"Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done here."

I fly out of Casper in less than 13 hours. I never in a million years thought leaving would be this heartbreaking. I have cried more these past few days than I have in a long time. Saturday we spent the afternoon with the students at Natural Bridge. It was a ton of fun. We climbed up to the top of the bridge and hung out there for a while.

I have seen God through His love and grace transform many lives. I am humbled and blessed to have been here for that. My hope is found in the fact that God will continue what He began and He loves these students far more than I can imagine. It was heartbreaking to see the tears and sadness in them when I told them goodbye. They kept asking if I was ever coming back or if I could just stay. I left them with this...

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Ephesians 3:14-21

where did all the time go?

This is my last week of ministry here in Casper. I am amazed at all God has done in and around me in the last 2 months. Last night as I was reading my Bible I began to think about the many people and relationships I will be leaving next week. I began to wonder what would happen to the relationships God has constructed. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was worrying. I felt a lot like the disciples who saw Jesus feed the 5ooo and then doubted Him a few verses later. I came to Psalm 100...

"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations."

The more I prayed and read the more I was prompted to just be still and be thankful. I felt the need to stop for just a little while to rejoice, come before God with thanksgiving, and praise Him for what He has done.

haven't slept all night and I'm feelin' all right

There were 4 youth in Sunday School yesterday. We covered the second half of John 1. The students were more interactive yesterday in the Bible study than they have been at any other point during the summer. One boy referred to what we covered Wednesday night. I was very excited and encouraged to see evidence that not everything they are being told is going in one ear and out the other.

Last night we had a lock-in. There were 6 youth there! (An all time high for us). It was great to hang out and goof off with them all night long. We had a scavenger hunt, made smores, played board games, hide and seek, and a lot more.

So even though I didn't sleep a wink last night (except for the dozing the one time my hiding place was way too good) I am excited and praising God for all I have seen Him do in the past few months in my own life and the lives of the students I have been fortunate enough to work with.

"Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

This past week was Children's Camp up on the mountain. My partner Rebecca took 3 girls from FSBC. It was a fruitful week for everyone who got to attend. There were many decisions made and lives transformed by the power of God's mercy and grace.

Friday we had our "mid summer" (although we are 2 weeks from leaving) missionary retreat. It was a 2 hour fling where we got to hang out, eat, and talk about what we've seen God do so far. It was good to get away for a few hours and recharge.

We are having a lock-in Sunday night. I'm super excited! I have an amazing scavenger hunt planned. It should be a good time of fun and fellowship into the wee hours of the morning.

We were told at the beginning of the summer that a man in the church was going to take over the youth activities and Bible studies when August came. It has always been my intention to turn it over the last few weeks so that the students experience a smooth transition and continue to be discipled. Tuesday this man told me he no longer intends to work with the youth. I'm a little frustrated and confused, but I'm trying to focus on the fact that God loves these students far more than I ever could and does want what's best for them.

I was talking this morning with a girl who is also a summer missionary. We were talking about what God has done with us this summer. Talking to her I realized exactly how much God has done. I am less timid than I was 2 months ago. I am less certain about where I will be a couple years from now, and that's beginning to be okay with me. If you know me at all, you know that I like scheduling things far in advance. I like having an idea where I will be and when I will be there. God began chipping away at this several weeks ago at GA Camp. I am more uncertain of my future than perhaps ever before. But I am more confident than ever before in the one who controls and knows my future. My prayer is that I will "delight myself in Him" and so my desires will become like His and then "He will give me the desires of my heart."

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam..."

Last week the traveling missionary team was at our church. We went to a baseball game (or slaughter) on July 4th. The game was terrible, but the fireworks were a lot of fun.



The Casper Ghosts have a purple platypus for a mascot. Only in Wyoming is this acceptable...

We also went to a parade one day...

A parade featuring the county coroner...

We spent the week doing Back Yard Bible Clubs in the afternoons and a revival in the evenings. We averaged about 7 kids a day.

Friday we spent the afternoon hanging out with 2 of our youth, Dimitry and Irina. We played frisbee, ate ice cream, and went up to the lookout on the mountain.

I started teaching Youth Sunday School yesterday. We began the book of John. I will only be here for 3 more weeks. I am continuing to pray that God will burden hearts to pick up ministering to these students long after we leave.

"In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." -Luke 15:10

I spent the week at Youth Encounter. It was a great week. I took 3 students from FSBC, and there were 76 total students there with 12 summer missionaries serving in Wyoming. It was good to be together again, share stories, and encourage one another.



One of the girls that went with me had been struggling for a while with some things. I have been praying for her specifically. She had accepted Christ in the past, but this week God moved and did a lot of work in her heart. Irina has committed to a growing relationship, not just assurance of salvation.

I also have been praying for a boy who has been asking a lot of questions about a relationship with Christ. God answered, and Dimitry accepted Christ Wednesday night. Dimitry and his sister, Irina, are 2 of 10 kids. Their parents are from the Ukraine. I am praying that God will use them in mighty ways and break down the many barriers of tradition and struggles that may discourage them.

It is amazing to me that God can take students I have known just over a month and place such a burden on my heart for them. I think it may be a small taste of being a parent. God answered prayer after prayer this week. His word did not return void, and students responded to Him.

Students have begged me to stay past August. When I have told them I can't they have just jokingly made plans to move to Tennessee. Leaving them in a month might just be a lot harder than I ever expected.

We are a month from our departure, and there is interest in continuing ministry to the youth in the church but no one is willing to commit to it. I am praying that God will burden hearts and move people to action. The decisions that have occurred so far are great, but the students are very young in their faith and there is a lot of discipling to do.

It was a great week, but it was exhausting physically and emotionally. We had a girls movie night last night with the 20 somethings from church. I made it through the first 2 scenes and then someone borrowed my camera...

9 yr old girl- "You're 20?"; Me- "Yes"; Girl-"Wow! You should be married by now."; Me- "Umm..."

This picture has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but I thought it was cool...


I spent this past week up on the mountain (that is about 7000 ft above sea level) at GA Camp. I took 3 girls from FSBC.

I kept thinking about how when I was in GAs all the missionaries I learned about seemed really old. It wasn't until several years later I realized you didn't have to be "old" to be one. The girls there thought it was so cool that I am a summer missionary. It was cool to watch their faces when I told them I was no different from them and even sat where they were sitting 10 years ago.

I was listening one afternoon to a missionary from Latin America talk. He was talking about having the best job in the world serving as a missionary. The more he talked the more I shifted in my seat and the more uncomfortable I got. I have never been one to just jump out into the unknown. I like to have a plan. I like structure. That night during the worship service the pastor there for the week shared his story. He went into the ministry after avoiding it for 8 years. He said, "You don't even need to try avoiding God. He can outrun and outlast even your best effort." It didn't work out too well for Jonah. In May I was talking with a guy who was a summer missionary in Wyoming last year. He told me, "This summer God will reveal and begin to tear down every idol you have. It's not fun, but it will show you so much about yourself you didn't realize." I think we all have a tendancy to think we don't really have idols because we don't have little statues of "gods," but I'm beginning to wonder if God isn't starting to shake and break away the safety and structure I thought I had in having some sort of a plan for my future. I think there is some sort of accountability in recording your struggles with God. Then it's harder for me to try and avoid Him and end up in the belly of some whale :)

I have one last picture for your viewing experience. This is my friend the deer...

He/She (I have no idea how you tell if a deer is a boy or girl) eats the grass right outside every morning. And in all actuality it may never be the same deer, but I prefere to think we share a special bond.

I leave in the morning to take 3 youth to Youth Encounter. Two of those youth are asking many questions about relationships with God. I am praying God will continue to work in their hearts and being away from normal for a week will be good.

We also had another girl accept Christ this morning. God is doing great things in Wyoming!