Monday, March 28, 2011

Pay it Forward...

It is so exciting to watch God at work and be a part of kingdom work that you know He is driving! I love it!

Monday, March 21, 2011, we opened up registration for our Costa Rica retreat that is coming up in July. As of this morning, March 28, 2011, we already have 46 missionary women signed up. As you know we have a ceiling of 50 participants. The thing that is so exciting to me is that some of the missionary women attending the Costa Rica retreat are signed up because a missionary from East Africa paid it forward and contacted them and said you need to sign up for this retreat. I love that because one of the heartbeats of this ministry is to encourage the women to encourage each other on the field.

Another way I am watching God work in paying it forward as we bow the knee and look to Him for direction on the up-coming retreat is 19 of our Costa Rica missionary women are already paid for because of the overflow of giving to the East Africa Retreat as you can see by the thermostat graphic included with the blog today. This means only 31 to go because I suspect by the end of this day we will be at 50 participants for the retreat. I love this evidence of God’s hand at work on their behalf and the kingdom’s behalf and the affirmation it gives us at Pure Joy to stay the course He has called us to. We serve an awesome God!!!!

Also, this month is a busy month as I travel to Austin to meet with ladies that are interested in being part of the Costa Rica Team and Houston for some exciting plans God has for Pure Joy. Please pray as our team continues to come together for Costa Rica. I started to say there is nothing more exciting than watching a team come together but there is also nothing more exciting than watching the resources come in for the missionary women, but then there is nothing more exciting than watching the women when God fills them up and meets their needs eternally. As I write this I am realizing even more just how exciting it is to serve God in the thing He has called you to!! Thank You, LORD, for the “works you prepared for us to do in advance!” Eph. 2:10-11

LORD, right this minute I just pray for all my brothers and sisters wherever they are laying their head each night. LORD, help them to know You so intimately that they, too, know that they know the “works You have prepared for them in advance”! For there is no greater Joy than serving You, Father, according to Your good will and pleasure! Amen!

Ok, friends this is how you can begin to pray for Costa Rica. Pray for the ladies that have signed up for the retreat that God will begin now preparing their hearts to receive. Pray for the team as it continues to come together with team members possibly as far away as Arizona, Texas, OK, and here in AR. Pray for the messages that God would put on the heart of the speakers, pray for the worship music, and all other things that God would have in store for this specific group of women! It is always fun to find out the extras He does just for the specific retreat!

Have a Great Week in the LORD!

His,
Vickie

Monday, March 21, 2011

Washing each other's feet...

Before we turn our attentions here at Pure Joy to our next Retreat coming up in Costa Rica, July 2011, I wanted to share a few thoughts and another blog site from one of the missionary women that attended our East Africa retreat.
We have been back in the States almost 2 weeks this Wednesday coming up. Wow, it has been something! The fragrance (of Nard John 12:3) has continued to linger and I am supposing it will linger until His coming!

One evening Kathy K. that did our team devotionals for us came with her bowl and towel as we took turns washing one another’s feet and as she sang over each one of us as the foot washing took place. It was an incredible experience.

That picture of foot washing is very much symbolic of this retreat as a whole. While we were in the country God allowed us to wash the feet of the women through prayer, fellowship, worship, messages, times of relaxing, laughter, tears, humor, and serious stuff. Now that we are home the women are washing our feet with the sweet testimony of how God has worked in their lives through our time with them. There is no way to post all the foot washing that is going on but I must say it is for HIS GLORY!!! There is no greater object lesson for teaching giving and receiving and receiving and giving like foot washing. It is truly a humbling experience on either side.

I want to refer you to the following blog for yet another extensive recap of what God did in East Africa. Thanks…Kelly for your awesome blog and I loved the video that was posted!

http://kellyrompel.com/index.php?id=003

Don’t forget to let your missionary friends in Costa Rica know that registration began on-line today, Monday, March 21, 2011.  Go to http://www.purejoyinternational.org/ then click on Retreats.

Also, I want to say a great thank you to those of you that are making Pure Joy a place to invest your resources for kingdom work! May we always be honorable to HIM with every penny!

Love you all,

His,
Vickie

Monday, March 14, 2011

Home again...

We are back from East Africa with our cups overflowing with the JOY of His presence throughout our time with the ladies in that area. We are already receiving emails from them with words of thanks and encouragement for the ministry of Pure Joy. There are truly no words to explain the Most Awesome Presence of the LORD as we journeyed together there with the ladies. Their hearts were so open and ready and in need of all that HE sent us with in gifts, music, messages, prayers, fellowship, etc.
Many of these ladies have their own blog. Yesterday we received an email from one of the ladies sharing her blog and what she had written about the Retreat. I’m thinking it would warm your hearts more to hear from one of the ladies that actually experienced all the prayers, giving, and going! So, click on the following site and enjoy.

http://tothebridgeandback.blogspot.com/

What a great treat to walk with these ladies as they share their stories and to have the privilege to pray for them! Again there are no words sufficient enough to tell you what took place during our time there but know this, not one drop of your prayers, giving, and going was wasted! In fact I feel confident in saying it will all be multiplied many times over for the kingdom’s sake!

Please pray for me personally as I walk out the things God has placed on my heart while in East Africa for Pure Joy Ministry. Pray for wisdom, strength, fortitude, faith, and total reliance on HIS WORD, HIS PROVISION, and HIS COUNSEL!

Loving you all MUCH!

His,
Vickie

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Greetings from East Africa...

There are no words to explain what our Loving Father has been up to in the hearts of the missionary women and the team members as our time together comes to a close today. The week has been full!
The gifts that they have received from those of you back in the states have overwhelmed them! They have been in AWE of how God moved on your hearts to be a part of their journey! I wish I could just let you see the looks on their face every time we share about something you did and or they open a new gift from you. The thing that is always so tender to them is the Prayer Cards they will receive today that so many of you took time to pray for them and write them a card. They treasure those things in their hearts.

The messages have all been incredible and just what God has for this group of women specifically. He has been a VERY PERSONAL GOD TO THEM THE LAST FOR DAYS AND TO THE TEAM!

God has also spoken very clearly to me while I have been here in East Africa and has many awesome plans for Pure Joy International in the days ahead. I covet your prayers, continued giving, and GOING as He moves us forward in the home stretch of our time on this earth!!!

Love you all and can’t wait to get home and be able to get some pics posted for you of the trip!!

His,
Vickie

P.S. The crackers have been Great!!!!! You know who we are talking to!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Unbelievable...

We are here! Which some of you that are signed up as Friends of Pure Joy already know. Our flights were excellent! God did some awesome things getting us through the airports. As I kept telling the girls it is like being on angels wings. Today, we spent time with our contact missionary learning about her work in this part of East Africa. Awesome, work is being done through Wycliffe Bible Translators to get the Word of God to all peoples in all Nations. Praise His Name!
We are also having excellent team time as well. Actually, as I type this blog I am sitting in a room with some of the team while they are trying to contact family through the internet. Today, some of the ladies took a taxi ride through the area looking at the country. By the way, Taxi here means a motorcycle with a driver from the local people and as many people that are willing to ride behind him! Seriously!!! Sharon, Kathy, and our contact missionary took the plunge each with their private driver. The rest of us rode safely in the van, all the wives confident that their husbands would not want them in such peril riding without a helmet.

We are having a great time getting to know each other as a team. Please pray that God continues to strengthen us as a team while we spend one more day out in another area tomorrow before we begin getting ready for the ladies to come in.

Because we are spending time together we have been sharing stories. Today, during our team devotional time Kathy asked us to share about how God called each of us to serve on this trip. Below is a great story! It is a great story because of when God begin to deal with this precious young mom’s heart about this trip and her journey of faithfulness to the LORD!

Keep Praying! Love you!

His,
Vickie

Colleen’s Story...

What a blessing to be of the “called” of the LORD. As we gathered today to share of the Lord’s call for each of us to take this journey, I had the privilege of sharing His call to me. About two years ago, Vickie came to our church to share of the ministry she was doing all over the world. As she spoke, the Lord whispered into my heart that this would be a place for me to serve. I have been a Christian since I was a small child, but never heard the Lord call me abroad. I have learned through my years of walking with the Lord to wait for His timing. He shares the direction and then I wait on His “go”. My precious friend Janet went with Pure Joy to Poland that year and came home with stories of the missionaries and I again heard the Lord saying I could go and serve. Again I waited for a specific destination, but began preparing myself to go. The next spring I applied for my passport and began getting my shots for travel. The travel Dr. was somewhat baffled at how I could be preparing for a trip I had no destination for, but did inoculate me for the most common ailments. Then this past December my friend Janet let me know she had been invited to attend another mission trip and it would be Uganda. This trip would take place in March. I smiled and commented about how good that would be for her and went on my way into the Christmas holidays. In the meantime my husband and I had been reading several books. I was almost finished with Experiencing God and he was finishing up Radical. We had just been talking about how we needed to be looking for opportunities to “go” and serve the Lord when Janet called to ask if I might be interested in going. It didn’t take us long to meet with the Lord to have an answer. How good God?s timing is for me. He took time with me to be able to plan and prepare. He knows my heart and He knows my ways. He will patiently wait for the heart that seeks Him. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10. I also praise God for my husband and children who carry on in my absence and support me with their love and prayers.