Dear Ones,

The summer is over, with school starting in every part of our valley.  It was an amazing summer, with good breakthroughs in so many of the different events.  Thank you for praying. I will attach one summer story after a property update, to give you a feeling of the ministries that took place.  God bless you thank you for your ongoing intercession for Neighborhood Ministries.

PROPERTY UPDATE
Continue to pray for the sellers of  the eight acres on 19th Ave and Van Buren, as they are closer to the place of board agreement on the ($) numbers we have been offering.  Pray particularly for their desire to meet with a Christian financial planner, who can help meet their needs.  Pray that they will continue to be willing to carry the loan, and pray for an expedient process. And pray for the future givers to this next push that God will be preparing their hearts for this personal involvement in this purchase.

Praise!
We have a wonderful location for Monday nights. It is in the Lutheran church down the street from ACB where we held Kids Club this summer. The gracious welcome from this church has far exceeded any expectations we might have had regarding this next step in our journey. Though we long for our own home, this is a blessing for right now.


CAMP
"What happens when we preach power to the powerless"
Camp took place, one more year, at beautiful, cool, picturesque Christopher Creek, in Northern Arizona. Mountain Meadows is an idilic rustic camp, just right for children to find some fun away from the city and from the heat.  We chose 60 Neighborhood Ministries children to come to this camp.  Now just about a month away from this experience, I have reflected upon it quite a bit, because this camp was a moment in time we may never forget.

I have specific memories of this time at Mt. Meadows. There is the image of the main tree lined road which weaves past cabins, the creek, running past buildings and a large field. It is a particular day, the last day.  Small groups of children and their counselors sitting with them, are talking on porches or on large boulders closer to the water. It is the last morning of camp and our final "cabin time".  I can hear the leaders as I walk by. "So what did you learn at camp?", they asked the children.

This was a fairly standard question, as each night the counselors would ask their cabin of 7 or 8 children, "So, what did you learn tonight?", referring to what they had heard during the large barn time of worship and preaching. Each night we had traveled through practical ways to understand a simple and yet powerful theme, taken from a child's song ... "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do"... My God is bigger than anything that I face, fears, problems, heartache, even death, was the message. The nights always began with singing, boisterous worship, where you might swear that children's shouts of love and truth were evidence of their hungry hearts receiving soul food. We were aware of the ministry happening to them, we were not aware of what it was leading to.

Urban children, like ours, come away to camp, away from the violence of their neighborhoods and heartaches of home.  A week of camp is not simply the treat of mountain air, beautiful surroundings, outdoor play, or good food.  It is a world away ... here God is in charge.  The world is more ordered around love, tenderness, safety, and the power of the Word of God ministered through relationships with counselors, worship songs and truth preached.  We prayed for breakthrough, for children to share their real life stuff in this safe place, for each child to meet their Savior at their point of real need. These children have received by faith God's provision for salvation, we wanted them to receive also by faith, His deep healing love. The last night of camp, in the barn, began with an atmosphere of unsettled noise.  Legs and arms were going everywhere, it was hard to settle these young hearts.  We chose to postpones the rowdy songs, we began to sing instead those songs that would quiet them down.  They went into these intense songs, as if they were identifying with the words, it was as if they recognized their brokenness.  An older girl clung to ther friends for strength, tears began, they turned into sobs, loud and heavy.  A cluster formed around her, people were hugging her, leaders began to pray for her. Another song.  Arms stretched out to embrace as many as sat next to them, on almost every bench, child to leader, child to child.  Others started weeping.  Privately in small clusters, sharing began. Children were sharing the source of their tears. Abuse at home, alcoholic parents, drug addicted brothers, rageaholic adults.  Leaders huddled around crying children ... more praying. One group came up front for prayer, a cluster of girls. The need for God's touch weakened some, a small girl fell to her knees.  We didn't know what to do for the night was becoming somethings we hadn't counted on.  So we kept singing, hugging, crying and praying.  God's Holy Spirit was moving inside our Mt. Meadow camp of 60 urban children.  Unexpected visitation.  The time of worship and healing lingered.  It spilled into the camp until about midnight with ongoing clusters of prayer and ministry. Whatever had happened was filled with peace, love and reconciliation.  The fruit of it was tangible, the experience received, down to the last child.

This last morning, on the rocks or on the porches, was solemn.  "What did you lean at camp?"  I saw children trying to describe what only their spirits and souls understood.  As I walked down the dirt road past one cabin, one of the 6th grade girls called out to me. "What did you learn this week at camp, Kit?"

I was so ready to answer this question, it surprised me.  "I learned", I called back to her, "that when children believe God, that He is truly bigger, stronger, greater than all they face in life ..." ...when urban children in all their distress, call out to God from the depths of who they are ... filled with faith ... shouting to all that is evil and oppressive, 'my God is so big, so stong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do ... "when children believe God's powerful goodness in their distress, He visits them", I said. "I learned that, this week."  She clapped a clap of applause, and all her cabin with her.

PSALM 31:6-8
But I trust in the Lord.
I will rejoice and be glad in Thy loving kindness,
because thou hast seen my affliction;
Thou has known the troubles of my soul,
And Thou has not given me over into the hand of the enemy;
Thou hast set my feet in a large place.


YOUTH GUY UPDATE
A team of about 20 is currently on fire for the work of ministering to our Jr. and Sr. Highers.  Though there are a fair number of hispanic men in this bunch, none is ready for the position we have a need to fill.  Continue to pray for that person.

A web page will be up soon for N.M. regarding this position. 


love you,  kit

A newsletter will be out soon with more info on the rest of the summer and other ongoing ministry items.