Picture of Grace

This week at girl's bible study, we decided to switch things up. Being that we only have one more week left with them, we transitioned from leading, to training some of the girls to lead, in hopes that they will fill our positions when we leave them. Christina, one of the high school Karenni girls stepped up and offered to lead this week. She did an amazing job, and discussed with the girls the passage in Luke on the good samaritan. 

After the Bible study, we invited all of the girls to spend the night at our house and have a henna party. There is a story from creation to Christ that is drawn into the henna designs. 

Some of the girls got really artistic, and it was a great time to hang out and bond with the girls. 

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These were some of our favorite phrases :)

Some of the American girls got involved that live here and can continue to invest in the teens when we leave. 

Christina, the girl who led that night, and is hoping to lead the girls after we leave shared some henna with us. This one says, "Trust God" in Karenni. 

Please pray for these young ladies that the older girls will really step up and be leaders. Pray that God would continue to help them grow in the word and in their walk with Him. Pray that God would guide these girls in what He has for them, as many are going to graduate soon, and a few are interested in mission work. Pray that God will use them to reach other Karenni girls across America that do not have a church, or a Christian group like these girls do.

Mue Yue Say

This week we got invited to attend Mue Yue Say's birthday party! Her family is Karen, and in order to communicate with the Karenni people they have to speak to each other in Burmese. They are a sweet, darling family, and one we have spent quite a bit of time with this summer. They are believers, and the kids of this family are definitely going to be leaders among their friends for the Lord. 

Mue Yue Say and her sister Hay Nay Way posed in their beautiful dresses sent all the way from their grandmother in Myanmar. 

The whole family came together for a time of prayer, and reading from the Bible over little Mue Yue Say. This is her dad Ma Nay Soe, her mom Moe Moe Aye, and her two big brothers Yei Min Way, and Yei Min Oo.

The Karenni pastor spoke in Burmese (the mother language for for the Karen and Karenni people groups) over the family. 

Little Mue Yue Say loved her birthday cake. She ate all of the icing circles off of it! 

Please pray for her and her family that they would continue to grow and walk in the Lord. They are an inspiration, as their family is the only Karen family in the area. The church service they attend is mostly in Karenni, which they do not understand, but they continue to be a huge part in the church, and are teaching their 5 children about the Lord. Pray God would give them strength and endurance. 

Prodigals

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all.  

-Isaiah 53:6

Friday we visited a worship service that was held in honor of Prodigals. Prodigals is a program here in Winston-Salem that helps men struggling with addiction to alcohol and drugs recover not only physically and mentally, but spiritually. It is a program that teaches these men about eternal healing, not just temporary relief from their pain.

The man in this picture has about a week before he finishes the Prodigals program. He bravely stood to share his story. He told us everything, about the drugs, the alcohol, the bad relationships, and about his friends that have overdosed and died. He said, "Without God I would not be alive today." He told us that there was just something different about the love he received at Prodigals. It was given without anything expected in return, it was constant, it was deep, it was like nothing he had ever seen before. 

Almost immediately my heart began to twist and turn as I realized how similar our stories are. Before I started college I was wandering so far from God. I struggled with alcohol, sex, drugs, and cutting for many years. I remember falling to me knees in tears the day someone shared with me the news of our Lord, the story of love and forgiveness that I desperately needed. This man reminded me of the joy that rushes into your soul when you realize that someone out there that not only died for you, but will never leave you or stop loving you. Knowing that this man had found that joy, and was so eager to share it with others brought tears to me eyes. 

Overwhelmed, and probably looking really crazy since I was crying hysterically by now, I ran up to him and gave him a big bear hug. When I could finally get words out, I told him how proud I was of him. I told him to never be ashamed, but to keep proclaiming what God has done in his life every chance he gets. 

 Lets admit it, we are all prodigals. We have all wandered far from God, and we have all sinned. God in His mighty love and grace chooses to seek us, restore us, love us, use us, and even call us His children! We are all unworthy, but I pray that we would never be ashamed to tell of what God has done in our lives. Let us be humbled, that Christ might be glorified in us. Let us share our stories of failure, that we might tell of Christ victory, and how He has been mighty to save even the least of us wandering sheep. I pray we would wake up every day with a renewal of that same joy and realization of what God has done to bring us into this family. 

Message through Eldora

Do you ever tell people about Jesus, but forget to tell Jesus about them? I find myself doing things like this from time to time. Sometimes I get so caught up in what I'm doing that I forget about what God could do. Sometimes I try to work so much for God, that I forget that He is supposed to work through me.

I met a lady named Eldora this week at a place called Bethel Colony. She was such an inspiration to me and she shared with me the story of how her and her husband had been serving there for 26 years, helping men struggling with addiction. She had come through many trials in her life, but still remained faithful to God. I thought, "Wow, what a testimony of perseverance." 

Knowing I would most likely get busy and forget to pray for her later on I asked if I could pray over her right then. It felt like an out of body experience as I prayed for her for a very long time, which being that I had just met her was kind of out of character for me. (I don't normally think praying is something I am very good at, and I had actually been discussing with my team earlier that it is probably my weakest area of ministry.) 

When I closed the prayer, she looked up at me and said, "You are such a prayer, I don't mean to puff you up but you are such a beautiful prayer." I honestly did not know what to say. I just thought, "Hmm...interesting." When I got home I shared with my team that I felt like God had sent me a message through this sweet lady. 

I felt like God was using her to remind me of the importance of prayer. Every day when I wake up and set out to share the love and story of God with others, the most important thing I can do that day is pray. I am a doer, so it is hard for me to step back and pray before rushing into things. I often get in this "Can-do" attitude where I somehow think that spending more time with people will help them more than prayer will. 

God has been teaching me how to reverse that notion, and reminding me that as a missionary prayer is not only important, it is vital to everything that I do. It is my mission to pray, and prayer is what fuels my mission. Loving people, telling people about Jesus, it is all great, but what are my actions without the Holy Spirit? What can I do to save people? I can do nothing, it is all God. 

I am praying that daily God will remind me of the importance of prayer, and how that plays such a big part in mission work. Pray for my team that we would all remember that, and we would in turn help the people we disciple to see the importance in prayer. 

North Carolina Prayer Update

Praises:

-Baby Richard (the baby we helped deliver) is healthy and at home! We attended a prayer service over him yesterday!

-Bible studies are going well with the Nepalese group, and Karenni girls group. We have one boy in the Nepalese group, and one girl in the Karenni group that we are working with and training. They are going to try leading this week's Bible studies, and both have expressed that they would be interested in leading those when we leave.

-God has been teaching our team a lot and shaping us through the group meetings we are having.
- During VBS at Southside, there were 6 children that accepted Christ into their hearts.
-We made it through community: serve week, coming out of it seeing how amazing God's works are when we are willing and how He takes unworthy people like you and me to further His kingdom. 

Prayer Requests:

-Perseverance for the team to finish strong as we complete our mission. Pray for God to keep us strong spiritually, and be spirit led in all we do.
-Guidance in how to wrap things up, and leave the people here in good standing to continue studying the word, and in turn be on mission themselves.
-Leaders from the Nepalese and Karenni people groups that can disciple others.
-People who are already leaders  in these groups to be encouraged, and that God would equip them to continue serving.
-Maw Reh, a 24 year old Karenni man is planning on attending Seminary in hopes of becoming a missionary, and is currently working on getting his GED. Pray that he would overcome the language barrier and be able to accomplish the goals God has for him.
-Sickness in our team. Jillian was very sick this week with food poisoning. I was hospitalized yesterday with an intense bleeding spell after rupturing a cyst. We are both feeling much better, but please pray God would hold us together physically during our remaining time here.
-We have a new Nepalese family, and a new Karenni family coming to America this week! Pray that we would overcome language barriers and be able to love on them and share the word of God with them. Pray that they would not be afraid but feel welcomed and safe.
-That we will get something out of our time here and we will rest in the fact that God placed us in Winston-Salem for a specific purpose. Pray that we will not look back on this summer with feelings that we could have done more, but that we finish saying, "God showed up." and that we will look back saying we gave it our all.

All Creation Declares Your Glory

The past few weeks, we have had the privilege of leading a girls bible study for the middle school and high school aged Karenni girls. They have never before had a specialized outreach to their age group, especially specifically the girls. Many only know the basics of Christianity and have had little to no discipleship. One of the concepts that we introduced to them was quiet time. They have never been taught about the benefits of doing a daily quiet time with God. The idea of a personal daily relationship with God was brand new to most. 

We got the chance this past week to take the girls to the mountains. The goal was to have some fun with them, and also show them an example of what a quiet time looks like. Meeting on the side of the mountain, we opened the word, sat in silence, and prayed together. We hoped that being surrounded by the beautiful landscape showed them how God created everything, and even cares for the smallest leaves in the mountains. 

We wanted them to walk away realizing how much God loves us, that even in the midst of caring for all of nature, He still takes the time to meet with each one of us personally, and desires time with us daily. 

Pictures from that day: 

Pretty sure they are part monkey. 

Breanna and I with Christina. 

Waterfall! 

Emma and Say Wah playing in the water. 

Christina is one of the leaders in the youth girls, and plays guitar for New Start. 

Say Wah was the only one who could stand right in the waterfall and still look this put together. 

True Karenni style: hiking barefoot and all. 

Shar Tway and Theh Mar Htoo taking a turn rowing on the lake! 

*Praises: 
-The Nepalese families here were previously having to walk about an hour on Sunday mornings to go to church. We were praying for a closer church to open up for them to meet at. This week we found out that they can begin meeting at Calvary Baptist, which is only a 5-10 minute walk from their homes! 
-We had a girl in the youth named Christina that spoke with us about maybe leading the Karenni girls in Bible study when we leave, and is also looking at mission work!


*Prayer Requests: 
-Karenni VBS is this week, please pray that the kids would get a lot out of this week, and would see that God is a personal God who desires a relationship with each of them. 
-Community Serve is this week, so we will be doing many things with New Start to reach out to the  community through music, and volunteer work. Pray God's love and hope would be shown through the work done this week. 
-Pray for leaders to step up in the Nepalese, and Karenni groups for the youth girls, boys, and the kids. Also pray for a pastor to be brought forward in the Nepalese group. 


As always we greatly appreciate your prayers! Without God nothing is possible. On our own we would just be on a vacation out here, but He makes it a mission! 

Oh Baby!

God has such a funny way of using us to do things we never thought possible! Since arriving here in North Carolina, Breanna and I have gotten very close to many families, one in particular that had a baby on the way. Beh Meh, who is one of the daughters of this family, allowed us the blessing of being in the room with her for the delivery of her beautiful baby boy. We got to help her have the baby (pretty sure we are professional breathing coaches now) and love on little baby Richard Yoeshi Yar when he was born! 

We got to pray over her and support her during the tough waiting time before the baby was born. 

Little baby Richard finally arrived around noon healthy and perfect! It was such a miracle to see what God can create.

Proud Daddy Yoeshi Yar holding his new baby boy!  

We were both overwhelmed with joy and felt so blessed to be a part of his birth! Not to mention that it was definitely love at first sight! 

First mommy and son moments. Beh Meh was so happy to see her baby boy. 

This is such a sweet beautiful family. They also have a 2 year old little girl named Mishi! 

Isn't it amazing that God pays attention to the details, even down to the toes on little baby Richard's feet? 

*Please pray for this family that they would grow in their faith, and this amazing little creation would place awe in their hearts for who God is. Yoeshi Yar (the father) is a believer but the mom (Beh Meh) is still learning about God. Pray that this little boy would grow up to learn about God, to love God, and in turn tell many people about what God has done in bringing his people out of bondage both physically and spiritually! Thank you for your prayers! 

June Birthday Party!

We celebrated 4 of our Karenni friends' birthdays this week! Ree Meh, Lee Reh, Bu Reh, and Da Meh all had birthdays in the month of June so we had a big party to celebrate them! Since they do not celebrate birthdays, we think this was a first experience for them. We were informed by one of them that this was the first birthday he had ever had! It was a great time of fun with the kids, and we got to pray over each of them for their upcoming year! 

We had tons of food both American and Asian, as well as a big birthday cake! We even got each of them presents so they could experience a real American birthday party!

The guys decided to do Justin's hair like theirs! 

He fit right in!! 

Better Than Ours

Breanna and I woke up Sunday morning this week with a pretty boring day planned. We were really excited, because Jillian was getting to share her testimony at the Hispanic church, but other than that, our day looked pretty bland. Basically we were going to be filling out paperwork and working on writing some skits. Good thing we are not in charge of the universe, and God's plans are always so much better than the things we come up with.

I happened to see a friend of ours named Maw Reh while visiting apartments that let me know there was going to be a meeting at his house, and he wanted Breanna and I to come. At first all I could think was, "Great a business meeting!" (super sarcastically) Not to mention the fact that most likely it would be completely in Karenni and we would just sit there not understanding a word said. Wanting to show the elders of the community respect and love, we decided to go. 

Upon arriving we realized that this was not just a meeting, but a service to inform a small group of the Karenni people about becoming Christians! They were all interested in getting baptized, having been to church they knew some about God, but had never made professions of faith, and they wanted to learn more! We felt so blessed to even be able to join the meeting, but yet again God had different plans. The Karenni people do not have the old testament in their language, so they asked Breanna and I to explain what the Bible says about being a Christian, starting at creation! We then had the opportunity to share with them creation to Christ, what happened to man, why we need a savior, who Jesus is, and what it means to be a Christian, what baptism is, and even what God calls us to do after salvation. We got to explain to all of the elders on the consul why we are here in North Carolina, why we want to spend time with the Karenni people, and how they can be missionaries too. Maw Reh translated everything for us, and they asked us to speak with all of the new believers!

Leaving there we planned to attend a Nepalese bible study. There are about 5 Nepalese families here we are trying to reach out to. We figured we would go, and not really understand anything, but at least get to meet a few people. Upon arrival they told us there was no bible study. Confused, we stuck around to find out more, because we had been told that there was. What we found out was that they have no bible study, no pastor, no leaders, and have just been going to church on Sundays which two teenage boys have been leading. When we mentioned the bible study they said, "No we do not have a Bible study, but we would love to do one if you will help us start one." Of course we wanted to! Because of the confusion we have now established a Bible study with them every Sunday at 7pm that we will be leading. One of the older women even offered to translate for us, because many of the adults do not speak English. They are so excited to learn about God, and we are excited to share with them. 

When we arrived home we couldn't believe all of the doors God had opened that day for us just hanging out at the apartment complex during the day. Sometimes we feel like God has nothing for us to do, but if we start to serve Him in the small things, just by visiting people, or showing up to love on someone He shows us even greater opportunities. God's plans: I'll exchange mine for them any day!

*Prayer Requests:

1. Karenni VBS

2. Wisdom in investing in families, and individuals

3. Karenni Girls Bible Study

4. Nepalese Bible Study 

5. Guidance in how to spend our time wisely 

6. Being spirit-led 

7. God's will to be done here with the Karenni, Karen, and Nepalese people

8. Leaders to step up in all 3 people groups 

The Missionary Song

Many of the members of the New Start group were either born, or spent most of their lives in the refugee camps of Thailand. There they had very minimal schools with no textbooks or paper. When they learned something they had to memorize it. They sang many songs there in the camps, one of which they call "The Missionary Song". This song describes how people came to them as missionaries to tell them about God, and now it is their turn to tell other people. It encourages the listener to stop putting off their responsibility as a Christian to share God with other people. They not only want to tell people about God but encourage Karenni believers to do the same. 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

    proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 

1 Chronicles 16: 23-24

New Start

This week Breanna and I had the opportunity to travel to Greeley, Colorado and work alongside the New Start group from North Carolina. New Start is a group of about 30 teenage Karenni refugees from Winston-Salem. They travel the country visiting cities where large groups of Karenni refugees are living to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ and what they have learned about God since being in America. They explained that the name "New Start" was chosen because God has given them a new start in life by bringing them to America away from the refugee camps where they had no school, barely enough food to eat, and no freedom. Their name also reflects on the new start God has given them spiritually by making them new creations. (2 Corinthians 5:17) They share with these groups of refugees through singing, preaching, VBS, health and wellness classes, and sports. They also hand out Karenni Bibles and pray with them. 

It was inspiring to spend the week with kids who are so young and have a huge heart for the Lord. They are incredibly hospitable,gracious, and hardworking people, and are willing to truly sacrifice in order to share Jesus Christ with other Karenni people across America. Many of them have hopes of returning to refugee camps in Thailand to help the people that are still there learn about God. If anything, Breanna and I both felt that they were ministering to us, and teaching us what it really means to serve others. 

The pictures below are just some of the ways they used their talents and interests to share Jesus with others: 

Maw Reh used his ability to play guitar as a huge ministry in Colorado. 

Breanna got to spend time with many of the children that came to VBS. 

Maw Meh read with some of the younger kids.  

Lee Reh got really attached to this little girl named Alea. 

These were my two special friends Glenda and Paw Meh. Each of us got 1 or 2
special friends for VBS that we prayed for daily. 

New Start sang many songs in English and in Karenni to share with others about Jesus. 

Day Reh got to do crafts with some of the kids.

Yei Min Oo got to bond with some of the teenage Karennis
when we did paint tattoos one day at VBS. 

Christina Htoo went door to door in apartments where many Karenni people
live to invite them to VBS and church. 

John and Brooke Bryant spoke with many of the adults that did not speak English.
They are the ones that translated the Bible into Karenni so they speak the language fluently.

Tim and his wife Jody are like parents to the New Start kids and make it possible
for them to tell other people about Jesus by travelling with them.

I hope reading through what this group of teenagers is doing with their time has touched your heart and inspired you the same way it did me! With God all things are possible, no matter what language, age, or financial barrier there may be! These refugees have truly proven that and live as a testimony to God's power. 

*Prayer Requests: 

          ~Many of the refugees are being targeted by other religious leaders. Because of their limited understanding of English, and the word of God (they have only had the Bible in their language for 2 years now) they are very confused by the contradictions between religions in America. Please pray God will protect their hearts and show them the truth of His word alone. 

          ~This week we will be doing VBS here in Winston-Salem, and have another VBS coming up specifically for the Karenni children, so pray that me and Breanna would be spirit led in everything we attempt to do during these meetings. 

          ~We will be visiting many Karenni families at their apartments this week, pray for understanding and God to overcome the language barrier as many of the families do not speak English. Pray His love would be shown through our kindness and for people of peace. 

*Praises: 

           ~One of the teenage Karenni girls in Colorado decided to invite Jesus into her heart this week after talking with a friend in the New Start group she had not seen since leaving the refugee camp! 

           ~There are about 70 Karenni families in Colorado. They had no church to go to, so about 16 of these families that were Christian were meeting in one small apartment once a week for church. Before leaving Colorado God moved in the hearts of a local church to allow the Karenni people to use their building every week to have a Karenni church service there! 

           ~God has formed friendships between Breanna and I and the members of New Start in a way that is amazing in light of the language barriers.Most of them speak English well enough that we can communicate with them. We are praying some of these new brothers and sisters can help us in reaching out to the parents who know little to no English. 

Thank you for your support and prayers! 

Meet the 2012 Project 52 North Carolina Team!

Hi there! Greetings from the Project 52 North Carolina Team. This year myself and three other students have been blessed with the opportunity to serve God through working with Karenni refugees and the Hispanic population in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Let me introduce you to them!

Justin is one of the leaders of our group and this will be his 3rd year serving with Nehemiah Teams. Throughout the summer he will be working mainly in the Hispanic population in Winston-Salem as well as teaching a men's bible study. He recently graduated with a degree in Special Education from Jacksonville State University. He definitely has a heart for the Lord and loves to teach, but also knows how to have a good time and make us laugh!

This lovely lady is Breanna and she is the other team leader for our group. She will be leading the outreach in the Karenni refugee population. She is currently a student at Mississippi College studying Public Relations and Bible. She has done mission work for years but this is her first time working with Nehemiah Teams. She is the organization of our group and the one to always encourage and uplift our spirits. She is the first one to pray with us, and be a hug when we need one.

                                              

Oh Jillian. The fun and energetic goof ball of the group. Jillian is from Mississippi and attends Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) where she is studying Hospitality Management. She hopes to be a baker one day!  She is the quirky one of the group that snorts when she laughs and even generates random facts to share with us every day! She will be helping Justin in the Hispanic Ministry while in Winston-Salem. 

And to round out our team, yep, it's me! My name is Brianna Blue. I am from Alabama and attend the University of West Alabama where I am studying English Education. I will be the media person for our team this summer, and hopefully will keep you all up to date with pictures, video, and blogs about our work! 

Please keep us in your prayers as we head into our first week with the Karenni and Hispanic people groups here in North Carolina! Pray that we will be effective in sharing the love and truth of the Gospel here in Winston-Salem. Thank you so much!