A few weeks ago while standing by a young, pretty, little 16 year old girl at church, we were making small talk and I mentioned I was trying to eat right and get in shape. She answered in her sweet, kind voice, “Well, it’s never too late!” I could hardly keep from laughing aloud because to her I wasn’t long for this world. Thinking more about this recently I began to think she was prophetic in what she was saying. It’s never too late!
There are some unchangeables in all of our lives. We can’t go back and undo some of the wrong choices we made or some that others have made on our behalf. But we can forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal for that which God has called us. But, time is short. It is short for all of us even if we are 16 or 60!
This brings me to my point. I believe that in June God began preparing me to go on two mission trips this fall. It was not a typical preparation because I was in fact mad. I was mad at some circumstances in my life, but truly after some time I realized I was just mad at myself for the sin of gluttony and laziness I had allowed to become part of my life. I began walking almost daily and when I began it was such drudgery. On my walks I began to sometimes pray, sometimes memorize scripture, and sometimes just meditate on Him and His creation and His goodness to me. Now I look forward to that daily time.
Then God allowed two opportunities for trips. In my heart for the past year or so I thought if there were two places I would like to go it would be Africa or Ecuador. Well, I’m not going to Africa but in New York I will be working with missionaries who are focusing on the West African population. When Wendy approached me about going to Ecuador I had just committed to go to New York. It didn’t seem practical or reasonable to go again in November. But, when I met in Morrilton with the team recently I knew it was His plan for me to go. It might not seem right or reasonable to anyone else, but time is short and I want to press on!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Penny Morrow - My Story
My name is Penny Morrow. Vickie asked us to blog on how we came to be on the 2007 Quito, Ecuador Team, so here goes. I have always had a “heart” for Missionaries who are on the field over seas, as my father was a Pastor for much of my life and we always had Missionaries and their families in our home. As an adult, God had given me the desire to go on a “mission” trip for quite some time but I always allowed other things to stand in the way. Having served in many areas and many church’s, I experienced a season of “burn-out” for a time. From the moment Vickie first told me about Pure Joy International and its purpose, I knew God wanted me to be involved with this ministry. I didn’t know when, where or how, but I felt the call.
Now a couple of years later and through much prayer, along with the support and prayers from my sweet husband, I am a member of the 2007 Quito, Ecuador Team! I am so excited - it’s spilling over! I can’t wait to step off that plane in Quito and “overflow” on every missionary woman I come in contact with! But do pray that we don’t have any active volcanoes while we are over there!
Now a couple of years later and through much prayer, along with the support and prayers from my sweet husband, I am a member of the 2007 Quito, Ecuador Team! I am so excited - it’s spilling over! I can’t wait to step off that plane in Quito and “overflow” on every missionary woman I come in contact with! But do pray that we don’t have any active volcanoes while we are over there!
The Time Is Drawing Nearer...
This past weekend we had a great Quito meeting to work on the details for our trip. All team members were present except Barbara O’Chester (speaker), Ruth McWhite (speaker), and Holly Hilderbrand(scrapbooking). It actually felt like we had our own little retreat this weekend! It is always so sweet to see God bring a team together for His ministry. I was going to fill you in on some of the ways God has been at work in this team and bringing people on board but I decided to have the team members do that themselves. So, be watching as their testimonies of God at work in this process are posted. Also, please join us in praying for the missionary women.
Vickie
Vickie
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Hello and Apologies,
Techno Barbie is doing her best to stay on me about getting in a weekly blog. I haven’t been much help to her with that this past week. But the important thing is I’m writing now.
I have been in a whirlwind of excitement watching God’s hand work to continue to put together our Quito Trip and also begin our planning for the Costa Rica trip in Feb. Tuesday Penny Morrow (one of the Quito Team members) and I went to Jonesboro, AR to meet with several women that have been praying about being a part of the team. It was awesome to watch the Holy Spirit move even during our time together! I also had the opportunity to visit with their Missions Minister Larry Bailey and we began discussing ministry opportunities for next year in Africa.
Monday night I was with our church family here at FBC as we attended an association meeting with Robbie Tingle from our State Office who works with missions. He also provided a connection for us regarding a trip next year. It is exciting to see God bringing the opportunities to minister to the women missionaries overseas in the fashion He has designed for Pure Joy International.
Having said all of that I am asking you to please consider how God would have you become involved in this ministry. We will always be in need of your prayers and financial resources but just as importantly WE NEED YOU! Please pray about your church being one of the sponsoring churches for a retreat. We love to connect two or three churches as the sponsoring churches for these retreats. That is why I like to call it an inside out ministry. It is not just about what God can do through us for the missionary women but what God also wants to do for us as a team and churches here in the U.S.
Don’t be boxed in by the fact that I live in Arkansas. If you sense God’s direction for your church to be a partner on a retreat team, then contact us. I am more than happy to travel to meet with you and share the vision of the ministry with you.
You may ask but what can I do? We take speakers, worship leaders, piano players, hospitality people, craft people (beading, scrap-booking, etc.), drama people, video, camera people, prayer warriors, etc. We take who and what God directs us to do for that particular group of women after much time in prayer.
By the way, Penny got her passport back this week and she just sent off for it 3 weeks ago. Janice Mobley (another team member) and I sent off for ours before her and we haven’t seen them yet. Maybe because ours were being renewed it made a difference. I say all that to say…pray for us that they come in.
Would love to hear from some of you and it would be sweet to hear from some of the missionaries that will be attending our upcoming Quito retreat.
His, Vickie
Techno Barbie is doing her best to stay on me about getting in a weekly blog. I haven’t been much help to her with that this past week. But the important thing is I’m writing now.
I have been in a whirlwind of excitement watching God’s hand work to continue to put together our Quito Trip and also begin our planning for the Costa Rica trip in Feb. Tuesday Penny Morrow (one of the Quito Team members) and I went to Jonesboro, AR to meet with several women that have been praying about being a part of the team. It was awesome to watch the Holy Spirit move even during our time together! I also had the opportunity to visit with their Missions Minister Larry Bailey and we began discussing ministry opportunities for next year in Africa.
Monday night I was with our church family here at FBC as we attended an association meeting with Robbie Tingle from our State Office who works with missions. He also provided a connection for us regarding a trip next year. It is exciting to see God bringing the opportunities to minister to the women missionaries overseas in the fashion He has designed for Pure Joy International.
Having said all of that I am asking you to please consider how God would have you become involved in this ministry. We will always be in need of your prayers and financial resources but just as importantly WE NEED YOU! Please pray about your church being one of the sponsoring churches for a retreat. We love to connect two or three churches as the sponsoring churches for these retreats. That is why I like to call it an inside out ministry. It is not just about what God can do through us for the missionary women but what God also wants to do for us as a team and churches here in the U.S.
Don’t be boxed in by the fact that I live in Arkansas. If you sense God’s direction for your church to be a partner on a retreat team, then contact us. I am more than happy to travel to meet with you and share the vision of the ministry with you.
You may ask but what can I do? We take speakers, worship leaders, piano players, hospitality people, craft people (beading, scrap-booking, etc.), drama people, video, camera people, prayer warriors, etc. We take who and what God directs us to do for that particular group of women after much time in prayer.
By the way, Penny got her passport back this week and she just sent off for it 3 weeks ago. Janice Mobley (another team member) and I sent off for ours before her and we haven’t seen them yet. Maybe because ours were being renewed it made a difference. I say all that to say…pray for us that they come in.
Would love to hear from some of you and it would be sweet to hear from some of the missionaries that will be attending our upcoming Quito retreat.
His, Vickie
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Another Team Member Added
Greetings Dear Ones…
We are steadily moving forward in regard to our trip to Quito. We have prayer groups meeting in 5 different states, plus the missionary women in Quito praying for the trip. The states include Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. These groups are meeting for at least one hour weekly to pray specifically for the missionary women that will be attending, the team that will be coming, our messages, the worship time, the activity and free time, financial provision, and anything else God puts in our hearts to pray for regarding the retreat. I encourage you if you are praying for us weekly, daily, etc., we would love to hear from you and to know where you are from.
I am excited to share with you that Patty Shipp, a dear friend, board member, and as I call her my personal….Techno Barbie (without blonde hair, ha,ha,ha) whom I have learned not to leave the country without, is making a way for us to be able to allow those of you that are making contributions to the trip through prayer and financial support to be able to access more of the personal aspect of the trip. So pray for her as she works on this.
Our team is now up to 13 with two more spots to fill. This past week as our prayer group here at home was praying God really impressed me that there was some else from my home church that was suppose to be on this trip. I shared that with the group after prayer. The next day I was visiting with a woman in our church that helps to head our Women’s Ministry and as I was preparing to walk off the LORD impressed heavily upon me that she was the one. I called her later in the afternoon and shared with her what had happened and reminded her that I am not trying to be her Holy Spirit but that I was being obedient to what God had laid on my heart. I then asked her to pray and be open to what God would be speaking to her heart. She did pray and spoke with her husband and got his blessing and we are glad to have Janice Mobley come on board with us.
It is so important to remember that if God has something in store for you, He will tell you as well as the other people. So many times in my counseling ministry I hear people tell me that so and so told them that they where going to be doing so and so. I always remind women that when someone shares something with me that God has supposedly told them about me or that I am suppose to do…that one of two things is happening: (1) God has already began showing me that personally and that person’s word is for affirmation, and or (2) God hasn’t shown me that yet personally so I put it on the shelf until He reveals it to me in His timing and still it is affirmation and to be quite honest with you I have had some things told to me by others that God has yet to affirm so, those kind words ( and sometimes not so kind) from others on the shelf! And trust me my flesh rises up at times and wants to open the jar (of the kind words of course) as from God but I learned years ago that He isn’t withholding anything from me and if it is of Him, He will reveal it to me in His time.
Sorry, you will learn that sometimes I take a little “side bar” if you will. You know what a “side bar” is; it isn’t the main meal just something extra. Some people call it chasing rabbits. I’m a believer that attends a Southern Baptist church; we have to make everything about food! Ha,ha,ha,ha.
I am looking forward to some of you writing to us and sharing your hearts, your thoughts and your stories.
His, Vickie
We are steadily moving forward in regard to our trip to Quito. We have prayer groups meeting in 5 different states, plus the missionary women in Quito praying for the trip. The states include Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. These groups are meeting for at least one hour weekly to pray specifically for the missionary women that will be attending, the team that will be coming, our messages, the worship time, the activity and free time, financial provision, and anything else God puts in our hearts to pray for regarding the retreat. I encourage you if you are praying for us weekly, daily, etc., we would love to hear from you and to know where you are from.
I am excited to share with you that Patty Shipp, a dear friend, board member, and as I call her my personal….Techno Barbie (without blonde hair, ha,ha,ha) whom I have learned not to leave the country without, is making a way for us to be able to allow those of you that are making contributions to the trip through prayer and financial support to be able to access more of the personal aspect of the trip. So pray for her as she works on this.
Our team is now up to 13 with two more spots to fill. This past week as our prayer group here at home was praying God really impressed me that there was some else from my home church that was suppose to be on this trip. I shared that with the group after prayer. The next day I was visiting with a woman in our church that helps to head our Women’s Ministry and as I was preparing to walk off the LORD impressed heavily upon me that she was the one. I called her later in the afternoon and shared with her what had happened and reminded her that I am not trying to be her Holy Spirit but that I was being obedient to what God had laid on my heart. I then asked her to pray and be open to what God would be speaking to her heart. She did pray and spoke with her husband and got his blessing and we are glad to have Janice Mobley come on board with us.
It is so important to remember that if God has something in store for you, He will tell you as well as the other people. So many times in my counseling ministry I hear people tell me that so and so told them that they where going to be doing so and so. I always remind women that when someone shares something with me that God has supposedly told them about me or that I am suppose to do…that one of two things is happening: (1) God has already began showing me that personally and that person’s word is for affirmation, and or (2) God hasn’t shown me that yet personally so I put it on the shelf until He reveals it to me in His timing and still it is affirmation and to be quite honest with you I have had some things told to me by others that God has yet to affirm so, those kind words ( and sometimes not so kind) from others on the shelf! And trust me my flesh rises up at times and wants to open the jar (of the kind words of course) as from God but I learned years ago that He isn’t withholding anything from me and if it is of Him, He will reveal it to me in His time.
Sorry, you will learn that sometimes I take a little “side bar” if you will. You know what a “side bar” is; it isn’t the main meal just something extra. Some people call it chasing rabbits. I’m a believer that attends a Southern Baptist church; we have to make everything about food! Ha,ha,ha,ha.
I am looking forward to some of you writing to us and sharing your hearts, your thoughts and your stories.
His, Vickie
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Back to everyday life...
Hope this entry finds each of you doing well. It was good to get away from the office for a week. Hurricane Aaron was nipping at our heels towards the end of the week but ended up going around us there in Padre Island. The most wind and rain we got was coming back to Arkansas.
We almost have our team for Quito, Ecuador in place. I’m excited about that! But for those of you that are praying for us and watching what God is up to in our ministry we will also begin preparations for a retreat to the missionary women in the Costa Rica area to take place Feb. 4-11, 2008. If you would like to see your church be a part of a trip then please prayerfully go to your women’s ministry leader, WMU leader, pastor, etc. and refer them to our web site http://www.purejoyinternational.org. We will be glad to send you a promo video (in the process of being developed), brochure, etc. and I will follow that up with a personal visit if you believe God is leading you to be involved with us by sending team members on a trip, joining as prayer partners, sponsoring missionaries through financial support, etc.
Please remember to pray for our speakers, music person, hospitality people, activities person, etc. for our Quito Trip! We have 39 missionary women signed up for our Quito trip thus far. We like to cap it at 50 because it helps me to honor the vision I believe God gave me for this ministry and that is intimacy with Him and each other throughout the retreat. So, we eat together, worship together, study God’s word together, play together and relax together!
As I spoke with one of the missionaries by email yesterday in Quito I closed my correspondence with her by saying, “Have a Jesus Day.” Immediately it hit me, what are we saying to someone when we say “Have a Jesus Day”? Sounds spiritual but what are we really saying? Then I started to ponder what was a day like was for Jesus? No place to lay His head, people out to kill Him, people calling Him names, talking about Him behind His back, etc., etc.,. In our world we would call that “a bad day”. So, I close with this, if we REALLY are closing the gap between us and our relationship with the Lord so that we may wholly follow Him, expect some bad days!
We almost have our team for Quito, Ecuador in place. I’m excited about that! But for those of you that are praying for us and watching what God is up to in our ministry we will also begin preparations for a retreat to the missionary women in the Costa Rica area to take place Feb. 4-11, 2008. If you would like to see your church be a part of a trip then please prayerfully go to your women’s ministry leader, WMU leader, pastor, etc. and refer them to our web site http://www.purejoyinternational.org. We will be glad to send you a promo video (in the process of being developed), brochure, etc. and I will follow that up with a personal visit if you believe God is leading you to be involved with us by sending team members on a trip, joining as prayer partners, sponsoring missionaries through financial support, etc.
Please remember to pray for our speakers, music person, hospitality people, activities person, etc. for our Quito Trip! We have 39 missionary women signed up for our Quito trip thus far. We like to cap it at 50 because it helps me to honor the vision I believe God gave me for this ministry and that is intimacy with Him and each other throughout the retreat. So, we eat together, worship together, study God’s word together, play together and relax together!
As I spoke with one of the missionaries by email yesterday in Quito I closed my correspondence with her by saying, “Have a Jesus Day.” Immediately it hit me, what are we saying to someone when we say “Have a Jesus Day”? Sounds spiritual but what are we really saying? Then I started to ponder what was a day like was for Jesus? No place to lay His head, people out to kill Him, people calling Him names, talking about Him behind His back, etc., etc.,. In our world we would call that “a bad day”. So, I close with this, if we REALLY are closing the gap between us and our relationship with the Lord so that we may wholly follow Him, expect some bad days!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Update on Quito Retreat
Greetings in the precious name of the Lord!
I am coming to you this week from the beach where I am trying to recuperate from Kids Camp. Now that was an experience!
I want to let you all know how things are going concerning the Quito retreat planning. Team members are coming together and there will soon be a page with team members and their bios on our web site. This will give you an opportunity to get to know the team members and give you faces to pray for as you keep Pure Joy in your prayers.
As you lift this ministry up please continue to pray for God’s direction in every aspect of the Quito retreat. Please also pray for God’s provision for the team and for the missionaries that will be attending the retreat. Pray specifically for financial partners for this retreat. Check back for more updates next week.
I am coming to you this week from the beach where I am trying to recuperate from Kids Camp. Now that was an experience!
I want to let you all know how things are going concerning the Quito retreat planning. Team members are coming together and there will soon be a page with team members and their bios on our web site. This will give you an opportunity to get to know the team members and give you faces to pray for as you keep Pure Joy in your prayers.
As you lift this ministry up please continue to pray for God’s direction in every aspect of the Quito retreat. Please also pray for God’s provision for the team and for the missionaries that will be attending the retreat. Pray specifically for financial partners for this retreat. Check back for more updates next week.
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