The New Guy...

Hello,

First of all, I'd just like to thank everyone who has supported me with all the life-changing decisions I have made over this past year. It's an awesome feeling to know you have the support of your closest friends and family. Second, I'd like to thank Latreia for this wonderfull opportunity they have blessed me with by adding me to the team!

Now for the introduction. My name is Josh Meinders, 20 years old from Sibley, IA. I attended a year of college at Southwest Minnesota State a year ago before I decided it was time for a change. I had been on missions trips with my church several times, only to come home and shrug it all off. It wasn't until this past summer on a missions trip to Mexico where it all sank in. I had been struggling with numerous obstacles in my life, and nothing seemed like a clear picture until that night in Mexico when I heard Matthew 16:25 "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Right after our speaker read that verse, I was overcome with this heavy feeling to just give it all up and repent of all my sins. That night I made a promise to myself to live for Him the rest of my life and become a Youth Pastor. So that's where I was at, until Latreia came along.

I first heard of Latreia when my mom mentioned that Steph (my cousin) had this idea of a year long service project trip. I never would've guessed I would be a part of it. But that's why our God is so awesome. He can take anyone who's willing and change their life. Everything has seemed to just fall in place.

So here I am, Wednesday, December 29th ready to leave in 4 days with 3 other amazing girls, whom I've had the privilege to meet and hang out with. I know it'll be hard filling Jesse's shoes, but with God on my side, I think I'm safe.

God Bless,

Josh

Jesse's Announcement

Greetings. I wanted to announce on our journal that I will no longer travel with Latreia full time after our Christmas break. I will still remain a member of Latreia and serve with the team for a few weeks during the next 8 months but my role is changing.

This change is not what I had set out to do when we left in August. I am not homesick nor am I “staying back” because of other such frustrations; this is what I feel called to do. During the past months I have had many conversations on "God's call" and I am well aware that the idea of God's call does not set well even among Christians. I can best explain my decision with a quick story: Seven months ago I wrote a letter to family and friends saying that I felt called to do something crazy and quit my job to join 3 others and travel the US. I am here now saying that I feel called to do something crazy and end my travels before they are finished. Please, read on...

As Latreia continues to grow and move into the future we would like to send out more teams to travel and serve under the Latreia name. These teams will travel as we have with the intention of continuing to spread Latreia’s mission and connecting more volunteer sites with our database. We hope to send out one or more teams starting in September of 2005. During the next few months I plan to travel to churches, colleges and universities in and around Iowa to raise awareness for Latreia and recruit and train individuals for future teams.

The Latreia traveling team is still at 4 members. A wonderful fellow by the name of Josh Meinders will be joining the team in January. I had the opportunity to work with him for our week in Iowa and am excited for what he will bring to the Latreia team. I will save further introduction because you will be meeting him for yourself in due time as he is added to the website and begins to report from the “front” via our journal.

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of Latreia. I have been blessed many times over by numerous people and experiences. I wish Josh and the girls many more blessings with their travels and look forward to the times that I will meet up with them (Mississippi, New York and Maine as of now). I encourage you to keep reading the journal entries to find out about travels on the east coast and how recruiting is going.

Happy Holidays and God Bless

Jesse

Christmas spirit

The following is the copy of an email I received from one of the teenagers in the Arkansas children's home we worked with. As you read this message which he emailed out to all of his friends, keep in mind his situation and the reality that he has no family to go home to this holiday season...

Hey Guys,
You know sometimes we forget what christmas is. It's not just for giving or recieving presents, but I believe its being with your family's and celebrating the birth of are Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what he did for us. This Christmas my prayer for you all is that you will take the time to sit down with your family's and read the Christmas story which is found in the book of Luke and I also pray that you all have a.... MERRY CHRISTMAS and A SAFE HAPPY NEW YEAR'S

Have a blessed Christmas, remember the reason you're celebrating this holiday season, and heed my wise friend's advice: don't take for granted a single second you have to spend time with your own precious family. There are thousands out there who don't have that opportunity...

Kelly

christmas elves take manhattan

once upon a time some crazy roommates of mine were sitting in our living room in knights village talking about this idea they had about traveling around the country doing service projects. only 9 months later i sat in the fellowship hall of first lutheran church in chariton iowa listening to my same crazy friends talk about the past four months they've spent traveling around the country doing service projects. to say i am amazed and inspired at what the Lord has done with these four would be an understatement...
today i finally got a picture of what this latreia thing is all about. today steph, kelly, damen and i spent the day at a homeless shelter in des moines. we started the day off on the right foot by getting lost in des moines (apparently it's important to distinguish between east 11th street and west 11th street...) and our day included moving furniture, organizing food in a food pantry, and making a delivery of furniture to a family who just moved to des moines. we even got an invitation to eat christmas dinner at their house! i think more than the work we did, though, i enjoyed the chance to see a day in the life of latreia. how many of us just go ahead and act on those crazy ideas we have? i admit i wished more than once during the past 2 days that i could drop what i'm doing and jump in the van for the rest of the trip... but i think i'm going home realizing that this lifestyle of relying on God's provision and actually experiencing his faithfulness can be done anywhere i happen to be. so instead of picking up and leaving, i have been re-inspired to take my passion for knowing Christ and making him known and make a difference where i am right now.
so there you have it... i had a great day with latreia and i'm glad i got to get a little glimpse of what my friends have been doing all year!
Rachel Olson

Prison expectations

Last Monday we had our first opportunity to do prison ministry. We went with Sharon, a local pastor, to two different prisons just outside Bethany, MO. My expectations of the evening were that we were going to get locked up, we would tell these poor lost souls about Jesus, they would stare at us with hard faces and think we were ridiculous for even trying, and then we would leave and feel better about ourselves for the effort. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Well, I suppose I was right about one thing. When we arrived we were locked in with the group of inmates we were speaking to. Regarding everything else, though, I was pretty far off the mark. Pastor Sharon asked each group (we spoke to 7 that night) to put out their smokes, turn off the TV, and gather around to hear something important. I watched, surprised, as the first group of men dressed in orange smiled, got down off of their bunk beds, and circled around us with intrigued expectation on each of their faces. Pastor Sharon shared that we were here to bring them Christmas bags filled with baked goods, hygiene products, and reading material. She went on to share the gospel with them, letting them know that no matter what they've done, no matter how badly they have screwed up, accepting Jesus into your life will wipe your past clean. They grew more attentive as she spoke and soon there were several 'Amens' being shouted from the crowd. After reiterating that they were going to get their gift bags regardless of any decision they made that night, she asked for a show of hands of how many people would like to follow Christ and start a new life that night. Ten hands shot up right away and then were followed by another twenty... That night we watched as probably 25-30 people accepted Christ as their Savior for the first time and another 150 rededicated their lives to Him. We only spoke with about 220 total.

People just want to be loved. The role we played that night was just to talk to those men and women who never get to be heard...they couldn't really grasp why we, four people not even members of Pastor Sharon's church, would spend a day putting together gift bags for them and then share our evening with them. But they are well on their way to figuring that out now, I hope, as we also handed out over 100 Bibles and devotional books that night.

It turned out that reality of the night was that after we showed up and were locked up, we told these people that they were children of God and that He loved them despite their problems, and they stared at us with grateful faces and thought we were wonderful for sharing, and then we left and praised Jesus that He has the ability to change hard hearts. We felt joy because so many more souls had just entered His kingdom.

Kelly

Conversations

This week, like Kelly said, I have been blown away by the craziness of God's blessings. I have just been humbled like mad. It is nuts.

The other thing that has been AMAZING this week is conversation. Conversations until 2:30 in the morning, conversations with new friends, conversations with old friends, conversations in person, conversations over e-mail, conversations on the phone, conversations around tables, conversations around police cars, conversations in my head, conversations with God. All sorts of conversations. I am blessed by people and their willingness to share and to listen. By listening this week I have heard God so many places and in so many faces and by sharing I have been strengthened.

AMAZING!
Laura

Don't doubt it

Don’t doubt what God can do. He’s thumped me over the head with that several times in the last few days...

First, the only lodging we had for this week was sleeping on the basement of a shower-less church floor. Monday we got a call saying that we have been invited by church members to stay at their Jacuzzi-in-every-room Bed and Breakfast for the week (the Grandison in downtown Oklahoma, I highly recommend it!).

Next, we were in an accident Tuesday night with the van. What sounded like a rather large thud turned out to be a minor dent in the back side panel. No one was hurt, no major damage was done, and Sedgwick runs on. We appreciated the angels surrounding us that evening!

Finally, we were invited over to the home of a fellow City Rescue Mission volunteer for dinner last night. We had great conversation, enjoyed the amazing steak and potatoes, and left with a check that funds almost an eighth of our trip… we are humbled by their generosity to a bizarre ministry they had known about for less than two hours.

God provides. Don’t doubt it.

Kelly

Why?

This week we have been volunteering in an amazing homeless shelter in Oklahoma City, OK. This afternoon we had the opportunity to serve by listening. A service that I am beginning to realize many people overlook, but is extremely important in relational ministry.

Barbara, a lady who just entered the "homeless realm" yesterday, was a little hesitant, yet eager to share her story with anyone who wanted to listen. Her story just happened to fall on my naive ears. Barbara has experienced a life that I used to read about in books...a life that nobody really wants to imagine is true. She was born to a mother who was 51 years of age. Her father abused her at an early age until she was 16. When she was a toddler, her mother used to drag her across the floor and give her a potent drug (I don't remeber the name) that would knock her out so she would not cry and draw the attention from her father. She just remembers bits and pieces of her childhood because her doctor believes that she is trying to block out horrible memories of molestation by her father and older brothers. One side effect of her child hood abuse is that she cannot wear anything tied around her wrists...because memories reappear when she was tied to a chair by her wrists and stuck into a storage closet for days on end.

At age 16, Barbara was married and one year later she had her first child. She soon left her husband. Over the next few years she had two more children. They have all since moved away and started families of their own. They do not stay in contact with their mother. Barbara knows she has grandkids but is not allowed to see them. She has served jail time for getting tricked into pawning off somthing for her friend. A past boyfriend stole all her money to buy himself drugs. When she confronted him (and was out of money), he kicked her out and burned her car. She is fully aware that people take advantage of her on a daily basis, but she doesn't know how to stop it. One of her solutions was death. She has attempted suicide at least two times throughout her life. Once when she was eight and another time just two weeks ago on Thanksgiving. She overdosed on her blood pressure medication and was in ICU for three days.

Barbara is a 55 year old mother, grandmother, ex-wife, daughter, sister and friend who has been abandoned by all...She is tired and scared and nervous and sad. She knows God is there, but wonders where He is. By this time in the conversation, she has a tear or two that drip down her cheek.

I don't really know how to respond. I know God is just and sovereign, but I will admit that as a human being staring at injustice immediately in front of my face, it is hard not to ask the question, "Why?"

Stephanie

When life is uncertain…

This week has made me think a lot about uncertainty. How we find ourselves to be comfortable in the way we are living and how we are seeking after the face of God. It is then that life seems to throw us for a loop…. This week has done just that for me. I have been moved from a position of “comfortable” into a circle of “unknown”.

Through all of this uncertainty I have been contemplating what it means to follow the “will of God” You know what I mean. You have things on your mind, you pray, you ask for signs to know what God wants you to do, and then you interpret EVERYTHING around you. By this point I have usually figured out what I want God’s answer to be. It is easy in that instance to begin to see “signs” that are for my position and “sign” that against my position. I am fast to thank God for agreeing with me, while quickly disregarding the flashing red lights against my decision.

It is now that I ask myself “How do we know?” How do we know what signs come from God and what signs we are manipulating to fit our idea of a correct decision that can heed the answer of following God’s will? I don’t know. I can’t wrap my head around it right now.

I do know that in everyday relationships it is when we are in conversation with people and know what is going on in their lives that we can best understand decisions that need to be made in relation to them. I assume it is the same with our Father, that unless we are seeking after God’s face and in relationship with Him, we will never be able to detach ourselves from our desires and wants and understand what it is that God desires of our lives.

As I get frustrated waiting for the uncertainty to become clear, I find my self laughing that Advent is a time of waiting as well. This morning at worship as the acolyte was lighting the second candle on the advent wreath I was reminded that Jesus was worth waiting for…that the uncertainty would become clear, just as the prophesies of the Old Testament became clear with a baby lying in a manger.
-laura-

Why do we volunteer?

Over the past few years, my views on why an individual should volunteer have shifted from an "ends" in itself to a "means" of sharing God's love with others.

I have volunteered for a number of reasons: it looks impressive on medical applications, it is the "christian" thing to do, it makes me feel better about myself... and are we not called to help those who are less fortunate? (little did I realize that I was the less fortunate one in most situations!) But where does this place the volunteer? On a pedistal? Also, it automatically places "the served" below "the server". Doesn't scripture say that we are all equal in God's eyes? - sinners in need of His love, mercy and faithfulness?

Yesterday, in the van ride to Oklahoma City, we were listening to the "Casting Crowns" CD and these lyrics grabbed my attention - "Not because of who we are, but because of what you've done, not because of what we've done, but because of who you are." This is why we are able to serve one another in love. It is not because of who we are or what we have done as individuals that puts us in a position to serve others...It is because of who God is and what He has done that enables us to love and serve others, just as God has ultimately loved and served us...to the point of death on the cross.

"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:15

What is YOUR motive behind your "GOOD WORKS"? I pray that you would let God pierce your heart to the point that you cannot help but reach out and love and serve those around you.

stephanie

Ancient Words

This morning was one of the hardest goodbyes for me… There were too many children who we had shared meals with, played games with, made cookies with, and just hung out with all week to hug goodbye. These kids are in the children’s home not for disciplinary reasons but because their own families didn’t have the resources or the talents to take care of them themselves. Arkansas Baptist Children’s Home is an amazing organization which gives these kids a place to call home and people who are their family.

One of the most memorable nights of the week for me was when Steph and I were eating dinner at one of the older boys’ cottages. After we had finished dinner and were just hanging out in their living room, we asked one of the boys if he would sing for us. Jermaine acted shy at first but gradually gave in to our pleas and came back with an instrumental back-up tape to sing us Michael W Smith’s song, “Ancient Words.” His deep voice filled the room and I found myself enveloped in the words of the song. One verse in particular stuck out to me:

Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where’er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home

I was sitting on the couch listening to his beautiful bass voice sing these words and the power of the message hit me…standing before me was a young man who doesn’t have what most would consider an earthly home. Yet, he was standing in front of us singing the song and meaning it, the joy in his life shining through his performance and the message: no matter where each one of us is and no matter where each comes from, each has the opportunity to be guided to a home far greater than the one we know here on earth. I don’t think I truly appreciated the measureless value of this statement until I heard it sung from the mouth of an orphan.

Kelly

Blue - Gray

We just finished praying with the youth... Latreia hosted a Bible study this evening for the children's home we are volunteering at this week. Four teens came and the eight of us sat in a small circle at the back of a large room.

We opened by reading Ephesians 4: 25-32. It is here that I lose track of what happened and I find myself wishing that I had a tape recorder for the conversation. I think it went something like... Kelly asked a question from our list that we prepared earlier in the day. At that point the youth let down their guard and poured open with their stories as if in a rush to share their lives. They took turns going deeper into the trials that have brought them to the home; one who's family has written him off, another who's imprisoned father does not know she exists. I looked back to my Bible to gather my thoughts and maybe front another question but I found myself flipping to another chapter - one youth had called out a verse that she wanted to share.

From here I was guided through more sharing of life stories and thoughts on God's involvement. "God was there" she said "and that is why we are here in this chair today." But we didn't stop there... I think Laura edged in another question and the youth were at it again. They talked about faith... in the chair, in the ground, faith in God... I was flipping, they were reading. My head was down, my head was up, my head was back laughing at the southern sarcasm tossed around the circle. I closed my Bible to listen, I opened my Bible to follow, I closed my Bible and folded my hands to end the study in a prayer offered by one of the teens.

The room is quiet now as all have left and I sit here staring at the screen trying to process what just happened. I think at one point during her closing prayer our friend thanked God for the members of Latreia and our example of living a Christian life. I am humbled. As the "teacher" I have just been taken to school by folks half my age and I think that is awesome. I will now take the chilly walk back to Latreia's cabin thinking: "That was a Bible study."

Jesse