Ukraine Updates

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in sharing our journey with you, we had issues accessing the blog because Google knew it was being accessed from outside the US and wouldn't let us in so we've enlisted a friend to add content for us.

Prayers for Ukraine

• That God would cause a great thirsting for the Truth among those who will be attending the camps.  
• Maxim, who leads the camps, that he would see the fruit of his labor. That he would be strengthened through Christ as he prepares, runs, and cleans up from weeks of camps. 
• That the teams coming to help- both Ukrainian and American, would be united. That we would be filled with His love for the people around us. That we would truly esteem others better than ourselves. Live each moment trusting in Him. Live fully in each moment. 

"Lord, help us to see each person and moment as an opportunity to share your love and truth with those around us. Let us see Your heart for each person we come in contact with. Help us encourage each other and build one another up."

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ- Colossians 3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.^{[b] 7} You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Ukraine

On Tuesday (6/28) Lydia, Grant, and I (Haley) will be leaving for Ukraine. Our good friends, Nathan, Mary, and Audrey Schuck are coming also. We will be there until the second week of August, working with a local church in Odessa that is hosting a camp for gypsy children and two camps for people with disabilities.

Here are some things you can pray for the trip:

---To arrive safely The trip to Odessa is pretty involved. We are driving to Toronto on Tuesday night, flying to Montreal on Wednesday, where we have 45 minutes to catch out next plane, have a two hour layover in Frankfurt, arrive in Kiev, Ukraine on Thursday, take a bus to the train station, and have an 8 hour train ride to Odessa.

---For the hearts of the staff to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the work He wants accomplished.

---For the language barrier to be overcome. Especially for me, I want to be able to minister to people, but have almost zero knowledge of the language (Russian).

---For those attending the camp to be receptive to God’s message of salvation and to draw nearer to Christ through the camp.

---For peace in Ukraine. Some of you might know there is a civil war happening along the East coast.

---For health for the team. Thank you for joining us in prayer! We can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store.

 Haley

Since my trip to Ireland in 2014 I have had a stronger desire than ever before to reach the lost and grow in my faith, but not just while on a mission trip or at a conference, in every day life, right here in my own town.  God is raising up spiritual leaders in the Lansing area and it is our job/privileged to join them in their efforts to reach the lost.

Recently, I have come in contact with hundreds of college students who have been brought up in Christian families, but fall away as they move on in life or still call themselves Christian, but it is just a title and has no meaning to them. They'll say, "Yeah, I'm a Baptist", "I'm Catholic", "I went to ______ a denomination."  "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"-I Corinthians 1:13-14   What is the church?! The church of Christ is the people that make it up, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and believe on Him. We must stand together to make an impact in our nation that so desperately needs God. Let's overlook some of the small things that make our denominations different and be followers of Christ together. 

I've been hit with the realization of how easy it is to grow apathetic in your faith when you aren't seeing people act on what they believe. If you're not seeing people saved and actively sharing your faith you can never understand fully what it means to be a follower of Christ. When there is no difference between you and non Christians, you're not losing a thing when you step away from church. If you just went because your family did, what will happen when you move out and don't have your mom to make sure you attend? We go to Church on Sundays to be built up, it isn't supposed to be the main part of the Christian walk, it is our training ground for every day life. When we begin to share our faith, we are faced with questions that force us to dig into God's word for answers.  Once you are out blessing people and serving the Lord, you want to do it more and suddenly your faith means much more than a denomination. 

What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? James 2:19 says: "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."  Are you just a believer in Jesus or a follower of Him?  The life of Jesus is historically known to be true and as the Bible says, even the demons believe in God.  So, what is the difference in our knowledge of Jesus and historian's, or how is our belief different from the demons?  We are called to be the image of Christ and the means through which He reaches the lost. What a privileged to be a bearer of the Good News to our world! "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Together 2016

We believe: 

JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Our generation is the most cause-driven in history. But our causes are pulling us apart. Even religion doesn’t unite. We believe only Jesus can bring us together. July 16, 2016, is the day our generation will meet on the National Mall to come together around Jesus in unified prayer, worship, and a call for catalytic change. 

More information: http://reset2016.com/about-together2016/
Or: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/together-reset-2016-tickets-25181881686?aff=eac2

National Day of Prayer

When:
May 05, 2016 at 11am - 3pm

11 a.m. to Noon       Harp & Bowl Worship and Prayer
Noon to 1 p.m.         Observance
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.       Downtown Prayer Outreach
1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.  Legislative Reception

Where: 
Michigan State Capitol Building
Michigan at Capitol Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
United States

Decision America Tour

In 2016, Franklin Graham Association will be holding prayer rallies in all 50 state capitals,challenging Christians across our land to boldly live out their faith and to pray fervently and faithfully for our nation - and proclaiming the Gospel that has the power to transform the human heart. It begins when we, as Christians, commit to prayer, standing firm on God's Word and living out our faith in every aspect of life. Will you join Franklin Graham? 
Informational Luncheon June 21st at South Lansing Christian Church, Lansing MI. Follow the Michigan Facebook Page for the updates and information.