"Brianne Poppins"

Brianne is preparing to travel with the Barbers to Montana to serve as Lily Barber's nanny for 3 of the families 5 month YWAM DTS. As you can see Bri has an amazing love for children and she is excited to explore her opportunities in serving the Lord in missions. Bri needs to raise about $400 more and needs more prayer support as well. If you would like to partner with Bri please comment on this blog or write to missions@thestirring.org . Join us at Chevy's on September 12th 12-4. 25% of your bill will support the Barber's and Bri. See you there!

Stirring Missions Chevy's Fundraiser

Print and bring this flyer with you to Chevy's September 12th 12pm-4pm
We will also be sending off the Barbers and their Nanny, Brianne Harris to YWAM Montana that afternoon. Come and enjoy a Stirring family lunch at Chevy's!!

CAR WASH for the Barbers Abroad

Saturday July 31st · 10:00am - 4:00pm
DAIRY QUEEN CHURN CREEK ROAD

The Stirring will be raising money to send the Barbers out as a missionary family. They will be serving with YWAM Montana and receiving their training there before going overseas for an outreach.

Tell your friends! We will be washing cars July 31st from 10am-4pm

We need help washing cars. Please let us know if you can help wash cars for a few hours.

Prayer Requests for the Lains

Wonderful Friends and Family,
Thanks for your prayers as we get ready for a big month of transitions ahead!!!  Thank you in advance for spending extra time praying this month since we know there is  lot to pray about!   We love you guys!  We really cannot do any of this without your support and prayers!  Be on the look out for a you-tube video update and ways you can support us prayerfully and financially next week!
 
Joining with you in carrying His Kingdom with us wherever we go!
Larry and Krista Lain
Averiana and Eli
 
PRAY FOR THE LAINS AUGUST 2010
1.  Only 3 weeks to go (out of 8) of Kazakh Language Study at Indiana University 
(5 days a week/8 hours a day-4 hours in class and 4 hours of homework each day)
Pray for perseverance and that we would finish well
Pray for retention of learning a lot of information in a short time (over 1000 words and LOTS of grammatical structures to memorize!)
Pray for great bonding time for our children with grandparents while we are away
Pray for great memorable weekends with our kids and our families
2.  Pray for our MOVE back to Mongolia!
Pray for wisdom to know what we need to bring back as we pack
Pray for our flight on Sunday, August 15 from Chicago to San Fran
Pray for our flight on Monday, August 16 from San Fran to Mongolia
Pray for peace, patience, along with excitement and joy as we reunite with friends
Pray for a great Field Forum with all our teammates on August 20-25.
3.  Pray for PREPARATION as we get ready to move to Western Mongolia September 1st!
Pray again for wisdom as we pack up our stuff from Darhan to Hovd (30-40 hour trip)
Pray as we find a way to transport all our belongings
Pray that we would be able to find an apartment quickly and easily
Pray that we would be connected with a GREAT host family to set up a ger in their yard...for life-long friendships to develop
4.  Pray for our ADOPTION paperwork to be processed quickly and smoothly
Praise the Lord!  All the paperwork is in the mail!!! 
Pray that they receive all the right paperwork that it is filled out correctly, that it reaches the right destinations and that it is processed quickly
Pray that we are given a fingerprinting appointment before we leave for Mongolia (very important)
Pray that God will prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for our new child(ren)
*Pray for PATIENCE as we wait! 
*We have about 2-3 months to wait until we get APPROVED (GOD WILLING...Please pray for God's will for APPROVAL of one or two children!!!)
Then we will most likely have about 6-12 months to wait until we receive our child(ren)...Potentially we could bring them home next summer! 
 
Thanks so much for joining with us and praying for us as we follow the Lord!  May you be blessed as you follow Him as well!  We love you guys!
 

Back from Tanzania... A new chapter

Check out Tessa's amazing pictures and update about her time in Tanzania.
http://tessaratner.blogspot.com/2010/07/back-from-tanzania-new-chapter.html

Amsterdam Team returns to Redding!

http://amsterdamteam2010.blogspot.com/2010/06/hello-california.html

Sarah Arrives in Jordan!

Sarah arrived in Jordan safely. Check out her blog or write her a letter!
Now the moment you've all been waiting for!!!
My mailing address:
Sarah Schepens
PO Box 815354
Amman, Jordan 11180

I will appreciate anything you wish to send...I love letters and packages!!:) But please know that most of your stuff will probably be read and searched--there's nothing that should cause a huge problem--just know that nothing is super confidential around here. Also, please don't send huge boxes..those will probably get stuck in customs in Aqaba. But smaller boxes and big envelopes are fine.

Thank you all for your prayers and for your support!!! I appreciate knowing I have so many people who support me and are praying for me daily. Thank you!

Continually trusting Him,
Sarah

Nanny needed for Lillian

The Barbers need a mission’s nanny
YWAM Montana requires that we have a nanny for the first three months of the training phase. This nanny would not be required to go on outreach with us. Lillian will be four months when we leave in September and we will need a nanny for three months. We are looking for someone who is responsible, has experience with kids, loves God, and has a great outlook on life. This would be an awesome experience, because the nanny will still get to sit in on some lectures by and hear some really gifted speakers. The fees for room and board are only $675. It would be great if our nanny was able to raise this support before we go. If you or someone you know is interested or you have more questions please let us know by emailing missions@thestirring.org!

I'm engaged!!

If you have facebook, you may have already read the story of how I got engaged. If not, enjoy!

Piet came down to Port Elizabeth on Friday April 23 to help me close up my time there and help me move to Johannesburg. We had lots of things planned for that week, one of which was a whole day in Jeffreys Bay. Jeffreys Bay is such a special place to us because it was there where we met.

We arrived early April 27 (Tuesday) in Jeffreys Bay and went straight for horseback riding. It was a group of 5 or 6 plus two tour guides. We rode through the hills and the grass for the first half of the ride and it was beautiful! The whole time we kept trying to get the horses to walk side by side, but they were so stubborn! My horse didn't want to stop moving, and Piet's horse didn't want to go. So for pretty much the entire time we were riding about 15 meters apart. I had to turn around to look at Piet. And whenever I would turn around, he had such a serious look on his face. He said he was enjoying everything, but was looking so serious! Little did I know, he was looking so serious because he was trying to figure out how to get the ring out of his pocket!

The second half of the horseback ride is on the beach, and the horses literally walk through the water. So we crossed through the sand dunes and arrived at the beach. It was gorgeous and so romantic! By this time, we were way behind the entire group. It was nice because we were just enjoying it together. The only thing was that the tour guide kept staying just in front of us. I kept wondering why he wouldn't just leave us to be by ourselves.

Eventually, the tour guide asked if he could take some pictures of us. Again, the horses were very stubborn so it took a while for us to get side by side. But the tour guide jumped off his horse to help even us out. We took lots of pictures and suddenly Piet pulled a ring box from his pocket. He asked if I wanted to marry him and showed me the ring! I said "YES!" and couldn't stop smiling! I was so excited and happy! The horses walked side by side for a while and we just enjoyed the moment hand in hand. It was perfect! I wanted to go faster and feel the wind in my hair, so we made the horses run for a bit. I wanted to shout, "I'M ENGAGED!!!" but I resisted. :)

We took so long, that by the time we got back to the stables, everyone else had already dismantled and even gone home!

That night, we had a "surprise" engagement party. It wasn't actually a surprise because I figured it out. I knew Piet was scheming something with my friend Jody, and it made sense that it would be a surprise party. So, we arrived at Jody's house later that night and all the people that I love most (in Port Elizabeth) were waiting for us. It was wonderful!

I can't believe I'm marrying the man of my dreams and ministry partner. I couldn't be more satisfied!

-Leah Rush

Come meet Leah on May 23rd Lunch at Bechelli YAKS @12 noon. $5 lunch available.

Germany -Update

It's been a crazy few weeks as our team has been preparing for Germany, and we just want to thank you for the support you have given us! Whether it has been helping with fundraisers, attending the events, or even giving us bottles and cans to recycle, we couldn't have gotten to this stage in our trip without you!

With that said, we have a couple things that we would like to share with you all. First, our team has shrunk from three people to only two. Jenni and I (Megan) will be going to Germany, while Travis will be fulfilling his internship in Washington state for two months. While we are disappointed that things didn't work as planned, we are excited to see what God will be doing in both Germany and Washington during the summer.

Another thing we want to announce, is that Jenni and I are in the process of receiving airfare! This is a huge step, and makes Germany an even bigger reality for us. We will be leaving on May 23, and coming back on July 24. During our trip we will be sending all updates through e-mail, this blog, and our facebooke group as well (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=315740331803).

So, with all the good, and difficult, things that we have been experiencing, we ask that you continue to pray for us! We still are in need of some money, so please pray for funds (if you want to give, you can do so by logging onto simpsonu.edu/missions and clicking on the Germany Team link). Also, prayer for safety, unity, and being able to get through cultural conflicts would be appreciated.

Thanks again for your support and prayers! There is no way that we could have done this without you guys, and we will keep you updated on our trip as well. If you like to receive updates via e-mail please e-mail me at megan.fitzgerald@ug.simpsonu.edu. Thanks!

Blessings,

Megan Fitzgerald

Lillian Hope Lindsay Barber

On May 4th we welcomed our newest Stirring Missionary into the world!
Jenny and Robert Barber were excited to welcome Lillian with perfect timing to celebrate Mother's day and children dedications this month. The Barbers are raising support for their September departure to their 5 month DTS with YWAM Montana. For more information about the Barbers check out their Blog: www.thebarbers3.blogspot.com

4 days and 20 hours until take off!

I officially leave on Monday the 10th! I am so beyond excited. Thank you all for your support! It has been such an incredible blessing to see all of my friends and family come up behind me to help in this!

I will have access to the internet over there, so I will try to keep you all updated by posting on this page.

I still need about $300 more dollars! Please if you haven't contributed yet, and you were hoping to, please do so as soon as possible! It would be greatly appreciated!

Please be praying for me as I embark on this journey. :)

Blessings to you all,
Tessa

Costa Rica Team

We will be working along with the Christian Surfers Costa Rica organization. Our mission will be to reach surfers with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, connect them to local churches so that they can then go back into their communities and beyond to reach other surfers. Also, we will be working with local after school programs and do some beach cleanup with local kids. So basically, our mission will be to spread the Costa Rican motto “Pura Vida”, which means Pure Life. Living purely and positively and making the best of every moment. Please consider supporting our team through prayer as we are prepare for this incredible opportunity! We will be in Costa Rica from July 25th-August 14th.



*Team Leaders: Marcella Melloni and Megan Furze Team Members: Danielle Caito, Melissa Melloni, and Elaina Unpingco

Germany

Let me introduce myself. My name is Megan Fitzgerald, and I am senior at Simpson University. I am majoring in General Ministries with a minor in Bible and Theology. General Ministries is a program for students who have a passion for ministry, but are not sure where God is calling them. My major requires an internship, and this summer I will be fulfilling this requirement in Germany!

From May 23rd to July 24th I, with two Simpson students (Jenni Lawler and Travis Gonzales), will be working with Youth for Christ to minister to the youth of Germany. Youth for Christ (YFC) is a non-profit organization in which they work to provide teens with the opportunity to make informed decisions to become a follower of Christ. We will be teaming up with another team from South Africa to be apart of YFC’s vision.

What many people don’t realize is that Germany is a spiritually dry nation, and they are not open to Christ as one would hope. Not only is Germany a spiritually dry nation, but also they are experiencing a rapid growth of Muslim conversions. Our ministry will consist of assisting with the South African team and sharing our testimonies with the youth. One of our goals is to help influence teens to become Christian leaders in the country.

We are ecstatic about the opportunity God has provided us! However, we cannot do this without your help and support. We need to raise about $7000 in the next two weeks in order to make this trip possible. That $7000 includes our airfare and our living expenses for while we are in Germany. If you can support us please make your donation through: https://app.etapestry.com/fundraiser/SimpsonU/Germany2010/ . We understand that during this time, finances are tight, and if you are unable to support, we still need lots of prayer. Here are some things that you can pray for:

• That we are able to raise our money in time (we need everything pledged by May 15).
• That as a team, we are able to continue to build our relationships with each other as well as with the South African team.
• That we adjust to culture shock, as we will be living with the South African team and be in Germany at the same time.
• For the people we will be ministering to. That they will be responsive to what we have to say.
• Protection and safety

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at megan.fitzgerald@simpsonu.edu and I would love to answer them!

Blessings,

Megan Fitzgerald and the Germany Team

Amsterdam

Hello everyone we are the Amsterdam Team! We are a team of six girls, Elisa McKeown, Chelsea Engstrom, Niki Helsel, Hannah Klose, Heather Smith, and Natalie Hoy and we will be traveling to the city of Amsterdam on Friday May 21st.

While in Amsterdam we will be staying and working with various YWAM (Youth With A Mission) ministries. We will be staying at the YWAM base in De Poort which is about a 20-minute walk from the Red Light District. Although we are not staying in the Red Light, we will be working there almost every day. We are partnering with two YWAM ministries located in the heart of the Red Light District: The Lighthouse and The Tabernacle of the Nations (www.ywamamsterdam.org ). The Lighthouse is a ministry that focuses on the issue of sex-trafficking and all the issues that go along with that. Their focus is on the prostitutes in the district as well as the brothel owners, buyers, and sellers. We will be helping this ministry with various service projects around their building as they are currently in the process of transition. We will also be able to host craft nights for women, lead devotions, and cook dinner for their bible study groups.

The other ministry, The Tabernacle, is a 24/7 prayer house that is located in an old church building within the Red Light. Their focus is on prayer, worship, and the arts. We will be taking 3-hour time slots throughout the week where we will be in prayer for the city and will worship and paint. Our heart is to intercede on the behalf of the city and to be constantly calling on the Lord for His presence to be made known in the heart of the darkest places in the city. We will also lead prayer walks around the city as well as evangelize through prayer and encounters with people on the streets.

We are really excited for this trip and we know that God has many plans in store for us! We all have hearts to see restoration and healing within the Kingdom of God and we believe that is exactly what God wants to do in Amsterdam, specifically with the Red Light District. We want to go to be able to share the light of Christ that we have with the people of Amsterdam and to partner with those that are already serving and encourage them in their long-term ministry. Our biggest heart is to see this city become a light to the other nations of Europe and to be a place of sending out missionaries to the world to bring transformation! We know that being a short-term team that we cannot accomplish much, but we are at least able to partner with the ones that are there long-term that can accomplish these goals and dreams for this city. We want to be able to lift them up and encourage them in their ministry so that they are able to keep pouring out to those within the Red Light District.

We cannot wait until the day we leave and we trust that God is going to continue to provide as we keep preparing to go! So far we have raised around $7000, however, we are still in need of $9000 in order to leave. We have already purchased our airfare but we still need to raise our living expenses and food for the month. If you would like to donate to our team you can do so through Simpson University at https://app.etapestry.com/fundraiser/SimpsonU/Amsterdam2010. We need to have all of our funds raised by May 15th.

If you would like to pray for us please pray for our financial needs. Here are some other prayer requests as well:

That our team would continued to be unified as we train for our trip and as we are there
That we would have favor as we coordinate with our ministries and missionary contacts
That God would continue to prepare us physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally for whatever we will encounter
For the city of Amsterdam and the ministries there
Protection and safety
Thank you for supporting us and walking with us through this amazing journey!! If you would like to stay updated with what we are doing throughout our trip you can follow our blog at: www.amsterdamteam2010.blogspot.com .

Tessa in Tanzania

Hello friends and family! Or as they say in Swahili, Jambo!

My name is Tessa Ratner, and I am a 21-year-old Simpson student majoring in Cross-Cultural Studies with an emphasis in Transformational Community Development. This is quite a mouthful, but basically it means that I hope to fulfill God’s call to become a holistic missionary. I am passionate about the kingdom of God and fulfilling my call to be a part of Missio Dei, or the mission of God. I feel very blessed to have found such an incredible church family at the Stirring, and I currently serve there in the toddler class room at the morning service, as well as being involved in the creative team, creating images and art for the many series we have. I have been receiving training here at Simpson to be sent out into the world and serve him. And right now I have some very exciting news!

On May 10^th I will be leaving on a jet plane: destination Kigoma, Tanzania. There I will be completing my internship requirement for the Cross-Cultural Studies major. I will be working with an incredible mission called Joy in the Harvest, www.joyintheharvest.com, learning from the missionaries, and the local people there. I have been so blessed to get to know Lowell and Claudia Wertz over the past few months, as we have been corresponding and they are excited for my arrival! I am so excited to join them in Kigoma and each day the excitement rises! While I am unsure of what I will be doing there, I know they have many different projects, ministries, and outreaches that I will be able to participate and be a part of.

Joy in the Harvest is a holistic ministry in Kigoma, Tanzania. Some of their current projects and ministries include:

Feeding the street people three times a week

Refugee camp outreaches, ministry and assistance

Construction of community center

Destitute camp for the handicapped

Job training and education

Trees for Tanzania

And many other services helping local churches and missionaries.

I will be there until the week of June 11^th! I am so very excited to have this opportunity to have such an adventure with God. Please partner with me by praying for me during my time there! Also, I am still raising funds to make this trip possible. I am about $400 away from being able to purchase airfare, which I need to pay for by Monday, and then I still need some more for the trip and hopefully a gift to the ministry I am going to serve in. That leaves me with $1100 more to raise total. If you would like more information on how to donate to my trip fund, please email me at tessa_renae@yahoo.com!

Blessings to you all!

-Tessa Ratner

Almost "home"

One of the girls that I mentor always says I'm obsessed with counting and numbers. I can remember being 9 or 10 and hearing my mom shouting across the house, "Leah? What's the church's phone number?"..."Leah? What's Grandma and Grandpa's number?" And I remembered them all. I had a memory bank of phone numbers.

I suppose it's true that I'm obsessed with numbers because I can tell you that it's 25 days till I am in California, 14 days till I move to Joburg, and 9 days till Piet comes to PE.

I've been thinking a lot lately how I'm so ready to settle somewhere. For almost the last two years, I've been moving around a lot and no where has really been "home". I haven't lived in my parent's house since I was 18. And although that will always be home, it's not really my home. I'm really looking forward to moving on to Joburg because I'll finally be settling down somewhere. It's coming at a good time.

For those of you who don't know, I am planning on getting married within the year. January 1 to be exact. I have no ring on my finger, but that should be coming soon! :) I've been cooking a lot more, partially out of boredom, and Piet says I've been doing a lot of good practicing at being a wife.

Our minds are funny things. I have been just fine being away from my family this whole year. But now that I know I'll be home soon, I've really starting missing home. I've been making a list of foods I'd like to eat (get ready Mom! (-: ), people I'd like to see, and I've even starting driving on the opposite side of the road! (Not on purpose, haha)

Welp, thanks for listening to the thoughts in my head.

Love is a gift, give it.
Be Blessed,

Leah

Shasta College: a campus transformed

Rachel Kuhn, ultimately, wants to see
Shasta College transformed by the
gospel. That’s why she has joined
InterVarsity as a campus missionary.

I believe Shasta College can become
a training ground for a new generation
of world changers. Through
InterVarsity, students discover a deeper
intimacy with Jesus, learn to study the
Bible inductively, pray passionately for
their campus and world, share Christ’s
love in fresh ways, and are
empowered to live out the dreams
God has given them to bring His
Kingdom to earth. Our students will
graduate from Shasta College, not just
with a AA or AS, but with an
experiential degree in mission.
I consider you a significant player in
God’s work in our city, aware of the
importance of reaching the Shasta
College campus with the gospel. I am
inviting you to come meet other
crucial people of influence in the
Redding community and imagine what
it would mean to transform
students’ lives at Shasta College.

I look forward to sharing my goals
and vision for reaching Shasta, and
introducing you to Shawn Young, a
national leader with InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship. My hope is that
together we can map out some
clear steps to make this vision
become a reality. I value your input
in this discussion!

We can do this…together!
April 17th at 6:30 p.m.
Trinity Alliance Church
20639 State Highway 299 E
You can RSVP for this event by email: rach.kuhn@gmail.com

-Rachel Kuhn

Stirring Missions Support and Care Team

Stirring Missions Support and Care Team meeting -

If you are interested in serving and caring for our missionaries, please join us
April 6th 7PM -Simpson University Coffee Shop

For more information please email Kari Beadner kbeadner@gmail.com

Long Term Sirring Missionaries

Larry, Krista, Averiana, and Eli Lain
The Baton Rough Ministry Center 2006-2008
CAMA Services - Mongolia 2008 to present
B-Days
Larry: February 8th
Krista: March 24th
Averiana: December 29, 2000
Eli: March 22, 2004

Anniversary: 9/18/99

Email: larry.krista@gmail.com
The Lain's Blog






Leah Rush
South Africa 9/08 to present

B-Day: July 7th
Email: leahv77@gmail.com
Leah's Blog








M&A
Serving in East Asia
For security of these workers, please send any email correspondence to kburrell@gmail.com and the message will get to them. Please do not use their names or location in comments if you know them. Feel free to correspond with them on facebook!