Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"...For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told."

"Look amoung the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." --Habakkuk 1:5

I can hardly believe that the first three weeks with the new team has already passed! God has been so good. Here’s a little update about what’s happened!

We started out at Word of Life in Hudson, Florida where we had two weeks of intense training camp. Between the two camps I’ve been a part of, this one was by far the hardest, but at the same time, my favorite. We had the opportunity to attend a service at Idlewild , have devotions with the staff, Ken Whiten came and spoke to us, and about a billion other blessings! It was an incredible and challenging time, all at once!

We were so blessed to have all of the team, the staff, and the board there!

Wings of Morning 2008::2009

(From left to right...)

Jessica Foster:: 19, Indianapolis, IN- Alto
Christopher Porter:: 23, Amarillo, TX- Sound Technician
Tanner Dalton:: 21, Nashville, TN- Tenor
Lauren Dye:: 22, Charlotte, NC- Alto
Kym Gagnon:: 21, Flagstaff, AZ- Soprano
Jeff Campbell:: 23, Atlanta, GA- Tenor
Elizabeth Evans:: 20, Nashville, TN- Soprano
Michael West:: 22, Tampa, FL- Tenor
Brianne Seeley:: 18, Grand Rapids, MI- Piano Accompanist
Christopher Muscarella:: 20, Cincinnati, OH- Media Technician


The staff consists of::
Dave (Executive Director and Founder) and Jackie Edwards
Derwin (Director of Administration and Missions) and Jackie Anderson
Allen (Director of Communication and Media, and Brooke Oliver
Ryan Hurlburt (Special Events and Promotions Assistant)
Katharine Hurlburt (Training and Discipleship Assistant).

Ryan and Katharine are the newest additions to the Wings Global Outreach staff, and the whole team loves and absolutely adores them! Please pray for them as they continue raise support. I admire them so much. They have completely stepped out in faith- they were just recently married in August 2008, and have started out their marriage with this incredible crazy adventure. They have such a supreme love for Christ, and have encouraged us all so much by their walk and faith.

The Ministry Board consists of::
Marc Evans- my daddy!
Wade Gates- business man and pastors and church in Franklin, OH
Bob Hester- business man and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met
Kevin Massey- any NY Giants fan is GREAT in my eyes!!!

We were all getting anxious to start singing and leading people in worship. Our first church was First Baptist Citrus Park on Sunday, September 14. That was definitely a good one to start out on! We sang there last year, and it was definitely one of my favorite churches. The church family is just so kind and so loving. The team did great- I was so proud of them! It was definitely a CRAZY Sunday- because, as soon as we finished eating lunch with some of the members, we packed up to leave for West Broad Street Baptist, where we set up immediately and prepared for the evening worship service. The Massey’s, along with Michael’s family came- it’s always great to have people we know there. After a great service, we packed up and headed back to Citrus Park, where we set back up for the Spiritual Emphasis week that we did with their school.

It was probably the best SE week that we’ve ever had with my time with Wings. EIGHT students came to Christ. It was incredible. Some of the students have been through things that I never would have imagined… broken homes, parents with substance abuse problems, abuse, bouncing between relatives, etc. All they needed was Jesus, and then someone to come along side of them and love them. Both the Senior and Junior high completely welcomed us- something that we don’t get very often from youth. It was a very blessed week and such an encouragement- especially for the new team members. That is EXACTLY what we strive for- to build relationships and trust, so that the walls might break down, so that they may be open to the Gospel and discipleship. Working with youth can be some of the hardest, but DEFINITELY the most rewarding things.

We met some awesome, awesome, awesome girls there who I absolutely LOVE! I hope that we can continue to stay in contact (gotta’ love Facebook!) and that we may grow together.

Kym, Brianne, and I stayed with Brad and Shelbi Lansing, along with their two kids- Lizzi (3 ½ years old), and Ben (2 years old). They are just extraordinary people. They had been foster parents for a few years- giving homes to dozens of kids, knowing that they would eventually be taken away. But finally, they were able to officially adopt Lizzi and Ben. They are such a sweet family, with HUGE hearts. They are completely selfless, and are such a great picture of the type of servants Christ called us to be. We absolutely love, love, love them!

After packing up and leaving on Friday afternoon, we arrived at Exciting Central Baptist in Tampa. Let me tell you what, that quickly became not only one of my favorite churches, but one of my favorite host homes during my time with Wings. All the girls stayed with Gary and Anna Wilkinson. We absolutely fell in love with them immediately- they are so kind, giving, loving, and are a perfect picture of what a Christ-follower should be like. Oh, and they are GREAT cooks! J Leaving them was so hard, because even after just three nights, they became like family. Well, they became family.

Exciting Central is doing series in their church called “Its All about Youth.” They had Christian hip hop artists coming in. And let me tell you what, they were preaching TRUTH. It definitely wasn’t in a conventional way, but it was so theologically sound. It just goes to show us that God can and will move and speak in any capacity. We then got up and sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” a capella and then busted out into a very contemporary, Gospel-y song called “Let Everything that has Breath,” and it was soooo fun! They were definitely a high energy congregation! We then lead worship the whole evening service and it went really well. Jeff tore up “Jesus will Make a Way.” They were just so kind and welcoming and it was a blast.


I’m sitting in the bus with all the girls (Dave is in a meeting with the pastor and all the guys are still at their host homes), and I can’t help but to be astounded at how blessed I am. Even after a year, it still amazes me that the Lord chose me to be a part of Wings GO. He is doing incredible things in and through our ministry, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds. Please pray for the team, staff, and board as we make decisions and continue to do the work we’ve been called to.

Love,
Elizabeth

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

First Year with Wings in Review....

My life will never be the same…
God has been so good and has blessed abundantly.
I can’t even begin to describe all He has done.

::[The true heart of the overall ministry of Wings Global Outreach]::
Our music & media team, Wings of Morning, has the opportunity to spread the gospel to the unsaved in a unique and powerful fashion. There IS a message that brings hope into our present life and into eternal life! This is the reason we feel so blessed to have the privilege of serving in this ministry. So, now that you have a little feel about us.... These are the personal highlights of the year....

::[ExTend Student Leadership]::
This is the newest part of our ministry. The incredible youth conferences have proved effective and impactful. We work with a student ministry in a local church. We prayed for God to truly work in hearts and that is exactly what we saw. We want to see lives changed for eternity, spiritual walks strengthened, and students become stronger leaders in their churches and schools. We've seen students come to a saving knowledge and acceptance of Christ, and seen other's make countless decisions. Our prayer is that they would impact the Kingdom, and that because of their bold witness, it would never be the same!

::[Hope to You 2007]::
To God be the glory- Over the New England Christmas tour, we saw somewhere between 40 and 50 people acknowledge that they need Christ and then accept Him as their Savior! How incredible is that!? Not only that, but we saw over 100 teenagers make personal decisions at two different schools- American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania and Westover Christian Academy in Danville, Virginia. Praise the Lord! We pray that these young people stay faithful to their commitments to stand alone for Jesus, and that they make a huge impact in Christ’s Kingdom.”

::[Leading Worship Across the Country]::
The Lord has granted us the privilege and opportunity to lead others to the Throne of Grace. "Bless our God, O peoples;let the sound of his praise be heard..." Psalm 66:8.

::[Dominican Republic- April 2008]::
I wish there were words to describe what took place in the Dominican Republic. Only Heaven will be able to sufficiently describe it. We had
the opportunity to work with a youth group from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I feel so privileged to have worked along side of them. Their passion and love for the Lord was so encouraging, and I am proud of each one of them. We arrived to Santo Domingo on Sunday, and went straight to work on Monday. All week, we went to schools to tell students and teachers the Good News of our Lord and Savior. We used music, drama, evange-cubes, and preaching to reach the people. The Spirit moved, and people responded to the Gospel. EIGHT-HUNDRED people accepted Christ- to God be the glory! The missionary we worked with, Ken Balootje, challenged them to be bold in their new found faith by asking them to walk to the platform, in front of their peers- and at least 600 stood up.
We were able to lead people to the Lord through translators. God really worked in my heart to start studying the evange-cube material in Spanish. I must say, it was totally the Lord, because by Friday, I was able to lead eight Dominican children to Him in their language. All I can say is that it was God alone! It most certainly was all Him- because the Wings team can tell you- it took me 10 months just to learn nine Spanish songs!

Jesus dijo en la Bibla, “Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida. Nadie viene la Padre, sino por mi.” (John 14:6)

::[Domican Republic- June 2008]::
Our second trip of the year to the Dominican Republic was nothing short of a portrait of God’s power and grace. We had the opportunity to serve with students and adults from Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, and California. We arrived to Santo Domingo on Saturday, and went to work on Sunday, serving in two local churches. Then, throughout the week we had the privilege to go to churches, public elementary and high schools, a disco, villages (where we were able to give gifts to the children and share our program with the people there), parks, and a jail. Needless to say, the Lord did marvelous things in and through our ministry. We saw over FIVE HUNDRED people come into the kingdom of our Savior during our trip. All of these places opened their doors for future ministry. To God be the glory!!! Please join with us, as we continue to pray for Kenneth Balootje and his family, as they work towards reaching the Dominican people.

::[Camp Connection- Children's Camp- Las Cruces, New Mexico]::
We arrived in Atlanta from Santo Domingo in, and headed to a hotel to sleep for a few hours. Four hours after arriving to our hotel in Atlanta, it was time to hop another plane to El Paso, Texas. We then drove to Las Cruces, New Mexico for their annual children’s camp. We had a blast! We lead them in worship throughout the week, and participated in water games, archery, target shooting, obstacle courses, races, crafts, and object lessons. But most importantly, we saw around THIRTY KIDS ACCEPT CHRIST! It was a blessing to be a part of the camp.

::[Wonderful Leaders/Staff]::
Dave and Jackie Edwards, Derwin and Jackie Anderson, and Allen and Brooke Oliver are on the ministry's staff. I absolutely respect, admire, and love all of them. They have devoted their lives to serve in this ministry, and pour their hearts not only into their work, but into the team members.

::[Wonderful Team Mates]::
Jeff, Meredith, Emily, Adam, Courtney, Christopher, and David will probably never see this, so I can brag on them. They are all some of the most incredible people I've ever met. They have such a supreme love for Christ, and a passion for Scripture unlike any group of people I know. Everyone other than Jeff and I will not be returning next year- and I will miss them so much. I can honestly say that I am a better person today, because of each and every one of them.