October Newsletter

Here's my most recent newsletter if you haven't already received it! :) (Sorry if the formatting is weird; it didn't transfer well).

Hello from Las Vegas! Time has flown by and I’ve been back in Vegas for a little over a month now. I ended up leaving for Vegas at the end of September, rather than the beginning like originally planned. There were some complications with me getting a Visa; which one to get, when to get it, etc. but everything has worked itself out (for now at least) and I’m here on a 3 month Visa. Since arriving, I have applied for my “Religious Worker Visa” which will allow me to stay in the states for 2 years. It’s still in the works of being processed, so please pray that I will be able to get the Visa before my other Visa runs out in December.

I live on base with 5 other people; four boys and one girl. This is Andrea (my roommate) and I.

It’s nice to be able to wake up and walk down the hall to your office to work (this comes in handy when you wake up minutes before your suppose to be there!)

I’ve been keeping myself busy with tons of things to do around the base to get the Mission Adventures (MA) program ready for next year. Currently, we are focusing on recruiting; trying to get more teams (youth groups) for next year. Recruiting for us means phone calls, mail outs, emails, and more phone calls. This is the first time that the MA program here in Vegas has had more than one staff member running the program, so we’re far ahead in recruiting compared to where they usually would be. I work alongside 2 other people who are also passionate about seeing youth equipped to go to the nations; Sam (who has been running the program for the past 2 years), and Brett (who also just joined staff). Recently, we prayed about how many students we should aim for next year and we felt like God wanted us to try and get 600 students. This past year, MA saw about 300 students come through. So with 2 extra staff, 600 is totally do-able!

In September, a few of us at the base took part in a child trafficking walk our friend Joe headed up. Aside from the fact we walked for over 45 minutes just to get to the meeting place for the walk because we got lost, it was great to be part of a movement here in Vegas.

As we walked, people held signs that said things like “Real men don’t buy sex”, “Our girls are not for sale”, and “Over 400 child sex slaves sold in Las Vegas in 1 month”. It’s scary to think that a thing like child trafficking happens right down the street (literally!).

I’m still in the search for a local church to get connected with. Currently I’ve been going to “Church of the Way” which is a smaller church with mainly younger people. Recently Sam and I went to hang out with some of them at a going away party for a friend. Afterwards, five of us went 4 wheeling in a jeep in the desert. As the sun was setting we got ‘stuck’ on the side of a mountain and decided it wasn’t safe to drive any further in fear of rolling. We ended up waiting for about 3 hours for someone to bring us tools to release the sway bar (what that is, I’m not sure but it worked). As we stood waiting, we began to share our testimonies. It was so encouraging to hear where everyone was coming from and the things that God had brought them through. Aside from the fact that I was wearing a dress, I was thankful for this time to grow and share God’s glory in our lives as we shivered and looked over the city of Las Vegas.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Hope to hear from you soon!

Prayer Points:
-For my Visa to come in on time!
-For continued finances as I live a "faith based lifestyle"
-For the MA program; unity as a staff, more teams, energy

Praise Points:
-I was blessed with a plane ticket to California in November for Thanksgiving with friends
-We've had a great start to the recruiting season with teams already interested for 2010