Loving Home

Right now I am home. It has been so awesome being home and seeing all my family and friends again. I don't think I ever want to leave again. I feel as though I should write a big long triumphant conclusion to my time at CMI in Missouri, but I can't think of anything to really say right now. I'll try to write updates as things happen. Love y'all (y'all is a word I learned in Missouri, it kinda just means the same thing as "you guys" or "you all") 

CMI Week 12: Home

This week may have been the longest week of my life, but I made it through. I am home!

CMI Week 11: Home Stretch

Every step was agonizingly loud. The leaves crunched under her feet at every movement. She looked out; there was still so much land to cross and so little time to do it. The lights all around made it hard to keep concealed. But maybe she could use that to her advantage. She crouched down into the shadow of a tree. She slowly left her hiding spot and began to crunch across the leaves. No one had seen her, yet. Strangely enough, no one seemed to be around, but the shadows where too confusing shifting for her to be sure. She didn't know what was going on. She crept closer to her goal, but where was it? She knew it had to be close. She darted into the empty fire pit and lied down in it. She looked around but it was too shadowy to see much. She heard someone coming.

“We got it. We got their flag. We win.” She listened and watched for a while. They were holding a piece of plastic in their hands. She left her hiding spot and approached them. “Where in the world did you guys hide your flag?”

Another game of capture the flag was lost. But I had a ton of fun.

This week has been a good week of learning. On Monday and Tuesday we learned about personalities. We had a guest speaker come in and we spent two full days hearing from him. It was very interesting. It was good to know. We learned about ourselves and others.

Wednesday was the CEF World Day of Prayer. We didn't do any classes, but we spent the day praying for CEF all over the world. In the auditorium there was a huge map on the floor. If we took our shoes off, we could stand on it and pray for the nations. It was a great idea. It really showed just how big the work was. We also went around to different room and prayed for the different regions. We had a book of prayer requests from the leaders of each area. It was a great day. In the evening we went to the CEF President’s house for dinner. It was a great time, even though we got there half an hour early. We had a great meal and a great time.

The puzzle is done!

Thursday I got to go to Good News Club for the last time while I am here in Missouri. After GNC I worked on homework and then went to the President’s house again for dessert. While we were there we worked on a 1000 piece puzzle. There was about six of us that worked on it. We almost ran out of time, but we finished it just in time. It was so fun, stressful, but fun.

Friday I got to organize a trip to Steak ‘N Shake (a restaurant that we don’t have in Oregon), and to the theater to watch Thor 2. It was a ton of fun to coordinate and to do.

Saturday we had a pizza party and game night. It was so fun.

I feel like I have written so much and that if I go into more detail I would bore you to death. If you really want more details, ask me about it.

Today was my last day of church here; next week I will be home. I am so excited to be home. I only have six more days here. I can hardly believe that I have made it through. Thank you so much for your prayers. There have been so many times that I have wanted to quit and go home, but I think that you praying for me and all your encouragement have kept me going. I am going to be flying home Saturday at 11am Missouri time and getting into Oregon at 3:45 Oregon time. It is a 6 hour 45 minute flight with one stop. I have the feeling that it will be the longest almost 7 hours of my life. I am so ready to see my family and friends at home.

Now to keep running strong this last week, lots of homework to do and lots of packing to get done. 

CMI Week 10: Heart at Home

“Wait, what time is it?! Did I really forget to set my clock back? Am I late for church? or am I early?” I looked at my watch. My watch was telling me I was late, but iPod was saying I was on time. Thankfully my iPod had automatically changed. I was right on time.

What an awesome thing this time-change. I like the fall time-change. This week I get to get up an hour later, or at least it will feel like it.

With home so close I am starting to think about what I am going to do when I get home. I am going to be working with CEF, I do know that, but a lot of stuff is still up in the air.

This week I did my last practicum of CMI. It was a promotional for Christian Youth in Action. I got to pretend that I was in front of a bunch of teens trying to get them to think about coming to CYIA. It was fun. I actually really enjoyed it.

Thursday I got to go to a harvest party at a local church. We got to do Gospel face painting. We would paint a picture on the child’s face or hand while we were telling them the wordless book story. it has got to be one of the most stressful ministries that we do. It is loud, kids are wiggly, and they are anxious to get out of there. Just before we got there we found out that the church didn't have any face painting stuff for us to use. I had brought my kit, but it was small and meant for one person to use; there was three of us. While two of us started trying to paint, the third girl ran to the store and got more. She was unable to find good paint and had to get some junky stuff. Yes, that night was stressful. I got to share the Gospel with a bunch of children, but I can never tell how much they actually caught. One girl I told the story to, when I ask her if she had ever believed on Jesus to save her; she said no. I ask her if she wanted to; she said no. I tried to see why, but I couldn't. I gave her a tract and she left. Another girl I told the story to said that she had never believed in Jesus before. I ask her if she wanted to; she said yes. I went back and reviewed the Gospel with her again, but when I got back and ask her if she wanted to pray and tell God that she believes in Jesus she said no. She shut down and I wasn't able to do anything more with her. Once again, I gave her a tract and she left. These girls make my heart ache. I know I will probably never see them again, they might never hear the Gospel again. I can only hope and pray that God will move them, that they will remember and that they will put their faith in Jesus.Another thing that I noticed was the costumes this year. Most of them were either dark and evil, or Duck Dynasty themed. It was sad watching small kids come in in vampire and zombie costumes. Witches, black cats, and grim reapers were everywhere. These kids are surrounded by this junk all the time. They need Jesus. 

Home in thirteen days. I look forward to seeing everyone.

CMI Week 9: Thoughts head home

This week we have been learning how to write a newsletter and promote our ministry.  I really enjoyed this week. We got to actually write a newsletter for class, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. (If you want to get a copy of the newsletter just let me know where to send it to. I can send it old-fashioned snail-mail or email.) I really enjoy the whole designing thing. To be honest, one of the reasons I really like this blogging thing is that I get to design the page. Another thing that has made this last week fun has been that I got most of my homework done on Tuesday; that really helped relive some of the stress of the week. 
Saturday I spent the whole day doing nothing. I sat in one place and played around with designing a website, designing another blog for our band, Skyping, editing pictures, and watching movies.

A photo that I have worked on this week (with help :) )

I feel pretty bad about wasting a whole day doing nothing and not talking to anyone, but I enjoyed it a lot. I think I might have needed that down time. One thing that I did starting thinking of (again) is how close going home is. I have 20 days till I get to see all my people back home and sleep at home and not have classes hanging over my head. Then of course we have Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas coming up (and if you know me, you would know that I love holidays.) (I would start listening to Christmas music in September if my family would let me). 
When I get back I will start working with CEF more and be working toward becoming the director of Douglas County, but more about that in the newsletter. 
This week we will be working on a promotional for CYIA, I have to write out an outline by Tuesday, My power Point by Wednesday, and then I have to present it on Friday. Please pray for the practicum on Friday. It is our last practicum! 

Newsletter

Hey, I just wrote a newsletter for class and I thought that I should not just let it sit here and no one read it. So, if you would like a copy of this newsletter I would be glad to send one to you. I can send it by email or snail-mail. Let me know if you want one and where to send it to. You can let me know by emailing me, or sending me a message on my facebook page, Mariah's Adventures at CMI Facebook page. 

CMI Week 8: Zoo and Science

With only 4 week left of being here, I am already starting to count down the days till I get to go home. I am really going to miss it here, but I am also super excited to be home and see my people back home. I have missed my people the most, then playing music with them comes second.  I miss my instruments too.

This weekend has been so awesome. Yesterday I got to go to the St. Louis Zoo and Science Center. We spent about 4 hours at the zoo and about 45 minutes at the science center. Both were vast and breathtaking. The zoo had so many animals, numerous ones that I had never even heard of before. It took us hours to get through it and we did not even get to all the portions of it. 

Can you find him?

Yes, We have these here in Missouri. 

After the zoo we headed to the science center. I walked in and thought I had died and gone to heaven; it was so amazing! It was all space science and how things worked. I loved it. I ran around and tried to see all that I could, but it was closing in less than an hour and I only got to see part of it, and the sections I did see were hastily rushed though. We are going to try to go back I think. 

This thing was running though a good portion of the Science Center.
I wanted to just sit and watch it, but I didn't have enough time.

Then I got to try out a new place to eat, Steak and Shake. And of course I got a steak burger and a shake. It was really good. We were all so hungry that the food was gone within a few minutes.

Another thing that I have been doing, that has been great fun, has been working on a song. Hunter sent me a song that he wrote, and we are now trying to figure out what else to do with the song. I am really enjoying that.

With only 27 days till I go home, I am excited and nervous. I don't know what I am going to be doing when I get back, but I do know that I will be working with CEF still. Please pray that I will know what to do. 

Thank you everyone who has prayed for me and have been reading my blog. I really appreciate it. 

CMI week 7 (a little late)

I started working on this last week but obviously did not finish it. Enjoy the little bit that I did write. 

This week I finished up IOT. I passed with all A's. 

Friday we had a girl night out. It was crazy fun. I got to dress up at Good Will, eat food, and eat ICE CREAM!!! 

 I got talked into it

I am getting a little bit nervous at this point, but no backing out now.

I like my new hair cut 

CMI Week 6: HalfWay

"He is working in you for His honor and His glory.
What are you holding onto?
What are you not willing to let Him have?
I wanna go wherever You want me to go.
I wanna do what you want me to do.
If I give it all, I may have nothing.
But You are everything that I need."
-Random thoughts scribbled in my class notes

This has been a long week. I have been doing IOT, it is awesome. I am enjoying it a lot, and I am learning a lot too. We had two practicums this week, one on Tuesday and one Thursday. Tuesday's practicum was a presentation of a demonstration of a memory verse. Confused? Me too. It was pretty cool though. They were grading harder and we had to be more perfect sense we were being the example for others to follow. It was intimidating, but I made it through, and I even got a good grade. Okay, I got 100%. I was amazed. I didn't know that I did THAT well. Thursday we had our presentation of the Wordless Book. I do know that I missed at least one point on it, but I think I did okay. We don't have our grades back for that one yet though. Wednesday I also came down with a cold. I was fine until Friday; Friday was miserable. But Saturday I slept in until 11:30. I did nothing all day (except Skype, talk on the phone, and watch movies) and I am now feeling much better.
This week I have also been trying to figure out what I should be doing after I leave here. I talked to a lady from NYC about the possibility of going there and working with CEF in New York City for 5 weeks. I would be helping teach TCE 1 there. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I am seriously considering it. Please pray that I will know whether I should go or not. 
Thank you guys all so much for your prayers and support. If you want to write me a letter, please feel free to do so. Or you can message me through my Facebook Page, Mariah's Adventures at the Children's Ministry Institute. 

the awesome prank that we did 

One of my awesome packages I got this week

My awesome food supply 

Awesome Movie Night

CMI Week 5: TCE 2

As I sit to write this week, I am super sore. After reading this I think that you will understand. 

Doodling in class an idea for a"logo" for our band, Ambassador

This week has been a week of learning new things. We were working through Teaching Children Effectively 2 (TCE 2). TCE 2 is about teaching the saved child. We learned how to put in applications for the saved child and how to still teach the unsaved. We had a practicum Monday on the missions time and a practicum Friday on a growth lesson. I learned a lot. 

This weekend has been a free weekend as we finished TCE 2 and are now transitioning into a new module. 

So tiring 

Friday we went to Sky Zone. It was awesome. I would try to describe it, but a picture is worth a thousand words and I think that is how many words it would take to describe it. 

Wow am I ready to take a break, that is tiring work

So Dirty!! 

On Saturday we had the CEF picnic that we got to take part in. We got to play tug-o-war, baseball, volleyball, and eat a picnic of course. It was a ton of fun. My team lost at tug-o-war, but it was fun none the less. Baseball and volleyball were more for fun so I don't know who won that. I am a terrible volleyball player. I always feel sorry for my team for having to have me on their team. It was in a sand pit so I think I might have been a little bit distracted by the sand and the fact that I didn't have to have my shoes on. That was really fun. I have missed running around with no shoes on. After that I was so dirty. 


This week we will be shifting from teaching kids to training teachers. There will be two classes running at the same time, Dynamics of Teacher training and Instructors of Teachers (IOT). I am enrolled in IOT. We will be learning how to teach TCE 1 (the class that we just did in week one). As they were explaining the different expectations of the classes, I kind of decided that I did not want to take IOT because it sounded hard. Then she read the list of who was in what class, of course I was in IOT. Then I got the paper that had the requirements on it. I had to be 21 years old or older, mature and all this other stuff. Well, I'm not 21 and I don't feel ready to have that much work. I ask the director of CMI why I had been enrolled in IOT, she told me that my state director had requested it. After talking to Lynne (the CMI director) I felt a lot better about it; so I'm gonna do it. It is a two week module and I think the work load will be heavy. Please pray for us this week. 

CMI Week 4: The Arch

I feel like I haven't written anything for a while. I think I have a lot of catching up to do.
This week and last week we were doing the Progressive Methods of Child Evangelism module. A lot of it was focused on the theology of Child Conversion which included the paper. We also had classes on object lessons and got to make our own lesson. This Friday we started a new module called TCE (Teaching Children Effectively) 2. The first week I was here we took TCE 1, and now we get to do part two. We are going to are focusing more on teaching the saved child.

 Just yesterday I got to go to the St. Louis Arch. It was amazing!

 It was bigger than I had thought it was going to be.

Part of Our CMI group chilling in the Gateway to the West

We got so excited to see a picture of the Pacific Ocean. It was home for us! The picture behind us was taken at the mouth of the Colombia river in between my state and her's. We both walked up the the wall and began to rub it and hug it. Then we just had to have our picture taken by it. It was good to feel at home for a while. 

I did, of course, ride to the top in the tram. It was kind of frightening, but really fun. The tram cars were tiny and fit five people in this small space. But thankfully, we did survive the trip to the top. We had a lot of fun teasing the other girl on the way up; we did a Chinese fire drill (all, or almost all, of us switched seats), and one guy shook the car. It was fun. 

The inside of the arch was tiny at the top. It was packed full of people and it was rather freaky to think that there was not very much underneath us but air. 

The view was amazing. The only really discomforting thing about the view was that there were no mountains anywhere to be seen. 

It was right by the Mississippi river. There was even a helicopter that gave rides. There was also horse buggy rides. They were both to expensive to go on, but we did enjoy watching them. It was really fun. 

One thing that has been on my mind is what to do when I get back. I have been trying to figure out if I should get some kind of job or what. One thought has been to work with CEF when I get back. Please pray that I will know where God is leading me. Right now I am thinking out doing both, working part time, and then working with CEF part time. I still have 2 months to decide, but I should probably get planning soon. Thank you so much for your prayers. 

CMI Week 3: The Paper is Done

Thank you all so much for praying for me while I was working on my paper. I finished it and I got a B, so I am happy.

CMI Week 3: THE Paper

This is the week of the paper, therefore this week's blog will be very short; maybe I'll try to write something Tuesday night...once the paper is done. Please do pray for us as we try to finish this paper. I am stressing out right now so please pray for my thoughts to come together and that I will have the endurance to finish this thing. I'll try to write more later, but for now, back to work.

Paper time...need prayer.

Please be praying for us this weekend/week. We have our 12-20 page Biblical Defense of Child Conversion paper due Tuesday morning. Please pray that all the ideas will form and that we will be motivated to get it done. Please also pray that we will be learning the information so that it is useful later. It has been a LONG week and we are going into it tired; or at least I am...

CMI Week 2: Classes, classes and more classes

This week has been a crazy busy week. We had lots of reading to do. We also had three group projects that included: a drama, a paper/presentation, and listening to a CD and discussing it. The drama was really fun because it was just us acting like kids. We were assigned an age group, and then we acted out some of the characteristics of that age group. My group got to do the 6-7 year olds and the 12-13s. I got to act like I was learning to read, pretend to make a "best friend forever" (that during the 12-13 group I get mad at for not inviting me to go to the mall with her). I really enjoyed being 13 again; it was amusing to try to think back to that and get to act way overemotional.
I also this week I got to play piano for the Wednesday worship time and give my testimony. Giving my testimony was really hard and scary to do. We each had three minute to share: our name and state, why we were at CMI, our work with CEF and one prayer request. While I was sitting there I was watching the others go and I thought, “Oh, that doesn't look too bad”; famous last words. I got up there and I was terrified. It was really hard to fit it into three minutes. But I did it. I survived it.
Please continue to pray for me this week. I have about 300 pages to read this week along with other assignments. I similarly have a two page paper and an annotated bibliography due tomorrow. Please pray that my mind will work and that I can get it all done on time. We also have our BIG paper this week; it will be due next Monday. Also please pray that I will get the rest of the support that I need. Thank you all so much for your prayers. 

CMI Week 1: Practicums, Room Inspections, Diet Coke, and Mentos

Studying for my Bible Lesson Practicum 

This week has been a long, but awesome week. Our day starts with breakfast at 6:45am and classes start at 7:45. We start with prayer and devotions, then at 8:30 we start classes. This week we have been taking Teaching Children Effectively 1 (TCE 1). In TCE 1 we learned more about how to teach kids. One way that the teachers make sure we are getting it is through our practicums, we had three this week. We had to present a Memory verse using a certain method, the wordless book, and a Bible lesson. We also had worksheets that my teachers looked over and discus with me how it could be improved. My Bible lesson evaluator told me the day before I presented it that she know I could do well so she we going to be hard on me. That made me nervous, but also made me want to not let her down. I got A's on all three assignments.
Also this week was our first room inspection. I passed. I know it's a shock, but I really did.

Room Inspection Pass :) 

This week has not been all work and no play though; I have had a lot of free time as well. I have been able to go swimming, watch movies, hang out, and play games. Saturday we got to go play demolition ball. It was a cross between bumper cars, lacrosse, and basketball. It was a lot of fun. We also had a Diet Coke and Mentos war.

A large Millstone 

 Even with all the people around, it can still get rather lonely. I have been happy to receive a few letters so far and I have been able to talk to friends and family back home on the phone and on Skype.
Another thing that is really awesome to think about it that I am at the World Headquarters of CEF. It is awesome. They have a room devoted to prayer, they also have a court yard that has the flag of every state and they pray for each state. Shown in the pictures, there is also the big flag circle that has flags of around the world. It shows which areas CEF is in and where they are not. There is also a big millstone with this verse on it: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

 Thank you so much for your prayers, I really appreciate them.

Please continue to pray for me, pray that I will be able to keep up, learn a lot, and have fun.

CMI Week 0: Part 2

I have now been here at CMI a total of 98 hours (three full days and two half days). Thursday was orientation day and we got to figure out our schedule, learn how to survive, connect to the internet, and we got a tour of the world headquarters of CEF.

 We had our first day of classes on Friday. The classes were very good and we already have a practicum (getting up in front of the class and demonstrating what we have learned) on Monday.  

First Day of Classes

Saturday was a free day and a whole bunch of younger people and I went to Cabella’s , which turned out to be in a mall, and then went to Fizoli’s (for all my North West friends, Fizoli’s is a fast food Italian place). When we got home we hung out in the student lounge and played video games and chatted.

Drying the Laundry

Today is Sunday. The day started out with the cook setting off the fire alarm while I was still sleeping. We all had to evacuate the building and everything, the oven had broken and had set it off, but there was no fire. That does mean though that we don’t have an oven. We also went to church. Going to church here made me miss my home church. We happened to come on a big potluck day so we got well fed, which was really good because the cooks here had to be really creative with out on oven.

Another thing I did today was laundry. Maybe I should have done that earlier or brought more clothes, because I realized I was all out of clean casual clothes. Right now I’m just waiting for all my clothes to dry out so I can get out of my I-should-have-washed-my-clothes-before-they-were-all-dirty outfit. 

             

Socks Drying 

CMI Week 0 :)

I have been very surprised at a lot of the things here, and that is a good thing. For one thing, I was worried about meeting people, but everyone has been very friendly and I've met almost all the girls that are here. Another big thing was that I was kind of worried about not being able to play music, but they said I could play almost any of the many pianos and I could play for Wednesday night worship. Another bonus is that we have a big soda machine so we can have soda for dinner. Overall, the people are really nice, I get to play music, and we have soda. What more do you need…well…maybe I might be a little homesick and missing my people back home. 

Another person here with me in Missouri

Adventures in the life of a young missionary: This morning we had our first chapel.  The chapel ...: This morning we had our first chapel.  The chapel was about Good News Across America.  Everyone that went to Denver gave a small testimony ...

Missouri

I am finally in Missouri, only a few hours from where I will be spending the next three months.
The airport and plane trip went really well with no major mishaps and I am actually really enjoying the weather here so far. Now, with the sound of cicadas in my ears and excitement high for what tomorrow holds, I go to bed and get some much needed sleep. Thank you for your prayers.

CMI

In exactly one week I will be leaving for Warrenton, Missouri. I am excited but also very nervous. I'll be in Missouri at the Children's Ministry Institute for three months; I'm not sure of everything that I will be doing, but I do know that I will be learning a lot and keeping really busy. If you want to send me a letter you can send it to:
    % Children's Ministry Institute (CMI)
    P.O. Box 348 Warrenton, Mo 63383

Please be praying for me to not be to nervous and to have safe travels.

County Fair Week

This week has been our county fair; we have been busy running our puppets/story telling/face painting/ballooning booth. We have the kids come and see a puppet show that presents (or at least alludes) to the gospel, then we have the kid listen to a story (like the wordless book or some other gospel presentation); when they have finished that they get to come over and spin our wheel and get a prize.
Please pray for our director; it is tiring work and not very many people are helping this year so she is doing a lot of work. Please also pray for the workers that are helping, that we will have strength and endurance as well.
Also, there was a little girl that I got to share the gospel with that when I got to the part where I ask if they have ever believed on Jesus before she said she didn't know. I ask her if she wanted to but she wasn't sure so I told her I would talk to her afterwards since she was in a large group of kids, but as soon as I said that the lady that had brought her said that she couldn't let me do that because the girl was a daycare kid and the she did not want to get in trouble; she did say that she was a Christian and that she had been talking to the girl about Jesus before. I finished the story and tried to make sure the girl knew how to believe on Jesus by herself. Please pray that she will understand and that she will choose to believe on Jesus.

Prayer

Over the last few weeks there have been many prayer requests that I would like to share with you:
~While we were at GNAA there was a volunteer who broke both the bones in her lower leg. She had to have surgery, but even while she was being wheeled in to have surgery she was encouraging us through text messages to keep up our work. Please pray for her as she recovers that she will keep up her spirits and that she will recover quickly.
~Also during GNAA there was a girl in our club who believed on Jesus to save her, but the reason she had originally gone to talk to the teacher was because she was having a hard time at home. It turns out that her dad was married to someone other than her mom and they were fighting over custody of her. Please pray for her, that she will grow in Christ and will be a light to her family.
~Also this last week (July 29-August 2) I was helping teach a club back at home, and there was a kid who was having a hard time. He was mad at God, didn't know if he really believed in God, and God didn't answer his prayers. He had recently lost his grandma and he was really mad about it. One of the teachers was really able to connect with him and talk to him. Please pray for this boy, pray that he will trust God.

Thank you for your prayer.

Good News Across America

For two weeks (July 13th-28th) I have had the opportunity to be in Denver, Colorado for an event called Good News Across America (GNAA). I traveled with a group of about 20 people from Oregon, and when we got there Monday the 15th we were broken into teams of 4 or 5 mixed with other people from all over America.

Our Oregon Team

My 4 team mates were from: Nevada, Missouri, Kansas, and another Oregonian. We were all different ages and all had different skill levels.
The first week we spent the time preparing. We did team building time; we prayed together; and we talked about how the week was going to work. We had some free time; we took a train to the top of Pikes Peak; we visited our cousins that live in Denver; and we hung out. We also attended classes; we learned more about how to share the gospel; how to run our clubs; and we learned more about being safe in Denver. On Thursday we hit the streets and each team headed to their partnering church. Our church was conducting three 5-Day clubs, essentially back-yard Vacation Bible Schools. We went out to the three locations and prayed for the children to come and also went out and invited people to come. 

My GNAA Team 

The second week was crazy. We left at 8:30 and headed to our first club. Our first and second club were in parks. We would get there, set up, play games with the kids that were there, and then we would start club. Our first club had about 30 kids the first day (which was a real shock), our second club had about 15, and the last club was at the church itself and it had about 30 as well. At the end of the day we had reached 84 kids. It was pretty awesome.
On Friday we had our rally; a rally is a big party at the church for all the kids from all the clubs to bring their families and show them what they have been learning. The rally was also a way for the church to reach out to the families and invite them to come to church. Throughout the whole week we had volunteers from the church helping us teach, the idea was a sort of handing off the baton; we came in and showed them how to run a club and then we ask them to keep going after we left. During the week we had the volunteers

GNAA Team 

help lead games, give out prizes, lead smaller parts of club (like rules, Word Up, teaching on prayer and such), and build a relationship with the kids. The rally was the big finish where we really handed everything over to them. 
After the rally all the teams gathered back at headquarters and we had a time of sharing the work that God had done that week. Our church reached about 130 kids and had about 6 salvation decisions. When it was all said and done, 2,710 people  were reached and 272 of them made salvation decisions. 
The next morning we packed up and headed home. 

The Purpose

Hi! This blog is to serve as a sort of informal newsletter for my current and upcoming work with Child Evangelism Fellowship(CEF). I want to keep you updated to my current activities as well as share prayer requests. I am not promising that I will be writing consistently or often, but I will try to write when I do something and/or have time. I hope you will follow along and uphold me in prayer.