NACCC | Youth Programs

Well I hope life is well for all of you scattered amongst the states. I'm currently in South Africa for the next three months studying at some universities and doing some missionary work. I'm traveling with the School of Discipleship, a group of about thirty students and a few leaders. Our time here so far, though only a little over a week, has been absolutely amazing. We worked last week with children in a very poor black community and this week we are staying with very wealthy white families. There are a million stories already and much more is yet to come. I will give an update in June. It'll be a blessing to see you all again. I really love the fellowship we have at HOPE and I am faithful that God will continue to bless the program so long as we keep our focus on Him. I feel very strongly that his upcoming conference has amazing potential to make things happen for our Father. Let's worship the Lord like we never have before...and not just in song.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that God has his hand in the little things. We’re quick to praise him when something big happens, but when it’s something little we hardly give it a second thought. This occurred to me a few nights ago…

I had signed up for a scrapbooking class. I’d already told my husband, Emrys, I wouldn’t be home when he got home from handbell choir practice. That afternoon, the instructor for the class called me to make sure I would be there. I said that I was still planning on it. She called back in about 10 minutes and told me that only two people had signed up for the class and she’d called the other lady and found out that she wasn’t going to make it. She called me back with a few options: I could go that night as planned and she’d do a one-on-one session with me, I could go to her house and we’d do the class there, or I could come to a workshop on Saturday. As I stood there, thinking it over, I felt a nudging to move my plans and go with the Saturday workshop. I didn’t understand why I was thinking this since I hadn’t had a free weekend in quite a while and I had nothing to do that night. But I found myself telling her I’d see her Saturday. After I hung up, I sat down, still feeling a bit puzzled over what had just transpired. Little did I know it would all become clear later.

About a half-hour later, the phone rang again. It was husband, calling from work. I knew something was going on because he was still at work, at a time when he would normally already be at church for practice. He was having problems with his truck. The clutch wasn’t working. It was either busted or frozen. So a coworker was going to give him a ride to the church and he wanted me to pick him up after practice. Grudgingly, I said yes. I grumbled about the other things I had planned on doing, but I couldn’t leave my husband out in the cold (literally). As I drove to the church, it all became clear. If I had gone to the class that night, I wouldn’t have been there when Emrys needed me. The nudging I’d felt while on the phone was explained.

This was such a small issue. A simple ride. But God didn’t think so. It showed me that nothing is too small for God. No situation is too small for him to intervene in. It really makes me wonder what other small things or decisions that God has taken part in that I was too preoccupied to realize. We are all aware of God’s big miracles, but what about the small ones, ones that happen everyday in our lives? Are we looking for them too?

Are you ready for the HOPE conference in Virginia? Of course, we'll be worshipping, fellowshipping and learning. But there is also important business to be done! You will have the important task of selecting your officers for next year. This is not a decision to be made lightly, so start thinking about it now - especially if you plan to run yourself.

                                                      HELL AND BACK
                                         Tim Johnson, HOPE President

It's February, and the Groundhog says another 6 weeks of winter. In Wisconsin, it feels it's been spring for the past 3 weeks. We have had barely any snow. (I think the East coast took it from us.) Well you have only 6 weeks until spring, but more importantly you have only 16 weeks until HOPE! I am really excited! Angel, Diana, and myself have spent the last six months preparing for your arrival, and I can't wait to see all of you. Since I am on the topic of officers I would like to talk to you about that. Many of you might be thinking about running for an office this year. That’s awesome! I was really happy to see so many people wanting to get involved last year. Let me tell you some of things that God put me through before I became an officer.

In 1998 HOPE, was in San Diego, but I am going to back up a few months to January of that year. My brother called me about this program in Philadelphia called Mission Year. To keep this story short, Mission Year was about being an inner-city missionary for a year. We talked about it and I didn't really want to go. My life was pretty simple at the time: I wasn't going to school, I had a full time job, and I hung out with my friends. I had a huge comfort zone that I really didn't want to leave. I looked at the information and set it aside. The deadline came and went, but my wonderful mother kept bugging me to fill it out, so I did. Then came HOPE. HOPE has always been a time for me to boost my faith for another year. I also made a lot of new friends that would last a lifetime. When elections came up, I was torn. I wanted to run for an office but I had applied to the Mission thing. During HOPE, I sat down with Lisa Rambo almost every night talking and praying about it. I came to a conclusion: I was going to run for office and put it in God's hands. When elections came, I lost. In August, I went to Philly and spent a season in the inner city.   Philly was great, in spite of me. I grew in my faith, learned about another culture and met a lot of great people.

In 2000, HOPE was in Indiana.   After I came back from Philly, I was flying high in the spirit and thought that I could take on the world. I couldn't - not without God. While I was in Philly there were issues brewing in my home church. Soon after I came home, my family left our church. That was a big crash in my faith. A church I grew up in, was active in, and led the PF group in…made people so upset that they left. So, coming from a Mountain High experience in Philly, I arrived home to a heartbreaking, confusing, fall. My family left the church, and for me to show up at church would've felt awkward. I still had some anger in me too. So I quit going. For about a year I didn't have a church. By not going to church or getting involved with some positive Christian friends, the light inside dwindled. That year I did a lot of things that probably made God cry. After looking back, it makes me sad too. Then came HOPE. That year at HOPE was really different. I came into HOPE with an open mind and an open heart. A lot of things happened that year that I can only explain as a “God thing.” I have never prayed so much in my life as I did that year. God took the dark glasses off my face and I saw where my life was heading. That year I ran for office. That year I also lost.

In 2001, HOPE was in Michigan. I still was not giving my all to God and I was still without a church. Even though I was working at a Christian bookstore and meeting a lot of Christians, I couldn't grab onto what my life needed: God. I could talk the talk, but walking the walk was harder than I thought. I felt I could go without church and rely on my upbringing, Christian education and feelings. But I couldn't. Without the Word and without the positive influence of a church, I was lost. After leaving the church, there were a few big scars that I had to get over before I went to any church, but the only place that could heal them was the place that created them. That took another year. Then came HOPE. It was a good year. I saw old friends and met some new friends and we had a great speaker, but I could not get myself into the spiritual part of HOPE. To tell you the truth, I still don't know why. The business meeting came and I ran for an office. And I went home a HOPE'r.

I believe in my heart, the years I ran for office, I was not ready - spiritually, mentally and emotionally. The first year, God wanted someone better able to lead, but also he wanted me to grow with Him in Philly. Grow I did! In Indiana, I grew so much that I went home and bought new socks! The year before Indiana to the year after Michigan was probably the two darkest years of my life. I knew God was there, and I knew that I could speak with Him--but I didn't make the time for Him. I needed to make time for us to talk and make a relationship out of it. I didn't do that! The bottom line that I want you to realize is this: the place that God wants you to be, or the direction that you feel God leading you, can be rough! I heard a phrase once used in a book. "I went through hell to get to heaven” I want you to know that I went through Hell to get to Heaven. For me, heaven on this earth is leading people to God in a positive way. I may not be perfect at it but, with God, someday...! If you feel led to be an officer, that’s great! But realize it’s in God's plans and hands and not in ours. I also realized that focusing on Him can lead to better things in life. It also helps us to stay on His right path.

Have you ever wondered if your individual faith has an impact in anybody's life? Well, I recently found out that it does. All that is necessary is to express it!

I was in Arizona for a hunting trip in January (not the place where you would think God is talked about a whole lot.) The first night, as we ate dinner, our host, who I have known and hunted with for about seven years, joined everybody in prayer. I thought this to be unusual, but I was intrigued. My feeling that something was different with my hunting buddy proved to be correct. The next day at dinner, my friend professed his faith, saying he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He said he wanted to lead a more holy life and bring his children up in the name of God. Later, he explained that the other hunters in camp and I had influenced him by expressing our faiths and acting it out. BOOM! There it was, laid on the table, right in front of me. I could only thank God for what had happened. It was an exhilarating experience to know that my friend and I were going to travel along the same path in life because I had some effect on him, even if it was only in the smallest way. I started to ride an emotional high.

I came back to Milwaukee where I took on a routine college-break lifestyle of working and socializing with old friends. I decided to take a break and travel to Iowa with my good friend and religious mentor who also served as my youth pastor. This trip allowed me to ride my emotional high, knowing that Jesus is with me everyday. I got to ask many questions that I have been struggling with and explained the difficulties I have experienced in college. I got a lot of grounding out of the conversation and felt confident in my beliefs.

I must also mention my older brother. Family has always been a focal point in my life but there have been times when I distance myself from my siblings. I have grown older and am able to observe more intellectually. Lately, I have noticed a lot of positive changes in him, and it has been radiating out to me. His faith and actions have been extremely noticeable and very contagious. I can only be inspired.

With all of this faith around me, I came back to Minnesota with an energized battery, ready to take on a new semester with God at my side. I made a concerted effort to attend a late night worship service called Vespers. I went, not knowing what to expect. Little did I know it would be one of the best experiences in my life. I walked into a hall where over 1000 high school and college students stood worshiping God by singing praise songs. If you know me, you know I love praise songs. So there I sat, singing praise songs for an hour, which only seemed to be about five minutes, with tons of other people just like me - sinners, looking for reconciliation. There is no way to describe what I was feeling, but "awesome" comes close.

Don’t come to the conclusion that I have nothing but greatness in my life or that I am on a one hundred percent religious high. I have struggles everyday, in my decisions, and in my actions. Being a Christian isn’t easy and no one said it would be. The one thing I have learned is that what you do as a Christian will influence somebody else. It sparks a chain reaction that will eventually come back to you and make you realize the good that you have passed on. It makes you feel enthusiastic about Jesus, and reminds you how wonderful it is to be with our Lord and Heavenly Father.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. Proverbs 3:5,6