August 28, 2007

There are so many things to thank Jesus for this week!

Prayer and Praise!
Apex
-- The families and children were surprised to see the “church” come in spite of the rain. The Backyard Bible Club continued this week with a Bible story and craft. Thank You Jesus!
-- The Lord heard the prayer request for a donut cushion. A donor called with a list of donations. She asked if someone needed queen size sheets. The Lord had answered a prayer because a missionary just moved into a furnished apartment Tuesday with a queen bed and no sheets. She then asked was there anything else needed. The missionary asked for a donut cushion. The response was “We have one!” The family in need of the donut cushion thanked Jesus for answering prayers.
-- A list of needed wheelchair ramp supplies has been given. A date is to be set in September. Several of the neighbors have also offered to help. Thank you Jesus for the building of Your Body!
-- The Lord provisions baited the hooks for fish to jump in His line this week. He used clothing, linens, and a medical screening to draw more people to the prayer circle. The Lord is providing a Rabies vaccination day for His bait in a couple of weeks.
-- As the Lord opens the doors with His bait, more and more lambs are asking for prayers and are open to discussion about our Savoir.
-- Two missionaries from the Brown Bag Ministry joined the mission team Sunday. One loved being a part of the Books of Acts going door to door with the Love of Jesus. She would also like to assist with the Cary mission and the Wednesday Apex mission. The Lord is the provider of the Harvesters.

Cary
-- Please keep the Monday Cary Missionary’s father-in-law in prayer. Here is his prayer request:
I was hoping you could all pray for my father in law. He went into get some tests last week on his spine because he was walking funny. What they found was cervical spine arthritis that was so bad it is running the risk of severing his spinal cord so they scheduled him for emergency surgery this Wednesday. I believe it IS God’s will for him to have a full recovery, so if you can agree with me for that I would greatly appreciate all of your prayers.
-- A missionary’s mother has started radiation treatment for thyroid cancer. Her sister has had breast cancer and is having a CT scan suspecting bone cancer. Please keep these families in your prayers.
-- One of the missionaries has been searching for a job. She has moved into an apartment complex and opened their doors to the children in the area. A sister in Christ was telling someone the Lord has His hand in her “work” with the neighbors and she probably won’t get a job until school starts back. Saturday she received her first interview. As talking with the store owner, she was informed that he works with a fellow CitW missionary.
-- Thank You Jesus for your transformations. One of the now Cary lambs has been off the streets for two years and working full-time with benefits (PRAISE GOD!). She attended the Garner Memorial Thursday evening. People didn’t recognize her, she looks so good!
-- A Western Raleigh/Cary church’s home/small group has purchased a home to be donated to one of their church ministry’s. Their homeless ministry is an option. Please pray for the Lord to make the decision clear to the home/small group which ministry needs it most. There are so many in need.
-- Please continue to pray for the department manager who has gone to bring Jesus to his muslim family in Europe and northern Africa. Please continue to pray Exodus 23:20-22 as he visits friends and family.
-- As the school year ramps up volunteers are needed to pick-up donated food and Wednesdays and Fridays afternoons around 2 from an area caterer. Please contact Cindy at cboyce@nc.rr.com if this is something the Lord has asked you to do.

Garner
-- Students from the Wake tech dental hygienist clinic are attending this week’s Thursday evening Bible study with the schedule book. Thank You Jesus for answering prayers for dental care!
-- A former Garner lamb moved to WV 18 months ago. He has had another heart attack and had surgery yesterday. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.
-- Please keep a homeless family in your prayers as they find jobs and an apartment, so they can enroll their children in school.
-- Thank You Jesus for the medical mission Saturday. Many needed referrals were made to the Horizon Clinic.
-- Another Garner lamb is working and may be able to move into a camper on the property where he works.
-- Please pray for a missionary who is going to see a neurologist for back issues this week.

Over 50 people attended Otto’s memorial
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/sheehan/2007/story/679759.html

The memorial included time for many of Otto’s friends to tell stories about how he had been a good friend and how his light had shined for them. One woman who attends the church where the memorial was held said afterward that she had never attended such a beautiful memorial and that she would never be able to look at the homeless the same after seeing such a compassionate and caring service.

At the end, each person was given a white helium balloon to pray over, then they were all released in front of the church. What an amazing sight as they slowly rose toward the cross atop the church, then accelerated into the heavens, buoyed on winds like the Holy Spirit.

The memorial sparked several comments from people:

· As I was praying for Otto's memorial service this evening, I was again praising God for orchestrating events & timing so that his life will be celebrated on his birthday, which seems the perfect time to be praising God for Otto's new birth into the kingdom of Christ for all eternity. Just as he was born into this world fresh, new, bathed in innocence and health, so he has been reborn into the same new, freshness with his glorified body also bathed in perfect health with all purity and innocence restored in the very presence of his Savior. Since we met that morning of his passing into the hands of Jesus, I have been so often reminded of his conscious and sober choice to make that transition alone, as he had the nurses promise to only call you after he had passed---that choice is so totally reassuring that Otto had total confidence in his relationship with Christ & complete faith in the authenticity of it. As I read Psalm 31:14-15, with Otto's photo beside me, I KNEW these words reflected his strong faith at that time, "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in Your hand." So, precious little Thorn, I pray that God has now given you total peace & reassurance that your lamb was, in fact, not alone in the early hours of that morning of August 1st. And what a gift it has been for you to be able to honor him with this service and with the notice in the paper, showing the community that Otto and all his fellow homeless brothers & sisters matter and have dignity in life and in death. I am praying that many are blessed by tonight's service, not the least of them being Otto's friends.

· I wanted to let you know that Otto's guitar was lovingly packed up with some other small items (new strings, a few parts, cleaner), and along with a short note was shipped out this past Monday morning with the guitar shop's freight. It should arrive in MI sometime between today and Friday. It was a blessing to Terry who works at the shop to look at Otto's guitar, to see its condition and hear about our hope that it be restored by his son and to hear about Otto's restoration, too - that he was able to finish well and feel ready and welcomed home...

Here is a letter one of the missionaries wrote to his brother, who had worked on the same aircraft carrier as Otto.

Kent,This is to let you know that a friend of ours from the homeless outreach that Ian and I were attached to has died. His name was Otto, and I'm letting you know because he had a tenuous connection to you - he was once an electrician on the Kitty Hawk. I had hoped he would get to meet you some time and talk about it. He was interested to hear that you were on the same ship, though separated by decades. I think he was proud of his time in the Navy, and that's worth remembering.Otto was one of the first people we got to know in the Church in the Woods ministry. He was in his 60's, as far as we could tell. He was skinny and wiry, had few teeth (possibly from a drug addiction years ago, maybe from bad dental care), and had foot sores that ran to the bone that he could never shake. Despite that and the pain it must have caused him, he walked everywhere, usually miles a day, and would walk half a mile from his camp to come to our dinner and bible study. In the beginning, he came drunk, but was so embarrassed at having done so would sometimes skip a meeting if he wasn't sober, out of respect and out of a fear that he had offended us. He also smoked, but wouldn't do it at the meetings because he knew it bothered people. There was a time when he was hooked on crack, along with a few of his close friends. We didn't see him for long periods during that time, but people went to visit him in his camp, and he eventually broke the habit. He was an infrequent member of the group by the time Ian and I had to stop going, and we saw him less and less often.Otto said that he didn't come for the food. He was very clear that he came for the company of other Christians (our people in particular, I think), and being a Christian in a homeless camp was often alienating. He had plenty of food. Even so, he loved fish, and he enjoyed it immensely every time we served it, and Cindy got it for him whenever she could. Otto could play the guitar reasonably well, and sang. We couldn't get him to do either very often. He enjoyed the bible study, and seemed to have a good background in scripture from childhood. During the reading (he could read, unlike some others) he would often get fired up and expound on the text, adding his own wisdom, usually on topic and sometimes not. We had a particular affection for Otto, and he took to Ian. He seldom saw children, and he liked talking to Ian, almost always adding in admonishments never to get involved with drugs or alcohol. Of the bunch, Otto was one of the easiest to talk to. He was sometimes withdrawn, but his nature was friendly and laid back, so he was easily drawn out. He had problems, some serious, didn't take himself too seriously, and he saw the humor in most things. It made spending time with him a real joy. I'm not sure what finally killed him. Life expectancy is short for people who live out in the elements like he did, and he had been out in the woods for a long time. Drugs and alcohol weakened him, too. He had been sick and had missed a doctor's appointment recently. Beyond that, I don't really know anything. His memorial service is tomorrow night, and Ian and I are going. Like I said, the connection is minor, but I wanted you to know about him. I think you would have liked Otto. I wish you could have met him. –
-- A lamb who has been sober for many months has gotten a power-washing job and is hoping to hear from WalMart soon about another job.
-- Another lamb is starting construction work late this week as he tries to get enough money to go home to Arkansas.

Missionary Testimonials

The CitW volunteer appreciation dinner was wonderful. So many people shared testimonies about how working with God’s lambs has transformed their lives and drawn them closer to God even as it showed Christ’s love to others.

One man shared about his own battle with substance abuse and how God redeemed him and led him into an outreach where he can give back to others. He has been so blessed to be able to share the ministry with his two sons.

God continues to multiply the hands, the food and the available resources to meet the needs of those He places in our paths!

Community Awareness – Meetings and missions

-- -- CitW Medical missions will now be hosting two medical missions per month. The CitW medical mission has two new glucometers, Ascensia contour and Ascensia Breeze. Both need testing strips.
If you are able to donate the strips, please contact Anne Willet at 461- 9737 or via email at willskai@bellsouth.net
The third type of glucometer CitW has is a TheraSense "FreeStyle", if you have strips to donate, please contact Susan Heineman at 787-3434 or via email at susaneh@bellsouth.net
If you, your church, pharmacy or doctor’s office would like to donate these items please contact Anne or Susan.

Garner Medical mission will be at the Garner Methodist Church from 3 PM and 4:30PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737.The dates are as following for 2007:
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st

The Apex Medical Mission will be under the trees at Thriftwood Dr. in Apex from 5 PM and 7 PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434.The dates are as following for 2007:
October 7th
November 4th
December 2nd

God’s Provision – Donations of Time & Finances
-- Thank the Lord for the showers each week from the Garner church Thank You Jesus for serving hearts!
-- Thank you Jesus for all the food donated by area grocery stores, churches, individuals, and caterers! Thank you Lord for all the donations of clothing, storage places, and toiletries donated this week.
-- We thank you, Jesus, for those who have donated time showing the love of Jesus through relationships and support circles, especially as new ones are developing across Cary and Apex. Praise God!
-- Thank you Jesus for the caterer who donated the food for the volunteer appreciation dinner

August 21, 2007

There are so many things to thank Jesus for this week!

Prayer and Praise!
The Lord has started a new mission on Sunday evenings. The leftover bag lunches from the Brown Bag Ministry are being taken to the Wilmington St shelter for those who didn’t make the lottery and are sleeping outside on pieces of cardboard. The two missionaries are bringing the physical but leaving the men with the Spiritual nourishment each week. If the Lord is asking you to serve with this team contact Susan at 787-3434.

Apex
-- Please pray for the addition of this medical mission. People are needed to join this new medical mission team Sunday the 26th in Apex. If the Lord is asking you to attend, please contact Susan at 787-3434. Glucometer strips are needed for the TheraSense "FreeStyle" glucometer.
-- Sunday was to be the last week of the Backyard Bible Club; however the Lord didn’t see it this way. A group of missionaries decided to continue the children’s Backyard Bible club. The Lord also brought two new missionaries and one speaks Spanish. Praise the Lord! The children attending are growing each week and so are the numbers of adults. With the growing number of adults an Adult Bible study will begin after Labor Day as well!!! Spanish Bibles are needed; maybe even a few bilingual Bibles. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”
-- Praise the Lord for the builder who came Sunday to take measurements for the wheelchair ramp needed for the home with the son who is paralyzed. He will give a list of needed supplies and a date in September will be set to build this ramp. As a community let us demonstrate the love of Jesus to those in need. A donut cushion is still needed. The Lord heard your prayers and walked through the hoops of receiving Home Health care in a couple of days for this family. The man will receive nursing care as well as physical therapy. In the near future a plastic surgeon will be needed to close the open wound on his hip. Pray the assessment is soon.
-- The lamb who had a stroke several months ago joined the group at the mailboxes this week for fellowship and a meal. Thank You Jesus for Your love and open arms reaching out to this community.
-- Please continue to pray for the family who needs to update their green card. Paperwork needed to be completed, fees paid and a lawyer is needed. The family has only two weeks to get everything together.
-- One of the missionaries is looking for a job, a lamb told her of an opening where she works. Please pray for this opportunity.
-- Praise the Lord, families would rather prayer than the bag lunches. Continue to pray as the Lord uses the physical as His bait on His Spiritual Hook.
-- There is a Pastor’s meeting Wednesday for Apex/Cary. Contact Alice at 772-7050, if you are interested in attending.

Cary
-- Cary missionaries’ neighbor has been looking for a job. While at church they were told of a construction company needing a framer. Framing is his skill. He began work Monday. Praise God!!!!
-- As the school year ramps up volunteers are needed to pick-up donated food and Wednesdays and Fridays afternoons around 2 from an area caterer. Please contact Cindy at cboyce@nc.rr.com if this is something the Lord has asked you to do.
-- Thank You Jesus for the sisters in Christ who have offered to assist with the distribution of the physical manna for the Cary and Apex weekday missions.
-- Thank You Jesus for a former Cary lamb for finding him an apartment in the Apex area and bringing a friend to become a missionary at the Apex mission. Thank You Jesus for making another disciple.
-- Missionaries have been asking the Lord to stop the process of a former lamb to receive her driver’s license until she stops drinking. She has gone to classes, paid fees, and gone to court. The judge suspended her license for another 2 years because the judge felt she might still be drinking. Thank You Jesus!!!
-- A missionary were running errands with her son and said that looks like this lamb. Her son said it can’t be he looks too nice. They stopped the car and talked. Thank You Jesus for Your transforming power
-- Former lambs and present missionaries have their children visiting again this week. One of their children wants to move to lives with his parents. Please pray that if this is God’s will, the transition go smoothly.
-- Please continue to pray for the department manager who has gone to bring Jesus to his muslim family in Europe and northern Africa. As a missionary was praying for him the Lord took her to Exodus 23:20-22.
-- There is a Pastor’s meeting Wednesday for Apex/Cary. Contact Alice at 772-7050, if you are interested in attending.

Garner
-- A lamb who used to live close to the lamb who died this month has returned to the area with his family. He is no longer drinking or doing drugs, has a camper and is looking for work and a permanent home. He introduced his wife and two children to the group Thursday night and later shared his testimony about how his life is finally turning around, he is learning to pray more and to leave his life in God's hands.
-- A Garner lamb has completed 30 days with 30 AA meetings as part of living in an Oxford House. He is continuing to work daily, has paid off his credit card debt and is saving his money. He also continues to try to help those who remain in the woods, sometimes in small ways. On Thursday, a very drunk Hispanic man was standing near the group as they were about to pray. The lamb from the Oxford House gently led him into the circle, gave him a chair, showed him how to hold hands with those on his right and left, constantly reassuring him with words and gestures. He later made the man a plate of food and encouraged him to eat.
-- A new volunteer told the group Thursday that God had told her to go "behind Wendys" to do His will. She said the Lord also recently helped her to understand the plight of the homeless when her air conditioning went out during 100+ degree weather and she and her son didn't have money for repairs or for food. She has offered to help as a "prayer warrior" for all the needs. She also said her son has the gift of prophecy and told her that Church in the Woods will soon have a building. Praise God.
-- One of the lambs who usually steers clear of the Bible study had a strange request of a missionary: "Will you guys be there for my funeral when I die?" Of course, the answer was "Yes," but please keep this lamb in your prayers as he says he sometimes thinks he would be better off "ending it all" than putting up with life's turmoil.
-- The lamb who was stabbed several times is doing very well. He looked so good on Thursday and is off alcohol. Please pray for his continuing recovery, for work and a place to stay.
-- One lamb was in such a good mood. She gave a missionary a worship CD and a license plate that said GOD IS AWESOME.
-- At a church Bible study this week, the group was discussing how we use words, based on Matthew 12:34-37:You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." A lamb who has been attending for many weeks said he is learning how important it is to use words to build people up, not tear them down. He said he knows in his spirit when he has hurt someone now and realizes he is grieving God when that happens.
-- A missionary was getting his car fixed at a shop. The first time he went to drop it off, nobody was there to write up the ticket, so he came back later and found a mechanic who had just started working there. The mechanic noticed the "Greg Laurie" sticker on the missionary's car (for an evangelist who came to Raleigh) and confided that he was trying to find a religion that "makes sense and isn't a bunch of hypocrites." The mechanic then said that last Christmas, instead of the usual present-giving and commercialized holiday, he and his 9-year-old daughter bought presents and food for some homeless families and spent Christmas Eve WITH them. He said he was so blessed by that! So the missionary handed him a card for Church in the Woods and said, "That is what we do, and that is what Jesus told us to do. Please come join us some time."
Later, as the man was paying for the repairs, the mechanic's boss said the new man was working out well, but seems to have some personal issues he needs to work out. Please pray that this connection helps bless all involved. Isn't it amazing how God puts people together!
-- Please pray as the church that has been providing showers on Saturdays is trying to decide whether to continue after some disturbance that have occurred in recent weeks.
-- Please pray for the lamb who is in jail for assaulting several people, including stabbing one lamb who was hospitalized.
-- A lamb who has been sober for over a year has gotten a power-washing job and is hoping to hear from WalMart soon about another job.
-- Another lamb is starting construction work late this week as he tries to get enough money to go home to Arkansas.
-- Thank you Jesus for the missionary who volunteered to fry 20 pounds of fish for the memorial service!!! His memorial will be Thursday, Aug 23rd at Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church, 4926 Fayetteville Rd beginning at 7 PM.
-- Please contact Anne at 461- 9737 if the Lord is asking you to serve with the Garner medical mission team Saturday the 25th.

Missionary Testimonials
Missionaries were bringing the love of Christ to families in Apex Wednesday. The family who was receiving the manna asked how they could repay a missionary. He was a landscaper and wanted to landscape her yard for free as repayment. She smiled and asked if there was another he would return the gifts. He told her sure. She asked the family to start attending church. He asked for directions to her church. She told him her church didn’t have a Hispanic service and gave him a list of churches that do in the area. He began to cry, translating for his mother and she began to cry. They told her that first the neighborhood thought these missionaries were immigration, then they knew there was a catch because nothing was free, but not suggesting her own church there was no catch.
She explained to the family that Jesus loved them and wanted them to have a relationship with the entire family. This is the catch, read your Bible, pray, join a Christian fellowship family, and spread the love of Christ to everyone.
On Sunday the missionary spoke with the man who is having truck problems. When asked if they could pray for his truck, he said that God doesn’t want you to pray for material things. As a community of brother and sisters in Christ pray that this family sees the Lord’s hand with everything in their lives including the transmission of their truck. The truck will not go in reverse. What a reminder that the Lord doesn’t wants us to go backwards either. Jesus wants us to walk forward with Him hand in hand!

Community Awareness – Meetings and missions
-- CitW Medical missions will now be hosting two medical missions per month. The medical mission team has a glucometer. The brand is the TheraSense "FreeStyle". The mission team needs strips, lancets and lancet pen. If you, your church, pharmacy or doctor’s office would like to donate these items please contact Anne or Susan.
-- Garner Medical mission will be at the Garner Methodist Church from 3 PM and 4:30PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737.The dates are as following for 2007:
August 25th
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st

-- The Apex Medical Mission will be under the trees at Thriftwood Dr. in Apex from 5 PM and 7 PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434.The dates are as following for 2007:
August 26th
October 7th
November 4th
December 2nd

-- The Cary/Apex area pastors are invited to attend a Pastor’s meeting for Church in the Woods at the White Oak Baptist Church in Apex beginning at 11 AM Wednesday the 22nd . Please contact Alice McGee, 772-7050, if you are interested in attending.
-- Here is a very innovative approach to alleviate some of the homelessness social dilemma.
http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_07.08.04/city/homelessness.php
This might have been the program in Boston I had read about
http://www.hearth-home.org/news/pr/programs_aid_homeless.html
This one is a very cool idea to raise money easily even a nickel even a nickel at a time
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2007/03/05/daily3.html

God’s Provision – Donations of Time & Finances
-- Thank the Lord for the showers each week from the Garner church Thank You Jesus for serving hearts!
-- Thank you Jesus for all the food donated by area grocery stores, churches, individuals, and caterers! Thank you Lord for all the donations of clothing, storage places, and toiletries donated this week.
-- We thank you, Jesus, for those who have donated time showing the love of Jesus through relationships and support circles, especially as new ones are developing across Cary and Apex. Praise God!
-- Thank you Jesus for the caterer who is donating the food for the volunteer appreciation dinner

August 12, 2007

We are thanking you for your prayers and support as the Lord continues to provide abundantly for this ministry. There are so many prayer requests and praise reports!!! God is good all the time!

Prayer and Praise!
Apex

• Thank you Jesus for the three children/preteens who accepted Jesus Sunday through the Backyard Bible club. Each child was given prayer journal and a cross. A youth Spanish Bible would be another gift to give, please pray and see if this is something one would like to donate. There are photos from one BBC in July on the blog http://least-of-these.blogspot.com/
• The Lord heard your prayers! There were so many adult leaders Sunday, thank you Jesus! Please pray for more children missionaries. A missionary has volunteered to lead the August 19th Backyard Bible Club. Please pray for someone to continue it for the weeks following. The families are getting more receptive each week to hear about Jesus.
• Thank You Jesus for the doctor, nurse, and translator who visited the paralyzed lamb today. He is still in need of a donut cushion and volunteer registered nurses for home care. He is also in need of a plastic surgeon. Please contact Anne Willet at willskai@bellsouth.net .
• Praise God for the church that has volunteered to build this family a wheel chair ramp. Someone also offered to donate a toilet chair and tub transfer seat. God is so amazing!
  Thank you for your prayers for the lamb with the slow healing foot. He is doing better each week. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s complete healing, physically and spiritually.
• Thank you Jesus for the translator. He was such a gift today through prayer. As the missionary team met a rival gang in the neighborhood, he took the young men’s hands asked them to circle up and pray. The boys were obedient. The each received their physical manna (bagged lunches) and their spiritual manna (prayers). Please ask the Lord to bring His light to these 5 young men, soften their hearts, and come to Jesus.
  The Wednesday outreach was such a blessing two of the homes were so excited to receive phone numbers with assistance they took off from their hourly jobs to be their. One was so blessed (that missionaries followed through) she took the missionaries to other homes to spread the Lord’s bounty.
• The lamb who had the stroke accepted a bagged lunch today, pray next week he accepts Jesus.
• Thank you Jesus for the mighty provision of food, physical and Spiritual. There was so much physical food the leftovers can be used for the Tuesday mission. As for the Spiritual, Spanish Bibles are needed, as are people to pray with lambs.
• The first medical mission is August 26th. Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434. Glucometer strips are needed as well as medical volunteers.
• Humanitarian aid is being brought to the Apex mission Sunday and Wednesdays, along with prayer. Please pray that these lambs will see and feel the love of Jesus. This may be the only church they attend.

Cary

• When missionaries left a low rent efficiency complex, taking another missionary, a new lamb was found. He was lying on an abandoned porch, escaping the heat. It was interesting that the temperature was into the 100’s but the porch, surrounded by trees, was almost cool with a gentle breeze. This new lamb has the opportunity to go to a nearby church for showers. A missionary is taking him to SMILES Tuesday for the removal of an abscessed tooth. Keep the lamb in your prayers for pain and healing.
• One of the lambs is doing so well, he asked for a bank account this week and assistance with money management. Praise the Lord!!!
• Friends of the deceased lamb are extremely upset. The woman also lost another friend from the retirement home where she works. Please keep her in your prayers, as she learns to lean on Jesus instead of going to old coping skills.
• A couple had their children visiting last week and was so sad to see them leave. The Lord and His perfect timing, the day the children left the mother was taken to a Womenade event and blessed by the fellowship and testimonies. She was encouraged to move forward in Christ and not back to old coping mechanisms. Please continue to pray for full-time employment for both. He has a couple of employers who hire him a few days a week.
• Please keep a lamb in your prayers as he feels satan tapping him on his shoulder inviting him back to his old life. Pray that he makes Christian fellowship a priority this week.
  A department manager from a local donating store was Muslim. A team of people have been praying for him to see Jesus as the only way for quite sometime. Yesterday he introduced a missionary to the new manager because he was going home for a month. In the conversation he told her that he was going to Europe and Northern Africa to see family. She asked if it was for the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. He said he was no longer Muslim, he had married a few month prior and wants to bring Jesus to his family prior to Ramadan and wants them to meet his new bride. Please pray for the Lord’s protection for this couple, safe travel, and the Lord to make a path for him and his bride to bring others to Christ.
• Humanitarian aid is being brought to an area of poverty in Cary Mondays and Thursdays, along with prayer. Please pray that these lambs will see and feel the love of Jesus. This may be the only church they attend.

Garner

• Please pray for a lamb who is facing assault charges in a fight with another lamb. Both were charged, but the first lamb says she was defending herself and has gotten affidavits from witnesses to help her case.
• Please pray for many of the Garner lambs who are drinking liquor lately instead of beer. Some are becoming dangerously intoxicated and could be hurt.
• Praise the Lord a second hairstylist will begin haircuts August 18th. The two hairstylists would like to prayerfully work together or perhaps alternating months.
• A couple has moved into an apartment near N.C. State and the man has been offered part-time work. Please pray that he find transportation to work and that he begins to appreciate having something constructive to do.
• A lamb recently released from jail needs prayer as he is going back to old friends and addictions. Please pray that he find healthy replacements for the demons he is trying to escape.
• A lamb’s camp was burned down this week. A Garner youth pastor and family has invited him to stay with them for a few days.
• Please keep one lamb in your prayers as she is slandering a missionary from the showers. Pray for the missionary as well.
• Praise God for the continued progress by a lamb who has moved into a halfway house. He continues to work every day, attends AA meetings regularly and is helping other lambs find work!
• Please pray for a Hispanic lamb who is in the hospital with stab wounds from an attack by another lamb. Also please pray for the angry lamb who is in jail for assault.
  Please pray for a lamb who is trying to get his life together after nine years in prison. He has begun working and hopes to have an apartment soon, but his heart yearns to rebuild his relationship with his daughter.
• Please keep the Garner camps in your prayers. Several camps have been burned down, some even while people were sleeping in them. Please pray for protection around the victims and the fire department is able to catch the firebug before she harms someone.
• The Thursday night Bible study was cancelled last week due to a virus sweeping through missionaries’ home. Thank you Jesus so many lambs have cell phones. A missionary called to ask why no one was there. Once told, he took the handful of lambs, who hadn’t been told, to Wendy’s for dinner. Thank you Jesus!
• The Lord answered your prayers this week. The lamb received his paperwork for his Arkansas property this week. Please pray he feels comfortable with opening himself up to a total reliance on Jesus.
• The next Medical mission is August 25th from 3:00-4:30. Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737.
• One of the Garner lambs died August 1st. His memorial will be Thursday, Aug 23rd at Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church, 4926 Fayetteville Rd beginning at 7 PM.

General

• Please keep lambs in prayer as they are asked to make decisions of walking away from their addictions and walking toward Jesus.
• The Lord’s hand is being seen in all things such as prayers for finding items, court dates and relationships with others and Christ. Please continue the prayers that each lamb relies on Jesus for all things.
• Thank you Jesus for a lamb who is continuing to be substance free and involved with a support group through AA.
• A family has donated funds for lambs to travel home. The family was so blessed to spend time with their loved one before his passing, they want to bless other families in a similar fashion. Thank you Jesus!
• Please continue to pray for support circles as these lambs readjust to society and are welcomed into the Body of Christ.
• Praise God for the existing support circle as the Body of Christ encircles a lamb with the love of Jesus!
• Please keep a missionary family in your prayers this week as their twins leave for college Saturday. Please pray for this transitional time in the family’s life.
  Thank you Lord for being scheduler of all Christians’ time.

Missionary Testimonials
In just a few short hours, the Lord can do so much! On Sunday, a missionary delivering food to camps found a dozen dogs on the loose – including one that is usually very aggressive. At the same time, police were surrounding the missionary’s car, which held two lambs waiting to go to church. Ten minutes later, the missionary was back in his car. The police were satisfied with his explanations and two dogs, including the scary one, were sitting IN the car licking his hands!
The missionary received a guitar from a lamb who had been holding it since its owner died this month. Musicians at an Apex church volunteered to have the guitar repaired before sending it to the lamb’s family. Another man at church offered jobs to four lambs, and, when that fell through, said he would keep them in mind in the future.

During lunch, missionaries heard that a lamb had been stabbed and was in the hospital. One missionary went to the hospital, dropping off the lambs from lunch on the way. He ran into a lamb who had been good friends with the lamb who died and was able to personally invite him to a memorial service Aug. 23.

At the hospital, two of the injured lambs friends were there giving him support. The missionary was able to pray with all three, then provide a ride back for one and update others in Garner on the lamb’s condition.

God’s Provision – Donations of Time & Finances

• Thank the Lord for the showers each week from the Garner church Thank You Jesus for serving hearts!
• Thank you Jesus for all the food donated by area grocery stores, churches, individuals, and caterers! Thank you Lord for all the donations of clothing, storage places, and toiletries donated this week.
• The Lord has provided so many towels. Missionaries had no idea why. They contacted two groups and both were so blessed by the abundance of towels. The Lord and His perfect timing.
• Someone has offered free video services. Please pray for how these services will be best used to glorify the Lord!
• We thank you, Jesus, for those who have donated time showing the love of Jesus through relationships and support circles, especially as new ones are developing across Cary and Apex. Praise God!

Community Awareness – Meetings and missions

• CitW Medical missions will now be hosting two medical missions per month. The medical mission team has a glucometer. The brand is the TheraSense "FreeStyle". The mission team needs strips, lancets and lancet pen. If you, your church, pharmacy or doctor’s office would like to donate these items please contact Anne or Susan.
  
• Garner Medical mission will be at the Garner Methodist Church from 3 PM and 4:30PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737.The dates are as following for 2007:
  August 25th
  October 6th
  November 3rd
  December 1st
• The Apex Medical Mission will be under the trees at Thriftwood Dr. in Apex from 5 PM and 7 PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434.The dates are as following for 2007:
  August 26th
  October 7th
  November 4th
  December 2nd
• The Backyard Bible Club will be conducted on Sundays only from 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM through August 19th with set-up beginning at 4:30. The address is Thriftwood Dr, Apex (under the trees). Blankets will be needed to serve as classrooms, as well as craft items, and serving hands and hearts. If the Lord is nudging you to serve these children, please contact Talli Sailer at 325-2669 or babybell@scahome.net.
• Please pray for the prayer team as they walk Peach Rd, Martin St, and Bragg St Monday the 13th beginning at 5:30.
• The Cary/Apex area pastors are invited to attend a Pastor’s meeting for Church in the Woods at the White Oak Baptist Church in Apex beginning at 11 AM. Please contact Alice McGee, 772-7050, if you are interested in attending.

More and more people are being drawn into communion with one another through the least of these, whether homeless, poverty stricken, prostitutes, drug dealers, or gang members, and so many blessings are being shared!

Apex Backyard Bible Club photos Summer 07

August 6, 2007

We are thanking you for your prayers and support as the Lord continues to provide abundantly for this ministry. There are so many prayer requests and praise reports!!! God is good all the time!

Prayer and Praise!
Apex

• Thank you Jesus for Your Almighty provisions twice a week
  The lamb who is paralyzed has some immediate needs. He is asking for prayer for the Lord’s provision of the following items: - 0.9% Sodium Chloride irrigation- Gauze- donut cushion (he has bed sores)- Dermal wound cleaner - Duoderm Control Gel Formula Dressing.
  His mother is asking for prayer for a home doctor visit. It is difficult to move the lamb from their home. The medical mission nurse who has been making home visits in on a mission trip in South America. Please keep this family and their needs in your prayers.
• Thank you Jesus for you loving and healing hands. This lamb’s lonely heart has already received His healing. Praise God, he would like to attend church. The lamb recovering from surgery has seen the infectious disease doctor. He sees the surgeon Friday for his MRI results. Please keep him in your prayers for the Lord’s healing.
• Thank you Jesus for the children. Again they run to the cars yelling "the church is here, the church is here." About twenty children came to the Backyard Bible Club. The leaders needed to leave at 5:30 due to another commitment. The group was able to hear a reading from the Bible and make crafts. The children brought the crafts to the adult area for a meal, ice cream cake, and to tell about the Bible. Please pray for more children missionaries. Beginning August 19th there will be no leaders.
• After a moving sermon a brother in Christ told CitW missionaries he wanted to serve in this area. He speaks fluent Spanish. Praise the Lord!!!! The Lord used him to break the language barrier and doors were opened. The missionaries were invited into home to discuss problems, Jesus, and the difference betweens Christian beliefs. This new CitW missionary would like to begin a Hispanic Adult Bible club. Thank you Jesus!
• A lamb had been praying for someone who spoke Spanish to attend the "Church" today because she had received a letter from immigrations. What a gift to see the Body of Christ at work, one missionary with needed information and the other with the needed language. Please keep her and her family in your prayers as she begins this legal process with immigration. She needs to bring a lawyer with her to Charlotte. Please pray for a lawyer to step forward for her as well.
• While missionaries were out of town, their neighbor and sons went on the Wednesday mission. It was such a blessing for that these young men had been in the community for several weeks because the families are beginning to trust them. We thank you Jesus for Your love and compassion!
• One lamb who had several strokes a few months back told missionaries he has been healed (no more walker, no more cane) and was able to return to work. He no longer needed to talk food from us and his prayers had been answered. The longer he talked the more he realized he still needed Jesus. He thanked the Lord for His mighty healing and His mighty provisions.
• The first medical mission is August 26th. Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434.
• Humanitarian aid is being brought to the Apex mission Sunday and Wednesdays, along with prayer. Please pray that these lambs will see and feel the love of Jesus. This may be the only church they attend.
  

Cary

• The Lord is moving mightily on the streets of Cary. The number of Cary homeless has decreased. Most now have employment, with this employment comes a sense of worth. With this worth comes a seeking of Jesus.
• One lamb has been at an Oxford in Garner and has almost completed his 30/30. The house has approved that attending church and Bible studies can count as a meeting. Thank you Jesus!!!!
• Another lamb is working and sober. He has had a haircut and feels good about himself. He is ready to come back to church. Praise the Lord!
• A lamb is in jail. Please pray for his family, wife and three children. Thank you Jesus, this will be used for Your Kingdom.
• The lamb couple who moved into the Cary apartment was blessed to have two of their three children this week. Praise the Lord! The children and wife attended the Apex mission Sunday serving at the adult table while other missionaries went door to door. Their landlord is able to ask the husband to do "handyman" work around the complex to lower each month’s rent payment. Praise the Lord! The wife is talking with the manager at the Family Christian Bookstore on Friday. Please keep her in your prayers as she interviews for this job. Please keep the husband in prayer as he would like a study, 8-5 job. Another prayer request is for apartment needs. They are asking for a toaster, end tables, lamps, a coffee table, a coffee maker, a vacuum cleaner, curtains, candles, a toilet bowl brush, Clorox, Windex, Thank You cards, a dust pan, 2 extension cords, a mop and bucket, clothes hangers, and SOS pads. If you feel the Lord asking you to donate any of these items please contact Susan Vaughan at 803-4122.
• A lamb who has been living in a transitional home is looking for an apartment in the Cary area. Please keep him in prayer as the Lord provides him housing.
• Humanitarian aid is being brought to an area of poverty in Cary Mondays and Thursdays, along with prayer. Please pray that these lambs will see and feel the love of Jesus. This may be the only church they attend.

Garner

• One of the Garner lambs died August 1st. He took the bus to the hospital the week before and asked the nurses to contact missionaries once he had passed. He told the nurse to tell them he was a t peace with the Lord and sober. Praise the Lord!!! His brother has come to take his body to MI where he will be laid to rest beside his parents. His memorial will be Thursday, Aug 23rd at Ernest Myatt Presbyterian Church, 4926 Fayetteville Rd beginning at 7 PM. Donations for helium balloons has already been made. The donor requested a prayer be released with each. His obituary was in the August 5th paper. He was loved by so many. It can be viewed online at
  http://www.legacy.com/newsobserver/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=92087942
• Missionaries came home from vacation to find several lambs in the hospital: one for such a severe case of conjunctivitis he was hospitalized for three days; another with the third degree burns is now infected; and the third with stomach issues, he was x-rayed and waiting to hear from the surgeon. Please keep these lambs in your prayers for the Lord’s mighty healing.
• The Garner laundry facility has asked the lambs to only use the facility during non-peak times. Praise the Lord they are still able to use the facility!
  The Lord has heard your prayers for a hair stylist. One has moved from Chicago and will begin donating her time monthly at the Saturday showers beginning in September. Thank you Jesus!
• Thank you Jesus, the lamb couple has found an apartment! The Lord heard your prayers!
  Please continue to pray for a lamb who is trying to get back to his land in Arkansas. Please pray he feels comfortable with opening himself up to a total reliance on Jesus.
• The next Medical mission is August 25th from 3:00-4:30. Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737.
• The lamb in jail was released this week. Please pray that he listens to the Lord voice and not the voice of his past.

General

• Please keep lambs in prayer as they are asked to make decisions of walking away from their addictions and walking toward Jesus.
• The Lord’s hand is being seen in all things such as prayers for finding items, court dates and relationships with others and Christ. Please continue the prayers that each lamb relies on Jesus for all things.
• Thank you Jesus for a lamb who is continuing to be substance free and involved with a support group through AA.
• Please continue to pray for support circles as these lambs readjust to society and are welcomed into the Body of Christ.
• Praise God for the existing support circle as the Body of Christ encircles a lamb with the love of Jesus!
• Thank you Lord for being scheduler of all Christians’ time.
  

Missionary Testimonials
Today I delivered my brother’s bike to a man struggling with sobriety, and in need of a "ride". He was extremely grateful for the gift, and then I remembered how much that bike helped my brother. He used it to go places, as well as keeping in shape. It also allowed him to get out in the world and see some of his dreams up close and personal. I also remember when he bought it, I thought why does he need a bike when he can barely walk. Good thing I'm not running the universe, because I didn't see that the bike was a symbol of hope for my brother, and I hope that it has the same effect on this man, who got the bike. I told him my brother's story in hopes that the bike will remind him that it is possible to achieve your dreams if we work for them. With the bike in good hands, all of my brother's worldly possessions have been donated/sold, and I hope that in some way we can pay forward the gifts that my brother received.
B.

God’s Provision – Donations of Time & Finances

• Thank the Lord for the showers each week from the Garner church Thank You Jesus for serving hearts!
• Thank you Jesus for all the food donated by area grocery stores, churches, individuals, and caterers! Thank you Lord for all the donations of clothing, storage places, and toiletries donated this week.
• We thank you, Jesus, for those who have donated time showing the love of Jesus through relationships and support circles, especially as new ones are developing across Cary and Apex. Praise God!
  

Community Awareness – Meetings and missions

• CitW Medical missions will now be hosting two medical missions per month. The medical mission team has a glucometer. The brand is the TheraSense "FreeStyle". The mission team needs strips, lancets and lancet pen. If you, your church, pharmacy or doctor’s office would like to donate these items please contact Anne or Susan.
  Garner Medical mission will be at the Garner Methodist Church from 3 PM and 4:30PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Anne Willet is the contact person. Her phone number is 461- 9737. The dates are as following for 2007:
  August 25th
  October 6th
  November 3rd
  December 1st
  
• The Apex Medical Mission will be under the trees at Thriftwood Dr. in Apex from 5 PM and 7 PM. If you feel the Lord asking you to serve, Susan Heineman is the contact person. Her phone number is 787-3434.The dates are as following for 2007:
  August 26th
  October 7th
  November 4th
  December 2nd
  
• "Homeless Singers on The Road to Success" is concerning men from the Wilmington St. shelter. It can be read at http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5530076
• The Backyard Bible Club will be conducted on Sundays only from 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM through August 19th with set-up beginning at 4:30. The address is Thriftwood Dr, Apex (under the trees). Blankets will be needed to serve as classrooms, as well as craft items, and serving hands and hearts. If the Lord is nudging you to serve these children, please contact Talli Sailer at 325-2669 or babybell@scahome.net.
• Same Kind of Different as Me is a book worth reading. For more information the website is http://www.samekindofdifferentasme.com/ The Urban Ministry will host a conference with Ron and Denver, Charlotte, NC November 13-15
  

More and more people are being drawn into communion with one another through the least of these, whether homeless, poverty stricken, prostitutes, drug dealers, or gang members, and so many blessings are being shared!