Egypt forever in my Heart and Venezuela on the horizon…

Greetings friends of Pure Joy from this small corner of the world.
I apologize for the silence for so long. Truthfully, soon after our trip to Costa Rica I left on a trip to Egypt to minister with a ministry called Rock International that ministers to street children. Ruth McWhite one of our Pure Joy board members accompanied me on the trip so I would not be traveling alone and to bring her expertise to ministering to others as well. I had the privilege of providing some training for some of the nationals that have a heart to work with the street kids. Please remember the nationals in prayer for we have NO clue what they are up against in their journey to reach these kids for Christ. And trust me when I say Christ is their only hope. Christ is our only hope too, but you actually get that when you are among this culture! This is my second week since returning from Egypt and I can gladly say that I am finally beginning to rise up out of the depression that set in on me after my return. I am still gleaning from the LORD things I saw and was exposed to while there. On the brighter side I met some absolutely wonderful people that love our Lord and Savior and are serving Him diligently. Praise God for the opportunities to see Him at work throughout this world!!!

Changing gears ………Calling in all prayer friends:
Details are coming together as we prepare for our next retreat which will be in Venezuela. Please begin to pray as the sponsoring churches, team members, and details begin to unfold on this side. Also, pray for our ladies in Venezuela to hear of this opportunity and register on line at www.purejoyinternational.org. Our theme for Venezuela is “Love Story” The Power of the Cross. Our verse is 1 Cor 1:18, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Please begin to pray as God brings the speakers for this retreat, the praise and worship team, hospitality persons, activity persons, etc. Pray for all our arrangements in Venezuela to continue to fall in to place and pray that God will give us favor at every turn. Pray about if you are also to help sponsor a missionary to this retreat. Our cost per missionary this trip has gone up $50 dollars due to the economy of the country. Cost per missionary is $400 to provide for their room and board in a nice environment, materials for the conference, gifts, etc. for three days two nights. I encourage you to pray about teaming up with some of your girlfriends and sponsoring a missionary for this trip. See the web site above to learn how to be a part of this ministry through giving.

I am headed to Clovis, New Mexico in a few weeks to minister with a ministry called “Spiritual Seekers”. I have had the opportunity to minister with them in the Oklahoma/Texas area in the past. This will be my first time with the New Mexico girls! Please pray as I continue to prepare messages based on their theme, “Get a Job!!” The topic has to do with the obvious ‘servanthood’ in the body of Christ. Yes, God did prepare in advance those good works He intended us to do. Pray that as a result of our time together the ladies will realize that God is intentional and He has gifted us each for his purposes. Meaning, no one has ever invited me to head up their hospitality ministry! To know me is to know why! However, God does intend for me to have a heart of hospitality. He just doesn’t really want me decorating the table or anything else. He has however taught me many things over the years about hospitality from some of you Martha Stewarts that I really appreciate!

Keep checking the blog for updates on the Venezuela retreat.

His,
Vickie

God Weekend...

I just returned from a GIC (Global Impact Conference) in Jonesboro, AR. For those of you that don’t know what that is: it is when a church brings in missionaries from the local community, state, nation, and overseas to spend time with their church family and share needs and opportunities for all ages. Many partnerships with local churches and missions organizations take place as a result of this time together. Larry Bailey, the Missions Minister of Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, does know how to throw a great GIC conference with 9+ years of experience putting them together!

Pure Joy was invited because we are missionaries to the missionaries. Patty, who you all know as our techno person, attended the retreat with me. We spent time with 3 ladies Sunday School Groups there at Central. Friday night we had a meal with them, how many people know that you can’t beat a potluck with a group of women cooking! I truly have to say I personally had to confess sin over the gluttony I participated in. I then was able to share with them for a while about Pure Joy and how they could be a part of what God is doing through Pure Joy. Saturday morning we had breakfast at a wonderful restaurant. Again, I left there confessing sin. Then we went to a fellowship for all missionaries attend the event. While there we made connections for two possible retreats in 2009 one in Jordan and another in Mexico. Believe it or not I left there without the sin of gluttony.



We then attended a luncheon for women. There we heard a wonderful speaker as she encouraged us to be on mission for God. If I had eaten the second Snicker Doodle cookie I would have crossed over into sin but luckily someone else got to it first and took the opportunity for sin away.

We then had the afternoon free, so I took that opportunity to meet with some key people regarding our Venezuela Retreat coming up in Sept or Oct of this year. We had a sweet time of planning and you will be able to see our theme, verse, etc. soon for the Venezuela trip by going to www.purejoyinternational and clicking on Venezuela. Melinda Emerson our graphics design guru is the best!

We then attended a banquet for the church and the missionaries. Walker Moore, Awe Star Ministries, was the speaker and did an awesome job! The rest of the night was free so some of us girls made our way to a very important place in my life…..a coffee shop. In case you don’t know this about me yet, coffee and some blood runs through my veins. They almost had to have me carried out off the coffee plantation when we were in Costa Rica. Just awesome, the smell, the coffee, the chocolate beans, etc.

And then finally Sunday morning the sweetest opportunity was in being able to share with the three ladies classes a word from God and about Pure Joy. Those sweet ladies went together and purchased a HDTV flat screen TV for our ministry to be used at events such as theirs along with extra money left over towards a new laptop for the ministry. The blessings were overwhelming. The most precious thing they gave us was encouragement and hearts for JESUS!! What a Jesus weekend! Thank you ladies of Dorothy Jackson’s, Charlotte Greenwood’s, and Kathy Farley’s Classes at Central Baptist for all you did to encourage our mission with God! Keep praying, giving, going wherever HE calls you to be a part!

We left Central yesterday afternoon with three possible trips on the pages for 2009, Poland, Mexico, and Jordan. Please pray and see if God would have you be a part of any of those trips and please begin to pray as God puts together the team and resources for Venezuela.

His,
vickie

A Missionary Shares Her Heart...

It is always such affirmation to our ministry when we hear these heart felt words from our missioary sisters following a retreat. I wanted everyone to be able to catch a glimspe of what God did in Costa Rica through reading this email from one of the missionaries that attended the Costa Rica Retreat. Thank you ladies for sharing your stories with His women around the world.

Dear Pure Joy Costa Rica retreat team,
Words can not express my gratitude to you and the Lord for your overwhelming love that was showed during the Pure Joy retreat. When I heard about the retreat I had no expectations. I am a "strong" woman and Ladies' retreats aren't my thing. After checking your web-site and seeing that you weren't a cult, just Baptists, I figured that theologically you would be OK and at least I would get a nice few days at a fancy hotel for free. I didn't have anything to lose so I signed up.

The Lord began working on my heart the minute that you all greeted me when I arrived. You each acted as if you were seeing a long lost friend and now I know why. When you told me that you had been praying for me, I couldn't believe it. How could you be praying for me..a stranger? My heart began to soften.

But you know what....I was still guarded and skeptical. After all, I am a "strong" missionary. Then Vickie gave her testimony and I was blown away. She wasn't a stereotypical Barbie doll Baptist who walked down the isle at an alter call in her church as a child. (Vickie, you may not be a Barbie doll but you are more beautiful than Barbie both inside and out.) I loved the fact that she had lived a real life with real problems and that God met her right where she was. Thank you for being so transparent. It ministered to me and I felt like from that moment on, I could trust you.

Then Marsha spoke. Surprise, surprise. She didn't fit my stereotype either. She had lived the missionary life (which I am sure Barbie could never do) and was also transparent. Well, I guess I wasn't too surprised when Kathy didn't turn out to be Barbie either. In fact, I think that my greatest weakness is just like her...I am too strong. (Kathy, I have never wanted to go on a prayer retreat either and I certainly would have taken a nap on the blanket.) Then Merry Beth spoke. Well, Merry Beth, you almost fooled me, but when you shared from your heart about what happened with your children right before you were going to lead those prayer rallies I knew that you weren't Barbie either becaue she would never have anything but perfect kids. (I think maybe you are a GI Jane disguised in a Barbie
figure!) Amazing, 4 very real women....not plastic Barbie dolls.

I can't tell you how each of you ministered to me with your transparency about your own lives. The deepness of your walk with the Lord was so evident and the Bible truths that you taught blew me away. You are all awesome teachers and public speakers. You qualify to be in a colosium teaching at a convention but instead you came to Costa Rica to minister to us. What a gift from the Lord.

Each of the rest of you had such a vital part in the behind the scenes working of this retreat. You were such a team, each with your specific role that you did so well. Everything was excellently organized and carried out and you pampered us so much. We needed to be loved and we received your outpouring of it. Thank you for all the preparation, prayer and long hours you put in, to minister to us.

For me, more than all the beutiful gifts, the presentation that they were given to us in filled me up. I am so glad that you Martha Stewerts came along. We don't have all those beautiful gift bags, ribbons, bright colors and fru fru here in Costa Rica. Just walking in the rooms and seeing the beautiful presentations on each table, took my breath away. Then there were all the wonderful things inside the bag. I was just longing for some nice lotion like they sell at Bath and Body works. Well, I now have enough lotion for not only myself but for all my friends too!

The last day, when I entered the lunch room and saw all the cards, I got a knot in my throat. I was overwhelmed that there were so many people praying for me, even without knowing me. It just reinforced for me, how much God cares about me. Do you know, that in my pile of cards, there was even a Valentines Day card. That just made me cry out because a few weeks ago I asked our Sunday School class to please send me Valentines Day cards. With e-mail, I rarely get mail anymore and I just so love looking at beautiful cards. I love pink and hearts so I was longing for some of those Valentines Day beauties. And here, the Lord knew and had someone send me one through you.

It was so nice to be on the receiving end for a change. Thank you for all that you did for me at Pure Joy in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica….God Does It Again!!

As I sit here at the Costa Rica Airport waiting for our Team to return to the states I am overwhelmed by God’s continual Faithfulness to Pure Joy International. This retreat, like each retreat, was exactly what God had in store for this group of women. What a beautiful group of missionary women coming together from so many missions organizations.

As with each retreat words cannot possible be enough to reveal the things God accomplished in the lives of the missionary women and this team during the past 7 days. He knows every little detail and the importance of it to our lives. I shared with our team last night during our team briefing that it is amazing to me how God works each specific retreat to His Glory!!! One of the ladies said to me last night, “Surely we are the best team you have ever had?” I laughed and said, “You are the best team for this retreat!” We all had a good laugh from it. Every retreat is different and each team is the best team for that retreat.

I want to thank everyone of you that gave to the Costa Rica Retreat. The one thing that the ladies really acknowledged was that it was very obviously to them that much prayer has gone into our time with them. They cannot believe that so many of you are praying for them. I want to encourage those of you that have been praying for the retreat to write comments on this blog about how praying for the missionary women has affected your life. I have also asked the missionary women to take time to write on the blog to you and share how God used the retreat in their lives, so be watching for that in the weeks to come.

Well, time to board, but just wanted to briefly say to all of you Friends of Pure Joy….THANK YOU FOR LOVING JESUS AND LETTING US IN ON IT!!!

Room For Three!

Good afternoon bloggers! We are hitting our deadline this Wednesday for any missionary women in the Costa Rica or surrounding area that would like to sign up for Pure Joy’s Costa Rica Retreat for Women Missionaries. Don’t missing this opportunity if you have not signed up yet. We will receive no more registrations after 5:00 on Wednesday afternoon. To register please go to www.purejoyinternational.org and click on registration.

The Costa Rica Retreat team is absolutely getting more and more excited about what God is up to for this retreat! It is going to be such a sweet time in the LORD, full of encouragement, worship, fellowship, and fun!!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do a lock-in with our 3rd through 6th graders at my home church. The previous weekend I had the opportunity to minister to a group of women from Paragould, AR. at a ladies retreat on the lake in a wonderful lake house. Funny thing, the women stayed up most of the night just like those kids. So what is it with staying up all night when we get to go to these things? My body is confused about it all!! Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha

Both of those events were of great joy to me personally. In fact that group of women in Paragould took up an offering to sponsor one of our missionary women in Costa Rica and then some. At our kids lock-in I had the opportunity to lead a young 11 year old to the LORD! Sweetest thing in the world to watch JESUS capture the heart of a child!!!! While I’m on this subject…when is the last time you shared your testimony with someone? Believe it or not there are people that live and work around us every day that do not know how to enter into that eternal relationship! A testimony is just the thing to spring open the door of conversation. Overcome your own fears and step out in bold faith trusting the Spirit of God to give you the right words at the right time! Remember, God’s timing is perfect and He is the Savior not you and I! We are however responsible to share the Good News!

Just a quick note to finish…I just visited with a 10 year-old that attended the lock-in Friday as well. He informed me that he was saved on Christmas Eve! I wish you could have heard this young mans testimony. Wow! Out of the mouth of babes! Anyway, we talked about baptism today and this Sunday he will follow the LORD in this act of obedience! I share the two stories with you today to remind you, God is at working drawing men, women, and children to Him near and far! We are all missionaries for the kingdom!!!!

Closing in on Costa Rica

Okay friends, approximately five weeks and counting! Costa Rica is coming into focus as we spend these last five weeks in preparation. Funny about putting together a retreat like this. It reminds me of baking which will make some of you that know me laugh out loud! First you have to decide what kind of cake you want to make. Then you have to go about the business of finding the ingredients for that particular cake because that is what makes it that cake! Next you have to be sure to measure out the right amount of those ingredients as you begin to mix it together and then you spend time stirring it so it can really blend well. Last comes pouring it into a prepared pan and putting it in the oven to cook. Then when it comes out, it looks WONDERFUL (that is a faith statement…ha!) and you put on the final touch of icing and it is ready to be served, savored and enjoyed!!

Having said all of that, I suspect as of today we are in the measuring out the ingredients part of the recipe for our Coast Rica Cake. We meet as a team at Eastside Baptist in Ft. Smith this coming Sunday afternoon to really begin mixing and stirring the ingredients so please be praying for us! Can you imagine 16 women working on one cake! That is a miracle before we ever leave the country!!! Ha…ha!

His,
vickie

P.S. We could have baked a just add egg and water cake but Nahhhhh! Our missionary women deserve better than that!!!

Hear a Team Members Heart

Hey Guys, I thought you would enjoy hearing about a ministry that Kathy Coleman, one of our Costa Rica team members is involved in. I asked her to give me some information on it...so here it is.

A Ladies' Retreat is what changed my life! In 1995, I began a walk with God that took me into uncharted territories. As I began to pray with 3 other women after this retreat for God's will in my life, God took me to an article about moms in Brazil who came together to pray for their children. I then felt that God was calling me to start a yearly day of prayer for moms in our city. The first Mom's Day of Prayer was held in Ft. Smith, Arkansas in January 1998. Then in 2004, I felt the call of God to take the MDOP outside of Ft. Smith so it has become a worldwide event. The Mom's Day of Prayer is held the 3rd Saturday of each January across the world. It is with great JOY that I will have the opportunity to share with the ladies in Costa Rica about this movement of God. If you would like further information please visit the MDOP website at www.momsdayofprayer.com.

If you have a chance check out her web site! Keep checking the blog we will have more news about the Costa Rica preparations soon.

His,
Vickie