Lamb of God
If when the trials of life assail you
And you still feel blessed don’t think it odd
You’re covered by the blood of Jesus
The sacrificial Lamb of God
Just keep living a life that is Holy
Allowing the Holy Spirit to be your guide
Eternal life has been made possible to you
Through Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.
Arnette
An incredible night
This mission trip has been amazing. There are more stories than I can find the time to write down. Friday night the Austin & Maryland groups ended the evening before final worship by going to the Tunica Correctional Facility. This had a special significance to me as an attorney. We were all escorted in by two deputies who led us to the middle of the jail into a room for worship. About 36 men soon joined us along with a local Pastor, Pastor Paul. The Maryland group led us in a rousing song and almost immediately you could sense the power of the Holy Spirit coming into the room. Most of the men stood and sang while clapping their hands & shouted “Praise Jesus.” I’m in a correctional facility almost every day professionally but I have never seen guards & deputies encouraging & praising along with inmates like this before. After some very powerful testimonials and words by Reverend Gloria of the Maryland group the men were invited to come to the front of the room if they wanted to pray with us. Amazingly over a third came to the front. My wife Debbie and I were drawn to Cedrick. Cedrick was waiting a Grand Jury Indictment and knew Jesus but wanted to have a better relationship with Him. We asked him what stopped him before and he said his drug addiction. He also was deeply concerned for his wife and children waiting at home. The three of us joined hands and I immediately felt the power of the Holy Spirit fill me with what I could only hope were soothing words. We asked Jesus to give Cedrick the strength to conquer his drug addiction and to fill his heart with a strong desire to want to read more scripture. Debbie prayed for Cedrick’s wife to have faith and for her strength in raising the children in Cedrick’s absence. After words we kept holding hands and we all had tears in our eyes. I could feel the Holy Spirit working through us and we could see in Cedrick’s tearful eyes that he too felt the Holy Spirit. Later when the women came in Debbie and I were led to a woman who wanted us to pray with her. That night God moved her to faith in Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior--a conversion right in front of our eyes. It was an incredible night.
Stephen T.
This mission trip means life changes
This mission trip has brought me out of my comfort zone. I am retired now and God says he will guide me in the next phase of my life. Now I feel the process has started. Actually, it started when I retired. He is teaching me (all of us) what he will have us to do next. I am so grateful that he hand picked us all for this mission; my heart is over flowing with joy and love. I asked him to teach me his love and how to love his people. And he has done just that. We have learned so much this week about love for his people. I have also learned his patience and how not to complain. Also, I thank God for all our leaders on this mission trip. They are truly anointed by God.
Vivian B.
Tunica 2006 – The Sequel
Each succeeding mission trip gives me a greater understanding of my role on earth and draws me into a closer relationship with our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to grow in my understanding of what it means to totally trust in the Lord and know He will not forsake you or ever leave you. He’s undying love for His children has no limits. I thank our mission team and God for an incredible five days.
Where to Begin? First our sisters from the Baltimore area are incredible. Their zest for the Lord and boisterous zeal for worship is contagious. Compassionate worship/prayer is the norm and a reserved approach to worship is not in their vocabulary. I thank them for that.
Our two different teams quickly became one united in the faith and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everyday has literally been filled with God-incidents. I truly believe there are no coincidences when God is intimately involved with our team spreading the Gospel.
Children’s ministry, elderly worship, prison ministry and home repair are just the tip of the ice burg. Brother Brown and Sister Debbie demonstrated powerful, pastoral skills and gifts and the remainder of the team all delivered clear messages of salvation deserving high marks by the Heavenly Host. Our 19 year old Praise/Worship leader, Brandon, is going to do greater things in life then he presently realizes. The sky is the limit for the young talent.
The passion skit, performed five times in four days was truly a blessing to the audiences and our team. All of the displayed sorrow and tears of joy have been real as the Holy Spirit is truly working amongst us daily.
Time has gone by quickly. The hours have been long, sleep time short and activity level high. We have laughed, sung and cried a lot. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to be surrounded by some great Christians that I joyfully call my friends and one of them I call my wife.
My hope and prayer is that the Lord continue to grow our mission ministry and allow each of us at Bethany Lutheran Church to experience the true joy of proclaiming that Jesus is the Light, the Truth and the Way. Praise God!
Randy R.
So many...
Wow, I have never seen and felt so much love in my life. So many lives have been touched. So many faces of pain turned into smiles. So many tears shed… turned into tears of joy. So many broken hearts I could see signing. What a blessing this journey has been for all who saw Jesus. His Amazing grace.
Angela.
Life Changing
It’s hard to describe all of the wonderful things that have happened during this Mission trop to Tunica. It would take a novel on chapters of love, friendship, sisterhood, brotherhood, community, children, elders, passion, gospel, prayer, devotion, happiness, tears, and joy, etc, etc! I guess if I could sum it up in five words it would be:
“It Changed my life Forever!”
Debbie T
ps. Thank you Jesus.
Bold Witness
My mission trip to Tunica, Mississippi was exceedingly and abundantly above all I could have imagined. I had read in the Missions 101 manual that the experience would be to my benefit as well as those I would evangelize. Indeed, this was the reality.
The morning of our last day, in the shower, the Holy Spirit outlined my benefit. God wanted me to become a “bold” witness and to evangelize consistently. God took me to a new level of praise and worship. God introduced me to the most wonder and precious sisters and brothers and united us in love! God revealed that truly we are one in the faith.
Mary C.
Godly Women
Wow! What a mission trip! We have experienced so many wonderful God moments over the past few days that it’s hard to not write about everything. We have been so blessed by the group of leaders from Maryland, what beautiful Godly women!
Our prison ministry was so powerful. To see the prisoners weeping and seeing prayer and then praying with them was one of the most touching things I’ve ever experienced. I truly felt the Lord’s presence with us there.
Darlene B.
Doubly Blessed
Heaven and Earth is full of God’s glory. Tunica, Mississippi residents are God’s beloved people. I am thankful to the AIM mission team for the experience of serving people of all ages. I feel doubly blessed because I received as much as I served.
Judy B.
Loving Kindness Seasoning
Words cannot convey the awesomeness of God and how He moved through the Fall leaves of our two churches to hand pick a few seasonal flowers called Open and Willing Hearts. Then, He carried us across the heavenly skies and gently placed us on a pillow of cotton to work in the fields of poverty, hopelessness, despair, crime, loneliness and abuse.
While in this field, God allowed us to see that with a little Prayerful Water and a lot of Sunlit Deeds all the depredation of years past could be replaced with beautiful homes, friendly communities, and thriving towns. All of these mirrored by LOVE. Yes, love is the one command that God has given us for all times. If we would only love one another we could experience a peace and joy that would surpass our wildest expectations. In order for this to happen, we must first put self aside. By doing so we make where we are now our Garden of Eden.
As we kept ourselves opened to God's guidance it was so easy to see God's hand using us as we ministered to those in need, molding and shaping us as we gave of our time, talent, prayers, finances and self. He took us from the children in the orphanage, to the prison, to gambling casinos to those throughout the Tunica community. Last but not least, He mended our broken hearts. He showed us how we could make this world a better place if we would use Loving Kindness Seasoning. This seasoning is a combined ingredient of a little salt from Texas and a little pepper from Maryland to be used in seasoning not only our own communities but everywhere we travel.
May God continue to keep you and shine his light upon you. May your life be enriched as you continue to do His will. Who says Christians don't know how to have fun and adventure? Everybody needs to get up off the couch and do something with their lives. Aren't you glad we did?
Love.
J
ackie G
|
