These Children are God's!

First:
Perhaps I link too much to either God trying to bless me or the devil trying to destroy me; i.e. a bug hits my windshield, it's the devil trying to destroy me because he knows a dirty windshield drives me crazy, or I catch a nice size fish and it is God blessing me for my diligent work this summer. But that's the way I am, and that's the way I'm always going to be most likely :)

Today the devil tried to destroy me. I'm not going to say what, I'm not going to tell anybody (not even my girlfriend or parents or mentors). All that I will do is ask you to please pray against this attack (or perhaps just life) and that everything will work out in the end (and quickly)! I have been truly blessed this sumer with my experiences and all the support that friends and family have given me through prayer and financial support and I will not forget this summer for the rest of my days.


Second & Most Importantly:
We are starting a new "step" in our program this summer, one I took from the book Whose Child is This? by Bill Wilson. We have divided up the list of youth amongst the staff and will, on a weekly basis, make a home visit or at the very least a phone call to each youth. While we do often take youth out for lunch or ice cream, a home visit sends a different message, one of wanting to truly experience their lives. It also gives us a deeper understanding of some of the issues that surround the youth each day from the minute they wake to the moment they go to sleep. Some may come from picture perfect families, but many do not have the best home life. Reaching out to the kids in their homes brings Christ into not only their lives but the entire household.

Word!




Some of the teens hard at work this week

Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays!

Technically it's Sunday, but I can imagine what I'll be like tomorrow at 7 am when the alarm goes off. It has been getting harder to get out of bed in the mornings for some reason; the motivation has been lacking. It is still fun and exciting to interact with the kids, but I suppose it is the "other stuff" that isn't exactly exciting. Be sure to pray that I stay motivated. I already have other things on my mind, such as planning for the school year ahead, trying to get credits transferred so I can graduate this year instead of next year, Willowlake prep for the fall, etc.

Also I really want to start impacting the lives of these teens for the better. I want to be able to share Christ with them and the realness of His grace and mercy. It would be a joy to see these young ones in eternity so you all had a chance to meet them.

I'm also struggling with personal sins; just trying to be fully transformed, which can be hard as I'm sure most of you know for yourselves. But I know what areas of my life I have to let the Lord into even more, and that's the important thing I suppose. It just can be hard to present the Gospel to people when you have this nagging voice inside your head reminding you of all your own shortcomings in your relationship with Christ; nobody wants to be a hypocrite. But, I am forgiven.

Well, I should get going, I have some reading to do before bed time at 9 pm. Check back tomorrow or Tuesday for some new pictures!

Grace

Meet the Youth... And Read This!

It's hard to believe this is the second last week of July coming up. Summer is definitely going by too fast! I thought as I "prepare" myself for another week (praying for patience, joy, love, understanding, patience. . .) I would give you the opportunity to see some of the youth. Go ahead, lay hands on the screen and pray for them! :)

I've been meaning to take more pictures, so check back soon and I'll try and have a few new ones each week.

Also, be sure to follow this link to a new newspaper in Winnipeg. I was able to arrange for them to come and interview some of the kids for an article which ran in this month's paper. The paper is called Urban NDN and is available at many locations throughout Winnipeg so if you see one be sure to pick up a copy (it's free!).

OK, now on to the teens. . .

423 Times

The NLT translation of the Bible mentions prayer (either pray or prayer) 423 times, so I figure that's an important topic. I've been mentioning prayer often to the kids since we began; it comes up often in conversation. Often we see prostitutes that work just across the street from the church, and as the teens laugh and joke about them I seem to often mention that they should be praying for those women. I find myself getting frustrated as I drive with kids in the car (serious road rager here), and mention that I should pray for patience. A few weeks ago we had a couple of the teens paint the dumpsters behind the church as they had been covered in graffiti; one of the boys mentioned how it was a waste of time because they would just be covered in spray paint again by the next day, so. . . I said "I'll show you how powerful my God is and pray that His angels keep the dumpsters graffiti free for a week" (3 weeks later and the dumpsters are still graffiti free and the young man points it out each day and is opening to the idea of prayer).

God is pushing me to do and say things I would normally not to do; such as praying for dumpsters. God is waiting to burst through the walls these teens have built up, and the spiritual walls that the enemy has put in place in the North End for so long now. He is going to move in big ways. He is giving me crazy visions of the gifts that He has given to each youth.

And it all comes back to prayer. I can't help but pray constantly throughout each day, as I work, drive, walk, even as I try to sleep. God is constantly pressing these young North Enders on my mind and forcing me to pray for different ones at different times. I believe strongly that very soon some of these young people are going to begin praying without ceasing; the will grow brave and pray in front of others even! They are on the verge of a major transformation in their lives that will carry through to their neighbourhood.

The ones that laugh and joke at prostitutes will soon be bringing healing and ministry and the true love of Christ to these women. Their ministry will come in different and unique ways; art, music, prison ministry, street evangelism -- the list goes on.

This will all come about through prayer.

Are you praying for these young people? Are you praying for your own family and community? Are you allowing me to pray for you?

Amen.

I'm not a Dr.!

But I still need patients (or patience I guess). It's funny how you go into a ministry job seeking to love and impact young lives, but the ones who are in need of the most love are the hardest to love. D doesn't have many friends, and is picked on by the others. Obviously we try and keep an eye on the teasing and name calling and deal with offenders appropriately; but that doesn't mean I myself still don't feel like calling D names some days. He is just aggravating, the kind of kid that gets under your skin. I feel horrible but that's the honest truth, and being honest and confessing about things like this is how we can start to let ourselves be transformed.

I took D to a local greasy diner for lunch one day. He had a cheeseburger and poutine -- I ordered a cheeseburger and fries, but I didn't eat any of it. D doesn't have the best table manners. He was shoving the food in his mouth, and talking while it was still half eaten; the food would spray in my face and on to my food.

I couldn't help but think to myself I can't wait to get out of here. This kid is disgusting. Not only that but the way and things he talked about annoyed me. He tried to be funny but was far from it. I can't stand this kid!!! I was thinking 10 minutes into our lunch.

And this whole time I'm thinking this and waiting for him to finish his meal so we can leave, all I can hear God saying to me is I love D so much. This is one of my chosen ones. I cherish him. I hold him in my arms each day like a new-born son. You are meant to love him.

Gah!!!

It is a process of transformation, learning to love those that annoy us. But it is God's will. Those who are the hardest to love are in need of it the most.

Word

Yeesh!

I'm getting worse and worse at updating this thing! Truth is I need a long vacation (and I just had a four day weekend). Two ministry jobs has certainly proved to be a bit more stressful than I thought, should have listened more closely to Dr. Marchand :). But all is well besides not having much free time during the week.

Some prayer requests:

a) Now that summer has started for the teens we've had a pretty big drop in attendance this week. Pray that those who need to be reached will be prompted to attend.

b) Pray for their safety, it is a pretty rough area (even during the day)!

c) Pray for me; that I show compassion and love in stressful situations.

d) Just pray

So again, send me your prayer requests! Seriously; I want to hear from you and be able to impact your life also. Send them to mike@willowlake.ca

Thanks again for all your prayers and financial support. This wouldn't be possible with all of you!