Alright, we weren't exactly "downtown" but I couldn't resist! :)
I just got home from a Bible study that began under a bridge of a sidestreet where we do outreach every week. This Bible study is an incredible answer to prayer and what a sweet time of fellowship we had!
We have been praying for more connections in the area and specifically a place of fellowship where we could send women we meet who wanted to learn more about Jesus. God planted a Bible study right on the street! I know I have said this so many times....but Jesus is so radical! He really does exceedingly abundantly beyond ALL we can ask or imagine. The guy who started the Bible study goes to the Reality LA which is the main church that we are accountable to as a ministry, but we had no idea of each other until recently...Jesus!!!
There is a woman who attends that lives in the neighborhood and has a heart to reach out to the women working there and asked if we would hold a training class at her house! :)
I am so overwhelmed by all that God is doing...
I am daily praying for more of Him, for wisdom, direction, protection, provision and most of all for His glory. Would you pray with me for these things right now?
Blessings to you!
Jen
ps.
This is where God is challenging me lately... to dwell in Him. And what fitting verses for His faithfulness and goodness to us!
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" Psalm 91:1,2
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3,4
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
After Hours Ministry: How you can help...
Many of you have said you would like to be involved in some way, listed below are various ways you can serve with After Hours ministry... (thanks for stopping by :) )
Gift Bags
1) we need a coordinator who would be willing to set up meetings for volunteers to assemble bags (commitment of once a month)
2) we need small personal items (list below) for the gift bags
3) we need financial donations for gift bags (and other costs)
Training class:
If you are interested in joining us for outreach or simply want to learn more, we will be having a training class on Sunday, May 22 from 2:30 to 4:30pm. Please contact me for more class information.
Financial Donations:
Your financial donations would cover costs of gift bags, travel expenses, insurance, printing costs, staff support and various other costs we incur throughout the year. We are a recognized 501c3 and your donations would be tax-deductible.
We are working on setting up a paypal account for our website but for now any donations can be sent to AFTER HOURS MINISTRY PO BOX 93275 LOS ANGELES, CA 90093 (checks can be made payable to After Hours Ministry).
Prayer Ministry:
We go out every week and our greatest need is a faithful group to pray for us. If you would like to commit to praying for us weekly pleas email me at the address below and I will include you in our weekly mailing list.
Graphics and printing
Are you gifted in graphics and design? We need to make all new tracts and fliers for our ministry and we need help designing and producing them. Do you know someone who does printing at a reasonable rate?
Gift Bag Item List
Travel size: lotion, moutwash, sanitizer, baby wipes, kleenex,
Nailpolish
Lip Gloss
Candy
Hair bands
Jewelry (inexpensive)
Make up
Gift bags (small plastic bags with tie or small paper with handle)
*If you are interested in serving in any of the areas above please contact me at this email address standingingrace@gmail.com
*For more information on who we are what we do, check out http://www.afterhoursministry.com/
In His grace,
Jen Cecil
Gift Bags
1) we need a coordinator who would be willing to set up meetings for volunteers to assemble bags (commitment of once a month)
2) we need small personal items (list below) for the gift bags
3) we need financial donations for gift bags (and other costs)
Training class:
If you are interested in joining us for outreach or simply want to learn more, we will be having a training class on Sunday, May 22 from 2:30 to 4:30pm. Please contact me for more class information.
Financial Donations:
Your financial donations would cover costs of gift bags, travel expenses, insurance, printing costs, staff support and various other costs we incur throughout the year. We are a recognized 501c3 and your donations would be tax-deductible.
We are working on setting up a paypal account for our website but for now any donations can be sent to AFTER HOURS MINISTRY PO BOX 93275 LOS ANGELES, CA 90093 (checks can be made payable to After Hours Ministry).
Prayer Ministry:
We go out every week and our greatest need is a faithful group to pray for us. If you would like to commit to praying for us weekly pleas email me at the address below and I will include you in our weekly mailing list.
Graphics and printing
Are you gifted in graphics and design? We need to make all new tracts and fliers for our ministry and we need help designing and producing them. Do you know someone who does printing at a reasonable rate?
Gift Bag Item List
Travel size: lotion, moutwash, sanitizer, baby wipes, kleenex,
Nailpolish
Lip Gloss
Candy
Hair bands
Jewelry (inexpensive)
Make up
Gift bags (small plastic bags with tie or small paper with handle)
*If you are interested in serving in any of the areas above please contact me at this email address standingingrace@gmail.com
*For more information on who we are what we do, check out http://www.afterhoursministry.com/
In His grace,
Jen Cecil
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
A phone call from Florida...
This morning I received a phone call from Florida...."who do I know in Florida?" I thought to myself.
I was in class so I couldn't answer the phone, thankfully the caller left a message.
It was a pastor from New Life Church in Florida. They have a television ministry and someone had called in for prayer... a woman from Los Angeles who had begun prostituting herself to support her family.
He gave me her name and number and asked if we could help.
I immediately called the woman, we'll call her Dana. Dana is a single mother of two who recently lost her job and out of desparation to pay her bills began to sell her body. In order to cope with the shame and pain of her actions she began to drink, hoping the alcohol would drown out the condemning voices in her head.
But today, she called a prayer line and cried out for help. Today, one of God's servants answered her call and gave her a glimmer of hope. Today, I was able to tell her God's truth; she is loved, she is forgiven and she is worthy because of Jesus.
Dana lives near the area we do outreach in so we will plan to meet up in the next week. My prayer is that I will find a church in the area that is able and willing to come alongside Dana as she seeks to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Please pray...
That I will be able to meet Dana soon
That God will lead us to a church in the area with a heart to minister to Dana and her children
That Dana will choose life and have the faith to walk in God's ways
That God will provide all that Dana needs and that she will see His hand in her life
That God will completely heal Dana and restore her fully to Himself
That Christ will have full command of Dana's thought life
As for you...What is your "today"? Are you someone who needs to cry out to God for forgiveness and help? Are you someone who needs to hear and respond to the cry of someone else? Praying for you, that you hear and respond to what God is asking you to do today.
Thank you for your faithful prayers!
Jen
I was in class so I couldn't answer the phone, thankfully the caller left a message.
It was a pastor from New Life Church in Florida. They have a television ministry and someone had called in for prayer... a woman from Los Angeles who had begun prostituting herself to support her family.
He gave me her name and number and asked if we could help.
I immediately called the woman, we'll call her Dana. Dana is a single mother of two who recently lost her job and out of desparation to pay her bills began to sell her body. In order to cope with the shame and pain of her actions she began to drink, hoping the alcohol would drown out the condemning voices in her head.
But today, she called a prayer line and cried out for help. Today, one of God's servants answered her call and gave her a glimmer of hope. Today, I was able to tell her God's truth; she is loved, she is forgiven and she is worthy because of Jesus.
Dana lives near the area we do outreach in so we will plan to meet up in the next week. My prayer is that I will find a church in the area that is able and willing to come alongside Dana as she seeks to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Please pray...
That I will be able to meet Dana soon
That God will lead us to a church in the area with a heart to minister to Dana and her children
That Dana will choose life and have the faith to walk in God's ways
That God will provide all that Dana needs and that she will see His hand in her life
That God will completely heal Dana and restore her fully to Himself
That Christ will have full command of Dana's thought life
As for you...What is your "today"? Are you someone who needs to cry out to God for forgiveness and help? Are you someone who needs to hear and respond to the cry of someone else? Praying for you, that you hear and respond to what God is asking you to do today.
Thank you for your faithful prayers!
Jen
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Cancer
I started to write a post about cancer a few months ago after realizing that almost everyone I knew was directly affected by it, everyone...but me. Until just 3 weeks ago when I got the phone call. The strange part was that the news was by no means shocking, I had almost waiting to hear news like that as I heard prayer requests daily from friends and students who had loved ones with cancer. My Dad and stepmom had called to tell me that Grace, my stepmom had uterine cancer and would have a full hysterectomy to remove it. The doctor's were very hopeful but it was not what was known about her diagnosis that made it so scary but rather what was unknown. The doctor's told us that they wouldn't know until performing the surgery if the cancer had spread.
With bated breath we trudged through the next two weeks. On the day of the surgery, we were all able to be together (my Dad, sister and fiance and myself), and I am so thankful for that. We prayed together and then just waited...
When the doctor came out the nerves kicked in even more, but quickly turned to overwhelming joy as he recalled the details of the surgery and her now cancer free body! :) Tears of joy began to flow and we rejoiced and once again breathed... a deep sigh of relief.
It's strange to face death or the possibility of it. As a believer our destination is far better than this world but as those who will be left behind you can't help but think, "I just want more time with her". And I am so thankful to say that for now, we have it.
A friend of mine heard someone say in a teaching once, "I wish you could all be told you have cancer, just to hear two days later that you don't have it." The point being that we would be moved to live as though today is our last day, that we would take the time to cherish all the good gifts God has given us and not waste a single moment.
exhausted by joy and thankfulness...
Jen
ps. we got the final pathology last night (Thursday)...Grace is cancer free and no more treatment will be needed! Praise Jesus! :)
With bated breath we trudged through the next two weeks. On the day of the surgery, we were all able to be together (my Dad, sister and fiance and myself), and I am so thankful for that. We prayed together and then just waited...
When the doctor came out the nerves kicked in even more, but quickly turned to overwhelming joy as he recalled the details of the surgery and her now cancer free body! :) Tears of joy began to flow and we rejoiced and once again breathed... a deep sigh of relief.
It's strange to face death or the possibility of it. As a believer our destination is far better than this world but as those who will be left behind you can't help but think, "I just want more time with her". And I am so thankful to say that for now, we have it.
A friend of mine heard someone say in a teaching once, "I wish you could all be told you have cancer, just to hear two days later that you don't have it." The point being that we would be moved to live as though today is our last day, that we would take the time to cherish all the good gifts God has given us and not waste a single moment.
exhausted by joy and thankfulness...
Jen
ps. we got the final pathology last night (Thursday)...Grace is cancer free and no more treatment will be needed! Praise Jesus! :)
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Spring Fever
Well spring has arrived and with it and a very late Easter break has come the desire to do nothing :) Only suddenly I have more to do than ever! I don't know if I've ever looked forward to a vacation as much I am our upcoming Easter break...only 19 days to go.
School has been insane lately, but the good kind of insane ;)
This last week we had a much anticipated visit from the accredidation team. They were with us for 3 days time in which they observed us and poured over all of the documentation we have been preparing for them for the last 2 years to see if we measured up to the set standards and to see if we were accurately judging how we measured up. When they left they gave us a report with commendations and recommendations. I was so incredibly blessed by the report they gave! They were a sweet encouragement to all of us and I felt as thought all the hard work done to prepare for their visit was worth it, they saw that we were a great school! Isn't it just like the Lord to take something that seems like it will be nothing but added stress and turn it into a blessing?
On Friday I took 6 of my students to the Regional ACSI Science Fair. It was a very long day but very fruitful, 2 of my students won! I am so blessed by all of them and it was sweet to see them all succeed as they had worked so hard.
This week I'm taking my 9th graders to Magic Mountain for our annual physics day at the park (this is the 2nd year I've taken my kids so I get to say annual now ;) ). I am so excited, this group of students is very unique and a sweet blessing to me as a teacher! I can't wait to hit up the crazy rides with them and get a big old giant headache...it will be worth it!!! ;)
In addition we have our parent's meeting for our upcoming Catalina trip this week. I am so looking forward to this trip, I love getting time with the kids outside of the classroom, it can completely change the dynamics of our class. This is a pretty wild bunch of kids though...I am imagining some pretty interesting shananigans will take place, Lord give us grace!
As always, I absolutely covet your prayers for this ministry, God has entrusted a great deal to me with my students and I desparately need His Spirit to be effective in this position. May He be glorified in all things.
That's all for now...blessings in Him!
School has been insane lately, but the good kind of insane ;)
This last week we had a much anticipated visit from the accredidation team. They were with us for 3 days time in which they observed us and poured over all of the documentation we have been preparing for them for the last 2 years to see if we measured up to the set standards and to see if we were accurately judging how we measured up. When they left they gave us a report with commendations and recommendations. I was so incredibly blessed by the report they gave! They were a sweet encouragement to all of us and I felt as thought all the hard work done to prepare for their visit was worth it, they saw that we were a great school! Isn't it just like the Lord to take something that seems like it will be nothing but added stress and turn it into a blessing?
On Friday I took 6 of my students to the Regional ACSI Science Fair. It was a very long day but very fruitful, 2 of my students won! I am so blessed by all of them and it was sweet to see them all succeed as they had worked so hard.
This week I'm taking my 9th graders to Magic Mountain for our annual physics day at the park (this is the 2nd year I've taken my kids so I get to say annual now ;) ). I am so excited, this group of students is very unique and a sweet blessing to me as a teacher! I can't wait to hit up the crazy rides with them and get a big old giant headache...it will be worth it!!! ;)
In addition we have our parent's meeting for our upcoming Catalina trip this week. I am so looking forward to this trip, I love getting time with the kids outside of the classroom, it can completely change the dynamics of our class. This is a pretty wild bunch of kids though...I am imagining some pretty interesting shananigans will take place, Lord give us grace!
As always, I absolutely covet your prayers for this ministry, God has entrusted a great deal to me with my students and I desparately need His Spirit to be effective in this position. May He be glorified in all things.
That's all for now...blessings in Him!
After Hours Update, April 2nd 2011
Dear friends,
A lot is happening and it is hard for me to find time or I guess the level of concentration needed to write. So, here goes nothin!
In the last few weeks we noticed that there weren't many girls out on the track when we would do outreach and we began to pray about possibly changing the time and or location of our outreach.
The first thing we did was decide to go out later or should I say "earlier"...the last 2 weeks we have met at 1am to pray and hit the track at about 2.
The first week, we still didn't see a lot of girls, though more than usual. We ran into a guy who runs a local liquor store that I have talked to on several occasions and asked him what was going on. He said the cops were doing a lot of undercover busts (we happened to meet a few several weeks before) and that girls were getting arrested and the track was quieting down. So I asked him where the girls were and he gave us a location just a couple of miles from our normal track. At the end of the night we went to check it out and just as he had said we saw several girls in the first couple of blocks. We decided that the following week (last night) we would go to the new track.
Back up a few minutes.... while on the old track (confused yet? ;) ) we met two sisters who were a very sweet and very broken pair. They had been working for over 30 years and they were eager to hear how we might help them change their lives. We tried to connect them with a home that night but weren't able to make the connection, so we gave them our number and took theirs and prayed with them. We weren't able to connect with them this week, but I am still hopeful that we will soon. As we were talking with them, I remembered that I had one scarf left that my sister had made for the girls and thought it would bless them, we encouraged them to remember that God was pursuing them and had good things for them when they looked at the scarf. Will you please pray with us for these two sisters?
This last week I was still in prayer about the track and where we should be and one afternoon, while thinking of all the events of the last week I realized God had already answered. In one week, the Lord connected me to a pregnancy clinic, a newly formed Bible study and a Young Life group in the exact area where we minister. Wow! Surely God is working in this area and brining His people together, with all different gifts to reach His people. I am so blessed by the connections that have been made and excited to see how God will use the various ministries to draw the lost to Himself.
This Friday night we had enough people for two teams so we split up, one team went to the old track and one to the "new". Both of us met a lot of girls and gave out several gift bags. One thing we would ask you to pray for is the openness of the girls, that they will trust us and receive us as we seek to reach out to them. It seems that with the increased police activity, the girls are less likely to stop and talk with us and apparently we all look like cops :p
We absolutely covet your prayers for this ministry, we trust that the Lord is leading us and that He has us and we are so thankful for your partnership in prayer. For the most part we go on outreach on Friday nights, but our team needs prayer coverage all throughout the week!
In His grace,
Jen Cecil
http://www.afterhoursministry.org/
A lot is happening and it is hard for me to find time or I guess the level of concentration needed to write. So, here goes nothin!
In the last few weeks we noticed that there weren't many girls out on the track when we would do outreach and we began to pray about possibly changing the time and or location of our outreach.
The first thing we did was decide to go out later or should I say "earlier"...the last 2 weeks we have met at 1am to pray and hit the track at about 2.
The first week, we still didn't see a lot of girls, though more than usual. We ran into a guy who runs a local liquor store that I have talked to on several occasions and asked him what was going on. He said the cops were doing a lot of undercover busts (we happened to meet a few several weeks before) and that girls were getting arrested and the track was quieting down. So I asked him where the girls were and he gave us a location just a couple of miles from our normal track. At the end of the night we went to check it out and just as he had said we saw several girls in the first couple of blocks. We decided that the following week (last night) we would go to the new track.
Back up a few minutes.... while on the old track (confused yet? ;) ) we met two sisters who were a very sweet and very broken pair. They had been working for over 30 years and they were eager to hear how we might help them change their lives. We tried to connect them with a home that night but weren't able to make the connection, so we gave them our number and took theirs and prayed with them. We weren't able to connect with them this week, but I am still hopeful that we will soon. As we were talking with them, I remembered that I had one scarf left that my sister had made for the girls and thought it would bless them, we encouraged them to remember that God was pursuing them and had good things for them when they looked at the scarf. Will you please pray with us for these two sisters?
This last week I was still in prayer about the track and where we should be and one afternoon, while thinking of all the events of the last week I realized God had already answered. In one week, the Lord connected me to a pregnancy clinic, a newly formed Bible study and a Young Life group in the exact area where we minister. Wow! Surely God is working in this area and brining His people together, with all different gifts to reach His people. I am so blessed by the connections that have been made and excited to see how God will use the various ministries to draw the lost to Himself.
This Friday night we had enough people for two teams so we split up, one team went to the old track and one to the "new". Both of us met a lot of girls and gave out several gift bags. One thing we would ask you to pray for is the openness of the girls, that they will trust us and receive us as we seek to reach out to them. It seems that with the increased police activity, the girls are less likely to stop and talk with us and apparently we all look like cops :p
We absolutely covet your prayers for this ministry, we trust that the Lord is leading us and that He has us and we are so thankful for your partnership in prayer. For the most part we go on outreach on Friday nights, but our team needs prayer coverage all throughout the week!
In His grace,
Jen Cecil
http://www.afterhoursministry.org/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)