Good Afternoon Prayer Warriors.

This week I’d like to introduce you to Wren, another one of my amazing youth group students from Okinawa. I have very few youth group memories that don’t include Wren - she faithfully came to everything! She’s the youngest of 4 and a daughter of a retired Navy officer. Her parents worked on Okinawa as missionaries to young Marines stationed on the island. (Not all of our youth group students are military dependents; some students have parents who civilian employees, contractors, teachers, etc.).

Wren graduated from high school last year and is currently a freshman at Liberty University (a Christian college in VA). I asked her to share about her experience with Malachi... “Impact and Quest (our youth groups) really showed me firsthand what it looked like to have an active and passionate relationship with Jesus. Through seeing the example of the staff, I learned what it looked like to be a growing Christian. I was given the opportunity to grow and learn about Christ and about who I am in Him. Impact/Quest are like greenhouses for young Christians.”

I just love that Wren compared youth group to a greenhouse. One of the things Malachi workers strive to do is create a safe environment, where students are free to be themselves, cultivate community with peers and staff, and meet and experience Jesus. It’s through these relationships that students are transformed and begin to grow and flourish into Christ-followers.

When you see your key this week, would you join me in praying for:

> Students, as they learn about Christ and begin to grow into disciples of Jesus.

> Me, as I prepare this week to share about Malachi with my church on Sunday!

Praise Report: Over the past weeks and months, I’ve asked you to pray for opportunities for me to share with churches and small groups about Malachi. Well, the Lord is answering those prayers - and in a very big way! March is shaping up to be a very full month of sharing! I’ll be taking a trip to Oklahoma and Texas to visit current supporters and to invite others to join the team. I’m so thankful for friends who are connecting me with people to share with! Please pray for me as I work out the logistics of the trip - I’ll be sharing with at least 4 small group Bible studies and with 2 congregations.

Thank you so much for your faithful, continued prayer support. It’s so encouraging to see God answering these prayers - I pray that you’re encouraged too, as you see God at work through your faithfulness in prayer!

Blessings,

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Thanks for praying this past week for Escape, the big junior high retreat in Germany this weekend. I got an e-mail from a fellow Malachi worker over there, and he said they took over 200 students to the retreat! The theme this year was “The Transformer.” The hope for the weekend was for students to experience the transformational power of Jesus in their lives.

Just as many regions across the US were slammed with a lot of snow this past week, Germany also received record snowfalls, causing some delays and hiccups for Escape, but it still went on! Please pray for safety as everyone heads home tomorrow. Also, please pray for students who made decisions for Christ this weekend. Pray for staff as they follow up with these students and teach them to grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Thank you so much for lifting these students before the Lord. I appreciate your weekly prayers for the military community and for me as I raise support to minister to them in Germany. In the coming weeks I have some opportunities to share the story of the American military teen and invite others to join us in praying for and supporting this ministry. I covet your prayers as I work out the details and prepare for these sharing opportunities.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Go on a date with Jesus this week : )

For the Gospel,

Beth

Greetings prayer warriors!

Hope you had a “super” weekend : ). I enjoyed visiting Four Corners Assemblies of God in White Lake, WI on Sunday. It was great to reconnect with so many Key Clubbers! I’m encouraged by your faithfulness and continued support! Thank you!

I’d like to share a praise point with you from last week. My dad arrived in Balad, Iraq on Tuesday with no problems! He’s getting settled into life there quickly and seems to be doing well. He was able to spend time with my brother in Qatar, so we’re all very thankful for that!

This week, I’d like to introduce you to another student. Josh started coming to Quest as a junior higher. He and his twin brother, quickly became regulars to the group. I asked Josh to share about his experience with Quest. “Quest helped me grow closer to Jesus. Being around so many people who shared the same love for Christ that I did was cool. When I had problems, I had people to talk to.” His favorite aspect of youth group? “The trips [retreats] were really fun and a major highlight for me.” In fact, it was on a retreat that Josh really solidified his relationship with Jesus!

Of course retreats are jammed packed with fun and wild games, no homework or bed making, and great camp food; but that’s not the only reasons teens love the getaways. Retreats are a great place for students to build deep bonds with peers, staff and Jesus. They are a place where students can get away from all the noise of life and focus their hearts on God. Some of the best and deepest conversations that I’ve ever had with students, happened over late night camp chats. Retreats are a safe place where students can pour their hearts out, and wrestle with tough things ... like friend problems, parent and sibling issues, deployments, moving, saying good bye to friends, and the biggest question of all, where do I stand with Jesus? Although some of these conversations are emotionally hard to engage in, as many students are carrying very heavy burdens, it’s such a privilege and honor to listen and point them to Jesus.

This week, the Malachi team in Germany is preparing for Escape, their biggest junior high retreat of the year. Several hundred middle schoolers are already counting down the hours to this weekend because they are stoked for Escape! Will you join me in praying for this retreat? I asked one of the Malachi gals over there to share a few prayer requests for Escape.

1. Logistics - getting a couple hundred teens and staff to one place is challenging! Also, please pray for decent weather and safety as the travel to the retreat site.
2. For the staff - good health and lots of energy! Also, pray for wisdom and boldness as they engage with students about spiritual things.
3. For the students - open hearts! Pray that God would be softening their hearts in preparation for the weekend and pray that students would respond to the Word. Pray that this would be a profound weekend for students, just as it was for Josh!

Thanks for your prayers team!
For the Gospel,
Beth

^ Group picture @ a junior high retreat in Okinawa! "Where's Waldo" - can you find me??

Hello Key Clubbers! I’ve decided to take a break from the student testimonies, and bring you up to date on a few things.

In mid-December, my dad took a job with a company that the US military contracts with to maintain the unmanned ariel vehicles (UAVs, or the Predator) flying missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the past 6 weeks he’s been training on this new aircraft at Creech Air Base, near Las Vegas. This past week he completed his training, and yesterday he boarded a plane for Iraq. He traveled commercially from Vegas to Doha, Qatar. From Qatar, he’ll take a military transport into Iraq. During his “lay over” in Qatar, we’re hoping he’ll be able to see my brother! Rich left on January 18th for a 6 month deployment to Qatar. My dad will be working at Balad Air Base, about 40 miles north of Baghdad, for 4 months and will return to Wisconsin in June. Although my dad has made dozens of deployments throughout his 30 year Air Force career, we’re finding it’s a bit different to be living in the civilian world and having dad deploy as a contractor. Military communities are a tremendous source of support during deployments. We’re extremely blessed with wonderful neighbors... who’ve already helped us fix many “dad things.” : ) We’d appreciate your prayers for my Dad and brother during their deployments (for safety, endurance, and encouragement) and for my mom and I as we hold down the fort.

Tomorrow morning I’m meeting with my pastor and our church’s missions director to discuss Malachi and potential support. I’m super stoked for this open door. Join me in praising God for the opportunity, and please pray for me as I share the vision of ministering to military teens.

How this meeting came to be is a pretty cool story - I’ve only been attending my current church for about 4 months. Shortly after I came, a lady asked me what I “do.” I explained to her that I was a missionary with Malachi, and that I was living in the area with my folks while I raise support. She sounded pretty interested, so I gave her some more info about it. Well, a few months passed by, she flew south for the winter, and "out of the blue" last week, I received an e-mail from my church’s missions director, letting me know he heard about my ministry from a gal in the church and was wondering how the church can help! If this isn’t a “Divine appointment,” I don’t know what is! It’s so cool to see God working. Thank you for faithfully praying over the past months for open doors to share the story of the military teen, it’s been a huge blessing and encouragement to me to see and experience the fruit of your prayers!

For the Gospel,

Beth

Dear Team,

Good afternoon! I hope this finds you doing well this week. I had a great time nannying in SD! I enjoyed my Tanner time and was happy to see Tanner’s parents get a much needed rest! : )

On Sunday, I shared about Malachi at Calvary Reformed Church in Monroe, SD - just outside of Sioux Falls. Thanks for praying for me last week for the presentation. I thought it went fairly well. I had some great conversations following the service and was encouraged by those who signed up for the Key Club - praise the Lord, our numbers are growing!

I had initially planned on driving back to WI on Monday, but SD got slammed with another blizzard Sunday night and all day Monday - closing the interstates in SD and MN that I needed to travel. They were finally reopened Tuesday morning, and I made it home safely last night around 8.

> My car was pretty buried on Tuesday morning from all the drifting, Chad dug me out though!

Last week, I introduced you to Joelle and I shared with you her thoughts on growing up in the military. Joelle started coming to youth group as a 7th grader, and quickly became a regular. If the doors to our building were open, she was there...and she wanted others to be there too! She once came into my office and handed me a fistful of money, and said, “so-and-so said he isn’t going on the retreat next weekend because he doesn’t have enough money to go, so I’d like to pay for him so he can come.” Did I mention she was 13?

This week I’ll share with you what Joelle wrote about her youth group experience... I think you’ll see why she was so eager to have others join her!

Seventh grade, for me, was an incredibly tough time in my life. It was kind of brought about by the beginning of middle school in a foreign country (Okinawa, Japan) in just a tough environment. I don't know if I can accurately explain the day-to-day life of an insecure Christian seventh grader in a federal-owned and military-operated middle school. In short, during this year Quest [the middle school youth group] held me together. Quest brought Christ into my life in places that would not have been exposed to the Gospel. I can recall several occasions of mentorship between me and the youth leaders that definitely changed my life. In Quest, I wasn't just "part of the crowd," or one life out of billions. I was special, cherished, loved by God; and looking back I can clearly see God's hand at work mightily during my many times at youth group. I don't know what I would have done without Quest.

I remember the first time I walked into Quest. I was a little scared to find out what youth group was like. Would they accept me? Would they like me? I was a little freaked out to be on the younger side of the youth group. I remember walking in and immediately being recognized as new, but in a good way. Dave, the main youth pastor of Quest, came up to me and asked me what my name was, if I had been to Quest before, and a whole bunch of other random questions. He was really friendly and introduced me to "some of his friends," other kids at the youth group. As a result, I felt immediately safe and welcome to the youth group, and I even got to spend a whole year with the group, including going on three amazing retreats, lots of hangout times, and just being energized by the Word.

I’m so grateful to have had Joelle in youth group! I praise the Lord for opening the door for Malachi to be able to minister to teens just like her! Would you join me this week in praying for young teenage students, who are insecure and trying to navigate through the ever changing landscape of adolescence. Pray that they would find refuge in the Lord and root their identity in Him.

Thanks for your continued prayers for our military teens! I'm so happy to be journeying with you in this Kingdom work.

Blessings,

Beth

Good Afternoon Key Clubbers!

My time in South Dakota is going well. Tanner (the 3rd old I’m nannying) and I are getting along just fine : ).

Tanner lives on a sheep farm!!

We went to church together yesterday - the same church that I’ll be sharing about Malachi with this week. It was nice to meet and visit with the pastor and many of the church’s members. I’m really looking forward to sharing on Sunday, and I ask that you’d pray for me as I prepare this week, and that I’d communicate my passion and vision for ministering within the military community clearly.

In keeping with the theme of sharing personal stories from students that I worked with in Okinawa, I’d like to introduce you to Joelle this week. Where do I begin, as I try to describe her to you? I met Joelle as she was entering the 7th grade. She’s a total sweetheart, really fun, and one of the most thoughtful students I’ve ever known. She’s the second oldest of 4 children, her dad is a Marine officer, and her family lived in Okinawa for 4 years.

I asked her to share a little about what it was like for her growing up in the military.

Military life, honestly, is pretty tough. I mean, there are a lot of pros, don't get me wrong. You get to travel to different places and grow closer to your family (because the less time you get with your military parents due to deployments and other separations, the more you appreciate the times you do have). However, I find that it has been quite a tough journey moving around from place to place my whole life. Every three years or so (give or take) our family would pick up, move, leave everything secure and stable, and land wherever the military sent us. It often left our family scrambling to pick up the loose ends. Constantly being the new kid on the block kind of built up my defenses, personally, and made it harder to construct deep friendships at times.

Would you join me in praying for...

• Sweet times together for military families
• Students who, like Joelle, have put up shields when it comes to making friends. So many military students long for deep relationships, yet past good-byes can make it hard to say “hello” again. Pray that they would take risks, knowing that friendships are vital and important on so many levels! (check out Eccles. 4:9-12)

Thanks for your prayers! Blessings on you friends, as you serve our Lord this week!

Because of Christ,

Beth

Hi Team!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Esther last week and hearing her share about military life. This week, I’ve asked her to share about the Malachi youth group she’s a part of.

Unlike the average military teen who moves every 2 to 4 years, Esther’s family has remained in Okinawa for awhile. So Esther is unique in the sense that she’s been able to experience Malachi youth groups throughout her middle and high school years.

“Quest [junior high group] and Impact [high school group] have played a HUGE role in my spiritual life. It helped guide me and it put me in a supportive and stable family of Christians who encouraged me to grow spiritually. It also gave me access to wiser, Godly people (particularly staff) that I could trust and ask about the Bible and get solid answers backed up by the Bible. It also surrounded me with Godly examples and gave me a chance to minister to others as well. It helped me grow so much. It was crucial in my spiritual life, especially at the beginning.”

Again, Esther emphasized the importance of community. As a youth leader, one of my main goals will be for students to not only cultivate relationships with peers, but with staff too. I think it’s so important for students to be discipled by Godly adults. Deployments and training exercises leave military families in a constant state of changing from dual parenting to single parenting. As a result, youth workers often become surrogate parents during these times.

I praise God for the opportunity to come alongside students and point them to Jesus. I’m thankful that you’re joining me in this Kingdom work through your prayers. Would you pray this week for Malachi staff and adult volunteers who are currently discipling students. Pray that God would encourage them and give them wisdom and courage as they demonstrate God’s love, and invest in the lives of military teens!

I leave on Tuesday for a two week trip to South Dakota. I covet your prayers for this trip. Winter driving in the upper midwest can be sketchy. While in SD, I’ll be nannying for my favorite 3 year old! Also, I’ll be sharing about Malachi with a local church ... more on that in next week’s update!

For the Gospel,
Beth