Memory Verse Monday (even though it's Tuesday)

Ok, so I'm a day late, but we had very exciting news to post yesterday. 

While we were at our training a couple of days before the commissioning, we talked about spiritual disciplines.  We took time to examine our own lives to see the spirtual disciplines that we do often and also the ones that we need to improve.  God really showed me that one of the spiritual disciplines I don't do as often as I should is scripture memorization. I'm really good at knowing what a verse says but not so much as to where it is found.  I was really convicted about this, so I have made a commitment to memorize one verse a week.  I'm going to post the verse I'm learning on here every Monday as a way to hold myself accountable and also so that you can memorize scripture with me if you would like.  Here is this weeks verse:

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."  1 Peter 3:8

Brittany

Great day to be a servant- update with some pics

Today was truly a great day! Simply put, God provided a home for a family and we were able to be the bearers of that good news. At about 11:00 a 14x70 mobile home pulled into the village of Cockelburr and landed on a lot of a family in dire need. It was awesome!!

(This is not the new home that we have been talking about for Cindy, hers is coming soon. This is one that just fell in our laps so God put it to good use.)



Here it comes!


As the mobile home was pulling into the village it had everyone wondering what was going on, so they came to see. There were tons of adults and children from all over the village there, we were able to talk and pray with many of them. It was a great opportunity to tell them how God had provided this home as well as the one He is providing for Cindy and her children.






Here is some of the family the that will be living in the trailer,
they were so excited to have this home as their own!

 
All this talking and praying led to the most exciting news of the day! We have scheduled our first Church service/Bible Study. We will begin meeting on Sunday, April 10th at 2:30 in the afternoon! Its hard to believe that just a short time ago there was no presence of the Gospel and now people will be coming together to hear the Good News and worship God!! Please be in prayer for this service and the ones to follow.






Above are some of the men who have helped to make this possible. The one on the top is Shaun Whitey, Pastor of First Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix. He and his church have played a HUGE role in the work in Cockelburr. Their obediance and faithfulness has been amazing.

The one on the bottom is Doug Jones, he has connected with the people of the village faster than anyone I have ever seen, He will continue to be very important to this mission!

Oh by the way, they got bored waiting on the trailer and decided to climb the windmill in the desert.

We will be going back to the village later this week to fix a few things and help the family move into their new (to them) home.

What a great couple of weeks & A Special Prayer request!!

I know it has been forever since we have posted, and it seems like a million great things have happened since our last post. We have been to Tampa for training and commissioning with the North American Mission Board. We met some amazing people who are invloved in ministry all over North America; from Canada to South Florida. God is doing some amazing things throughout our continent! We will update with more details later.

I really wanted to take a minute to share something that God has done and ask you to be in prayer for it. We have been telling you about the village that God has placed in our path and the family that He has allowed us to connect with. You know from our former post that God has provided the finances for Cindy and her family to have a new home, and this will also be the home that we will begin our house church/Bible study in. God has truly been amazing and we daily stand in awe at His hand at work in this situation.

Step one of the process will begin tomorrow. God has not only provided a home for Cindy and her family, but He has also made it possible for another family in the village to have a home as well. It is actually a used mobile home, but it is substantially greater than their current living conditions.

We are asking you to pray for this family and this situation because we will be delivereing the mobile home to them tomorrow!! WOW! Just a few months ago we had little connection into the closed village but God has moved in and set up shop there! How awesome!

Pray that God get all the glory for providing this need for the family and that this only opens the door farther for the Gospel to penerate the lostness found there!!

Thank you so much for your prayers! God is using them in powerful ways!

To God Be the Glory!!!

I am so excited that as I am typing this I am shaking. 

WE HAVE THE FUNDS FOR CINDY'S HOUSE!!!!!

God is so awesome!!! That's all I know to say!

We have had several individuals send money.  Then, this morning Eric had a meeting with an area church.  The church voted to cover the remainder of the cost last night!! 

How awesome it is to see God perform miracles!!!

Thank you to those who sent encouraging words, money, and most of all for your prayers!!!

Please join us in praising Him!!

Opportunities to Serve "The Least of These"

I'm being truly transparent and honest.  Today has been a disappointing day.  We got a phone call this morning telling us that a mission team that was supposed to be coming next month cancelled.  This team was supposed to start the ground work to the house in the remote village we have been talking about and posting pics of so much.  (See previous posts) We have been so excited for this, but most importantly Cindy and her family could not wait.  I can't express how heart broken we were when we found out they were no longer going to come. 

When we first met Cindy and her family, they had this sense of hopelessness that life could not be better and would not get better for them.  They didn't smile much and didn't talk much.  But as our relationship has grown, we have seen a different side.  They now understand that we love and care for them.  We come see them and check on them weekly.  They know that we desperately want to help them.  When we told her the team was coming to start the work, she was so excited.  Her face lit up.  She had hope.  Everytime we pull up to her house, the kids run out screaming, "It's Eric and Brittany!  It's Eric and Brittany!" 

So, this morning we get the call.  The call that says, "we are no longer coming."  It's not because they don't have the money or something drastic has happened.  They just changed their mind.  Other things more appealing were offered.  People decided they would rather spend the money towards their vacation or something more fun.  I wanted to say, "Seriously? This must be a joke."  Unfortunatley, it's not.  They really did call a month before they were supposed to be here and cancel.  They must not realize that their actions and decisions do not just affect them. 

But, they are not the ones who have to face this family and tell them that no one is coming to help them now.  Nope, that would be our family that has to do that.  We are the ones who have to say, "We know we told you these people wanted to come out and help, but now they can't (actually don't want to) come anymore."  Yep, we are the ones that look like liars.  So, after we say all this, why would she want to hear anything we have to say about a relationship with Jesus? 

That could possibly be the scenario, but we are not giving up.  We believe that God will send other people to do this work.  Perhaps you are reading this now and God is calling you to be apart of this ministry. 

We have the following dates available for mission teams to come and work on this project.  (The work needing to be done will mostly be construction work so experienced people are needed, however do not count yourself out if you are not experienced.)

April 9-16

April 23-30

May 7-14

May 14-21

May 21-28

We are going to try our best to make this mission trip the cheapest way possible.  If you are seriously interested in coming any of these weeks, please email us at liveloveaz@gmail.com  or if you have our phone number please call.  You don't have to form a group to be able to come.

You could be reading this and know that you can't come on a trip but you could give some money towards this project.  The estimated cost to finish this project completely is between $15,000-$20,000.  You may not be able to give much but every little bit helps.  Even if it's $5 or $10.  It adds up.  You can send a check to our address specifying what it is for: PO Box 2237, Sacaton, AZ 85147.  I'm going to try to set it up also so that you can make payments online.  (It may take me a day or two.)

If you can't do either of these, then please pray.  We know that God hears our prayers!!!

These verses have been on my mind all day today: Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus says in verse 40, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." 

In verse 45, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

Which response would Jesus say to you?  

Will you choose to serve Jesus by serving the least of these?