2010 Summer Team

Posted August 1, 2010

Dearest Friends,

Please note that these stories were written over the last few days in the Adirondacks. We did not have internet access. You will love these stories.

Now, we are in Cape Cod, Massachusetts with Heather’s grandparents. Tomorrow, on Sunday, we will be at a Congregationalist Church sharing. This is our last show of our summer ministry. Please hold us in your prayers. It will take me 2 days of driving to get home. I will see Georgia and home on Tuesday evening. Keep praying as we are sharing with an ocean of people as we travel. Every stop for gas is an opportunity.

MY 2 FAVORITE THINGS!!!

The view that the children enjoyed was incredible, beautiful mountains surrounding a blue lake. The director of the camp had given the counselors a choice of bringing their children to the puppet show or doing something else. Half the children did not come. We continued to pray and before we finished the first song, we had all the children. They were trying to play a game , but realized that all the children were looking in our direction, so they joined us. Praise God!

Our favorite part of the show was when the children asked Jesus to be their Savior. They prayed out loud. In this part of the country, this was a wonderful, unexpected blessing. Please pray for these children to grow strong in their new faith. We were not at a Christian camp, so this made what we saw God do even sweeter.

After we finished, one little boy came up to me and smiled. He said,"If I had to name my 2 favorite things...I think that they would be first the prayer and then the men in black puppets." He had asked Jesus to be his Savior and really enjoyed the puppets.

TICONDEROGA

The locals here simply call the place Ti. It is an Indian word that means the place between 2 waters. There are 2 lakes here, Lake George and Lake Champlain, and beautiful mountains. The lakes are so big that they have their own weather system. We are so far from the inner city of Baltimore where we spent last week. When I woke up this morning and saw the view, I wondered if the children there can even imagine such a place.

Still, the story that we share is the same. Jesus is the answer to every problem no matter where you live.

A NURSING HOME

We began our ministry in this place in an odd place for a puppet ministry team. We were asked to share at a nursing home. The lady in charge is a very sweet Christian who wanted those she cares for to hear about Jesus. The puppets sang Christian rewrites of songs from the 50’s and 60’s. The residents smiled and tapped their feet.

One man shouted out something at me that at first I did not understand. He said,"I love Jesus". I wished that I knew his story . I told a Bible story and talked about fear, hopelessness, and how when we know Jesus, we are never alone. They listened. God was kind to us to send us to this very unusual place for puppet ministry. Best of all, the door is now open for our pastor friend to return.

I confess to you that at first I said no to this program. The last time we shared at a nursing home, it did not go well. We were in Northern Ireland and Mike was with us. Sam Shaw, Assistant Director of the puppet ministry, had a sweet Aunt in a nursing home. She loved Jesus and is now with Him. That day we had hecklers, like the old men in the muppet show years ago. They yelled all of these things as I was telling the Bible story. One said,"Why did we come?" A lady responded,"They made us." Someone asked,"Why don’t we leave?" A lady answered,"I can’t get out of my chair."

This program went very differently. Please pray for these dear friends. By the time you have hair my color and are living in a nursing home, you no longer harbor illusions about living forever. Some of these friends have not settled important business with the Father. Ask the Lord to show them their need.

THE PARK AND THE CHURCH

One beautiful morning, we set up in a park and did a show. In front of me was an amazing waterfall. I told the story, the children and their parents listened. However, one father decided to leave in the middle of the story. As he walked away, his children held onto his hands. They were both were looking backward, trying to listen as long as they could.

That night, we did a second show at the church. Some came from the show in the park. At both shows, we had many visitors. It was a sweet joy to tell so many children in New York about Jesus and His hope.

God is very kind to us! We even enjoyed a picnic on Mount Defiant, a boat ride on Lake George, and went swimming. What fun!

In Jesus, Linda for a tired and happy team...Seth, Paige, Jared, Heather, and Krista

Posted July 27, 2010

Dearest Friends,

PLEASE TELL ME

I was finishing the story for the children in a place in the inner city of Baltimore. I had been talking to the children about fear. I asked them a question. "What can you do when you are little and afraid?"

There was a precious little girl wearing a hot pink sundress sitting on the front row. She was only 5 years old, with black hair and big brown eyes. As soon as I asked the question, she called me over to her and whispered in my ear. "Please tell me what to do when you are little and afraid".

My heart broke, but God gave me a smile. I said, "I promise that I will tell you what to do. Let me tell you about how to trust in Jesus." He alone can comfort this little girl and all the other little boys and girls that we have been seeing.

Please continue to hold them in your prayers. I learned that this little girl had good reason to be afraid, but I know that the Father can be her Protector.

HUGS

At one place where we were with the children, we saw someone screaming at them. They were crunched down in their seats in fear. I wanted very much to show these children another way. I wanted them to see the tenderness and the strength of the cross.

When we finished, I was mobbed by a group of little children. They all wanted hugs. They told me that all of them had put their trust in Jesus during our time of prayer. The Father had kindly answered our prayers.

THREE CHURCHES

We worked with many different churches this summer, but I was especially excited to see how the Father blessed at 3 outreaches in 3 different places. Each church made it easy for visitors to come and they were warmly welcomed. I learned a lot from their good examples and was thrilled to work with all of them.

Piney Grove Baptist Church is in Blount County Tennesee, out in the country. Near them are 3 trailer parks. They did not wait for these friends to come to them, but took a wonderful party to their community. They set up in a friend's yard.

They had a giant inflatable slide, a snowcone machine, terrific food, prizes, and an ocean of their own people. They understood that the easiest way to get a crowd was to have a crowd. In many different ways, they presented the Gospel, but they also included us in their plan. We were honored to participate!

I saw many sweet things that night, but there is one that I will share with you. Some teenagers did not want to listen to the puppet show and though they were asked to come, they stood far away at the street. However as the puppets began to sing, they moved closer. By the time I was telling the story, they were sitting down and listening. God calls people to listen and our friends had covered this time with prayer, so such joys were expected. They asked and believed that God would do great things.

Dundalk First Baptist is in Baltimore. You do not see the beauty of the Smokey Mountains surrounding you as was true with Piney Grove. You are surrounded by an ocean of people. They planned for us to set up outside their church in the yard. People could walk in off the street and they did. One man saw us from his apartment window and joined us. More, they had ice cream afterwards and there were many good conversations. It was a very sweet evening!

In 21 years of ministry, I have never seen a church have 200 plus visitors on a Sunday morning, but First Presbyterian of Dundalk did. They had their closing program for VBS and all the parents and children came. Their air conditioner broke and part of the ceiling came down. Nothing discouraged them even though they had 100 degree temperatures. We were thrilled to share with an ocean of children! Most said that they did not go to church. A picnic complete with pony rides followed on the church grounds. We tied balloon animals for everyone. What a wonder to share the hope of Jesus with so many who do not have His hope.

All 3 of these churches understood one important truth. Those who are lost and dying with no hope need us to leave our comfort zone, our buildings. They are waiting for us to come to them! Please pray for all who heard the Gospel to connect with these churches and grow in the Lord!

OPPORTUNITY

I am very grateful to Covenant of Grace Presbyterian in Reistertown, Maryland. Their generously gave me the adult Sunday School hour to share with their people stories about what the Lord is doing in the lives of children around the world. More, I was able to share a short mission report in the service. Then, we had the joy of being with their children. It was a perfect day!

More, one of the families in the church hosted our entire team. Can you imagine having 5 teenagers and me descend upon you for 10 days when you already have 4 children at home? I believe it could be compared to the Biblical events where locusts came and ate everything. Their generosity made our time in Baltimore possible just like Jim and Suzanne in Sevierville, Tennessee enabled us to share with children all over the Smokey Mountains. I am so glad that all of these friends love bugs! The Father will surely bless all of them in heaven!

WHERE ARE WE?????????

We have left Baltimore and spent 2 days in Pennsylvania. The camp that we had planned to share at lost their power in a terrific storm and had to close. They still have no power after days. However, I was able to see my sweet son and his lovely wife and my beautiful grandchildren. I am very blessed! The young people have enjoyed 2 days of fun and are now well rested and ready to get back to work. Our time in Baltimore blessed all of us, but left us very tired. The rest was much appreciated!

We leave for Ticonderoga, New York tomorrow for ministry with a Christian Missionary Alliance Church. Please go ahead of us with your prayers!

In Jesus,

Linda, for Paige Hopkins, Heather Kelley, Christa Powell, Jared Bolstridge, Seth Barnett

Posted July 23, 2010

Dearest Friends,

A SITUATION...LIFE AND DEATH

I can't quite believe what I saw the Father do today. I called the lady in charge of the children for our afternoon show. I simply wanted to confirm the time and place where we would do the puppet show. I could hear a strange tone in her voice as she said, "I think it will be alright. I think you will be able to get in."

When I asked her what the problem was, she said that there had been a "situation." I asked for more information and what she said broke my heart.

Across from the place where the children were gathering for a puppet show, there had been a shooting. A young person was dead and a lady had been shot in the leg. People...children, teenagers, and adults in the community had witnessed something terrible. All I could think about was the children who live in such a dark place. I started to cry.

I told the puppet team what was going on and urged them to pray. When we finished, some called their families and asked them to pray. Some parents were at work the ones that were contacted promised to pray and encouraged their children to go and talk about Jesus. What deep trust in the Lord they all showed as they trusted Him with their precious children. You need to know that all of my puppet team wanted to go.

I felt that we would be very safe as the police were everywhere after the shooting. However I could not stop thinking about the children...their fear and their need.

As I was telling the Bible story, I thought so much about the words I was speaking. I talked to the children about how they could put their trust in Jesus and He would take away their fear. Surely, these words spoke to their hearts as some told me that they had asked Jesus to rescue them, to be their Savior. Praise God!

How can I describe to you the dark place that these children live? Just before I received the phone call, I had told the team that we were going to share in a terrible place for children to live. When we arrived, the fire department was washing the blood off the sidewalk. People had tied stuffed animals and mementos to a tree that stood beside the place where the murder happened. A little boy named Thomas helped us unload. He asked Heather if he could come home with her. This child did not know where home was for us, but reasoned that it must be better than what he knew.

Are you praying for us? Are you on your knees so that we can stand in the dark? Can you see the needs these children have? Do you hear their cry? We return to the inner city of Baltimore tomorrow.

I WANT TO HELP

At the insistent urging of several friends, I want to tell you about our website www.theagapepuppets.org. My friends are Christian businessmen who feel that I do not do a good job of asking for support for this work. I have always found this to be a difficult subject.

However, I trust their wisdom. So, the truth is, we really need some help. You can give on the website or you can send something to our mailing address. Please ask the Father what He wants you to. I am eternally grateful.

In Jesus, Linda for, Meg Jared Seth Krista Heather And Paige

Posted July 22, 2010

Dearest Friends,

WHAT GOD DID!

This is a ministry devoted to helping homeless men in Baltimore. For more than 100 years, they have ministered to the spiritual and physical needs of the homeless men in the city. We were given the privilege of doing a program for 50 of the overnighters. To get a meal and a clean bed, they must attend the chapel. When they saw our puppet stage, they were very clear about how they felt. They grumbled and they moaned and used strong words to object.

I prayed and decided that the best plan was simply to admit that we knew the only reason that they came was because they had no choice. I explained what we did and asked them to give us a chance. I told them stories about the children and watched as the Father began to soften their hearts. Then, we started the program and to their surprise, they enjoyed it. They smiled and laughed at the puppets. They really enjoyed the young people's testimonies and listened to the Bible story wonderfully well.

All of us were overwhelmed with joy as we heard them praying out loud, calling on Jesus to save them. When we finished, they gave us a standing ovation and shouted for an encore. The Lord blessed beyond our expectations.

There was one funny thing that happened. When I began to pray, we all heard a wonderful old hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, being played in the background. It turned out the large chapel next to us was also having a service for other men. When I heard the hymn, that was the first time that I knew they were there. Our program is very loud and I am sure that they knew we were there long before we realized that they were there. It sounded great with the prayer!

Please pray for these men and ask the Lord to strengthen their commitment. Praise God for such an amazing privilege! The Lord gave us a great privilege.

THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CENTER

Picture setting up a puppet stage under the shade of a big tree in inner city Baltimore. Imagine telling a Bible story outside as older ladies, teenagers, and children sat quietly listening. Picture children that live in hard places smiling and laughing. You can only imagine, but we can remember. It was a wonder to see how the Lord spoke to their hearts. We left there with a deep joy and a strong desire to pray for those who faithfully serve the families in this place each day. Please pray especially for my friend Tom and ask the Lord to give him daily encouragement. He always gives us such a warm welcome! Please ask the Father to bless him as he blesses so many , being a bright light in the dark.

PRAYER REQUESTS

We are working every day with precious children in the inner city of Baltimore. Pray for them to hear God's love and to trust in God's plan. Please pray for churches and individuals who will share our vision of reaching the unseen children in the USA and around the world for Jesus. We need partners in this work who share our delight and wonder at all the Father does!

In Jesus,Linda for a terrific team !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!