exciting things…

Part of the vision that the LORD gave us was to get connected more with the rez and continue to nurture the relationships that we already have. One really cool thing that we are doing next week is heading to the Navajo Reservation. We are meeting with the men and women at the Chapter House to introduce ourselves as well as ask for permission to begin ministry there. We are extremely excited for the opportunity to serve and to broaden our reach.

Please pray that everything goes well and that we can begin to minister on the Navajo Reservation. God is beginning to expand our borders. All praise to Him!

 

still moving…

It has been a length of time since we last posted on the happenings of the Nehemiah project. Let me reassure you that we are still moving a positive direction with the vision. God has continued to move us and transition us to His favor. We have been working extensively with a grant writer to hopefully build a bruised reed ministry dorm. Thanks be to God for putting people in our path that believe in what we are doing and own the vision of building lives one life at a time!!
God’s vision has been evolving everyday into an awesome adventure. Thank you for all your prayers and support over the past few months with our vision. You have been faithful in praying and walking with us and for that, we are thankful.
He’s still moving…

 

stand back…

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that God moves and works in ways that we cannot understand. I’m constantly challenged by the remarkable way that He moves through His children. When people say that they want to be used and want to honor God, then He simple says, “Okay, I’m sending some your way.”
We’ve had some great opportunities to really minister to some families as of late. From one family that recently watched their father go to prison and the mother left with nothing, and I mean nothing. Several of the AICM folks were able to provide food and I sat with this mother in my office and was able to communicate and pray. Yet another mother who’s body has been disfigured because someone thought it woud be nice to knock her lights out! I stood with this women surrounded by other staff and we lifted this princess up in prayer as she was wounded. I hugged this dear women and you would have thought she was never going to let go.
These are just a few stories that are playing themselves out before us. We are asking God to bring the wounded, the broken, the downtrodden, the bruised and allow us to minister to these folks. That is why we exsist. We exsist to minister to ALL Native Americans and we will continue to do it.
So as we continue to ask God to bring and as we go, we will stand back and wait, wait for the opportunity to minister. God is a great God!! Hallelujah!

 

thanks…

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have given specifically to the bruised reed ministry. I also want to thank you all for the concern and interest that you are giving towards this project. I am thankful for all those that have prayed and are continuing to pray for this aspect of the ministry. Many of you have asked how you can help and what can you can specifically do to help with this. I have come up with three prayer requests that I would like for you to petition to the LORD.

1. Pray that God would open the doors for more children to take advantage of this ministry.

2. Pray that God would continue to equip those that are facilitating this ministry. Pray that God would strengthen relationships as well as the ones that are already established.

3. Pray that healing would come to the children that are using this ministry as a time for growth and rest.

I am confident that with the help of the Father, we will begin to see the great things that He has promised us when we are obedient to His word. So from all of us at the AICM and those that are being ministered by way of the bruised reed ministry, thanks!

 

bruised but not broken

The American Indian Christian Mission as stated before is very excited about the bruised reed ministry. Let me update you as to the progress and the impact that this ministry is having on the very children that you support and pray for.

As I am writing this, we now have a married couple who are already on staff that have said they want to take this ministry on and help make an impact in these children’s lives…Praise the LORD!! We have a temporary shelter for our children to stay in and it is currently getting some fresh paint, and new window dressings. I will be putting a call to the staff to challenge them to fully stock the fridge and cabinets as we are officially underway. We have had children every weekend and last weekend we had a total of six bruised reeds that stayed on campus for shelter. Folks, God is doing some great things and you are a part of it! Please continue to pray that we would shine like stars for Him.

We have a team that is now working on setting short term goals as well as long term goals. We need to have additional housing and it may come sooner than later. Thanks be to God that He is providing for us in this area. Please consider walking with us as we strive each day to glorify God in all we do. Our kids may be bruised but they certainly aren’t broken.

 

detail maker…

We have had literally hundreds of supporters that are getting on board with us and the bruised reed ministry. Many of you have expressed your desire to jump in and help out with this fantastic ministry. Many have helped in some of the planning process too. We are so encouraged to have folks like you that have committed to furthering the Kingdom through this ministry.

This is just another facet of the vision that has taken off so fast that we are playing catch up with some things. We have an outpouring of parents and students that have been utilizing this ministry. Many things have come up so fast that it has been awesome to watch and experience. We are currently housing those students who are needing this ministry with staff until we can get a facility up and running. We do have a temporary house that we will begin to utilize in October. But it can’t be a long term fix, we need a bigger building with efficiency apartments in it. Here’s where you can help.

1. Would you pray that God would continue to allow His children to find refuge here?

2. Pray for the Leadership and Board as we devise a plan to erect a building to properly house our brothers and sisters.

3. Pray that God would open doors of communication with other organizations.

4. Pray that God would raise up the right people to take over this aspect of the ministry.

We believe that this ministry is vital to Evangelizing and Equipping Native Americans. We have lots of details to work out as well as planning for future needs. I am asking that as we wade through some of these details and as these details unfold before us, that you would pray that God would be driving this ministry and not man. We at the mission serve a God that is completely capable of working out every detail and we are thanking Him in advance for what He is going to do through you and through those that minister here.

 

desperate…

I sat across from “marsha” at our last F.E.A.S.T. as she looked me in the eye and told me that she was about to be evicted from her house by tribal housing authority. “Marsha” has no place to go, no job and no monies to support the several children she has. She went on to speak of the hardship that she is experiencing and how frustrating it is for her. She sat and talked for several minutes and as she stopped for a brief moment, I asked her what church she was attending. She looked at me with glassy eyes and said, “no where right now.”

I took that as an open door to start talking with her about her walk with Christ and how she needed to get with other believers to support each other. As we sat there and ate together I could see the wheels in her head turning as she was trying hard to keep her emotions in check. I grabbed her hand, looked straight into her eyes and asked if I could pray with her.

Stories like are not uncommon when it comes to F.E.A.S.T. We have so many parents of our children who are in the same boat as “Marsha”, and we need to be ministering to them. God has brought people to F.E.A.S.T. not only be fed physically, but to also be fed with the Word. We will continue to minister to her and teach her that there is hope, His name is Jesus. Taking these small steps, one at a time, will help to solve some of the feelings of desperation that many feel.

As a supporter, will you help us in this effort? Will you help us as we literally minister to people at the table. People like “Marsha” are loved by us and the Creator. Our Heavenly Father is sending the lambs, help us shepherd the flock.

 

pliable…

Henry Blackaby states in Experiencing God that “to be useful, clay has to be pliable. Once it is made into a vessel, its usefulness is still subject to the discretion of the potter.”

How fitting of a quote as of late. We as a staff and students have been studying the book Experiencing God. We have been diving in to what it means and how we can use it and apply it to our lives. Even with the nehemiah project, we have been able to use the things that we are reading and making them a part of the vision. I never worked with clay much as an adult. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I would know what to do if someone gave me a piece of clay and told me to create something out of it. I would imagine that after I was done with my feeble attempt, it might not look any different than when it was handed to me.

But thanks be to God that He knows precisely what to do with clay (our lives) and He is able to create something out of nothing. And the real cool thing is that at any point, He can take that clay (our lives) and make it it to something completely different at any point. What a wonderful Maker He is!!

So I ask you as a supporter and prayer warrior of the AICM. Are you allowing the Potter to mold and create a beautiful masterpiece, when He needs to change the shape of the clay, are you pliable?

 

adjusting…

As a part of our vision, we are doing a study time with the parents (F.E.A.S.T). We had a great turnout with parents and students. It’s really exciting to see that God is using us to minister and uplift those who were are here for. As with everything new, there are some things that we needed and need to adjust in regards to logistics and times, but overall, we at the AICM were very exciting to see the turnout.

All of the staff including the Board believe in this vision and the staff especially came together last Friday and really pitched in and helped out. We continue to get very positive emails and letters in regards to the direction and way God is moving us. New churches are investing with us as we strive to Evangelize and Equip.

So with a little adjusting here and there, God is moving and working in each of us and through His children. I cannot wait for more things to unfold!

 

a working God…

We are finding that through the nehemiah project, God is working things out that are completely out of our control. One thing that we have seen God work in is the bruised reed ministry. We have had churches and individuals that have expressed great interest in it and also their wanting to help get this portion of the project off the ground (please see vision for details on this facet of the vision).

Now understand that there is still some things that need clarified as well as planned. But we are allowing God to control this vision. We firmly feel that He is in charge and what He wants, we will do. The bruised reed ministry will allow us to nurture as well as minister to families that we have neglected for sometime. To provide a safe place for our children and their parents will allow us to really be more intentional in ministry. As a mission we have begun to explore the ways in which we can fund this project as well as looking at what type of building that we want to put up.

Please pray for this  part of the vision. If you would like to help and support this particular work, please feel free to contact the office. 

Serving a working God!