Greetings all!
I am shocked to realize that it is the middle of may! In exactly one month I will be returning home to see many of you! This past month has been a great one. I have been doing many things here In Youth With A Mission Orlando. First though I would like to thank you all for your prayers. In my last newsletter I mentioned to you many of my needs and prayer requests. One of which was a financial need. Thanks to your prayers and a miracle from God I received the amount needed for me to remain here in Orlando to finish my School of Ministry and Development.
Over the past month or so I have been here working as a staff member with YWAM as a part of my Ministry Development outreach. I spend time working in their offices doing data entry, working with the new School Of Ministry and Development that arrived here last month, working in child care, being a dorm supervisor and also playing keys and singing on the worship team. This is all really awesome stuff. However a few times a week I am able to set aside focused time on specifically developing the calling / ministry that God has given me. I GREATLY look forward to these times. It is in these times that I am able to " fuel my passion" for the 24/7 prayer ministry, by researching what is going on in the nation wide prayer movement. Reading books and listening to Pod casts by Pete Grieg (founder of 24/7 prayer) and Trent Sheppard. Checking out the International House of Prayer Live stream from Kansas city, and also goal planning and vision casting for the next few years up the road. I am so excited to be coming home to you all next month. I am praying and have a feeling that God is going to birth something awesome and exciting through the " 24/7 ENCOUNTER" prayer ministry that was developed last November at Road To Life Church.
God has really been showing me a lot this past month about personal Insecurities and just how much they affect your ability to lead a team of people. There are many days where I look at the world around me and begin to worry what people are thinking about me. I am over conscious of my every action desperately trying so hard not to make a mistake, or say something stupid. A task that I frequently fail in. Or I think that because I am not a certain way that God won't be able to use me, or I am not a strong enough in leadership to accomplish that. These thoughts constantly keep me from stepping out and doing what I feel God is leading me to do.
Lately I have begun to realize that most of these thoughts all just, thoughts. Something that is completely and totally in my head. Partially I know that these insecurities come from a desire to please the world around me. A personality trait that I have developed over the years due to that fact that confrontation intimidates the heck out of me. A second thing that I have taken into consideration is the fact that: in our society today, and especially in the christian subculture, there has been laid a HEAVY emphasis on being a certain type of leader. I know I am not " that type of leader" but this does not mean God cannot use me to lead! Through out scripture God constantly used the underdog to carry out his plan. Though I am not particularly pleased with being the underdog who is by definition, socially awkward. I think that I am pleased to know that God will be greatly glorified through someone like me! I thank God for people like you, who have seen the potential in me and have poured out resources and time into helping me follow God's leading over my life. With that said I would like to once again say THANK YOU SO MUCH, for all you have done!
For those of you who are praying with me I do have a few prayer requests I would like to mention. The first is for the remainder of my time here that God would continue the work He is doing in me and through me. The second is for safe travels when I return home next month. The third is for when I return home that God will provide full time employment for me so that I can find an apartment and continue to develop the "24/7 ENCOUNTER" ministry! Thanks again for all your prayers and support!
~Crystal Huff~
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
News Letter Update From Crystal in YWAM Orlando Winter SOMD 2010!
Greetings, I hope this email finds you all well. It is a beautiful sunny day here in Orlando, and I must say that i am enjoying it A LOT! It has been a while since I have written one of these and for that may I say that I am extremely sorry. I have an extremely bad habit of procrastinating that I am trying to break. There has been so much going on that I am not exactly sure where to begin, I guess the beginning will have to work.
As many of you know in January of 2009 I attended a training program for six months lead by an organization called Youth With A Mission (Y.W.A.M.). It was during this training program that I was inspired by God to begin developing a new kind of ministry at my home church in Southwest Michigan. One Evening while reading a book by the name of " Red Moon Rising" by Pete Grieg and Dave Roberts, I was completely inspired. This book is about different prayer movements that have begun all over the world, and the journey that shaped the life of the founders. It was through this book that a vision formed inside of me, and this is what I saw."Peoples from all denominations coming together worshiping God. Praying and interceding for the nations 24hrs a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. A place where creative juices can flow in Music, art, and dance. A place where discipleship can take place any hour of the day in an environment desirable for fellowship. I see city evangelism being sparked by the ignited passion that comes through living out worship and prayer as a lifestyle. A place where intimacy with God is encouraged and cultivated. Where prayer can happen individually without distraction and corporately without intimidation. I see the people of Southwest Michigan fully engaged with God through prayer and worship as a lifestyle. I see marriages being restored. Sickness being rare, and lives being made whole through the power of faithful and expectant prayer.
That was the vision God gave me for my Hometown. God wanted to start a prayer movement and use me to do it. When I began to see this all unfold in my head, of course I struggled with all the usual thoughts of being incapable and handicapped much like Moses when God told him he would be the one to deliver the Hebrews(Exodus 3:11-13), and truth be told a bit like Jonah when God told him to bring the word of God to Nineveh (Jonah 1).
This Vision excited and scared me all at the same time. Upon receiving this vision I began to ask God what the next step was. At this time Youth With A Mission had begun offering a new training program called " School of Ministry and Development(S.O.M.D)". This school was centerend more on developing the call that God has placed over each persons life. This was the next step towards that vision for me. So once my discipleship training school ended in June of last year, I took on several Jobs to earn money that was required to attend this next school. Through that Hard work and the miraculous hand of God, I was able to attain just enough for the first half of this School of Ministry and Development.
The School of Ministry Development began this last January 2010, and Honestly I had no idea what I had gotten Myself into. This school has been filled with LOTS of reading and practical teaching to help anyone develop their ministries. Things like Conflict resolution, understanding your call, developing that call, evangelism, revival of the heart, Identity, and so on! Along with these classes came things like Prayer, worship, intercession, LOTS of required reading, and things of that nature. Needless to say things were and still are, busy. The one thing that you may not know is that through most of these teachings, God has been slowly and frequently been breaking off little pieces of the stone walls that completely surround my heart.
As God began this work in me I made a sincere decision to be completely obedient to God and His leading even if I don't get it, and even if it seems a little crazy, and even if I lose the approval of those whom I had been looking to for acceptance and approval. Through out this school I have also been praying and asking God what the next step is for me. I Prayed about weather I was to go home and begin working to develop this vision, or stay here in Orlando and continue to be discipled in the areas that God has been challenging me to grow in. I really prayed hard into this and felt like God was telling me that going home to Michigan was ok, and staying in Orlando was ok. Which left the decision completely up to me. Later after some intense prayer with a few of my leaders, the question came up "What would be better for me?" So I prayed more into this and felt like God was really moving in me, challenging me and more importantly CHANGING me here in this setting and that possibly the growth might be hindered though unintentionally if I was to return home at this moment. I made the decision to stay here in Orlando.
This is where I am at now. The class room section of this school ends within the week, and I am completely living on the faith that God will provide the $2000 for me to stay here and continue to grow, and serve. I am looking forward just as much though to when I can go back to southwest Michigan and begin developing this ministry God has called me to. I know that there is still much work to be done in my heart by God, before I will be ready to be released into this ministry. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support in all of this. I have a few prayer request for those of you who are praying for me and lifting me up before God. Please pray that God would provide the finances for me to stay here and continue to grow. Pray also that I will be focused in the next coming week on what we are learning, fear of what's happening next is huge in me right now. Pray that will just continue to speak and work in me as he has so faithfully been doing since I have been here! Thanks so much! I will be doing better at keeping all updated on what is going in my life in the future! Love you all and God bless!
His servant,
Crystal Huff
As many of you know in January of 2009 I attended a training program for six months lead by an organization called Youth With A Mission (Y.W.A.M.). It was during this training program that I was inspired by God to begin developing a new kind of ministry at my home church in Southwest Michigan. One Evening while reading a book by the name of " Red Moon Rising" by Pete Grieg and Dave Roberts, I was completely inspired. This book is about different prayer movements that have begun all over the world, and the journey that shaped the life of the founders. It was through this book that a vision formed inside of me, and this is what I saw."Peoples from all denominations coming together worshiping God. Praying and interceding for the nations 24hrs a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. A place where creative juices can flow in Music, art, and dance. A place where discipleship can take place any hour of the day in an environment desirable for fellowship. I see city evangelism being sparked by the ignited passion that comes through living out worship and prayer as a lifestyle. A place where intimacy with God is encouraged and cultivated. Where prayer can happen individually without distraction and corporately without intimidation. I see the people of Southwest Michigan fully engaged with God through prayer and worship as a lifestyle. I see marriages being restored. Sickness being rare, and lives being made whole through the power of faithful and expectant prayer.
That was the vision God gave me for my Hometown. God wanted to start a prayer movement and use me to do it. When I began to see this all unfold in my head, of course I struggled with all the usual thoughts of being incapable and handicapped much like Moses when God told him he would be the one to deliver the Hebrews(Exodus 3:11-13), and truth be told a bit like Jonah when God told him to bring the word of God to Nineveh (Jonah 1).
This Vision excited and scared me all at the same time. Upon receiving this vision I began to ask God what the next step was. At this time Youth With A Mission had begun offering a new training program called " School of Ministry and Development(S.O.M.D)". This school was centerend more on developing the call that God has placed over each persons life. This was the next step towards that vision for me. So once my discipleship training school ended in June of last year, I took on several Jobs to earn money that was required to attend this next school. Through that Hard work and the miraculous hand of God, I was able to attain just enough for the first half of this School of Ministry and Development.
The School of Ministry Development began this last January 2010, and Honestly I had no idea what I had gotten Myself into. This school has been filled with LOTS of reading and practical teaching to help anyone develop their ministries. Things like Conflict resolution, understanding your call, developing that call, evangelism, revival of the heart, Identity, and so on! Along with these classes came things like Prayer, worship, intercession, LOTS of required reading, and things of that nature. Needless to say things were and still are, busy. The one thing that you may not know is that through most of these teachings, God has been slowly and frequently been breaking off little pieces of the stone walls that completely surround my heart.
As God began this work in me I made a sincere decision to be completely obedient to God and His leading even if I don't get it, and even if it seems a little crazy, and even if I lose the approval of those whom I had been looking to for acceptance and approval. Through out this school I have also been praying and asking God what the next step is for me. I Prayed about weather I was to go home and begin working to develop this vision, or stay here in Orlando and continue to be discipled in the areas that God has been challenging me to grow in. I really prayed hard into this and felt like God was telling me that going home to Michigan was ok, and staying in Orlando was ok. Which left the decision completely up to me. Later after some intense prayer with a few of my leaders, the question came up "What would be better for me?" So I prayed more into this and felt like God was really moving in me, challenging me and more importantly CHANGING me here in this setting and that possibly the growth might be hindered though unintentionally if I was to return home at this moment. I made the decision to stay here in Orlando.
This is where I am at now. The class room section of this school ends within the week, and I am completely living on the faith that God will provide the $2000 for me to stay here and continue to grow, and serve. I am looking forward just as much though to when I can go back to southwest Michigan and begin developing this ministry God has called me to. I know that there is still much work to be done in my heart by God, before I will be ready to be released into this ministry. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support in all of this. I have a few prayer request for those of you who are praying for me and lifting me up before God. Please pray that God would provide the finances for me to stay here and continue to grow. Pray also that I will be focused in the next coming week on what we are learning, fear of what's happening next is huge in me right now. Pray that will just continue to speak and work in me as he has so faithfully been doing since I have been here! Thanks so much! I will be doing better at keeping all updated on what is going in my life in the future! Love you all and God bless!
His servant,
Crystal Huff
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