July Update!

Hey Everyone,

I've been back at Joe's Place now for 3 weeks ( it feels like so much longer) and God has continued to move in our youths lives. The first week in July we took 9 youth to camp. This was a great week as there were only 45 campers so there was a contagious unity present throughout the week. I only had four girls in my cabin but it was such a great week to get to know them better and watch them grow in their relationship with Christ. One of the girls just became a Christian in May through our hiphop dance ministry. She experienced a lot of healing at camp in coming to see that Christ understands what it feels like to be abandoned and He promises to never abandon us and she can rest and find peace in Him being her Heavenly father. It's exciting to watch the girls discover biblical truths for themselves and grow in learning to pray and give their burdens to Christ.

One of the guys who wasnt with our group but is from Moose Jaw and we have been praying for the past year for him to come to Christ, on the last evening surrendered his life to Christ. Before chaple that night he prayed with one of the other counselors to recieve Christ as His lord and later that night He went to the alter to say he was done running away from God and he was going to surrender to God's plan for his life. This was the highlight of my week as I have been praying for this boy for a year now and know his mom well and have prayed with her also for his salvation. The transformation that took place in him was amazing. You used to be able to see the hardness of his heart on his face. He was a street fighter and was into a lot of drugs. At the beginning of the week you could tell he didn't want to be there but by Thursday afternoon I could see just by looking at him that his heart was softening to God's spirit. It was sooo amazing on Thursday night to stand beside him and worship God together. The next morning his family came out to camp and he got baptized with a few other campers. Two of the other boys who came with us from Joe's also made comittments to Christ. Please keep these three guys in your prayers as they learn to die to their old past and begin to walk in the new life Christ has for them.

Although our week at camp was amazing, this past week I have found myself overwhelmed a bit at just how big of a task it is for our youth to truly change their lives around and grasp that they have to die to their old selves. It's overwhelming at times the burdens and the bodage that they live in daily.

I've discovered a really nice walking trail by a river that is close to my house so I've been going running in the mornings. One day as I was running and my heart was so burdened for some of the youth specifically. I felt like it was too big for me to handle and I didn't even know how to help them discover their need for GOd. As I was running and wrestling through these things I heard God's gentle and quiet voice in my mind say " Not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the lord..." and "if my people humble myself and pray i will hear them from heaven and heal their land". God is so gentle and compassionate in teaching us and reteaching us his truth. That day God reminded me that its okay for me to be overwhelmed by the burdens of our youth because its not mine to handle. God is big enough to handle it and its only by his spirit that lives are changed. its not about how mighty and strong a youth worker I am. I need to be doing the hard work of fervantly praying for God to change our youths lives and to use me in that process. I'd appriciate your prayers as I try to remind myself of this daily. I can't do this on my own and I need to be fervantly praying for God's spirit to move and transform these youths lives. He is at work and it's exciting watching Him move, but it is also a slow and long process.

I know these two parts of this email don't seem to tie together, but its that quickly that Satan can put fear, doubt and discouragement in our lives when GOd is doing great things.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. They mean so much to me.

God bless

Leanne

ps. we're taking 20 youth to a Saskatchewan Roughrider game on Saturday. We get to meet some of the players after the game and they're going to give their testimony's of how God has changed their lives. Please pray that our youths hearts will be soft and opened to their message. :)