Dear Prayer Warriors,

Hope you’re doing well. I’d like to share with you some praise updates - hope you’re encouraged to know the Lord is at work!

Having grown up in the military chapel, I’ve never had a “home” church. When I moved to Wisconsin last summer, one of my prayers was to find a solid home church where I could plug into, build relationships, and be ministered to during my time in WI. Well, the Lord has blessed me with an amazing church. Today I became an official member at Eaglebrook Church! WooHoo!! Eaglebrook has been a tremendous encouragement to me as I raise support. Many people have joined the Key Club and just this past week, the church blessed me with a very generous donation! Praise God for such an amazing answer to prayer.

In addition to Eaglebrook’s support, I’ve been really encouraged by a few other donations over the past weeks and by the 3 new people who’ve joined my monthly giving team! I’m so thankful for all the gifts the Lord is providing through so many people!

Another thing I’m thankful for, is a new job! I just completed my first week of work at Camp American Legion - a rest and rehab facility where Wisconsin veterans can come and spend a week each summer. I’m working as the office manager, taking care of reservations, handling donations and helping out with a lot of the day to day tasks to make the camp “go.”

A couple of cool things about the job -

> I get to serve our military vets

> I’m going to put my paychecks towards the amount of money I need to raise

> I’m job sharing it with my mom, so I’ll have flexibility when it comes to being gone for any upcoming support raising opportunities

I know in these tough economic times many are struggling to find work. I’m super thankful for the Lord’s providence with this job and am excited to see Him providing me an opportunity to build contacts and raise support through this.

Thanks for your prayers as I raise support. It’s cool to see God drawing people to give! I’d LOVE to hear how the Lord is working in your life and know of anythings I can be praying for you about. If you have a moment this week, I’d love to get an update from you! I totally appreciate your partnership in praying. It brings me great peace knowing me and the ministry are being covered in prayer, and I would love to be able to lift you to our Lord this week also.

Because of Christ,

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Hi! How are you doing this week? I hope you're doing well.

Thanks so much for praying for the big high school retreat in Greece this past week. From the updates I've received from the field, it's safe to say it was a great retreat on many levels! During one of the teaching times, students had a chance to visit the city of Corinth. But the ultimate highlight of the week - 22 students made first time decisions for Christ!

The volcano eruption in Iceland that has disrupted travel for so many around the world, didn't impact the students and staff from Germany, since they traveled by bus and ferry. However, it is impacting the teams from Hume Lake and Truett Seminary (who helped lead the retreat) who are trying to fly home to California and Texas. Let's pray they're able to make it home soon, the Truett students have classes to finish up!

Last week I asked for prayers for a sharing opportunity tonight with a small group in Wausau. Unfortunately, a few people in the group are sick and they needed to cancel. But I think we'll be able to reschedule for a Sunday in May.

Would you join me in praying for more opportunities to share about Malachi with small groups and churches?

Thanks for your prayer partnership friends!

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Hello team! Trust you're doing well and hopefully enjoying some spring weather. Flowers are starting to bloom in the Northwoods, despite the snow flurries we had earlier this week. Here's a few pics of our deer. Since moving in last summer, 5 deer regularly graze through our yard. We've become quite attached to them. : )

^All 5 deer, do you see them? 2 on the left, 2 in the trees, and 1 to the right.

^Taken from our lower-level walkout. They were probably 25 feet from me!

SHARING OPPORTUNITY: Next Sunday evening I'll be sharing about Malachi with a small group in Wausau, Wisconsin. Would you pray for me as I share the vision of reaching military teens with the Gospel. Please pray that I'd communicate well and that those I share with would respond to the invitation to partner with me in this ministry.

RETREAT UPDATE: I've received a few e-mails this week from Malachi workers in Germany. After a 12 hour bus ride to Italy and a 20 hour ferry ride to Greece, the 200 students and staff arrived at the camp site in Tolo. Praise God for getting everyone there safely! The group will return to Germany next Sunday.

Would you join me in praying for...

> Safety throughout the week

> Relationships to be cultivated... between students, staff and Jesus!

> Endurance, wisdom and patience for staff as they lean into students

Thanks for journeying with me!

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Happy Easter friends! I hope you have a very joyous day celebrating the resurrection of Christ! Isn't it awesome that we serve a risen Lord?! Thanks so much for your partnership in sharing this message with teens in the military community.

(^Me and Tanner in SD this past week)

Thanks for your prayers this past week as I made my journey home. After driving over 3,200 miles, I arrived home on Thursday evening. What a great trip! I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to see so many friends, and to share the story of the American military teen and invite people to join with me in reaching them with the Gospel!

This week the Malachi team in Germany is preparing for their upcoming spring break retreat. Over 200 students and staff will be traveling to Tolo, Greece this Friday for a weeklong camp. Would you pray for safe travels - they'll make the long trip via buses and a ferry boat ride.

This is an "outreach" retreat - Students who regularly come to youth group have been encouraged to invite their non-Christian friends to come with them. Please pray that as students hear the Gospel, their hearts would be soft and they'd respond to the Lord.

Students from Truett Seminary at Baylor and staff from Hume Lake Camp are partnering with Malachi to run the camp. Please pray for endurance and wisdom for these workers as they lead the camp, and invest in students.

Recently there has been some unrest in Greece. However, it seems that most of it has been pretty centralized in Athens. Would you pray that the retreat wouldn't be impacted negatively by the unrest. One positive result from the unrest is that it has caused the Euro to fall a bit, making the American dollar go a bit further - this is good for the retreat!

Thanks for journeying with me!

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Once again, thanks for your continued prayers as I’ve traveled around Texas this week sharing about Malachi and spending time with supporters.

Thanks for praying for my sharing times this week.

>>On Tuesday I had an unexpected opportunity to share about Malachi with the Lackland PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel). I was super encouraged by this group of Air Force wives and their heart for the Lord - many are raising military kids or did and are now retired.

>>On Wednesday I had planned to share with a women’s Bible study, but due to various reasons only 1 of the gals could make it. It was still great though! I had a blast visiting with Katie - a young Air Force wife and mom. She grew up in Belgium, where her parents served as missionaries.

Thanks for praying for travels.

>>On Thursday I drove to Dallas to visit a friend/supporter, who I met in Okinawa through helping with the middle school youth group there. Our time together has been great.

>>On Monday, I’ll be driving to KS; On Tuesday to SD; On Wednesday to WI... and will be home after 3 weeks of suit case living! Please continue to pray for me as I start the drive north.

The past few weeks have been an extremely encouraging time as I have reconnected with dear friends, shared the story of the military teen and the Lord's call on my life to minister to them. Many people have responded by joining the Key Club and contributing financially - thanks! I'm especially grateful to the Nupson's and Hurt's for plugging me into their churches and connecting me with their friends. Both these families are serving in Air Force as chaplains and have impacted me greatly!

Thank you for journeying with me!

Because of Christ,

Beth

Here's a few pics of the friend's I've been visiting, and some stories I didn't include in the e-mail...

^The Nupson kiddos (I met them 10 years ago). We lived at Grand Forks AFB, ND and Kadena AB in Okinawa together.

^The Hurt's, who I met in Okianwa.

This past Monday was a very exciting day for the Hurt's! - Why I’ll always “remember the Alamo”...

On Monday the Hurt’s took me out to breakfast to a neat German restaurant in downtown San Antonio. While we were there, they received a call from the adoption agency they’ve been working with, notifying them of a baby girl in the city who was being placed up for adoption. The agency wanted their permission to show their profile to the birthmother. The Hurt’s gave them a yes. A few hours later, while we were touring the Alamo, the agency called and said the baby was theirs! Praise the Lord!! Baby Kelcie is still in the hospital as she was born Dec. 31st at only 27 weeks, but she’s making great progress! This is the 2nd baby girl the Hurt’s have adopted and I’m so excited for them - they’re wonderful parents!! What an amazing blessing!?

^My friend Bekka, who I also met in Okinawa through working with the middle school youth group. She's currently living in Mesquite (near Dallas) and working as a high school home ec teacher.

On Friday night, I had an opportunity to go to a BBQ with Bekka and her roommate. They are involved in a ministry outreach to refugees. There are refugees are from Bhutan, Nepal, Burma, Iraq and many other countries in the Dallas area. Many of them come to the US escaping persecution, with little to nothing in terms of personal belongings and they know very little (if any) English. In addition to some government refugee agencies set in place to help them, many churches come together to support them in this transition to life in a new country. One of the big ways they help out is through English classes. Once families know some English, they are able to get jobs and can start supporting their families. Many come from Hindu and Muslim countries and have never heard the Good News of Christ. It was really cool to see so many Christians building relationships with the refugees and take action to help them get settled in. Some of the refugees approached some of the church members and asked if they could go to church with them next weekend for Easter! Pretty cool!

Dear Key Club,

Thanks for your prayers this past week as I drove from Oklahoma City to San Antonio on Friday. It's a good thing I left when I did - Oklahoma City woke up to lots of snow on Saturday! (Praise the Lord for His timing!) I really enjoyed reconnecting with friends in Oklahoma! My time in San Antonio is going well - it's been great to see more old friends, and I've enjoyed some good southern BBQ!

On Wednesday night I shared about Malachi during the Tinker Chapel fellowship dinner. Throughout the dinner, I shared the stories of some of the students that I worked with in Okinawa. I also had people move to different tables and chat with new people during the dinner - reminding us that moving can be annoying and burdensome, but it gives us opportunities to meet and learn from new people. Thanks for your prayers for the evening!

Yesterday I shared about Malachi with the Lackland AFB Gospel Service. I had a great time worshipping with this congregation and was really encouraged through many good conversations and by those who responded by joining the key club.

On Wednesday morning I'll be sharing with a group of ladies here in San Antonio. Many of them are young moms, so I'm looking forward to talking about military families with them. I hope it will be an encouraging time for them!

THANKS SO MUCH! for your continued prayers throughout my trip. On Thursday I'll be heading up to Mesquite to visit a friend/supporter for a long weekend, and will begin my drive home to Wisconsin on Monday...making stops in Andover, KS and Sioux Falls, SD to visit friends/supporters.

Blessings on you this week friends and happy 1st week of spring!

Because of Christ,

Beth

Dear Key Club,

Thanks for praying this past week for me as I drove to OK - all went well! I was able to visit 2 friends along the way, which was fabulous, and my time with friends in OK has been great. On the first night we went to a restaurant called "Pops". They have hundreds of pops to choose from - the "sodagusting" ones were pretty funny - dog drool, bug barf, and kitty piddle... Yesterday I went horseback riding on Boomer.

On Thursday...I spent time with 3 retired Air Force couples in Omaha. We had a great chat about the ups and downs of military life and I heard testimonies as to what it was like for them to raise their children in the military community. I had an opportunity to share with them about Malachi. Although each family had served at least 20 years in the service, they hadn't come in contact with a Malachi youth group. (Currently, Malachi is only working in Germany and Japan because we just don't have enough workers to expand to other bases.)

On Sunday...I shared about Malachi in 2 chapel services at Tinker Air Base. This went pretty well and a number of people responded by joining the Key Club! I'll have a chance to visit with some of these folks again at Wednesday night Bible study.

On Wednesday...the Tinker chapel holds Bible studies for all ages. All the groups start out by eating dinner together, then split into their various studies. However this week, all the groups will be staying together, and I'll be leading them through a fun, interactive night. I plan to pair younger people with older people and have them discuss a variety of things pertaining to one's spiritual life and military upbringing. My hope is that different generations would engage with one another, and that some of the "older" folks would catch the vision and need for strong youth ministry programs, and consider how they might become involved in investing in youth. Would you please pray for this night? 50-75 people usually come, however, it's spring break week, so numbers might be lower.

On Friday...I'll be driving to San Antonio, please pray for safe travels. (This will be my first time in TX.)

On Sunday...I'll be sharing about Malachi in a chapel service at Lackland Air Force Base.

Thank you so much for you prayers - knowing that I'm being prayed for gives me tremendous peace and courage.

Because of Christ,
Beth