Watching God move in the lives of Teenagers

Sorry it's been a while again since I've posted but I've found being out of work has left me more consumed with things to do than ever before. Currently what consumes my time the most is work with my church which is fantastic because it's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Working for God has got to be the coolest job ever because it really doesn't feel like work and it brings so much joy and such a feeling of purpose and accomplishment. Nothing I ever received at Microsoft or Expedia or any other job even came close to what I feel as a full-time missionary.

Even though we haven't had our final interviews with Pioneers and received our appointment letter for Germany both Alan and I feel like I'm already in full-time christian service. I have been blessed to join up as a leader in our youth group and am also serving one day a week for a charity out of our church called the Ministry of Food. What I've enjoyed doing the most for them is building a database of manufacturers who could provide excess or unwanted food and charities who would want to come and get it. It's been nearly ten years since I was a database developer at LaserDirect and I just love working with data. Strange I know but I do love it! Probably because of the organization it creates and you all know how I love to be organized! lol

The other day I was cleaning out my house, throwing stuff away, finding stuff to sell on ebay to supplement our finances and I thought - wow I really love doing this kind of thing lol. I'm sure God thought it was funny to stick someone who absolutely loves being organized with a husband who really couldn't be bothered to organize anything if his life depended on it! I reference his car, boat and wardrobe as evidence to this claim lol. Alan is a fix-it man and fortunately for him today I made a list of fix-it tasks around the house that need to be done before we move to Germany. It's two pages, single-spaced. Haha he laughed when he saw it. I'm not sure how to take that exactly!! :)

Tonight we had a leadership meeting at the church where we talked primarily about the youth group and everything Hannah and I have been working on and planning for the next few months ahead. I absolutely love watching God move in the lives of teenagers. Just in the last few days I've had half a dozen of the teens we're working with ask me to get them bibles. One girl that I like a lot who is very shy asked Jesus into her heart on Sunday and I look forward to taking her through an aalpha course so she can fully understand the implications of her decision and also help disciple her for a few months before we go. God has been so faithful to continue to put people in my path that I can work with, minister to and challenge. About a month ago I started a scripture memory challenge with our Wednesday night Influence group and the teens have really taken to it. They moan and groan a bit when I stop them on the street and make them quote the verses but as long as scripture gets engrained in their heads I can put up with the moaning :)).

Whether here in the UK or in Germany I know Alans and my missions focus will be on teenagers - evangelizing to them, discipling them, training them up in all areas of their lives and getting them onto the missions field. There's nothing better in all the world than seeing young people on fire for God and spreading that fire to their friends, their families and their schools. The great thing about the 15-23 age is most haven't become callous,hard or hurt yet, they all love a good challenge and they are dreamers. They believe they can do anything and with someone believing in them and loving them I honestly believe they can too.

Desperate for love, desperate for attention and desperate for Jesus - what better mission field could there be?!?