2011 Summer Team

Posted August 19, 2011

Dearest Friends,

NORTH AND SOUTH

We are in Northern Ireland, but we are headed south. Today, Friday, we begin our great adventure traveling through 5 cities in Ireland with our friends in Reality, an Irish band. More, our French Director, Anna, will join us with one of her puppeteers. Other friends from Ireland and Northern Ireland will also be ith us. All of these shows are on the streets. Please pray for extra wisdom as we will have some interesting responses from some people in the crowd. We want to always respond in Jesus' love no matter what they do. We must be light. There is an ocean of equipment to move all the time. Please pray for strength. We expect to have joy as we love this work!

Today , we will travel to the Rose Festival in Tralee. Ten thousand people attend this beauty pagent that draws people from everywhere. We will be on the streets tonight. Please pray against the rain. Tomorrow , we will be on the street again. However, tomorrow night, we are on the main stage at their request. This is a wonder! I remember when we had to beg for a spot on the street.

MY SOUL IS A FRISBEE

I am still trying to finish all of the stories from our travels this summer. In the Adirondack Mountains of New York, we met a young man at a camp. He said, "My soul is like a frisbee. Jesus is bunk (a lie, no good)." Then, he went over to a group of teenagers that had joined our show for the children. He said,"You do not have to listen to this trash. Let's go." They all got up and followed him. Please pray for this young man to come to deep faith and make a big difference for the kingdom.

I am thinking of this young man today because I am headed to Ireland. We meet many people on the streets who have his same attitude. They are sure that Jesus is a waste of time. They have moved far past Jesus in their thinking. They are so lost and so empty. Please ask God to call many to faith. Do not forget this young man. I believe that God showed him to us so that we could remember to pray for him.

In Jesus, Linda for Billy, Sam, Sil, Seth, Meg, Anna, Padraig, Mykayla, Reality, and many more.

Posted August 12, 2011

Dearest Friends,

A PARK IN PHILADELPHIA

We saw so many wonders this summer! Presently, I am sitting in the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, waiting for a flight to Dublin, Ireland. However, my thoughts are far from this place. I am remembering a park in downtown Philadelphia. More than 200 children and teenagers were sitting on the ground on a very hot summer day. They listened better than the children at many church shows that I have done. They were hungry to hear about Jesus.

Where they live, there is gang activity, drugs, and prostitution. It is a dark place, but on that day, the Father flooded the park with His light. The children and teenagers prayed loudly, asking Jesus to rescue them. I left that dark place full of joy and confident that the Lord would take care of the children.

We worked with a precious pastor from 8th Street Community Church. The church was very small, but their hearts were big. Please pray for this place and for all of the children who came to faith that wonderful day! Please pray for our ministry in Ireland!

In Jesus, Linda for the Team

Posted August 11, 2011

Dearest Friends,

DOES GOD CARE?

Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Years ago, a friend told me something sweet about this verse. Like so many children that I talked with this summer, she understood what it meant to suffer. As a little girl, she heard this verse. She concluded that she had done the suffering part, so it was time to take the next step and come to Jesus.

Okay, I know that the verse says something different, but this is the way a precious little child heard its words in her heart. Try to hear God's rescue plan from the point of view of a child.

This July, we saw an ocean of children and all of them in America. We spent the summer with so many who did not know Him and by God's grace, we saw so many come to Jesus. I heard the worst stories from the children about how they have suffered. Please hear their cries.

Children said to me..."My father hits me." "My mother hits me."

Many times, these statements and questions were spoken as I was nearing the end of the Bible story. I would be talking with the children about how when we are forgiven, we can forgive others. As soon as I spoke these words, their little hands would start to rise. I saw this so many times. They were looking for hope and many found it as they talked to Jesus. Only Jesus can be with them all the time. Only Jesus can heal their broken hearts.

How would you answer a child who is hurting and asks you these questions? I will tell you what I told so many. "Yes, God cares and God knows. He can make a way for you to survive this. More, He will comfort you." I talked with them about hope and love. I told them that if they put their trust in Jesus, they would be forgiven and could forgive others. It is God's forgiveness alone that can change them so they will not repeat their parents' mistakes. His hope will give them hope. His love will give them the love that they long to have.

I talked with a little girl that I will call Abigail. She told me a terrible story about her home life. She finished with these words. "I am so afraid. Sometimes I hide in my room. Does God know?" Then she looked at me with big, dark eyes and said, "Please help me."

Before God, we must not fail Abigail or any of the thousands of children that we saw this summer. We all must hold them in our prayers. We must hear their heart's cries. We must tell them about Jesus.

Thank you for giving us the most wonderful summer! We would not have chosen to be any where else than with these children. I still see their smiles. I still see their hands in the air. I still hear their questions. Please continue to them in your prayers.

In Jesus,
Linda for Paige, Seth, Heather, Jared, Mykayla, and Daniel