In 2012, we took a team of 9 for our first visit to White Earth AG and Rice Lake Area Fellowship on the White Earth Chippewa Reservation. There we met Pastor Tim and Tammy Brown and instantly fell in love with them and the people they loved. Our purpose in going was to show the love of Jesus in real and practical ways through a camp for the kids. We prayed, played, served and made new friends along the way.
3 years later, we have decided to return to help with a much needed renovation project to one of the church buildings that is currently being used to distribute food and clothing to families in need. While renovations are being made, part of the team will be conducting a day camp for the kids.
The smiling faces alone are reason enough to pack your bags and come along with the team. We will be leaving on July 4th and returning on the 11th. If you are interested in joining us and would like more detail about the trip you can visit our Mission trip page or contact iRock Ministries, Missionary Terry Williams. Applications and the initial payment for the trip are due April 24, 2015. Act now to assure your spot on the team.
Now that the majority of people are facing colder weather, what better time to share the warmth of God’s love. God has been doing some remarkable things and sometimes it’s difficult to catch my breath, so let me take a few minutes to recap the summer for you.
I watched youth groups draw closer together and I saw relationships built between team members and the people they met on location. Perhaps some of the most touching moments I was allowed to watch were the relationships that were growing between father and son. As I watched them pray together and share the day’s events or as I watched them work and play side by side, I couldn’t help but think of the relationship that Father God wants with each of us. He wants to be part of our everyday lives. He wants to hear about our challenges, concerns, heartaches and needs as much as he wants to hear about our successes, joys and dreams. When we allow Father God to truly be our father, then we will see our lives become FULL!
Team members weren’t the only ones to feel the presence and power of God over the summer. One of the most powerful moments for me was the day we took camp to the river side and baptized 14 children in water. Each person chose who they wanted to perform the baptism. Some chose their pastor or a parent but for me seeing some of the kids choose a teen team member to baptize them, now that was special. As the entire camp stood on the bank and watched, 13 children and 1 adult made their way into the water where they were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. What a sweet spirit next to that river. What must it have been like or felt like when John baptized Jesus in a river as the people stood on the bank and watched?
Teach the children in your lives to encourage someone today. Give them a post card that is addressed and stamped to a missionary that you or your church supports. Let them know that everyone struggles with temptation and sin, even teachers and pastors and missionaries. There are no “Super Christians” and everyone needs encouragement to live for God. Ask them to write a note of encouragement to the missionaries that these post cards have been addressed to. Encourage them to write a note of encouragement and sign only with “someone who cares” or “a friend in Christ” or something that lets them know someone is praying for them.