To Stand Amazed...

O let my need for you remain
As real as the moment I was saved
I will always stand amazed
~ I Stand Amazed-Kate Simmonds

Sometimes you have no idea what is going on in a child's heart. Some kids will come right out and tell you what they feel God telling them or what God is doing in their heart, but others you can only guess at. Unfortunately, God doesn't tell us that He will reveal to us on this earth every person that we led to Him. We are commanded only to preach the Gospel and we are only to be faithful to that no matter the results that we see.

Today was one of those days when God did reveal what He has been doing in the lives of some of the Camp Good News kids. I received not one, but TWO emails today from kids saying that they accepted Christ last year while at camp. Praise God!

I have to admit that I have seen much growth in both of these kids over the past year, but they had never shared with me until now that they had accepted Christ. And I have to admit that I am not the least bit upset that they didn't share this with us until now because sometimes in the hype of camp I'm not sure we understand how much of a life change is happening. Seeing the life change happen and then hearing the good news of two more children who have chosen to follow God with their lives just seems so much more special. It leaves no question in my mind as I see how commited they are to honouring God in their lives and that they are now pursuing leadership opportunities as Sr. campers... with their servant hearts pushing them on to the possibility of serving as counselors one day in the near future.

One of them shared how awesome it was to see a girl who was an atheist come to know God a few months after they did and the joy that they felt in their heart to see the same life changes happening in her, as she chose to follow God with her life. It brought them back to the day that they accept Christ as Lord and Saviour of their life.... just as we should every time we hear of a person being made brand new!

What a privilege to constantly stand amazed at what God has done in our own lives... and also see what He is doing in the lives of others.

♥ Ash

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Here I am to Worship...

It was during that song on Slingshot last Saturday that God gave me a special moment. It had been a pretty discouraging morning, with not enough drivers to pick up all the kids in a reasonable time span, so I was already wiped from about two hours of pickups and kids in my car. But as I sat beside one of the younger girls, God showed me something special. This girl and her brother and sister had not been able to come to Slingshot for many months because they had moved to a new area with no pickup. This past weekend we had finally been able to have them as part of a new stop in the Jane & Finch area. She's not the easiest girl to handle sometimes and not many are willing to spend the time with her to gain her trust and respect. I admit that I have even had my moments where I didn't know what to do with her anymore. But as we were singing Here I am to Worship... there she was singing her heart out... knowing every word. There is just something so beautiful about a child worshipping God. And needless to say the hours of driving were forgotten.

Please pray for me and the rest of the CEF staff over the next week and a half as we finish up the last minute preparations for summer. I actually won't have any time left to do administration work after next week because I will be in the field full-time for the rest of the summer. Please pray that I am able to finish off the LiT curriculum for camp, as well as have a good start on camp preparations and lessons for the two weeks at Calvary Church/Thorncliffe Park/Flemington Park. From here everything just goes crazy, so please bear with me as I try to get updates out as often as I can. (It's sad that during the part that I have the most to write about... I have the least amount of time to write!) Also pray for me as I try and get a fair way into my summer courses over the next week so I don't have to try and fit them in later in the summer.

♥ Ash

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I'm Lovin' It!

After a discouraging couple of days both personally and within the ministry, today brought some excitement into my life again for what God is doing and about to do.

This morning we had a meeting to discuss Thorncliffe Park and I am SO pumped! The first week of summer ministry, I will be providing leadership to the CEF team at Thorncliffe and also the second week nearby in a place called Flemington Park. Those two innercity areas will be our target in the afternoon, while in the morning we will be working with Calvary Church at their day camp. I will have the opportunity to teach the Bible stories the 2nd week at the church, which I am really looking forward too! Now I just can't wait to find out who the teams will be that I am working with!!! :)

Then tonight was just a really good night with my girls. They really opened up with us about some of the things that they struggle with in their lives and as hard as it was to hear... it was amazing to see how God has protected them and how He is working in their lives. Some of you may remember me taking them to a teen's conference a few months ago. One of the girls told me tonight that she was so convicted by the things that she learned at that conference that she went home and broke up with her boyfriend. If you've never heard Brett Ullman speak... check him out! God has given him an amazing talent for talking to teens about media and dating... and the impact on my girls lives has been incredible after just hearing him speak once! God is really working in these girls hearts and they are trying their best to learn what He wants for them and applying it to their lives.

Though I'm pumped... the busyness is starting to turn into tiredness. Please pray that God will continue to give me energy and strength over the next couple of weeks as I finish administration work and go into summer training and work in the field, as well as finish my book report for Worldviews this weekend! :)

♥ Ash

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Prayer Request!

We really need prayer!

Currently we don't have enough drivers for Slingshot this Saturday! Please pray that we will find a way to get the kids there.

♥ Ash

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Scheduling Craziness!

The first thing I want to do is apologize for not updating in almost a week. The first reason for that is that nothing really has happened. And the other reason is that I was actually very ill last week and have been recovering ever since. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me over the past week as I've struggled with some sort of flu bug.

This week is going to be really busy as we only have 3 weeks left until Summer Training Institute! That means I only really have 3 weeks left to do all the admin work and prep that I need to do for the rest of the summer. :S So you have an idea of what you can be praying for in the next few weeks... here is my schedule for the rest of the summer!

June 12
Slingshot Saturday

June 27-July 7
Summer Training Institute in Fergus

July 8-10
CYIA Summer Missions Team Retreat in Mount Forest

July 12-16
Week One at Thorncliffe Park

July 17
Slingshot Saturday

July 19-23
Week Two at Thorncliffe Park

August 2-6
Jr. Camp Good News & Leaders in Training (I'll be leading the LiT program) near Milton

August 9-13
Sr. Camp Good News near Chesley

August 20-21
Welcome Home for our summer missions team!


And then SUMMER WILL BE OVER!!!!!

I am overwhelmed by the amount of encouragement and support that I have received this summer already. I never dreamed that so many people would be reading this blog but I hear of someone new almost everyday! Thank you all so much!

Here's some numbers updates :)

~ I have travelled over 2,000km in the last 3 weeks!
~ I have approx. 35% of my support

♥ Ash

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Sunshine & Water Fights

If you live in Ontario, hopefully you've been enjoying the sunshine and warmth because I most definitely have! The first day of this heat wave I didn't even realize that it was warm outside when I went out in the evening so I brought a sweater along. haha... my body almost went into shock after being in a cool basement all day!
Over the past week I've actually had the opportunity to connect with some kids who are not LiTs! (Though I do love my LiTs A LOT! It's just good to see more of my kids too!) On Saturday, I made the trip down to downtown Toronto to visit KidsChurch. KidsChurch is a ministry that happens bi-weekly on Saturdays in a housing co-op. Many of the kids there have been in camp before so it was awesome to see many kids that I haven't seen in a year... and in some cases TWO YEARS!!!!

Thank you to everyone who prayed that the kids would come out because there was SO many kids there! We had over 20 kids out and most of them were very interested in camp. Some of the ones that weren't quite old enough tried to win me over with tears to be allowed to come :( I brought 50 forms down with me and left with ZERO! Please pray that many of these kids will be allowed to come to camp with us this summer.

Monday was a day at the provincial office. For those of you who are not already aware, CEFOntario has moved to Brantford, where we are currently renting space at the camp that CEF will OWN on October 1! If you want to see pictures and hear more about how God has brought about this change for the ministry check out the CEFOntario website... http://www.cefontario.org/NewFiles/news_and_events_01.html After working in the office almost every day last summer, it has been very different not being there at all. So despite the 2 hour drive, it was a welcome change for the day.

Today was another chance to connect with some kids. Since the weather was so hot today we took the kids outside for some fun with the sprinkler, water guns, water balloons, and lots and lots of water! Probably not the most relaxing way to cool off when you have kids spraying water in your face... but I find that times like these are when I am able to connect with the kids that most. Today was definitely the start of new relationships with some of the kids, which will be great to build on at camp this summer. Plus, who doesn't like acting like a kid again for the afternoon???

♥ Ash

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