February 2010 - Happy Valentines Day!

How God Used You;

We could not do this ministry without our team:

Read more about most in the sections below

- Awesome trip to Mexico

- Meeting a very spiritually diverse group of students and having an impact on them.

-unchurched students coming and seeking.

-Starting a new Christian Challenge Club at an unreached, super liberal Arizona State University Campus

-Student leaders are being invested in and trained up.

Made possible by God’s mighty power and your prayers & giving:

thank you!

Mexico!

We took some new people to Mexico with us, opening their eyes to what is going on outside of college life. Bryan’s grandma even got to go. A total of 5 people who had never gone before went along with a few repeats. It was a great weekend to see the kids, because we haven’t been able to go in a while.

The purpose of these trips is really two-fold. We always want to be there loving on these kids who just need someone to love on them. That is our primary goal. We have love that Christ has given us, and that’s what we want to pass along. But we also use this as a discipleship program. I like to take our college students so that they can live out what they’ve read in the Bible. It’s easy for a college group to become just about social activities and learning about Christianity. This trip is about applying what we know. That’s why I love taking new people. It’s almost like you show someone how to ride a bike, and even if it’s a long time down the road before they do something like this again, they’ll remember how to do it, and it will always be in their hearts and a milestone to look back on and know that Christianity is real, because it’s a real calling. (The picture below is of Dallas playing on the merry-go-round with the kids. Their favorite thing is to be pushed as fast as we can get it going. Dallas too.)

New Missionary on floor 6

My plan to reach more floors has already been working very well. Ernie, one of the guys in my “Man Clan” Bible study has already caught on to the vision for reaching his floor, and when I got up there with pizza on the night we kicked off reaching that floor, he had invited people, (a much rougher crowd than floor 4 has to offer, which is awesome) put up a sign, and was telling all his friends about Christian Challenge. This is a guy who is not even a Christian yet, but he is a regular in my Bible study and on the brink of making some huge life decisions. I’ve been pressing him and another guy in my Bible study right on the brink of wanting to be totally sold out for Christ pretty hard, and they’ve responded well.

So we now have about 20 more contacts, mainly guys, a couple floors up from where we have been doing most of our work. These are people that pass me in the lobby, but now that they know I’m connected with Ernie, I have creditability, which will open the door for me to share Christ with them. I’m starting with his roommate, who has been on my heart. Pray for Danny as I try to share Christ with him.

Snuggling

Powers Update

Bryan is back in seminary full-time, taking 12 credits. Two classes are online classes, which is a first for him. It’s a little hard jumping back in after not being a student for two years, but it seems to be coming back quickly. Two of his classes are with two of the best professors he’s ever had, which helps; and the drive to finish the MDiv helps too.

We were so blessed to have the best visit from Bryan’s sister, Mary Audrey and her husband, Michael. It is so good to be with family. Dallas and I (Jamie) have been thanking the Lord for creating families and specifically for ours and how blessed we are.

Dallas calls Uncle Michael: “Michael-Michael” and so we all have begun calling him that. He and Mary Audrey loved on us and our boys so much that week. Dallas probably had the best week of his life(!): he loved hopping in their bed for cuddles and tickling, hours of one-on-one play and book reading. Thank you Michael-Michael and Auntie! We LOOOOVE you! “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.”

Thank You for Your Prayers!

Please pray…

- Planning for a retreat coming up soon.

- Follow up with all the new students.

- PRAISE: Trip to Mexico

- PRAISE & Prayer: New Phoenix Campus

- Healing with losing Madison Grace

- Our support

- Sanctuary Church

- More salvations

- PRAISE: Growth and development of more leadership.

- PRAISE: 1 has accepted Christ on the new campus.

- God to use us to lead students to surrender to Christ

How can we pray for you?

Happy New Year!

How God Used You;

We could not do this ministry without our team:

Read more about most in the sections below

- Student stepped out of their comfort zone to minister to some homeless

- Meeting a very spiritually diverse group of students and having an impact on them.

          -unchurched students coming and seeking.

-Starting a new Christian Challenge Club at an unreached, super liberal Arizona State University Campus

-Student leaders are being invested in and trained up.

         

Made possible by God’s mighty power and your prayers & giving:

  thank you!

Miracle on 2^nd Street

            Bethany, one of the girls we work with, has planned several events downtown to work with the homeless. We joined her for this Christmas Eve with not only students, but two parents who wanted to come and see what their kids were doing, which was exciting.

            We started out by walking around the park in pairs talking with the homeless and inviting them to come share some time together worshiping and to let us give them something. We had Christmas cookies and socks and blankets wrapped up so that they had something to unwrap for Christmas. We also had sandwiches and fruit to give out while someone presented the Gospel.

            After that we saw God move in a huge way. One of the guys in our group, who came for the first time with a friend, started talking to one man who had been on the streets for just two weeks. A crack addiction is what put him there. We knew that this was something we would encounter, so Bethany has cards with a partnering ministry, Set Free Ministries, ready to go for everyone to pass out. 

            After spending some time with this guy, I knew that God was moving in his life in a huge way. I stepped away and called the ministry and asked them how to get him into treatment, and they told me about a free rehab place and how to apply to live with Set Free. I stepped back as the new student was saying over and over, “Today can be the day.” Robert, the homeless man, kept saying, “I don’t want to live like this; I’m so tired.” I knew of the Spiritual tiredness he was talking about, that comes from wrestling with God. He then pulled out a crack pipe and threw it about 15 feet away, then got up and stomped on it, breaking it to pieces. 

            I told him what I had learned about the rehab program and told him I would love to take him there if he wanted to go. He had no hesitation because God had totally taken a hold of him. I drove him there with another student in our group and we waited with him as he waited to meet with a counselor. Before he walked in, I hugged him and told him I’d be praying for him as I hope you will do to.

            This changed several people in our group. After seeing some addicts fail, I’ve been a little calloused, and God took me by surprise because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move in such an unexpected way.  Daniel, one of the guys still deciding on Christ, was amazed and he got to see God move in a huge way. The parents who came got to see their children in action doing ministry. Jennifer saw what happens when she brings friends to ministry events, and her friend got to see what can happen when God moves him to talk to a homeless man and what God can do with that. Robert also got to see how a bunch of college students can love him because they are Christians. And I got to see a student that Jamie and I have poured some into, start a phenomenal ministry that is changing lives. It was one of the best Christmas Eves I’ve ever had, and just may have started a tradition.  

 

 Taylor Place Dorm at ASU Downtown
 

Expanding Strategy

            We’ve been reaching out to all of Taylor Place (picture above), the residence hall at ASU Downtown. Due to a bulk of our leadership living on the 4^th floor, we’ve intensely ministered to that floor. Many of the events that we hold have been on that floor, and it has almost become an office for me. I’m happy to say that almost everyone on that floor knows Christian Challenge and has been touched in a least a little way.  

This upcoming semester, I’ll let the current leadership take over that floor completely, and I’m going to be moving up to floors 6 and 7 which are tied together by a common lobby area. Two of my guys are on these floors, and it will allow them to have more leadership and ownership. If all goes well, we could expect to see the ministry double this semester.     

Trying on snow gear.

First time in snow!

Loves his Daddy

Mommy and the boys!

Stockings from Grandma and Pappah Brooks! Thank you!

Hendrix (left) and Colton on Christmas Day!

Powers Update

             Christmas was amazing this year! I pray you had a wonderful Christmas too! I can’t imagine it getting any better than Christmas with a four-year-old! The excitement and magic! So fun. Dallas got his stocking and two other small gifts from Santa. We asked him, “Did you have a good Christmas?” He said, “Yes!” He hadn’t opened our gifts yet! We pray that we can raise him to be content and avoid materialism.  

            Dallas (and the little boys) saw snow for the first time in Flagstaff! He LOVED it! He got to go sledding with Daddy and by the 2^nd or 3^rd time was ready to go by himself!  We were able to park right in front of the hill, so I stayed in the car w/ the little boys and watched Dallas.

Thank You for Your Prayers!

Please pray…

-   PRAISE – Service Project  with Kingdom impact

-       Robert to rehabilitate

-   PRAISE & Prayer: New Phoenix Campus

-   Praise- sick Powers are well.

-   Healing with losing Madison Grace

-   Our support

-   Sanctuary Church

-   More salvations

-   PRAISE: Growth and development of more leadership.

-   PRAISE: 1 has accepted Christ on the new campus.          

-   God to use us to lead students to surrender to Christ

How can we pray for you?