Friends

Friends, each time I write this blog I think of YOU! The YOU that sits on the other side of the screen, the you who spends your time reading these word, praying the prayers and spending YOUR time in these moments with us!

The above verse was the verse of the a couple days ago and all I could think about was YOU! Our prayer team. YOU were who I prayed this verse over yesterday and again today. We are thankful for you and for your willingness to stand in the gap for us. We are delighted to know we are being prayed for and we can see the answers to those prayers already. 

Thank you so much for YOUR part on our team! You are loved, you are thought of and you are cherished! Even if we have never met we are in this together and your seeds being sown here have eternal results. We will celebrate together someday and one day in His presence we will remember these things that He was faithful to do through us, as a team!

Today I bring you some praises:

Vanessa: had a blessed trip to her Uncle's house in CA, CiCi seems to be mending from her ear infections and cold and that Vanessa has several fun things still left to do this Fall to help pass the time during this current deployment.

Rachel: her parents are finally all moved in and her life has some very exciting things to keep her smiling ear to ear. Her son is doing well in his senior year and is blowing us all away with his drive and dedication to finish strong. Her other kiddos are in beautiful stretching seasons as well, and Rachel in this season actually has the time to enjoy the people in her life.

Jeni (myself): God has allowed many wonderful meetings to happen, right on time and I am meeting so many possible volunteers that it makes my heart burst with excitement of what's to come. I also have been able to start with AmazonFlex that will hopefully be a blessing to my family while we await to come on as paid staff with YFC.

Prayer requests:

For Vanessa: for travel mercies and for restful and enjoyable time with friends. For organization and thinking space (can be hard with a busy 1 year old in arms) for peace and joy in this month as she pushes past the half way mark and leans into that final stretch of deployment

For Rachel: for her family as they continue to transition and for her time and schedule as it unfolds. For her relationships and her home. For her fundraise to be successful and for her heart to rest in joy and peace.

For Jeni: for being able to make time to do YFC things while taking on a side job with Amazon Flex. For our homes to be provided for. For a seller or renter of our house in GA or for a quick process with the bank to do what we need to, to be out from under it. Pray that I will hear God well and that I will be exactly where He wants me to be at the moments He wants me to be there. 

For our YFC mission here: for the harvest of teen hearts, that they will know and love the Lord. For businesses to partner with us in the future of YFC Military here. For the Chaplains we have begun speaking to and for open doors on both bases. For volunteers and leaders to come along side us and for our hearts to be ever ready with the gospel of peace for all who we encounter.

Thank you again friends. We could not do this without you!!! We pray for your lives as well. May each of you be healthy in body and strong in Spirit through Him who is able. 

Peace be with you.

"...But I say WAKE UP..."

"...But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[e] for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” 
John 4:35b-38

Ever have one of those, "Wake up, and look around!" moments? It can be both exciting and humbling. We can feel inadequate and yet ready to go, all at the same time. We are in this moment here at Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base. We see the fields, they are ripe and ready. We see the harvest and we are excited to work with The Lord to gather it. What a crazy thought... That He would ask us to join HIM! What a JOY!

PRAISES!!!!

Praise God for those who have planted here, for the fields that are ready and for the hands that prepared our work before hand. Praise God for His faithfulness throughout our journey here and for His vision and clarity to our purpose. Praise God that He has called us and that He is building us up for the work at hand. Praise God for the workers to come and for the leaders in standby. Praise God for the HARVEST! And praise God for this season of Thanksgiving, may it be bountiful and joyful, refreshing our souls in His promises and faithfulness. 

This week please keep our team in your prayers personally:

For Vanessa as she travels to see family and friends throughout this month, as she gains a young roommate for the time being and as she continues to lead this team towards God's mission and will for this area. Pray for her strength and wisdom in her household duties while she, her daughter and her husband continue to push through deployment and army separation. Pray she is constantly covered in love, peace and joy in this season as tough and trying as it may be. 

For Rachel as she celebrates her birthday this week (Monday in fact) that this year of life will be such a blessing and one to remember for a lifetime. Pray for her family as they have many transitions and life seems to be joyfully unsure and beautifully full to the brim. Pray for her as she parents her children in God's love and stature in this time of transition and transformation and for her children's heart as they embrace this season of life with their mom, family, school and friends. Pray for clarity on some of the things she has been asking God for, that she may feel peace in the midst of waiting, and certainty in decisions regarding her work, family and future.

For myself (Jeni) as I start to fill my calendar with the workload of YFC and the transition therefore for our family from stay at home to work from home (mostly) mom. Pray for our home and family dynamics as Caleb helps to balance my work schedule with his and helps with the weight of family life while I get my bearings. Pray for our provisions as we are now in talks with our mortgage lenders for our house in GA to help relieve us from that debt that weighs heavy one us with no renters, no buyers and now storm damage. Pray for our oldest soon as he approaches his senior year of basketball and track season, that he will stay healthy and strong for both. Please pray for wisdom as we parent and as we teach, that God will be glorified through us. 

As a mission field team please pray for:

Provisions, clarity, joy, strength, favor and FUN! Ask God to open doors where we should go and close doors where we should wait or look else where. Pray for continued favor with chaplains, community resources and financial support. Ask God to help us be a blessing to all who cross our paths and that military teens, families and this community of Southern Colorado Springs will be impacted by The Christ in us. Lastly but so important... please pray for more workers, volunteers and leaders to come forward and to joyfully offer their support and time in this mission. 

Thank you for faithfully praying with us for God's mission field here. We cannot do it without HIS power going before us, with us and behind us and without others lifting us up as we plow the fields before us! 

Blessings Friends,
Jeni

Back To Work

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Jeremiah 1:9-10

I get most excited about the build and planting part of the verse above. I have no doubt that is what we are here to do! Build these military teens, their families and their community up and at the same tim plant new seeds, water old ones and ready a harvest to God's perfect glory!

I am a bit of a big dreamer and I have had so many visions and my heart leaps when I think of the harvest to come. Military teens from all over Colorado Springs joined together to worship and to share in God's word, to take it to their peers with joy and expectation! How exciting it is to have this kind of hope going into such a hard fought place! First to find them, then to bring them in and then to introduce them to the One True God who LOVES them! AHHH! Can you believe this is our actual day in and day out JOB!?!

Team Praises 

*We had a wonderful trip to our Youth Worker's Camp and lots of amazing team building and rest for our souls. 

*God continues to provide our every need while we wait to be funded as fully paid staff.

*Our groups blended well for the first time and that was a huge blessing for us to see.

*New Teens are hearing about us and are wanting to be apart of what we have going on.

*New opportunities for new spaces and times are starting to emerge.

*New volunteers are starting to come forward and starting the process of the paperwork required.

Team Prayer Requests

*Please pray for the hearts of the teens we know and have in our small groups. Pray that their faith will deepen supernaturally through Christ. We are asking The Holy Spirit to move in them in ways only He can and to use us to guide, hear and walk with through this season with them.

*Pray for our small groups and for our wisdom as leaders of when to blend and when to add new options.

*For team members, leaders, volunteers and support partners. Pray for the Laborers that will join us!

Individual Requests

For Rachel: For her mom and dad which are in the process of moving and the life change to come within their home.

For Vanessa: For clarity, organization and work/life balance. 

For Jeni: For a miracle with their second house in GA, that it will sell or rent soon and that they will have provisions until it is. Also for their kids through this season that they will be understanding in this season and that all their needs will be met.

Thank you for being fellow laborers with us in lifting up our requests. It seems like such a small task and yet it is the very thing that releases God's power over all things we ask to do! This is first and foremost where our works starts in the throne room of God, asking HIM to help, to lead and to bless. Thanking HIM for all things given and taken. So thank you brothers and sisters for working along side us in this ministry here and within our own lives! May you be blessed.