Victorious in Christ

 By Steve Chamblee: 

"They realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them.." Luke 7:16

I hope this update finds you in a "place of holy mystery, realizing that God is at work among you"!  God continues to open doors to minister in His name & advance His kingdom in the desert of Southern AZ!  When I think of all that God is doing among us and through us, Luke 7:16 resonates true. I'm at a loss for words except for "praise Him!"

God continues to grow Grace Fellowship.  We averaging around 150 in worship on Sunday mornings.  We are still meeting at Old Vail Middle School, except now we meet in the gymnasium as we have outgrown the cafeteria.  God continues to bring new life to the lost and growth to the many new believers in the faith.

We have recently appointed our first elder and seven servant leaders (deacons) at Grace Fellowship.  We will be ordaining these new leaders in September.  How exciting to see God raise up from among our congregation the leadership for His church!   Please pray for our leadership and that we would be God-honoring and biblically galvanized in our leadership!

Last time I wrote to you, I asked you to pray for Charles, a young man who had recently come to Christ.  Charles has suffered from depression for most his life.  While Charles still has struggles, he is dong so much better!  God is growing him.  He is back in school and will graduate this winter.  And now Charles is wrestling with a new thing - seeking to know God's will for him in ministry!  Charles is finding that serving other people is therapeutic for his own struggles.  Could this be applicative to Jesus' statement: "It is more blessed to give than receive"? (Acts 20: 35)

Let me tell you about Keith. Keith and Dawn visited Grace about a year ago and felt so valued and cared for that they kept coming.  Keith has suffered from a neurological disorder for about two years.  He suffers from intense seizures.  This sweet couple came to know Christ not long after they began visiting Grace.  I had the privilege of baptizing them both.  Keith's seizures got better and it seemed for a while that he was getting to a place of control over them.   Then they got worse, then they got better, then they quit altogether, and then they came back. Its been a roller coaster journey and continues to be, quite frankly.  Here's where the praise comes in.  I have seen Keith and Dawn both grow so much in their faith as they continue to walk through this journey.  I have seen Keith go from battling depression over his condition and wondering "why?" to praising God for this infirmity, knowing that God is sufficient to supply his every need and asking God to glorify His 

name through him.   Would you pray for my friend?  Just in the last week, he has went from experiencing no seizures for fourteen days to now he is having two Grand mal seizures every day.   Keith would love to be healed,  but he wants God's will more.

This is the kind of life change that only God can bring.  And this is what ignites my heart every day for ministry!  Bring it Lord Jesus!

I can say that I have never experience spiritual warfare like we have in the last few months.  It's thick!  But we are victors in Christ, so we don't ask for it to lessen.... we just ask for more grace to fight.  So, don't you dare stop praying for us!  We need you now more than ever!

Parables, Goats, and a Message of Hope

By Kristen Murray:

Today is our last full day here.  We leave tomorrow night for home.  I am really going to miss the people here in East Africa.  I am looking forward to a good shower, a salad and some fresh fruit!  You can't eat any of that unless it's in a peel (banana) or cooked (like stir fry veggies).  God has been so good to me and I have slept better here than back home.  I guess he knows how grouch I am if I don't get enough sleep and he wasn't up for me being a whiner while serving him here.

Yesterday we taught the kids about parables and acted out the parable of the sower and the parable of the talents.  I think they enjoyed it and understood.  We also did a visual with instant snow where we added water and it grew just like we grow when we are reading Gods word and praying.  Then we took some of the kids out to a restaurant.  Only the kids whose sponsors are here were able to go with us.  They loved it!  Someone told me the first time any of the kids got to go to a restaurant they sat in a circle and giggled.  When one of the leaders asked what was so funny they said they use to eat out of the trash cans in the back of the restaurant and now they were sitting inside eating.  Isn't that precious?  I think they had a special day!

We did some shopping at the open market by the post office after that and then went out for bowling and pizza.  Team bonding time.  A few people on our team have had stomach issues in the last 24 hours so please keep them in your prayers. We have had a phenomenal time but it is hard on our bodies.  The food is very different and the smog gives us daily headaches.  But without a doubt we would all do it again if we had the ability financially and if God called us to it.

Today we are sharing the gospel.  Pray, pray, pray that God opens their ears to hear the truth of the message that there IS hope in God.  Some of the kids, like Kennedy, have a relationship with God and you can see the hope in his eyes.  We are also making visits to some of the kids homes and taking food to them.  Afterwards we are going to the leprosy hospital. 

We are also going to the goat market to purchase goats for tomorrows celebration dinner.  We are buying mattresses for several homes as well.  A really full day!!

Love you all and after I get over my 24 hour travel day I look forward to telling you about my trip.  Thanks for the prayers and financial support.