song… many of them asked why I had not done it sooner… I guess I was (unbeknownst to me) waiting for the right time!

Please keep Squeaky in your prayers… and also as a praise! His wedding to Casey is coming very fast (the end of May). Pray for the preparations, that things would be smooth in transitions and wedding planning. Pray that it would be a celebration time, not a stressful time. Pray also that the families would be very understanding of what the bride and groom are wanting. For some reason, there are many times when the family appears to do what is “best” for the loving couple, but it ends up adding more stress! Pray also that Casey would find a job soon. One that is not only in a field that she can be passionate about, but that it would also have benefits, good pay and be a job she can live out her faith in.

Please keep Joanna’s mom in your prayers. She has recently lost her job. Pray that God would have the right job for her soon that will be even better than the previous job she had with not only better pay, but a better environment and better benefits that would allow her to see her daughter and son-in-law more often!

If you would also keep Jamie and I in your prayers for our youth/missions ministry. We are doing 4 missions experiences this year with a multi-generational feel. We meet for the first time as our teams this Sunday and the planning shall begin! Pray for the planning of all the groups to be very involved by all parties, that personalities would just blend together wonderfully and that funds would come in with no problem. With this many people, our prayer is that God would use us all with our unique personalities, gifts and talents to have amazing teams that impact the people we are going to be working with in ways we don’t want to limit God on…

Please lift up Mark B. in your prayers. He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We have a Father in heaven who is the Great Physician that can heal! Pray not only for healing, but also for the doctors he and Kelly are going to be working with. Pray that the test results come back with answers that need to be given to start any kind of treatment. Pray for his energy levels as the emotional, physical and spiritual stress can be so intense. Pray for ease of heart, mind and spirit as they can all be at unrest. Pray also for Kelly and Mark as they go through this together… they are such an amazing couple and they can use our prayers for the Lord to touch their lives!

For workcampNE this week, I want to continue to pray for the residents. Marcia and Ken shared that they went to visit 29 residents over the past few weeks. The thing that stuck out to them was their eyes. The way they followed them everywhere to see what it was they were doing. It was such an incredible reminder that as the people of God, we are being watched all the time. Our lives give a testimony to who we are and who God is IN us. Pray that as our leaders go about the community, that these residents and the social workers would see Christ in them as they prepare for camp this year. Pray also that we go about our weekly events and daily routines that we would represent Christ in all we do. Marcia reminded us that we are always representing Christ, even in our worst hour. But the best part is… God never changes even though we are up and down!

This is from Paul S.:
Hey pray for Vicki she has been in the hospital since Friday with stomach pain. They haven’t figured out what is going on.

I also want to lift up the piano player on the worship team I lead…
She and her husband (Abigail and Bhagavad) just had a baby… 3 months early! His name is Owen… he was born 1 lb. 10 oz., so he’s a tiny little guy, but a fighter! He’s doing well, but needs to be covered in all the prayer we can muster! The biggest thing is that he needs to put on weight. They induced labor because they can do more for him out of the womb than in. So far he’s gained a couple of oz, but he has a long way to go! Mom and Dad are very tired and covet any prayers that can come in!
Mel

Hello Family!

I hope you are all doing well and are encouraged to (hopefully) see some flowers popping out of the ground. Just one more reality that spring is definitely here, which in turn means workcampNE is just around the corner!

Let’s start off with some praises!

Marcia has already been talking to some of the social services for camp this year. Here’s what the social worker had to say… (I love it!)…
Hey All – just got this note from a Social Service agency in Kennebunk that is making referrals for this summer. This is what she had to say about the legacy camp left from 2006! Good stuff!

Hi,
Thanks so much for including us in your outreach program. Our residents LOVED your teens. They brought life & smiles to many faces here.
These folks have voiced a HUGE YES WE’D LOVE THEM.
Again thanks & I will be looking forward to seeing everyone in a few months.
Judy

What a witness it is to this ministry! Way to go gang… we know that God has already done something in the lives of these families… now we need to pray that we can continue with the blessing that we started in 2006! I love to see how God is continuing a ministry that we had no idea what it would come back around. Just one more thing that shows how God’s plan is much greater than what we put it in.

Josh (Squeaky) gave an update that wedding plans are going very well! Just over 2 months before he takes the plunge into another amazing chapter in his life. Let’s continue to pray that plans go well and that everything falls into place as he prepares to join his life with his fiancé Casey.

Now on to some prayer requests and updates:

Pray for Marc and Jess as they leave on Wednesday for their mission experience to Mexico. After hearing a bit of Marc’s heart tonight, I would like to lift them up specifically for boldness in the Word. Pray that God would give them the opportunities to share the love of Christ without hesitation so that as many people can come to know the Lord. Pray also for the people they are going to be partnering with in Mexico. Ask the Lord to equip them so that they not only reach people, but that they would be able to connect them with someone in their home town so that they can become part of a home family! Pray also for their health and safety as they travel.

Pray that God would continue to place a burden on the hearts of people around the world for Haiti and Chile. After a few months have passed, i find there are almost no publications about either of them, but the devastation is still very real. Pray especially for health and safety since the rainy season is now playing a part.

An update on my friend Gloria who has lung cancer – she is so full of God’s love and joy and peace… it seems like everyone she talks to longs to have the relationship with God that she has. She literally glows when she speaks of her Abba… she spoke at our church last week and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place. Not tears of sadness… but tears of joy for her, especially in how she was talking about going home. What an amazing story! Please keep her in your prayers as she will be telling her family in Spain that she has cancer. This is going to play a very big part in her healing. More for healing of family… not of her physical healing.

Continue to pray for Joel as he is currently on his missions experience in Zimbabwe. Pray for safety, health and travel. Pray that Joel would have many opportunities to share the Word of the Lord. Pray that those he will be speaking to would have ears to hear.

This week for workcampNE I want to lift up the number of meetings that are going to be happening. There is a lot of the behind the scenes things going on this week, such as meeting with school boards, social workers and other groups who are wanting to partner with workcampNE. Pray for those who are going to represent WC – that the groups would see that they have a favor with the Lord… even if they don’t know what it is that sets us apart. Pray that the doors would continue to open so that God’s will would be done here. God is in control! And He is good… all the time!

As always, let me know if I need to add anything or update the group.
You are all loved! Thanks for being a part of this ministry!
Blessings,
Mel

We ask you to pray for Todd and Debbie and family at this time.  They are new to TeachBeyond this past fall and live in a neighboring town. They have 7 children and this past weekend has been extremely difficult.
On Friday Gracelyn, their youngest (14 months) was admitted to the hospital in Lorrach because she had a third seizure in the past few weeks.  
On Monday morning Todd was taken to the hospital in the ambulance because of severe abdominal pain.
Monday evening Debbie and Gracelyn were released from the hospital but Todd remained for further tests.
Today, 5 of 7 children have either been diagnosed or are showing symptoms of Strep and Debbie is alone helping each of the kids through the day and night.

Please pray:
For protection for Gracelynn, that she would not get the Strep
For Todd as he is still in hospital (diagnosis seems like a kidney stone)
For Debbie looking after all the sickness  
For Debbie that she may get sleep and not get sick

Caring for families with our mission is part of our Member Care here and we count it a privilege to care for these people.  Thank you for praying with us!

Here’s an update on Marcia’s dad and on our camp cook Ruth:
My dad has moved back home and is settling in to life as a “heart patient”. He looks good and seems comfortable. He won’t get better, so to speak, but they are hoping to maintain his quality of life through medication. Thanks for all your prayers!
Let’s continue to keep John in our prayers. This is a long road ahead and we want to continue to pray for the people who are surrounding John in his health that God would really do some amazing work on his heart. Pray for Marcia and Ken and their family as they get back into a groove of having John around again so that time can be spent with him as is needed.

Ruth (our cook) 
(Marcia) Brought dinner to Ruth this week. How ironic to cook for the cook! She looks good and is enjoying the six to eight week recoop time. We actually had dinner with her and John as she’s starting to go stir crazy just laying around. Always a good sign! All her reports came back negative, so that is a huge relief and praise! Now to get her up and cookin’ before July! Teased her husband, John, that if Ruth wasn’t up for it….he’d have to take over. Gives him new incentive to take care of her!
Keep Ruth in your prayers as she continues to heal. Pray that the Lord would allow all of her follow up appointments and any kind of therapy to go amazingly well and she would bounce back better than ever!

Joel wanted to add this to our prayer list.
Please send out the dates for my trip to Zimbabwe: March 23rd-April 7th. I’ll be teaching at a conference, working with young pastors at a Christian College there and visiting an orphanage. Pray for final trip preparations (including funds) and for sermons to be wrapped up.

Well Folks- we have some prayers to get prayin’ for our brother who is going to be doing some amazing work in Zimbabwe. Pray for safety as they travel, and while they are there. Pray that the Lord would prepare the hearts of those that are going to do just as much growing as they do leading. Pray that God would work and move in ways that they would never be able to fathom.

I have an update on my friend Gloria who has terminal cancer of the lungs. She starts her chemo in the next week or two. She and her husband were in church on sunday and they updated us on how they were doing. Words cannot express the joy and peace she was telling us she has. The joy that what shining from her was just amazing. We were all in tears as she spoke of the comfort she has in her Father’s arms to the point that she said “I can’t wait to go home and be with my Father… I literally fall asleep with a goofy smile on my face every night.” What an amazing praise! She is such an inspiration to us all.

As we get closer to workcamp, this week I want to focus on the worship team and planning that is going on for our evening sessions. Pray that God would give those who are leading the wisdom to know where the Lord is going to take our evening service. Pray that the Word would be on Super’s heart as he begins to prepare for our weeks of camp. Lift up the order of worship so that in every aspect of it, God is the focus and the center of everything that goes on. Keep the morning devo sessions in your prayers as well. That as the kids start their day, God’s Word would penetrate their heart so that they could take that to the homes they are working in… that God would use the work He is doing on their heart so they could share that love with the residents.

With that… you all have some praying to do!

Blessings,
Mel

Hello my brothers and sisters!
 
We have a lot of praying to do this week! There are a lot of prayer requests that we need to bring to our Lord this week.
 
I want to start with a praise. I know the leadership team has been meeting with a lot of the social workers, school administrative people, and other churches about this year’s workcampNE. There have been some great things happening! The Lord continues to open doors that blow us away!
This week, the focus I would like to shed some light on are the churches who are going to be joining us this summer. From the updates we get from Super, there are a lot of churches that are on the roster to call. Let’s pray that the Lord places on their heart the desire to be a part of our ministry this summer. As always, we know there will be church groups that can’t make it. So keep our brothers and sisters in prayers that have not yet made a decision yet. Pray that God would give them the wisdom to know what they should do this summer. Ask the Lord to place a burden on their heart for the ministry that goes on at workcampNE. Also pray for the wisdom to know which leaders and students to join us. There are some youth, and even leaders, that don’t know what it is going to take from them to be a part of workcampNE.
 
For prayer requests:
 
Keep Marcia’s dad (John) in your prayers as he is in the hospital with pending heart tests/doctors appts. Pray that John would open his heart to hear the Lord’s call on his life. Pray that he would be surrounded by people who will share the love of Christ with him during this difficult and scary time.
 
Gloria, a friend of mine and Jamie’s, who has lung cancer. It is inoperable. They are talking treatments, but only to buy her time. Praise is that her daughter is coming home from abroad to be with her mother. Pray for peace, healing and wisdom for Gloria and her family as they make some really difficult decisions. Pray for the wisdom of the doctors to know and see things that they may miss.
 
Pray for Marc and Jess as they prepare for the mission experience at the end of this month – any updates or specifics that we can pray about for you two?
 
Speaking of missions… the deadline for application forms for our church missions experience is in 2 weeks. Pray that the Lord would speak to those He has already chosen to go to workcampNE, Mexico and our national mission experience with our Native brothers and sisters.
 
Please keep Brenda and Tom’s friends in your prayers. Kathy and Steve… Steve was diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. He is in a lot of pain and we need to pray for comfort, healing and the Lords touch on his life. Pray for the family as they go through this with Steve and Kathy.
 
Marcia had asked about the mother of one of our students who is going through brain cancer. She is on a new medication, and she is responding well to it. Continue to keep her and her family in your prayers. Her name is Donna. She is gradually doing more. Because she would be bombarded at our church, she has been occasionally going to another church, which is a huge victory! She loves being around people, and this is a huge step for her healing!
 
If anyone else has an update they would like to share, please feel free to share! We love the encouragement and the request to come to the foot of our King to bring praises and requests for His touch!
 
My friends, it is always a pleasure to pray and sing praises with you all!
You are loved, because He first loved us!
Blessings,
Mel

I hope you are all doing well this last week of February! We finally have snow in the “great white north.”  It’s been really odd to have a canadian winter with hardly any snow!
 
So here we go for the prayer requests:
This is from Brenda:

Am writing to ask for prayers for a very dear friend and her husband, Kathy and Steve.
 
Steve was diagnosed with prostate cancer about 3 years ago. His cancer had already spread to his bones when he was first diagnosed so he was placed on hormone treatment, No surgery. He had been doing very good until recently. He started having some problems actually the same time Tom was diagnosed. Tom saw Steve at the urologist’s office in late November. Kathy came in my office today and said Steve’s cancer has now spread to nearly every bone in his body. He is having a great deal of pain and knows that his time is fast approaching. Kathy said she never thought she would be a widow at this age!
We are the same age and have worked together for nearly 30 years.

Kathy said she didn’t know whether to ask God to take him quickly so he didn’t have to suffer or what to ask for. I just know she is hurting a great deal also. She asked me to continue to pray for them and I asked if I could ask others to pray for them also. Kathy said Yes- they need all the prayers possible!
 I know their 2 daughters, are hurting a lot too.
Life is Hard sometimes… they have a deep faith in God so Steve’s eternity is not in question, but it is so hard to deal with all the pain in this life at times!
We appreciate your prayers for them. – Thanks Brenda

 
Thanks Brenda – we will definitely keep this family in our prayers.  It’s amazing how quickly cancer can spread before we know what is going on.
 
On the same note, please keep my friend Gloria in your prayers. They found a secondary source of cancer next to her clavicle. We’re not sure if it’s thyroid cancer or something else. The only problem is that they have yet to find the primary source of the cancer. She is an amazing woman of God who is hoping to beat this in time to go with our multi-generational missions experience to Mexico. Pray for healing.
 
Speaking of a servant’s heart… Keep our dear friend Ruth in your prayers. This came in from Marcia this week…
on March 1^st, Ruth is having major surgery. They are removing her gall bladder and also “exploring” so she will be down for the count for quite awhile. She is such a sweetheart in that she planned her surgery with enough recuperation time to be up and ready for three weeks of camp this summer! How’s that for a servant’s heart!!  
 
Pray for doctors’ wisdom as they perform the surgery. Pray for healing post-surgery and that she will be ready to handle the rowdy bunch we call our workcamp crews!
 
For our workcamp focus this week, i want to pray for the hearts of the people who will be participating in camp this year. Last SaturdayI was fortunate enough to go to a youth conference who had Tony Campolo as a speaker. He spoke on power and love. You cannot have both… Christ gave up his power, to become one of us… all to love each and every one of us. Let’s pray that God would be preparing the hearts of our workers and leaders and student to love unconditionally. I can only imagine how many of these people are humiliated due to certain circumstances where others can lord their “power” over them. Let’s pray that we are able to restore humanity to these people by loving them more than they have ever known they could be loved.
 
Let us continue to pray for Haiti… as the days pass on, it seems that the tragedy is getting further and further from the fore-front of the news. As the rainy season approaches, pray for health, clean water, shelter and that those who need the touch of the Lord. This is the time that the people of Haiti will need more help than ever, and it’s as if they have been forgotten already.
 
Well Gang, Let me know if there are any other updates… prayer requests and praises are always welcomed!
 
Love you all!
Mel

Greetings my brothers and sisters! Happy Groundhog Day, too. If you are like us, we’re going to have another 6 weeks of winter. But what are 6 weeks? For the love of all that’s good, we’re in FEBRUARY people! We’ve got a lot to pray about before July, so here we go!
 
Praise:
 
The weekend retreat that Jamie and I took our high school group on (with the help of some awesome leaders) was ah-maze-ing! The speaker was great and worship was so focused on God. The youth were really open and some great conversations happened, along with some wonderful Bible study and devo’s. Thank you, Thank you for your prayers! They were not only heard, but answered in incredible ways.
 
This is a proud moment for me to announce… My husband, Jamie, has officially heard from Fuller Theological Seminary and he is now a Doctor! All the papers are in, graded, reviewed, submitted and the official word has come back that he did amazingly well. This has been a long journey for him and I know that God has been along for the journey leading him and calling him to do more for ministry. We can’t wait to see how God is going to use this now in the years to come. God is so amazing!
 
The patient I told you about last week, Lisa, was in again today. She is doing SOOOOO much better and has now been able to sleep! Before, she was not able to sleep at all because she would go into spasm which is incredibly painful. When she walked in, she looked like a different person because she has been able to sleep for 8-9 hours a night… comfortably! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for her…
 
If any of you can give me more updates and praises to pass along, i would love to add them for next week!
 
Prayer requests:
  
Continue to keep Jen (Jess’s sister) in your prayers. They have left for their mission trip to work with those people who have been sold into slavery. Pray for their safety, pray that the traps and tricks Satan is going to try will be demolished before they even get to their destination, or speak with the people that God has set for them. Pray that their conversations would be fruitful. Pray that the people who have the victims trapped in slavery would turn their heart toward Jesus.
 
Please continue to keep our loved ones who are fighting cancer in your prayers. This is a battle that we can’t forget to keep lifted up in prayer… it is a daily battle and we need to support our friends and family who are going through this.
 
This is going to sound odd… but I need prayer for my finger. If you don’t know what I do for a living, I work at an interdisciplinary pain clinic, and we do injections for pain relief and healing. I’ve hurt my finger to the point that my ligaments are unstable. I’ve had some injections done, which are painful to say the least. Pray for quick healing because the ligament that is unstable is what I need to do injections. The injections that were done were my own blood back into the area so my body heals itself, but I should rest it, and with this job, I can’t really do it.
 
Pray for Ed and Kristi as they are going to be traveling through Illinois and Ohio through the month of February. Pray for safety as they travel. Also lift up the appointments they have with the churches and groups who may be hearing about the global slave trade for the first time. Pray that the hearts would be open and that more people would join the fight to stop global slave trade.
 
As time passes, we need to continue to life the Haiti people in our prayers. It seems that the more time passes, the less we are thinking about it. With the prayer for global slave trade to stop, there has been a lot of rumors that slave traders are going in and posing as adoption organizations and taking kids, and no one is the wiser. Please, PLEASE keep this in your prayers. The devastation that those people have gone through is one thing… but to go from one hell to another, is unbearable…
 
This week, for WorkcampNE, I want to focus on the leaders. Not just the people who are on planning teams, but the crew leaders, the up front people, the behind the scenes people, the board of directors and the support that is nothing less than amazing for our leadership… husbands, wives, children. Pray for strength. Pray for discipline and time management. Pray that the time away from their family would be quick to pass, but also that the time they are spending working for WC would be blessed and they would be rejuvenated in the Lord for the work they are doing for Him.
 
Okay family… we have a job to do! Let’s get on this and lift these things up in prayer! As always, update me or add to anything I have here!
Blessings,
Mel

Hello Brothers and Sisters!
　
I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and basking in the glory of the Lord with all He showers on us! After having a great workcampNE phone call, it was such a blessing to talk with the leaders that God has brought together to use their gifts and talents to share God’s love with people from all over! It was the encouragement I needed to be reminded of why God has brought us together… we are an extended family that I miss greatly and it gets me even more excited for workcampNE… which is happening in just over 6 months!!! We’ll be seeing each other face to face before we know it!
　
One thing　I wanted to add as part of our weekly prayer updates, is encouragement. If you had an amazing God moment this week, or came across scripture that really leapt off the page and you want to encourage us all, PLEASE DO! We would love to have a word of encouragement from THE Word!
　
We had an update on a few of the prayer requests that have been sent out in the past, as well as some new things to keep lifted up in prayer! Here we go…

Jess’ dad, Tom, is doing better. Continue to keep their family in prayer as he continues to　go through the recovery process of cancer.　God is good and the healing process is happening… let’s keep praying!

Our one and only Squeaky’s job was extended –　but please continue to pray that God would place him in the full time　job where he can be a vital part of ministry, and be able to provide for his soon to be bride. Which　brings us to the second half of the　prayer for him. Squeaky and Casey　are preparing for a wedding, and many of us know that can be a stressful time, but it’s also one of the most amazing day’s　of your life!

Keep Marc in your prayers as he is dealing with a sore　back. I personally work in a pain clinic, and　I see day in and day out how back pain effects daily life, and it can have such an impact on the simple things. Pray for quick healing, but also wisdom to know when too much is too much. That’s SOOO hard to do when you’re use to doing anything at anytime. Marc asks for easy transition for his Mason City kids as he and Jess make the move to NH soon. Marc and Jess going to Mexico end of March for mission trip. The Lord can really use them as they talk to others about the love of Christ. Pray for safety as the travel and for their health with going into another country. Pray they can stay healthy to make the most of their trip.

Keep Joanna　in your prayers as she is　updating her resume. She’s looking for teaching position in southern NH and God is good and has been bringing her some work! She’s been　subbing in an elementary school, which put’s her foot in the door! Plus she　has a connection in Londonderry where they will put in a word for her at those schools. God places people in our lives for a reason and it’s all about who you know… who’s connected with the kingdom!

Super Dave wanted us to add Hurst Christian church to our prayers as they are considering coming to WC this summer– pray that they will agree to send students to camp. We have　a lot of churches who are coming back to WC this year and we have many others who are interested… let’s　ask the Lord to send those who will make a positive impact for His kingdom!

Keep　Ed and Kristi　lifted in your　prayers for Love146 as they travel to Illinois in February. There’s also some stops in Ohio as well, and for anyone who has made that drive, it can be very long, not to mention dangerous. Pray for safety as they travel, but that God will put people in their path that can make an impact for the kids that are a part of Love146.

For myself and Jamie our summer looks busy, going to workcampNE and Mexico, Native reserve in Ontario and mini-mission trips all summer. Prayers for it all to come together. Jamie has the gift of organizing and administration, so planning is going well. But we do have our announcement of the summer trips coming up in just a few weeks. Almost all of these trips will be open to all ages, so we also have a great responsibility to decide who can go as many of our trips are limited in the numbers. Pray that the Lord would show us who is to go on the trips, and that it will all go smoothly so we can further the ministries that we are partnering with.

For workcampNE, I really want to focus specifically on the school and all who are involved. This week, lets keep Ken in your prayers as he goes to the Kennebunk (I hope that’s spelled right) to take a look at the school we are going to be staying in. Pray for great communication between the leaders of camp and the school board and staff. We had such a great relationship with last year’s school; we hope to continue that kind of relationship with other churches. Pray that we can not only make an impact on the residents, but also for those that we will be in contact with at the school.

Keep Ken and Marcia in your prayers as they are starting to get their weekends planned to travel to Kennebunk and start the assessments, make the phone calls to the social workers and really get into the nitty-gritty part of workcampNE that many of us never see.

As always, please update us if you have any prayer request, praises or encouragements!

Blessings,
Mel

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in our lives through this year. I was reflecting on the many things that people do as new years resolutions: lose weight, stop smoking, eat healthier, journal, read more… the list could go on and on! I find that i fall into that trap year after year. This year, instead of making a resolution, i’m making a commitment to myself and my family.
 
As a committment to this ministry (Ken and Marcia know this already) i pray when i drive to work (it’s 45 minutes on way) and i pray when i’m running on the treadmill. As i was looking back on the year, i was thinking there was something that i was missing in my relationship with Christ. As i was praying about this, it dawned on me that i don’t know scripture as well as i would like to. Back in my first year of Bible college, we had a guest speaker who was a missionary who was imprisoned. He only had the Word he had memorized and, for whatever reason, that has been coming back to me everytime i step on that treadmill. Soooooo… my commitment to myself is to memorize scripture. That is going to be the added part of my prayer time on the treadmill. It seems like I multi-task for so many other things, why not do this for me, as i’m on the treadmill… for me! I would love to have some of my brothers and sisters join me in this. My goal is to have Galatians memorized by the time we go to WorkCamp! Now that I’ve told you all… i have more than just myself to answer to. But more than that, i feel it’s something that i have been missing for the longest time, and i keep putting it off because “i don’t have time.” now i have no excuses… i would love to have brothers or sisters join me… or make a challenge to the others who are on going to be reading this… let’s encourage each other this year!
 
Lets keep Ed and Kristi in our prayers as they are starting to hit the road with Love146 ministry. Let’s pray that the Lord will keep them safe as they travel. Pray that the people they come in contact with would have an open heart and mind to see what is actually going on in the world with all of the slave trade. Pray that they will come in conact with people who will have a passion to partner with them in this ministry.
 
Please continue to pray for our members who have family memebers and friends who are going through a battle with cancer. If any of you have any updates, we would love to share it with the rest of the group!

This week i want to focus on praying for the groups that will be coming to WCNE this year. Pray for the new groups who will be coming, those who are coming back and the workers. Pray for the youth ministers who are preparing for the new year. This is when the summer starts to loom in the back of our mind, because we all know that it’s going to get here before we know it! Pray that we would all be prepared to get forms, campers, parents, fundraisers and prayer teams organized.
 
If there is anything else that we pray about for you? For your family? For your youth? For your church? Let me know! I’ll get it added to the list. Got an update – we would love to sing praises with you!
 
May the Lord bless you in this new year. I’m praying for health for you all… not just physical, but mental, emotional and spiritual too… we can’t really stay healthy if we’re not healthy in all those areas!
 
Blessings to you all!
Mel