Heather’s African Mission Exploration

The brightness of dawn warmed my face as my team and I exited the plane in the Bangui airport. It was surreal. Years of dreaming about being in Africa, and now I was standing in a mass of brightly clad Central Africans awaiting the start of a breathtaking adventure with God. When I stepped off the plane that day, I had no idea all of the things that I would learn and experience. I didn’t know all the stories that I would hear of God’s power in the lives of Africans. I didn’t know I would be stretched to trust God in a different way than I ever had before. I didn’t know I would fall in love with the African family that I stayed with for a week. I didn’t know that when I stepped back on that plane a month later, my heart would never completely leave.

As I allow my mind to wander back to that trip last July with the Mission Exploration Team, I am overwhelmed with the amount of experiences that my team and I lived together. When we met together for the first time, we realized something. We were about as different as people could be. Our common factor was that we loved God and we were all on this trip to get a realistic picture of what it would be like to serve as a missionary in Africa. Throughout the weeks we bonded together in a powerful way. We overcome jet lag together, learned Sango together, listened to African speakers together, worshiped together, helped teach ESL classes together, visited orphans together, hurt over poverty together, visited hospitals together, ate in African homes together, cleared a field with machetes together, lived in the bush together, and left Africa bonded together in a way that rarely ever happens in life.

When I stepped back into America after that month, I came home with many things. I now have an African family that calls me their daughter and who I still have contact with four months later. I support an African Muslim girl named Rubio who was in danger of dying from the treatable disease of Tuberculous. I partner with my teammates to write a teenage girl named Princess who longed for an “American friend”. I am blessed with teammates and leaders (Mike & Myra Taylor) that I still exchange stories with, I hang-out with, and I encourage to pursue a life on-mission.

Heather Speckman, a Grace College student, was one of 6 young adults who participated in the 2009 team to the Central African Republic. Mission Exploration Teams are one example of how Grace Brethren International Missions is investing in future missionary workers and leaders.

Mission Exploration Teams are offered over the summer months and are from 4-6 weeks in length. These trips are in four regions across the world; Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. While on these trips you will be given cross-cultural exposure, hands-on ministry in conjunction with GBIM missionaries. If this story has peaked your interest and you would like to receive more information please contact John Ward (jward@gbim.org) or visit this MET Page at gbim.org.

PDG Newsletter Oct/Nov 2009

Here’s the latest newsletter… Enjoy!

S21 Documentary Film @ Liberty University

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Summer Wrap-Up

We had a blast making many new friends during summer conferences.  Jon from California is the trendiest guy we met at Momentum.  During the Momentum Conference in Pittsburgh we led over 600 students on Temple Trips around the city.  Earlier in the summer we toured with our friend Dan Junker, who leads Northstar Outdoor Adventures in Japan.  One of the most exciting things we are celebrating this summer is the large number of people who went on-mission.  Many of you used your time, talents, and treasures to share the Good News in your city and around the globe.  If you have an exciting story to share post it at the praydreamgo facebook group on the wall or the summer on-mission discussion board.  If you haven’t joined the facebook group do that first!

The PrayDreamGo Team

It’s been a exciting season of growth for PrayDreamGo and we have had some changes with our team.  Matt Simms who spent a

Kate, Laura, and Clive

year with us has been called into a full-time youth pastor role in Central PA.  Pray for him and Danielle as they move into this new ministry and relocate there this weekend.  Big thanks to Matt for your love for students and the way you faithfully served with us over the last year.

We are welcoming Clive Craigen to our team this fall as a campus mobilizer. Clive is an assistant professor of urban ministry at Moody Bible.  Clive and Randi along with their four children, Claire (14), Emma (12) Zeb (6) and Trinity (5) live on the south side of Chicago.  Clive also co-shepherds Tree of Life Fellowship, a house church in the inner city of Chicago.   Clive is excited about joining the praydreamgo team in mobilizing young people for life on-mission.

Roy and Holly Angle, GBIM missionaries to Ireland, will be serving as missionaries in residence at Grace College this semester.  “So what is that,” you may ask. They will be spending a lot of time connecting with students as a couple who have field experience as missionaries.  They are a super dynamic couple with a real heart for students, so if you are at Grace College don’t mess the chance to meet Roy and Holly.

The addition of student mobilizers to our team this year is something we are thrilled about.  Kyla Zenan is a Senior at Grace College and will be connecting students to opportunities like the Go Grace team to Northstar in Japan. Laura Aman is a Junior at Moody in Chicago and will represent praydreamgo there.  We are activity looking for student mobilizers at Cedarville and Liberty, so let us know if you are interested.

Dave and RuthAnn Martin have been faithfully praying for all of you along your journey.  They coordinator our 10:02 prayer, so if you get an e-mail asking for prayer requests please respond and know that you will be prayed for.

Prisoners of Hope in Review

Prisoners of Hope; The Story of our Captivation and Freedom in Afghanistan, is written by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, with Stacy Mattingly, in response to the journey which they survived.  What started out for two young women as nothing more than a glimpse of ambition, quickly whirled into the beginning of a long and unforgettable discovery to the dusty roads of Kabul, Afghanistan that would change their lives forever.

The freedom for Afghan women that Curry and Mercer would find themselves fighting for, not only served as an inspiration for my personal passion for missions work, but also served as an inspiration for my spiritual life.  For example, from the time that Curry and Mercer arrived in Afghanistan, their hearts and hands were in constant prayer with the Lord.  They prayed daily for the people that they would encounter at the markets and on the streets.  And they relied on prayer during their imprisonment while facing a possible death sentence.  It was with prayer that they were most able to connect with these broken women behind veils, and it was with prayer that they lived.

While serving as missionaries in Afghanistan, Curry and Mercer were shocked to find that the Afghan women would invite them into their homes, ask questions about Christianity, view Christian films and literature, and many times ask to be prayed for.  By doing so, these women were risking imprisonment and even death, but it was a risk that Curry and Mercer found most women were willing to take.

Curry and Mercer would never push Christian theology on the Afghan women, but would rather offer hope, love, and supplies.  The Afghan women are known to suffer severe neglect and abuse; therefore seeking women companionship and a listening ear to know their stories is something much longed for.  By Curry and Mercer taking these extreme risks to offer simple acts of love, there were more doors opened for Christ in a place of darkness than they ever could have hoped for!
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Thanks to Jenna Dailey for contributing this book review.  Jenna is a student at Grace College and will be interning at Focus on the Family this fall. If you’ve recently read a life changing book and you’d be willing to send us a review we will gladly consider it for future newsletters or blog.

PrayDreamGo E-Newsletter Aug/Sept

Here it is the latest newsletter…

August/September 2009

Middle of Momentum

Today is officially the third day of Momentum and to say the least a lot has happened in the last of couple days. As I mentioned earlier Temple Trip have been taking place. Yesterday was the trip to the Islamic Temple. The students arrived during their afternoon prayer and were able to see just how they pray.  They got to see and experience another religion but were also able to engage and learn about a totally different religion. There was a question and anwser time the Imam, or what we would call a spiritual leader.

Each student also received a bright yellow bandanna to cover their heads with. Over all the students had a great time and later were talking with their friends about their experience.

Steve Fee and his band are doing a great job worshiping  and leading the students. Every time he gets up to sing there is always talk about making sure God is why we are singing and not just because they are. The students here look up to Steve and the band and when they are talkng about worshiping a God all the time not just when singing the students are listening.

Please be praying for the GBIM staff that is here and the Temple Trips that are still going on.  Also for Jay Bell as he still has one more session on spiritual warfare.

Momentum ‘09 Kick Off

Momentum officially started last night. We as GBIM staff started even earlier then that to get everything ready for the on rush of people. It was fun greeting many students and youth workers arriving for any exciting week full of events.

Woven Joy is also next our GBIM booth. Woven Joy sell bracelets made by Filipino women. This year they have brought two new designs for bracelets and now are selling head bands. Woven Joy parntnered with PrayDreamGo and made sweet gray and yellow bracelets with PrayDreamGo written on them. This ministry helps the women that make them and their families in the Philippines.

This year we are offering Temple Trips on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. John Ward and Jay Bell are leading each of those days we are going to take around 160 students to a temple in the Pittsburgh area. Wednesday students will be traveling to an Islamic center, we’ll be arriving during afternoon prayer and having a time of Q&A with the centers leader. Thursday students will be traveling to a Hindi temple. Friday they will be going to a Sikh (pronounced seek) temple. Each of these days will give students a new look at the different religion.

The students have had two great main sessions now. Last night and this morning Shawn McBride was the main speaker. Steve Fee and his band are here all week to lead worship. Right now is a time called “Power trax”. All over campus there are seminars going on for the students to further their knowledge of God. Jay Bell is doing a week long seminar on spiritual worship.