Okay, normally I would just link you to this post, but it is too good to trust anyone to click here (see, I did give you the option, ha).

This, from Stephanie, one of the leaders at Lake Sawyer Christian Church, their team is in Cascade, ID right now.  Check this out:

Hi all!

We had a very exciting night last night!  There are a lot of hurting kids here in Cascade, and we were able to reach some of them last night, so it really encouraged our team.

After lunch, we had nap time and many of us did our laundry.  We left early to prepare for the barbecue at the park.  Everyone had hotdogs and chips, followed by a few games of kickball.  Matt and Kaylee did an awesome job of sharing their stories!

When we returned to the church, we joined together in worship and in hearing Andy’s testimony.  (He is the youth/associate pastor here at CCC.)  He told his story in such a way that many of the Cascade teens were touched and cried during his message.  Immediately after he finished, Merissa had the opportunity to talk with a girl she has been connected with who had identified herself as an atheist.  She was so touched by his message that she was sobbing by the end.  Merissa was able to lead her into a relationship with Christ!  After they prayed, Andy and Derek prayed with them and talked more with her about the next steps.  It was incredible!  Her name is Patty, so she could definitely use your prayers as she begins this new life.

In the meantime, one of the other girls had been talking with Jordan, who came and told me that she wanted to accept Christ.  So, since Amanda had also been talking with her, I joined her and asked her (Tori) if she understood what Jesus did for her.  She said she kinda got it, so Amanda jumped in and said that she would love to share the bridge of faith with her.  She led her through that with a white board and when she was done, I asked her if she was ready to take the step of committing her life to Jesus.  She said yes and we prayed together, followed by a prayer that she repeated after me.  Then, we joined with Andy and Derek and all prayed together.  She is a girl that Andy has been working with and praying for for quite some time, so this was very exciting for him.  Please keep Tori in your prayers as well!

We got to bed fairly late again and half of our team got up this morning at 5:00am to participate in a “Clean Up Cascade” community project with others from the community.  They returned and got back in bed just as the rest of us got up to have breakfast and get started on other projects.  The students that have been working on the house are almost done and it looks great.  The siding project is now done as well.  We are going to hold a free car wash this afternoon after lunch, so we’re hoping for a lot of people to come through and be invited to outreach tonight.

One of the really cool things that has happened is the way the boys from California have connected with our team.  Jordan and Braydan are here early in the morning until after our family time at night.  Braydan is a baptized believer already and has been hopeful about his brother, so when Jordan decided yesterday that he wants to be baptized before we leave, it was very exciting for him!  Derek met their father today and talked about the specifics, so he will be baptized this afternoon right after our car wash.  Very exciting stuff!!

We miss everyone, but realize that we only have 1-1/2 days with the people of Cascade.  We want to make the most of it and can’t wait to see what else God has planned for the rest of our time here.  Thank you for your prayers and support!  More to come after outreach tonight!

Stephanie

Read this and all the other incredible stories (many other salvation stories) on the youthmark.com blog pages.

Grace,
Brian