17 Jul Fostering a Servant’s Heart
Titus 3:5-8 ?He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out one us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.?
We are finishing up our fourth week in Alaska, and we have had many opportunities to serve the community in Anchorage. Our days have been spent focusing on community outreach events, like doughnut ministry, to invite people to True North for the spread of the Gospel. Pacing up and down the streets of anchorage with doughnuts in hand, God has placed people in our paths that are searching for community, or providing us the opportunity to serve those in need. Our ministry and community events have yielded fruitful conversations, and God willing, have planted the seed of Christ for God to grow in people?s lives.
Another one of the ways we have been able to serve the community is by helping the Community Pregnancy Center (CPC). The CPC is a Christian organization in Anchorage that provides counseling and services for mothers and fathers in unexpected pregnancies. We were able to join forces with a mission team from Naples, FL to help the CPC organize their inventory and develop a new lot for parking. Thankfully, God provided mission team members that graciously gave to support renting a bulldozer and two team members from Naples (Mark and Kevin) that were able to clear and level the overgrown area behind the center. Parking has become an issue due to an increase in clients, and God graciously provided the means to serve their clients and advance His Word?s impact and reach in these clients lives.
Earlier this week God blessed us with blue skies and warm weather for our soccer camp put on at Woodside Park. The soccer camp was designed to create a fun atmosphere for kids age 5-12 to come out, learn from a National Championship collegiate soccer coach, and give us the opportunity to share the love of Christ with them and their family in our action, as well as explicitly with gospel conversations. It was a great week filled with kids from multiple religious backgrounds, so please pray that the Lord will open their hearts to the Gospel.
During our time here, our team has grown in many different ways, not only in our individual walks with the Lord, but also in our relationships with each other. Living with each other has not been easy, but God has been able to show His goodness to us, and he has allowed us to see so much fruit from our labor while we have grown in our ability to be like Christ and humbly, yet joyfully set aside our own preferences for the betterment of others (Philippians 2:4-8). We have been so thankful for the opportunities that we have had to spend time with each other, not only in the more intimate settings such as devotions and men/women times, but also in the more laid-back settings, such as going on hikes, coffee runs, and Walmart trips!
In our final two weeks, we are going to be using our time for more outreach events, such as our park parties and laundry mat ministry. Here are some ways you can be praying for us!
- Ask God to send us more people that are willing to hear the gospel or searching for community, so that more people in Anchorage will come to know Him and love Him
- Endurance to humbly serve each other and the mission team members
- Gospel fruit in our team, and in Anchorage and Girdwood
- Unity in Christ as our team grows in deeper relationship and friendship together