So, I just got back from a wonderful trip to Johnstown, PA! If I didn’t know better, I would think God wanted me to spend my entire summer in Pennsylvania, lol. I have just been incredibly blessed by what the Lord is doing there. This go around we (my friend Hanna and I) had the fortune of combining two groups into one. That being said, they were two VERY different groups; a Catholic high school (what a great chance to witness!) and a group of young middle schoolers. To say it was interesting would be a huge understatement, but God still worked in wonderful ways.
Our groups were housed in a church that a ministry had recently been given actually, and it needed (and still needs) quite a bit of work, as well as many in the congregation needing help with various things at their houses. One day I was actually at the church with a group from the high school and Terry (the pastor’s father) burst in the door and told us that a missionary couple, who had recently come back from Israel and were trying to raise goats to help the wife’s parents earn some income, had walked out their front door to see their goats being killed by coyotes (crazy right)! So she called in desperation to ask if there was anyone who could go and help them erect a goat pen immediately. The youth jumped up and threw themselves into it with beautiful enthusiasm. In fact, I did not hear a speck of complaining all week. It was truly amazing (and a blessing) to see older teens and younger teens working side by side, from completely different backgrounds, throwing themselves into their work as for the Lord and not for men.
This is not the only place I saw God in either. Every morning and every evening we had small group time together, where they delved into Scripture and asked questions about anything and everything… from what it means to truly walk with God, to how we can approach others in talking about our faith. One participant got saved (praise the LORD) and I saw many more become serious about their faith, as well as starting to come up with plans to serve the Lord in their own communities back home. It reminded me once again why we do this… to see the Lord glorified among the nations, even our own.
Thank you so much to all of you who support me and prayer for me, it is truly a blessing to be a part of what the Lord is doing in the US and around the world. I have three more trips coming up right in a row, starting tomorrow actually, and I would greatly appreciate your prayers. I have seen Him work mightily through them already, and I can’t wait to see what He does in the future 🙂
