WatchKeepers June 2010 Newsletter

Greetings Mighty WatchKeepers!
I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your prayers and encouragement. I couldn't ask for a more faithful band of prayer warriors! God chooses to work in response to prayer, so let's continue to call on His name. Also, please let me know how I can pray for you as we serve Christ together.

In my article on Revival Praying, I briefly share my personal struggle with prayer and how God is building my faith through obedience to Him.

In my article on the FCC Mission Fair, I share two stories from the mission field which will bless and encourage you. In particular, make sure you're sitting down when you read the story from Haiti.

You can read about What's Next in my efforts to prepare for and engage in the mobilization of prayer for unreached people.

Join me in praising God for the work HE is doing as you read my Praises and Petitions. Thank you for keeping the petitions lifted up throughout the month.

Finally, the Team Expansion founder and president Doug Lucas is always inspiring us to grow and to serve effectively. Read his short yet thought provoking article, Note from Doug Lucas.

I hope these articles encourage you in the things of God and move you all the more to become people of prayer! May our lives demonstrate to others that prayer makes a difference!

Many Blessings,
Angela Bleier

Revival Praying

On June 3rd I had the privilege of giving a talk on Revival Praying to women at First Church of Christ (my home church). I was extremely nervous, but the Holy Spirit enabled me to pull it off. I was very encouraged by the positive feedback I received!

One of the things I shared was my personal struggle with prayer. Because God had not answered an important prayer request the way I expected when I was young, I let this crush my faith. I came to the conclusion that prayer didn't make a difference, that God was going to do what He wanted to do regardless of prayer.

As I became more obedient, doing things that required me to depend 100% on Him, He showed me that prayer DOES make a difference. When we call on the Lord, He hears our call. When our focus goes beyond our expectations and lands squarely on Jesus, we are able to receive His answer and His blessing no matter what form it takes. God has made the power of prayer real in my life so I can tell others.

During the talk, I spent much time defining revival (Ezek 37) and discussing the role of prayer in revival. The ladies were given specific areas for which to pray, and they were handed a list of prayer ministries where they can get involved.

I pray that God will use this study to ignite revival in the heart of each person and make each one a house of prayer for all nations. Tell yourself, "IT STARTS WITH ME!!" When I become a house of prayer, when my home becomes a house of prayer, then God's church will become a house of prayer!! Let today be the beginning of a prayer revolution in you, in your family, and in your church!

FCC Mission Fair May 15-16, 2010

We had 48 missionaries represented at this year's fair. I don't know how, but every year seems to be better than the year before. This year I visited each missionary and wrote down their prayer requests.

I learned many things about their ministries and heard many interesting stories. For example, the representative from Haitian Christian Outreach reported that many in Haiti were giving their lives to Christ as a result of the earthquake that struck Haiti back in January. In fact, newly converted, former Voodoo priests were coming to Christian pastors and ASKING THEM to BURN DOWN their Voodoo temples. This is not something Christians in Haiti would typically do. Only GOD could transform their hearts that completely. Praise God for doing a mighty work in Haiti!

Also, the representative from Christian Care Communities told me about their plans to build a senior center in Midway, KY. This center would allow for seniors to not only attend the local college as students, but they could also participate as guest speakers, sharing real-life history lessons with the young students taking classes. What a blessing for those students to be able to see history through the eyes of the people who lived it! Additionally, the seniors will feel appreciated and fulfilled by being able to share their lives with interested youths.

Visiting the mission fair always gives me a new appreciation and a renewed sense of awe for the great work God is doing around the world. I'm already looking forward to next year!

What's Next?

Planning Team
Church-Wide Prayer Walk
June 27th 4-6 p.m.
First Church of Christ
40 prayer locations across the tri-state area!

Regional Mobilizer Retreat July 9-11
Team Expansion in Louisville, KY

Kairos Missions Course July 12-16
Team Expansion in Louisville, KY

Mobilization of Prayer Calendar
Working with FCC missions director to get calendar on new church website and to investigate effective means of promoting it within our congregation.

Praises and Petitions

Praises
Master Provisions was a mission agency on my prayer calendar. The lease on their warehouse is to expire at the end of July, and they requested resources for a larger warehouses which they could call their own. Praise the Lord! They received a $275,000 donation to acquire a new warehouse!

Praise God for enabling me to talk about revival praying on 6/3.

Praise God for giving over 40 people at First Church of Christ a passion to pray for a specific location in our area and the desire to encourage others to pray with them.

Petitions
Ask God to give us safe travels as we drive to and from Team Expansion in Louisville in July.

Ask the Lord for discernment as I get closer to my goal of working with other churches. May He help me to steer clear of churches which do not practice sound doctrine.

Pray that Dave and I will make good decisions financially so we can eventually work in missions full time.

Note from Doug Lucas, Team Expansion Founder and President

Did you ever stop to realize that Nehemiah didn't start up his short-term mission trips until he made an advance set-up trip? See it in Nehemiah 2:11-16. He started by staying 3 days.

We don't know what he was doing during that time. Getting over jet lag? I doubt it; I think Jerusalem might have only been, at most, one time zone away from the palace where he was working. Maybe he was praying. Scripture gives us no indication. When he did finally hit the streets, he did so in a very quiet way, conducting his research at night with just a few cohorts. This was special forces, special ops stuff -- for the Lord, of course.

He then immediately translated his research to mobilization. He didn't leave the film in the can. And when others tried to discourage him and even attribute false motives to his work, he deflected their criticism by staying focused on the Cause. All in all, he seems to be a very effective researcher.

You know -- practically every Team Expansion missionary has to be a researcher as well. We have to learn what makes our adopted land "tick," how to reach their hearts, and how to communicate the Good News. In a way, we're just following in Nehemiah's footsteps! Your prayers & partnering funds provide for that research -- and we appreciate it!