ARTS WE WILL GO NEWS. WeWillGo !!!!!! Becoming Like the Donkey One Who Carried the Savior

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1 WE WILL GO NEWS April 2014 Vol. 3 Issue 4 Becoming Like the Donkey One Who Carried the Savior Just before Easter Sunday, we have the honor of remembering Jesus riding into Jerusalem on one of the most humble animals. Palm Sunday comes just as this newsletter hits the electro-waves, and it makes me think how simple (and yet how multilayered and significant) of God to use one beast of burden to carry Immanuel. The humble king atop the humble animal. The savior carried by a pack animal. Jesus was just following the example of King Solomon who rode King David s donkey into the holy city. And also imagine the wonder upon those who made the connection between these moments and the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 about the coming king a humble king of peace. The significance of carrying Jesus marks every story in this month s newsletter, and it is an important place to center the news from this month. WE are honored to act as the donkey did. The donkey never thought the people were cheering for him when carried Jesus across all the palm branches and coats on their way into the city. Never once. He simply let others see Jesus by serving God s purposes. We pray the light of Jesus shines from these pages WeWillGo ARTS WeWillGo ARTS exists to: - Train, Mentor, & Disciple Men & Women - Produce & Sell Quality, Creative, & Practical Creations - Share The Gospel In The Marketplace Check out our online store: WeWillGo Arts is a discipleship ministry through We Will Go. We produce and sell beautiful wall decorations through our woodshop on Farish St. Individuals from downtown build Christcentered relationships, acquire basic job skills, and earn important work references when they help with production. Our desire is to see people connected to Jesus, learning to trust Him for ALL things. arts@wewillgo.org if you are interested in taking part

2 Youth Find More Than an Open Gym at The Fountain on Farish by Lee Curtis As soon as the Fountain on Farish opened, all sorts of teenagers we d never met came to shoot hoops in the gym. Almost as soon as they came screeching though the doors, God began showing me visions of a youth group. It was the teen boys specifically that captured my attention, the year olds. I knew that this was the most important time to reach them for Jesus. We started bonding with them at the fountain the real simple stuff, catching their names and nicknames, joking around. There began to be a standard crew that made its way over each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I began thinking of how to get deeper relationships with these guys. Some common ground seemed necessary and some way to hang out outside the neighborhood so when I heard about a Will Graham conference coming to the area and having two Christian rappers performing, I knew it was the first event I d want to take them to. I talked to the Lancasters about me taking boys from our neighborhood to the event. They thought it was a beautiful idea. So I started asking the boys if they wanted to come. At first, only one boy was committed Keyontae (aka Dude). An The boys and Lee outside Fun Time skate rink in Pearl, MS hour before we were set to leave, 4 more decided to come. We were joined by Tim Sayles, our ministry friend and spiritual brother, and two of his nephews. Jhun also came. That made 7 youth boys and 3 chaperones. Mississippi College hosted the conference at its campus dome. As soon as we arrived, we saw one of the rap artists performing that night, a man called Twiceborn (His real name is Dimarco Baskin). He wasn t busy, so I got to introduce him to the boys. I know him through a mutual friend. We have similar stories of radical Jesus transformation. He spotted me as soon as we walked through the door. That was WOW moment number 1. After that, the boys were a little nervous. They weren t used to this kind of environment lots of things they had never seen before. Twiceborn started rapping first, and they weren t sure what to do. Next up was Tedashii. The boys really got interested at this point. He would rap and preach, rap and preach. He got their interest. While he was sharing and rapping, I asked the Lord, What is this night about? The Lord revealed that the night was simply about building relationships. After Tedashii, Will Graham spoke. He shared the gospel and spoke about choosing the right path. He gave an alter call. The oldest boy, Jason said he wanted to go down to the front and pray. The rest of the boys followed him. They prayed to receive Jesus. And here is all the more reason to invest in these young lives. Me, Tim, and Jhun were excited and nervous. Were they making a real decision? Did the others go down because they felt like they had to? How would we know? The clearest reality was that it was a starting point for all of them, the beginning of lasting relationships with godly men. After the concert, the boys were hungry, and all went out to eat at Chick-fil-A. Although I didn t have a whole lot of money, I stepped out in faith and bought everyone s meal. While in line, I met a man who had been a leader at the conference and the pastor of a church in Byram. The Lord asked me to speak to him. I introduced myself and shared about being a missionary with We Will Go. I explained my goals with the boys. He was familiar with the ministry and glad we had taken the time to bring kids to the event. We sat down to eat and prayed over our food. The meal was hilarious. Boys will be boys. Enough said. After the meal, I had the boys clean up their mess. I m not your momma; I ll buy your meal, but I won t clean up after you. They cleaned up willingly. As we were walking back to the car, the same man from the line approached me. He asked how we paid for the meal. I told him. He said, I like what you are doing with them boys. Let s get your money back. I thanked him and received the blessing. Meanwhile the boys were back in the van wondering what the man wanted. I told them, Everything is okay. The God we serve is so good. He spoke to that man and told him to pay for our food. Another reason to have a youth group. They ll get to see miracles of provision and know it comes from God. I shared with the boys my heart for them. I told them I was willing to pour my life into them if they really wanted to follow Jesus. We all learned something that evening, which, I m guessing will be a pattern for future meetings. God taught me that building relationship is the most important thing, the heart of discipleship. I ve heard it called going low and slow. He gave the boys an opportunity to see God provide for a need in a really practical way. In addition, they bonded with one another and with us leaders. Be praying for these future soldiers for Christ from the Farish St. area.

3 3 PM Worship, prayer, and Kids Service. Love House Pavilion, 799 N. Congress St. WEEKLY MINISTRY ACTIVITIES 11 AM=Hands & Feet Clothing PM=prayer in the Peace House, 809 N. Congress PM Canned Goods 3-5 PM=Canned Goods ministry, Love house front 5:30 PM=Hands & Feet Clothing 6:30 PM=Bible Study, Peace 9 AM - 1 PM Workday with mission teams and volunteers, serving the neighborhood, sharing stories, meeting new friends. The Fountain Schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 3-5:30 PM & Saturdays from 9 AM - 1 PM the space is open for Jesus-centered: basketball homework help playground time games, ping pong, pool, and more 6:30 PM Men ONLY Bible discipleship 6:30 PM Women ONLY Bible discipleship Wanna Pitch in? WE are inviting you to join us in our pursuit of His presence at the Fountain. Please contact us through info@wewillgo.org or phone: The opening of the Fountain on Farish represents more than a safe place to go after school. It is a shared space for learning to live out the gospel. Our plan is simple: open the doors; lift up the name of Jesus; forgive; show mercy; invite everyone into the ways of Jesus. The way of Jesus is intimacy with the Father. Consider the name: the Fountain on Farish. We believe that where the river flows, everything will live" (Ez.47:9). However, no river will be able to flow unless we go to the Source God alone. We come to God through Jesus, and it was He who said, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:37-39). There is a fountain of life on Farish St. His name is King Jesus Getting the gardens ready for planting God provides for little men too April Flavor, WWG Style: Fun friends from Holland and Tennessee Birthday party & women s discipleship/bible study Amazing Jesus times during Saturday Kid s day

4 The Light and the Dark Finding Truth in Turkey by Kelly Wilkerson It was a great honor and blessing to travel to Izmir, Turkey in early March. I am continually amazed at how the Lord works and provides abundantly greater than we could ever imagine or hope. The opportunity to go on this trip of encouragement came days after becoming an intern here at We Will Go Ministries (WWG). The plans were to travel to Turkey and encourage Meridith May, a friend and family member of WWG. What we experienced, however, was encouragement and blessing for ourselves. Mission trips are funny that way. More likely, God always wants to simultaneously grow us and work through us. The Lord chose to use a portion of the trip to teach me that I didn t have to know how each piece of the puzzle was supposed to fit on this trip. It began with a mix-up concerning the itinerary. It continued with a plane having a maintenance problem, thus delaying our departure from Jackson by three and a half hours, which resulted in us missing our connecting flight in Atlanta. This, of course, would result in an unplanned overnight stay and a completely different itinerary the next day. It was difficult to come to the realization that, no matter how hard I tried to be in control of the next step, I wasn t in control and would never be. God is in control and it s best to just allow him to drive the car, navigate the boat, and fly the plane. He wants us to rest in Him and relinquish whatever control we think we have to Him. When we did arrive in Turkey, we quickly realized two things: the country and people of Turkey are absolutely beautiful; but, darkness is also so prevalent. It s evident that most Turks don t know the peace, love, and joy that is available through the Jesus Christ. Because of this they seem to have a look of hopelessness that s consistent across the faces of them all. During our days on the streets of Izmir, I don t recall ever seeing anyone laugh or smile. I ll rephrase. I don t remember seeing a laugh or smile that came from internal freedom. Turkey Team in Ephesus: Ashley Newsome, Amy Lancaster, Kelly Wilkerson and Levi Gill Pergamum s amphitheater and the modern city below Nowhere was that darkness so apparent than at the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Pergamum. As the Muslim call to prayer echoed up the mountain from the town below, the air seemed to grow thicker with the feeling of darkness. Additionally, we were reminded that Revelation lists Pergamum as the place where Satan had his throne and where Antipas was killed (see Rev. 2:13). So we had some context regarding ancient darkness over the city. However, we proclaimed the name of Jesus, prayed for the soul doing the calling, prayed for the people, and played worship music on the ruins of temples built for the worship of pagan gods. In the midst of ruined temples, we proclaimed Life and Light. Jesus is Life, Jesus is Light, and Jesus is Love. Jesus is noticeably missing from the lives of the Turks. Encouraging the missionaries who are called to serve the people and represent Jesus made overwhelming sense after Pergamum. The missionaries carry light inside them. Their presence is the presence of Jesus, the existence of hope, peace and joy. It s like what John wrote: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). Standing with other missionaries is a victory for the King. He loves and desires all people to come to Him, and our compassion grew for so many who hearts to veiled. The people of Izmir, Turkey are being oppressed by the full weight of sin and believe in a god whose name is not love. Paul s words ring a little clearer: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6). My prayer is that the people of Turkey find the One True God through His Son Jesus Christ. Walking and praying on Turkish soil confirmed my trust in Jesus, and I was thrilled to join the missionaries who are called to make disciples there. The darkness is nothing compared to the Light

5 But God Had Other Plans Preparing for a life of ministry by Madel Pérez In early March, I traveled to the Dominican Republic with a team from North Ridge Church. A few days before leaving the country, my pastor asked me to lead the team. I never expected to lead a team on the mission field before then. Even then, in my mind, I kept thinking that we would meet our pastor as soon we got to the Dominican Republic. I never could have imagined the honor God entrusted to me. In my little mind, I thought I would just get the team to the DR and then let someone else take it from there. God had other plans After arriving in the DR, we met with our Pastor and spent some time together at the base in Barahona. Soon, we were departing for our destination, Santa Elena, leaving our pastor to lead the other team into Haiti. For the first time, it began to sink in that I was really the team leader As we drove away from the base, we were on our own with a national guide and two translators. My only prayer was that in everything I did or asked the team to do, we would be a true representation of Jesus. I asked that we would be able to witness and show the true love of Jesus to every life we contacted. We spent a week high on a mountain with only a few hours of power each day. The only water we had available was what we were able to pump into a tank during those few hours. In the midst of these inconveniences, our spirits were refreshed by the Lord s living water I was so blessed to have a team of young people who were willing to stand by me in every decision I made. It was a true test of Paul s words to Timothy: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction (2 Timothy 4:2). I had to rise to a new level of leadership in a season I didn t expect. As we spent our first day doing manual labor, I made a conscious effort to stay in prayer and worship during the work. It is possible to work and pray Praise God We spent the rest of the week going door to door, up and down the mountain, sharing rice and beans with the neighbors. We divided into two groups, and I encouraged my group to really pray and spend time with the people we met. Before this trip, I would never have thought that I would be sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to know Jesus. Yet as we shared the gospel and prayed, God really used me as a vessel. I chose to allow Him to guide us and to show us what to say and what to pray. Believing that our prayers would be fully answered, we shared His message, the Way to salvation, and His love, and the result was amazing People gave their lives to Jesus, and we saw people weeping on their knees, crying out for a closer encounter with Jesus Seeing Jesus move in the hearts of the people encouraged us, and we understood the power of the gospel. Although the people had very little, everyone shared what they had. Neighbors took care of the least of these. They provided for seniors without family, helped single moms with kids who would otherwise have to work on the farms, and even shared the little they had with us because they simply wanted to bless us after we prayed for them. It was a beautiful picture of how God really calls us to live our lives. That week, even though we were ministering to other people, God spoke truth to me. He asked me to step into His calling for us to spread the message of life. He even gave me a new song, in Spanish, called La Niña de Tu Ojos or The Girl of Your eyes. One of the lines says, You saw me when nobody else did, You loved me when nobody else loved me, and You gave me a name, I m your girl, the girl of Your eyes Love you more than my life. The words express exactly what He has done for me. This trip is only the start of a new life God is calling me to step into. I know I m called to missions full-time. My time as an intern at We Will Go is a huge step in this process. Leading the trip to the DR was the perfect opportunity to continue living a life of obedience. Thank you, Jesus, for the honor and privilege of serving You We Will Go is a faith ministry, entirely dependent upon the generosity and responsiveness of the Lord s people to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is our joy and honor to share the love of Jesus with our neighbors, friends, and visitors for the purpose of making disciples for His glory. Many of our friends are very generous, both financially and through gifts and supplies they donate to We Will Go. We trust our Lord and Savior to speak to hearts to provide. He is faithful Give Online: By mail: We Will Go 799 N. Congress St. Jackson, MS All gifts are 100% Tax Deductible CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA. HERE AM I. LORD, SEND ME. ISAIAH 6:8