Bringin' On The Chill by Ron Everingham

I'm shocked at God's immeasurable love, mercy and grace. A good friend of mine shared some verses out of Mark (10:46-52) this week. This is one of those recounts of Jesus that just amazes me on a lot of levels. A man blind and in darkness meets the savior of the world and is transformed. One of the shocking things is that many of the people with Jesus rebuked the man crying out for Jesus. Where they not getting it? The man wouldn't shut up and kept crying out for Jesus. Then in vs. 49...."and Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” Look around you. Who has Jesus put put in your reach to say "take heart...get up...He is calling you"? What an amazing message of Hope to be able to give to a hurting world!

Seth, Terrance, and I were blessed to go to the 2011 National Missionary Convention to showcase the work of AYM through our program Little Bluebird Studios. We had a blast making and handing out free t-shirts and sharing what God is doing through us on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. As most of you know, we started Little Bluebird Studios about 3 years ago to give Apache youth and community members a job and teach them job skills through a real-world running screen print shop. We spent the whole convention challenging churches, organizations, and others to consider being intentional when it comes to ordering custom t-shirts. Let us quote your next order and you just may be able to get the products you need AND help a mission at the same time. So, if you have a need, please be sure to support AYM and let us quote your next job! If you have any questions about the program go to www.littlebluebird.org

Thanks again for your partnership and prayers as we continue to serve the White Mountain Apache tribe! We pray that you have a blessed holiday season as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Momentum by Seth Harkins

For the past four months our ministry has had a great deal of momentum in both our Tuesday night discipleship group and our Thursday night worship service called "The Rising". Both of these programs have grown by the numbers of students attending and by the amount of leaders we have involved. During the first six months we averaged 5 or 6 students, half of which were out of high school. Now we are averaging 10 every week, all of which are high school students. The Rising has also grown from 28 students the first night to averaging 60. God is continuing to add to our numbers and raise up leaders as our ministry grows.

In this upcoming year we plan to start at least two new discipleship groups where students can have dinner and study God's Word. These nights are going to be focused primarily on teaching students how to study scripture and how to pray for one another. Please join us in praying that God will raise up leaders to help accomplish this goal.

Also continue to pray that God will raise up leaders for The Rising. We need more men and women who are willing to invest their life in the lives of our students. God has been providing for us in this from the start and we know He will continue. Most recently He provided for us in an area where we desperately needed leadership. Andrew Harmon, the youth pastor from American Indian Christian Mission, has just joined our team and will take ownership of that area. The Rising and the events associated with it have helped strengthen our relationship with our brothers and sisters at White Mountain Apache Christian Church and American Indian Christian Mission, This unity has, and continues to be an encouragement to all of our ministries.

The momentum on the back side of the year has leveraged us well for 2012. We have big dreams for this upcoming year and we are excited about rising to meet the challenges that lie ahead. We know that God is going before us and will bring fruit to the work being done. Thank you for being a vital part of this ministry.

2011 Acquire The Fire by Sarah Steinmeyer

This year we joined with the American Indian Christian Mission (AICM) and the White Mountain Apache Christian Church (WMACC) and took 26 teenagers, ten of those being kids we work with at the Kennel and the Rising, to Acquire The Fire in Phoenix. If I'm being honest, I didn't know how this trip would turn out. We planned it in a very short amount of time and I for one, was just hoping everything would fall into place.

It started out with a snow day for the teens which worked out in our favor. We were able to leave a little earlier which was a plus due to the weather. We met up with the group from AICM and started the journey. There appeared to me to be some tension between a couple people at the beginning of the trip. And I was not focused the way I wanted to be spiritually for this trip. Friday was a busy morning and that whole day was a struggle for me. I know the reason for this was because I didn’t get the time I needed with my Jesus. I didn’t get the time in the Word that I so desperately need and I didn’t get that focused time in prayer. The next two mornings I got up early to make sure I had that time, and God was my strength, He was my calm, He was my focus. The rest of the time there, for me at least, was better when I got what I needed.

The teens enjoyed the sessions and especially the worship time. One of the statements made by one of the speakers was that God didn’t just come to make bad people good, but He came to make dead people alive. That seemed to resonate with more than one student. Another aspect that stood out to the kids was that they needed to be themselves. One of the speakers reminded the audience that God created us each as individuals, different and uniquely made exactly the way He wanted us to be, from the way we look to the intricacies of our personalities. We don’t need to change for society in order to be “cool”. If we live our lives unabashedly for the Lord we won’t even care about what is “cool” and what is not.

They also had a couple bands that did short concerts. Flame, Thousand Foot Krutch and Hyland were there along with School of Worship, who led worship while we were there. The kids enjoyed the music and most of them were down front by the stage during this time.

Because there were times, at the beginning of this trip especially, that I had trouble with my focus and being spiritually ready for the weekend, I spent time in prayer. There were times during worship that I sat and prayed because I didn’t have a worshipful heart. I needed to be in prayer and I needed my God to work in my heart and walk through that time with me. My favorite times during this were the different teens I was able to sit by because I was able to pray for them. Some of them really appeared to be making some decisions in their life. I loved watching them worship. A few had their heads bowed in prayer and some tears were shed.

During the last session I was sitting by a young lady who has captured my heart. She is so cute and friendly and fun to be around. During worship in the last session, I just felt like she needed a hug. So I put my arms around her and just hugged her. Only, she wouldn’t let go. See, naturally, I have never been a touchy person but God has been healing that area of my life and I am more receptive now than I have ever been. I actually need a hug every now and then and I recognize when I need one. But this little lady just held on. And so, I let her. And as I held her, I prayed for her. These are the moments that I loved this weekend. I love that the teens are comfortable around me and are beginning to trust me. They open up and we have real conversations. They laugh at my bluntness sometimes when we are talking about relationships and I tell them that I’m not holding anything back and if they’re going talk to me about dating and other things then I’m going to be honest with them. I’m going to ask them hard questions and I’m not going to beat around the bush. They just laugh. But, they keep coming back and talking so something must be working on some level.

The ride home was so much better than the ride down. There were times when the radio was off and the teens were playing a game or talking and laughing. One of my favorite moments was when they actually asked me to turn it off. I sat in the driver’s seat just listening to them laugh and enjoy each other and actually had tears come to my eyes. Only this time they were tears of joy as opposed to the tears I had driving down. As I sat a listened, I thanked God for the beauty that I was able to be a part of. Because that’s what it was, it was beautiful. I can’t think of any other way to describe it. I sat in wonder at my God and my heart was overwhelmed with love for them. There’s nothing that compares to seeing a smile on a young person’s face and how that smile changes their whole demeanor. Their eyes light up and you can see the little kid they once were. There truly is nothing that compares to the Joy of the Lord. And I thought to myself, this is why I love what I do. Moments like this make everything worthwhile.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I pray you will continue to join with us by praying that these young people will truly gain an understanding of what a real relationship with Christ is. That they would long for Him and that there would be real heart decisions made. That we as leaders would be Spirit controlled and that He would give us wisdom and discernment as we continue to live the mission.