Prayers and praises

We are thanking the Lord for you and your prayers. Through many of the Lord's generous hands and hearts your prayers are being answered.

You can do what I can't do. I can do what you can't do. Together we can do something beautiful for God. - Mother Theresa

And it seems God depends on each of us "doing our part." What might that be for you this day?

A missionary’s son wrote a paper titled “Effects on Addictive Behavior With the Homeless” for his psychology class. This is from his high school senior’s paper. The paper used studies evaluating self-esteem and substance abuse. The study concluded there wasn't a correlation. The student's conclusion based on his findings with the 7 homeless people he knows was:

"...I have not gotten the impression that any of them have particularly low self-esteem either, because as is supported by the data collected during this experiment, it does not seem to me that having high self-esteem would help them to overcome their addictions any easier. In fact, when I talk with them, they are remarkably upbeat considering their situation and when I consider my experiences I believe that encouragement, patience, and support are of much greater benefit than many of the programs described in the article."

Out of the mouths of babes - thank you Jesus!

The Lord has blessed this mission with the formation of a large support network of missions in Wake County, The Body of Christ. The members from the Body of Christ were blessed with meeting with missionaries who have a Support Circle program. The minutes from the Support Circle meeting can be read at http://body-of-christ.blogspot.com/ . Please pray about becoming involved with Support Circles, whether it is with refugees, the homeless, ex-cons, migrant workers… Jesus’ list can be found in Matthew 25:35-36.

The Lord continued to stretch missionaries. A lamb from a sister mission died this week. We are thanking the Lord to be able to contact family in FL. The family saw him last week for the first time in years. The lamb died while listening to his sister on the phone. Please keep his family in your prayers. Pray for the Lord’s provision of a rental car for them to attend his memorial service next week.

While attending church Sunday, a pregnant, exhausted lamb had a seizure. Missionaries accompanied her and her husband to the hospital. Pray for her and the baby.

Another lamb had a stroke this week. She is in N-ICU. She also has an aneurysm. She is heavily sedated and in restraints while the aneurysm is being repaired. Please keep her, her boyfriend and her family in your prayers. This was another blessed opportunity to obtain family contact information. God uses everything to His glory.

We are praising the Lord for the successful shunt surgery of the Lord’s lamb in CA. He is out of the hospital. When missionaries called, he was out riding his bike. Thank you Jesus!

God is so amazing. The Lord brought to the Mobile Unit meeting someone who does medical records, an RN, an ER/trauma nurse who works with the Red Cross as a field nurse and her small group wants to participate, an FNP who works with someone who treats the working uninsured, an orthopedic doctor, a nurse working with medical mobile mission units and a local field nurse, a non-practicing mission mobile doctor, an NP working at the ATC. A mission statement was developed, resources and recruits are needed. It was suggested everyone ask his/her doctor and church body for recruits. The next meeting is May 23rd, 7 PM in Cary.

The Lord has answered the prayers of so many with work. There is a job through May 12th in Fuquay. Transportation is needed. Please contact Alice at 772-7050, if you are able to provide transportation even one direction. Without transportation this job can not be extended to those who are so willing to work.

The business offering seasonal positions contacted missionaries concerning another contract the business has received. He is in need of more workers. For this contract, the workers must be clean shaven and have stylist haircuts. Contact 466-9001 if you know of someone needing a job. Thank you Jesus for your continual blessing of this business!

Lambs who moved to WV have also found work. God is good!

Last night at the study when asked for prayer requests and praise reports, so many of the Hispanic lambs were praising the Lord for WORK! Everyone who was able to work had worked this past week for at least 2 days. God is good and answering your prayers!

Another lamb just out of prison said his first thought was to return to the Bible study group where he had been blessed in the past. As he waited for missionaries to show up, shivering in just a T-shirt, he was confronted by police. After he explained he was waiting in the parking lot for the bible study, an officer gave him a jacket from the back of the police cruiser. God is our mighty provider!

While in prison, this lamb was blessed to be able to take classes studying the Old and New Testament. He wants to contact family. He has accepted Jesus as his Savior. He now wants to glorify God in what he does. Please pray for this lamb, as he is struggling to put together the very basics of a life on the streets and hoping for so much more!

The Lord is also answering prayers for the beginnings of financial planning. Several of the lambs were asking about help saving money for housing and/or transportation. A missionary is willing to open saving accounts for each lamb, receiving their money Thursday evening, and helping each save for an apartment and/or a moped. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s use of His blessings.

The Lord has blessed the ministry with housing grants for 30 homeless. The need of low cost housing is a prayer request. Please prayfully consider becoming a low cost housing hunter. When you find low cost housing in Cary, Apex, Raleigh, Fuquay, Wake Forest… please contact a Church in the Woods missionary with the information.

The Thursday night study was well attended. Many of the Lord’s lambs had prayer requests and praises of how the Lord is working in his/her life. The group was blessed when a missionary from Germany was in town and once again was “drawn to the group." She was so blessed to hear that so many were working and in housing. She can’t wait to tell her husband. The group completed the study on humility and servanthood. With the cool, damp evenings, blankets and sleeping bags are needed.

The group was blessed yesterday by a Cary caterer. He contacted Church in the Woods missionaries with leftover food. He has offered the catering leftovers daily if missionaries are able to get them. The offer has been sent to the Body of Christ group as well. Please pray that the Lord blesses this business as the business blesses His kingdom.

Gospel Meditation - by Don Schwager: The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who lack?
"Lord, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Ps 81:16). Fill me with gratitude and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me."

Father, thank you for encouraging us to step out in faith. When we do, we often experience the leftovers of your mighty provision. We believe you can move mountains, heal diseases, and perform works that we neither can comprehend nor imagine. Dear Father, we are always happy to pick up the leftovers from such an event! Show us the leftovers. In Jesus name we pray. Amen