Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
Exciting News & Upcoming Events
Well, the moment has finally arrived! We have a date for when we will officially be moving to Arizona. January 7th, 2014, we will leave Greentown, IN and begin our journey to new adventures at the Southwest Indian Ministries Center in Peoria, Arizona. We are very excited about how God is working and can't wait to share with you about our plans in the upcoming months!
But first, a brief overview on the last few weeks here in Indiana...
On November 17th, several tornadoes ravaged Illinois and Indiana. After church that Sunday, Jon and I got on the internet to find that an EF 4 had gone through Washington, IL. For those of you who don't know, Washington, IL is about 10 miles north of Morton, where Jon and I lived for about 3 years as Jon served as Youth Pastor of First Mennonite Church. We were shocked by the news and as we wondered about the safety of our friends still living in that area, we realized that the same storm was headed our way. The storm moved FAST! By about 3pm, winds had picked up and the tornado sirens were going off in Greentown. We quickly headed to a friend's house who has a basement and camped out there with several friends of ours until the storm passed. As we climbed out of the basement, we soon received word from others that the tornadoes had passed to the northeast of us, hitting Kokomo, a nearby town, with two EF2 tornadoes. We felt very blessed. All we had in Greentown were high winds with no damage.
Over the next few days, we received word that although there was damage to some homes, everyone we know, both in Illinois and Indiana was safe. Time spent by Jon and I cleaning up damage in Kokomo with friends on Nov 22nd and 23rd revealed many down trees, snapped power poles, strewn debris and many damaged homes, but no deaths were recorded in the state of Indiana as a result of the tornadoes. We have seen and heard many stories about God working in the hearts of people to join in relief efforts in both Indiana and Illinois. People have selflessly offered their time, resources, and even their homes to people in need. Devastation, like that brought by these tornadoes, is often very ugly but the way in which it brings people together to help one another, especially in the love of Christ, is a very beautiful thing. We praise the Lord for His protection and provision.
On a brighter note, Thanksgiving for us was spent up in Wisconsin with Lindsay's family. As a matter of fact, we enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving twice- once with Lindsay's mom and dad on Wednesday, and again on Thursday with her grandparents and other family. It was a great visit!
Christmas this year will be spent with Jon's family here in Indiana. Then, in January, we make the highly anticipated move out to Arizona! Leaving on January 7th, we hope to arrive on the 9th or 10th dependent on weather. Once we arrive, we will take part in on the field training as well as more fundraising and spreading the word about camp at local churches. Friday, Jan 17th, marks the beginning of LITE Leadership Training and planning for the summer camps of 2014.(LITE, or Leaders in Training Experience, is a discipleship program for our older youth in which they are discipled to be leaders for our elementary camps as well as other local ministries. The goal for LITE is to disciple young people to become leaders for Christ in their churches, schools, and communities.) We are excited about our first opportunity to experience this weekend event as it will decide the theme for summer camps.
We are currently about 80% funded, so when we arrive in Arizona in January, we will still have some fundraising to do. We are excited about this opportunity because it will also help us to spread the word about camp and offer churches the chance to be involved in local ministry. Before we can begin our full-time work at SIMC, we will also need to complete a training course in Colorado. This is a month long training taken by many missionaries around the world. As such, it is very difficult to get into, since it fills up so quickly. We are on the waiting list to complete the training in April, but if there appear to be no open spots, we will complete the training in the month of May and begin our full-time status at SIMC in June for the start of summer camps.
Many new and exciting adventures lay in wait for us in the coming months! Please continue to keep us in prayer and don't forget to visit our Praise & Prayer tab above to find updates on praises and how you can be praying for us, those we know, and the ministry. Thanks for reading!
Blessings and safety to you and your family during this Christmas season!
-Jon and Lindsay
But first, a brief overview on the last few weeks here in Indiana...
On November 17th, several tornadoes ravaged Illinois and Indiana. After church that Sunday, Jon and I got on the internet to find that an EF 4 had gone through Washington, IL. For those of you who don't know, Washington, IL is about 10 miles north of Morton, where Jon and I lived for about 3 years as Jon served as Youth Pastor of First Mennonite Church. We were shocked by the news and as we wondered about the safety of our friends still living in that area, we realized that the same storm was headed our way. The storm moved FAST! By about 3pm, winds had picked up and the tornado sirens were going off in Greentown. We quickly headed to a friend's house who has a basement and camped out there with several friends of ours until the storm passed. As we climbed out of the basement, we soon received word from others that the tornadoes had passed to the northeast of us, hitting Kokomo, a nearby town, with two EF2 tornadoes. We felt very blessed. All we had in Greentown were high winds with no damage.
Over the next few days, we received word that although there was damage to some homes, everyone we know, both in Illinois and Indiana was safe. Time spent by Jon and I cleaning up damage in Kokomo with friends on Nov 22nd and 23rd revealed many down trees, snapped power poles, strewn debris and many damaged homes, but no deaths were recorded in the state of Indiana as a result of the tornadoes. We have seen and heard many stories about God working in the hearts of people to join in relief efforts in both Indiana and Illinois. People have selflessly offered their time, resources, and even their homes to people in need. Devastation, like that brought by these tornadoes, is often very ugly but the way in which it brings people together to help one another, especially in the love of Christ, is a very beautiful thing. We praise the Lord for His protection and provision.
On a brighter note, Thanksgiving for us was spent up in Wisconsin with Lindsay's family. As a matter of fact, we enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving twice- once with Lindsay's mom and dad on Wednesday, and again on Thursday with her grandparents and other family. It was a great visit!
Christmas this year will be spent with Jon's family here in Indiana. Then, in January, we make the highly anticipated move out to Arizona! Leaving on January 7th, we hope to arrive on the 9th or 10th dependent on weather. Once we arrive, we will take part in on the field training as well as more fundraising and spreading the word about camp at local churches. Friday, Jan 17th, marks the beginning of LITE Leadership Training and planning for the summer camps of 2014.(LITE, or Leaders in Training Experience, is a discipleship program for our older youth in which they are discipled to be leaders for our elementary camps as well as other local ministries. The goal for LITE is to disciple young people to become leaders for Christ in their churches, schools, and communities.) We are excited about our first opportunity to experience this weekend event as it will decide the theme for summer camps.
We are currently about 80% funded, so when we arrive in Arizona in January, we will still have some fundraising to do. We are excited about this opportunity because it will also help us to spread the word about camp and offer churches the chance to be involved in local ministry. Before we can begin our full-time work at SIMC, we will also need to complete a training course in Colorado. This is a month long training taken by many missionaries around the world. As such, it is very difficult to get into, since it fills up so quickly. We are on the waiting list to complete the training in April, but if there appear to be no open spots, we will complete the training in the month of May and begin our full-time status at SIMC in June for the start of summer camps.
Many new and exciting adventures lay in wait for us in the coming months! Please continue to keep us in prayer and don't forget to visit our Praise & Prayer tab above to find updates on praises and how you can be praying for us, those we know, and the ministry. Thanks for reading!
Blessings and safety to you and your family during this Christmas season!
-Jon and Lindsay
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Update
Hello all!
Just a little update for you on where we've been, what we're up to, and how support raising is going...
The past few months have flown past and fall is here already! We have been very busy traveling and connecting with churches and individuals in the Midwest. We have enjoyed traveling, meeting new people, and sharing about what God is doing at the Southwest Indian Ministries Center.
Our recent travels have taken us to:
-Arthur Mennonite Church, Arthur, Illinois
-Hopedale Mennonite Church, Hopedale, Illinois
-Dayspring United Methodist Church, a Native American congregation in East Peoria, IL
-Trinity Park United Methodist Church, Greenfield, IN
We look forward to visiting the following locations in the near future:
-First Norwood Mennonite Church, Peoria, IL
-Heritage Memorial Church, Washington Court House, OH
-First Mennonite Church of Morton, Morton, IL
We are very excited to announce that with our combined support totals (both monthly and one-time gifts), we are around 70% funded! We praise the Lord for His continued blessings and provision. Our goal is to be in Arizona at SIMC full time by January of 2014.
We ask that in the coming months, you would continue to keep the ministry and our support raising in your prayers. We appreciate your prayers and support and couldn't do this without you!
Many thanks and blessings,
-Lindsay and Jon
Just a little update for you on where we've been, what we're up to, and how support raising is going...
The past few months have flown past and fall is here already! We have been very busy traveling and connecting with churches and individuals in the Midwest. We have enjoyed traveling, meeting new people, and sharing about what God is doing at the Southwest Indian Ministries Center.
Our recent travels have taken us to:
-Arthur Mennonite Church, Arthur, Illinois
-Hopedale Mennonite Church, Hopedale, Illinois
-Dayspring United Methodist Church, a Native American congregation in East Peoria, IL
-Trinity Park United Methodist Church, Greenfield, IN
We look forward to visiting the following locations in the near future:
-First Norwood Mennonite Church, Peoria, IL
-Heritage Memorial Church, Washington Court House, OH
-First Mennonite Church of Morton, Morton, IL
We are very excited to announce that with our combined support totals (both monthly and one-time gifts), we are around 70% funded! We praise the Lord for His continued blessings and provision. Our goal is to be in Arizona at SIMC full time by January of 2014.
We ask that in the coming months, you would continue to keep the ministry and our support raising in your prayers. We appreciate your prayers and support and couldn't do this without you!
Many thanks and blessings,
-Lindsay and Jon
Monday, September 9, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
On the Road Again...
Hey folks!
Sorry for the delay in writing a post. We have been...you guessed it!...on the road again. First, we'll try to get you up to speed on what we've been up to since our last post.
Back in June, we made the trip out to Arizona for 2 weeks of youth camp out at SIMC. We really enjoyed the opportunity to meet campers, build relationships, share the Gospel, and get our feet wet as camp co-directors. We were able to lead games, speak about our favorite Bible heroes, get to know the youth, spend time with the work teams, and get the feel for what it will look like for us to be camp directors once we are able to be on the field full-time. We had a blast! Even though we were not able to stay and help for all four camps, we are so very grateful to inform you that our total number of campers for all four camps was 168. Of those 168, 40 chose to follow Christ for the first time or rededicate their lives to Him. Praise God! We are thankful for the way God is working through staff, volunteers, and campers at SIMC!
That said, please continue to keep the campers in your prayers as they have returned home to normal routine and temptations that may lead them astray. Although we try to follow up and keep in touch with our campers as much as possible, we know that going back home to the daily grind can be tough. Pray that they would be strengthened in the hope of Jesus Christ and be surrounded with people who will be strong Christian influences in their lives.
After we returned from camp in the beginning of July, we were able to come back home to Indiana for some rest and regrouping. We were there just long enough to make a few phone calls and make a few connections before heading out on the road once more.
Next, we were off to a couple camps to be missionary speakers. On the way to our camps, we stopped to visit family and friends and connect with them about the camp ministry at SIMC. It is so wonderful to have family and friends who are willing to host us for a night (or two or three!) and connect with us about what God is doing in the lives of Native American children and youth. We thank them for their servant hearts and for the support they have given to us.
Our first camp was White Pine Holiness Camp in Arbovale, West Virginia. We couldn't help but notice the beautiful scenery on our way there and we enjoyed marveling at God's creation all week. The staff and campers we met at WPHC were absolutely amazing. We wanted to share with you about one particular young man we met there.
At WPHC, there is a tradition, and her name is Bonnie. Bonnie is a small clip with a ribbon tied on it that gets passed around throughout the day. Now, although the name Bonnie sounds pretty harmless, you don't want to end up with Bonnie by breakfast time the next morning. If you end up with Bonnie clipped to you before breakfast, you may find yourself drinking or eating something unappetizing, singing a song with motions in front of all the other campers, or getting a pie in the face--thanks for being a good husband and taking the heat for me Jon! (Please understand that this is all done in good fun and most of the kids actually want to have Bonnie because they enjoy the challenge.)
Another concept at WPHC is the immunity necklace. Each day, an immunity necklace is hidden. If it is found, the wearer of the necklace can chose to have immunity from doing their daily cleanup or immunity from having to do the Bonnie Challenge in the morning. However, you must guard the necklace, because people are allowed to take it from you. Now, back to the young man we were telling you about...
An older camper let this young man wear his immunity necklace, trusting that the young man would give it back to him later. After wearing the immunity necklace for some time, the young man was approached and told that he should keep the necklace because the person he received it from was supposed to be guarding it. This young man was about 8 or 9 years old. When you are 8 or 9, this is a very tempting decision! Keep immunity and protect yourself from the Bonnie Challenge or chores OR keep the trust with your friend and give the necklace back. To my (Lindsay's) surprise the young man said, "No! I'm not like that. I wouldn't do that. I'm giving it back."
"But, you could keep it and protect yourself from..."
"No! I'm not like that."
Wow! What an unselfish, truthful act. We were very impressed with this young man's character, but God wasn't done with him yet. There had been an evangelist there at camp who had spoken all week about salvation. Each night he spoke about who Jesus is and why we need Him in our hearts. Throughout the week, there were a few altar calls and a few campers accepted Christ there at the altar or back in their cabins afterwards. The last night of camp, at the end of the service, there was a healing service and many people cam up to be healed and anointed with oil. Most of those who came up to be healed were older adults. So imagine our surprise when the young man came up and got in line. I think a lot of us were wondering what was going to happen and what he was going to say. What could this young man possibly need healing for? As the boy approached the evangelist, the evangelist asked, "What do you need healed of?" The boy replied as one who is overwhelmed with the Spirit of God. "I...I just need it all...all of it." The evangelist knelt down and got on eye level with the boy. "You're here for salvation, aren't you?" he said with a smile. The boy nodded. They prayed together and that night this young man gave his life to the Lord.
What a great testimony of the working of God in our hearts! Looking back on the week, I saw Satan working trying to get the best of this young man. Earlier in the week, he had gotten into a fight with another boy. Earlier in the week, he ran away from an activity crying because he took something someone said the wrong way. Earlier in the week, he was tempted to betray someone's trust and keep the immunity necklace for himself. Satan was trying to get at him, but our Lord has overcome! Through camp, the staff, and the working of the Holy Spirit, this young man has begun his life as a new creation in Christ. Praise God for the ways He is working through ministries like WPHC and SIMC to reach young people for Christ!
This week, we are in Otway, Ohio at Mt. Hope Bible Camp. We have only been here for a couple days, but we can see God at work here. Would you join us in prayer for the campers and staff not only here at Mt. Hope, but for children's and youth ministries around the world? Satan does not want these kids to have life changing experiences that bring them into relationship with God. But we know that God has overcome! Please pray that campers and staff would remain strong to resist temptations to fall away from God and to keep the commitments that they have made to follow Him.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check back in a couple weeks to hear more about our experience here at Mt Hope!
Blessings,
-Lindsay (and Jon)
Sorry for the delay in writing a post. We have been...you guessed it!...on the road again. First, we'll try to get you up to speed on what we've been up to since our last post.
Back in June, we made the trip out to Arizona for 2 weeks of youth camp out at SIMC. We really enjoyed the opportunity to meet campers, build relationships, share the Gospel, and get our feet wet as camp co-directors. We were able to lead games, speak about our favorite Bible heroes, get to know the youth, spend time with the work teams, and get the feel for what it will look like for us to be camp directors once we are able to be on the field full-time. We had a blast! Even though we were not able to stay and help for all four camps, we are so very grateful to inform you that our total number of campers for all four camps was 168. Of those 168, 40 chose to follow Christ for the first time or rededicate their lives to Him. Praise God! We are thankful for the way God is working through staff, volunteers, and campers at SIMC!
That said, please continue to keep the campers in your prayers as they have returned home to normal routine and temptations that may lead them astray. Although we try to follow up and keep in touch with our campers as much as possible, we know that going back home to the daily grind can be tough. Pray that they would be strengthened in the hope of Jesus Christ and be surrounded with people who will be strong Christian influences in their lives.
After we returned from camp in the beginning of July, we were able to come back home to Indiana for some rest and regrouping. We were there just long enough to make a few phone calls and make a few connections before heading out on the road once more.
Next, we were off to a couple camps to be missionary speakers. On the way to our camps, we stopped to visit family and friends and connect with them about the camp ministry at SIMC. It is so wonderful to have family and friends who are willing to host us for a night (or two or three!) and connect with us about what God is doing in the lives of Native American children and youth. We thank them for their servant hearts and for the support they have given to us.
Our first camp was White Pine Holiness Camp in Arbovale, West Virginia. We couldn't help but notice the beautiful scenery on our way there and we enjoyed marveling at God's creation all week. The staff and campers we met at WPHC were absolutely amazing. We wanted to share with you about one particular young man we met there.
At WPHC, there is a tradition, and her name is Bonnie. Bonnie is a small clip with a ribbon tied on it that gets passed around throughout the day. Now, although the name Bonnie sounds pretty harmless, you don't want to end up with Bonnie by breakfast time the next morning. If you end up with Bonnie clipped to you before breakfast, you may find yourself drinking or eating something unappetizing, singing a song with motions in front of all the other campers, or getting a pie in the face--thanks for being a good husband and taking the heat for me Jon! (Please understand that this is all done in good fun and most of the kids actually want to have Bonnie because they enjoy the challenge.)
Another concept at WPHC is the immunity necklace. Each day, an immunity necklace is hidden. If it is found, the wearer of the necklace can chose to have immunity from doing their daily cleanup or immunity from having to do the Bonnie Challenge in the morning. However, you must guard the necklace, because people are allowed to take it from you. Now, back to the young man we were telling you about...
An older camper let this young man wear his immunity necklace, trusting that the young man would give it back to him later. After wearing the immunity necklace for some time, the young man was approached and told that he should keep the necklace because the person he received it from was supposed to be guarding it. This young man was about 8 or 9 years old. When you are 8 or 9, this is a very tempting decision! Keep immunity and protect yourself from the Bonnie Challenge or chores OR keep the trust with your friend and give the necklace back. To my (Lindsay's) surprise the young man said, "No! I'm not like that. I wouldn't do that. I'm giving it back."
"But, you could keep it and protect yourself from..."
"No! I'm not like that."
Wow! What an unselfish, truthful act. We were very impressed with this young man's character, but God wasn't done with him yet. There had been an evangelist there at camp who had spoken all week about salvation. Each night he spoke about who Jesus is and why we need Him in our hearts. Throughout the week, there were a few altar calls and a few campers accepted Christ there at the altar or back in their cabins afterwards. The last night of camp, at the end of the service, there was a healing service and many people cam up to be healed and anointed with oil. Most of those who came up to be healed were older adults. So imagine our surprise when the young man came up and got in line. I think a lot of us were wondering what was going to happen and what he was going to say. What could this young man possibly need healing for? As the boy approached the evangelist, the evangelist asked, "What do you need healed of?" The boy replied as one who is overwhelmed with the Spirit of God. "I...I just need it all...all of it." The evangelist knelt down and got on eye level with the boy. "You're here for salvation, aren't you?" he said with a smile. The boy nodded. They prayed together and that night this young man gave his life to the Lord.
What a great testimony of the working of God in our hearts! Looking back on the week, I saw Satan working trying to get the best of this young man. Earlier in the week, he had gotten into a fight with another boy. Earlier in the week, he ran away from an activity crying because he took something someone said the wrong way. Earlier in the week, he was tempted to betray someone's trust and keep the immunity necklace for himself. Satan was trying to get at him, but our Lord has overcome! Through camp, the staff, and the working of the Holy Spirit, this young man has begun his life as a new creation in Christ. Praise God for the ways He is working through ministries like WPHC and SIMC to reach young people for Christ!
This week, we are in Otway, Ohio at Mt. Hope Bible Camp. We have only been here for a couple days, but we can see God at work here. Would you join us in prayer for the campers and staff not only here at Mt. Hope, but for children's and youth ministries around the world? Satan does not want these kids to have life changing experiences that bring them into relationship with God. But we know that God has overcome! Please pray that campers and staff would remain strong to resist temptations to fall away from God and to keep the commitments that they have made to follow Him.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check back in a couple weeks to hear more about our experience here at Mt Hope!
Blessings,
-Lindsay (and Jon)
Monday, June 17, 2013
Summer Prayer Letter
Our summer prayer letter has arrived! We are excited to see the Lord working in the lives of Native American youth here at Southwest Indian Ministries Center! Today we started our first camp of the summer with 24 teenagers! Check out our prayer letter here.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Travels to Wisconsin & Minnesota
Last weekend we were invited to speak at Lindsay's home church, New Life Assembly of God in Sparta, WI. While we were there, we had the opportunity to catch up with some of Lindsay's family. Saturday evening we drove up to Winona, MN to take Lindsay's grandma out to dinner. Afterwards, we met up with two of Lindsay's aunts and took a walk along the Mississippi River downtown.
(left to right: Aunt Linda, Grandma Sherman, Lindsay & I, Aunt Joyce, Dennis (Lindsay's Dad)
On Sunday, Lindsay's grandparents on her mom's side of the family joined us for worship. We had the opportunity to share with the congregation and met some new friends after service. We were able to spend time Sunday afternoon catching up with Lindsay's grandparents and enjoying their company.
(left to right: Dennis & Cheryl (Lindsay's parents, Grandma & Grandpa Kaste, Lindsay & I)
We are privileged to have such a great family. We are thankful for all their prayers and continual support.
Blessings
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