AWESOME GOD

Thank You LORD for the opportunity to see You working in lives... Thank You for allowing those who seek You to play a part in it through praying, through going, through giving, through living... There is no greater thing than being in Your presence.

Here are some updates for what God is doing in Ocean City:

1. 2 weeks ago today, a 14-year-old named Carlos accepted Christ!! He has continued to contact us asking for Scripture, prayer and encouragement. I actually got the chance to talk to him for a while today--he is diligently reading more and more of Scripture, praise God! He really needs prayer in relationships with his family. They will need to see a change in him to understand what God has done in his life, but he gets easily discouraged. Pray that he continually goes to the Lord for his strength and learns to lean on Him and His Word alone.

Carlos' letter to the team... "Send me Scripture!!"

2. An international student from Kazakhstan accepted Christ last week! We've been praying for him all summer. He played in the praise band on Sunday nights and some of my team and some church members had built friendships with him. His favorite song to sing was "Oh Happy Day" but we were anticipating the moment when he would sing those words and know what they meant. This past Sunday we saw that--what a beautiful moment. He told the pastor of his decision on Friday night and "coincidentally" (thank You, Lord, for Your always perfect timing!) they were having a baptism service at the beach the next day. So he was baptized on Saturday :) Thank You God! Please continue to pray for him over the next few weeks as he tells his family of his decision.
3. I am so thankful to have had the chance to spend more time with Carmen over the past couple of weeks. We even got to spend time at the beach together yesterday! :) She came to church on Sunday night, so for two weeks in a row she heard the gospel message in the sermon. I was able to talk to her about the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus after Sunday night's message. She has always only known the Orthodox faith, so having a relationship with Jesus is a completely new concept to her. Please continue to pray for Carmen and her roommate, Lia, who is already a Christian. God has placed such a love and a burden for Carmen's soul in my heart, and I truly believe He is calling her to Him. Pray for Lia, too, that doors would be opened for further conversations.
4. One of the lifeguards that has been coming to Bible study this summer made the decision to be baptized this past Sunday during church. He has been a Christian for years but never made the public committment of believer's baptism. Praise the Lord!

Giving water to a rather parched lifeguard--haha!

5. The past several weeks in SEARCH Bible study have been incredible. The first couple of weeks we bounced around random questions, but as they've gotten more comfortable with us they come ready with lists of questions. I've written down some from the last couple weeks:
--What does the Jesus fish mean?
--Were people saved before Jesus if he came to save the world?
--Where does the Old Testament come from if the New Testament comes from Jesus' earliest followers?
--Jesus was Jewish, right?
--How did the religious leaders not recognize Jesus?
--Do animals go to heaven?
--Should you go to church every Sunday to be a good Christian?
--Does it matter what church you go to?
--Was Bin Laden's death something to be celebrated?
--Does God have to be involved in every good act? You make the choice to do something good. (We loved this discussion--a wonderful opportunity to explain to them why we have been serving here-that it's not of our "goodness" at all but because of the Spirit of God that lives in us. Thank You Lord!)
--What are the differing views on purgatory?
--What was Jesus like in His teenage years?
--If Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine, did he drink and is drinking a sin?
--Is it a contradiction when Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light" but then says, "Take up your cross and follow Me?"
--If we found other intelligent life forms, would God's breath be in them?
It's been awesome. Please continue to pray for Adam and Zach, and others that are asking lots of questions--He is the answer.

Our lifeguard friends!

6. I got really attached to a 10 year old girl from Canada last week. We exchanged contact information and have been able to email back and forth a couple of times... I believe God will continue to love on her long after she's back at home and in normal life. Her name's Alyssa. On the last day of Surf and Sand clubs last week when she was headed home, I wrote her a note telling her about God's love for her and put John 3:16 at the bottom. That same day, our craft had the same verse on it. Pretty cool. :)

Alyssa's craft :)

7. Last week we had an amazing mission group in. They were a youth group from a church in Maryland. They were so prepared for all of the ministries that it allowed us as summer missionaries to step back and see the work being done rather than being so involved in it ourselves. One of our weekly ministries is family night, where we go to the campgrounds and have activities for families. This group had a whole show planned, filled with funny skits and dances, trivia, and finally the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" skit that portrays the powerful message of Jesus. They ended with signing the Chris Tomlin song, "How Great is Our God." Both nights I saw it the ending was incredibly powerful. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed to the point of tears hearing the words, "How GREAT is our God" in the midst of seeing all of awesome stuff God is doing. At the time it had only been a week since Carlos accepted Christ and my heart was about to burst with thankfulness to God for being in that moment when Carlos made the decision. Add to that the love He's placed in my heart for Carmen and I could just burst with all the praise and love in my heart. Anyway, this group was SUCH a blessing and they are very missed, but while they were here they were more encouraging than I could express. Please pray for those kids--God has big plans for that group!

The Castaways group--Caroline, Wally, Becca, Kelly, Tim, Diane, and Michelle!

The summer is quickly winding down... On Sunday and into the next week there will only be 4 missionaries left. Please pray for those going home as they transition back into "normal life". Please also pray for the ministries here, that God would give us the strength to give one more week 100%, even with less hands than normal. We do have a mission team in helping us, thank God! Please pray especially for those we've built relationships with over the summer, particularly the ones I've mentioned here... God is far from finished! Pray as we leave that He would continue working in their lives, even after they are back home. He is faithful!

Our final staff lunch... bittersweet.

I have 10 days left in Ocean City and I'm praying to make the most of every opportunity!! Thank you for joining in God's work here through prayer! I miss you and love you all very much! I'll be home soon!

Love,
Becca

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ..." -Colossians 4:2-3a