Etch -A-Sketch Theology

Seeing that doesn't it bring back memories of sitting in the floor creating a "picture of a dog" that looks like a bunch of scribbles on a grey background? I guess we can call it abstract Art. Maybe if you turn your head slightly to the right, and squint your eyes the dog might be there then. For me seeing this image, reminds me of the time that I  sat down  with my etch-a-sketch and drew all of the magic powder off in order to see how the magic happens.

I believe that Christians are a lot like an etch-a-sketch. Every time that we come before god a dirty mess, he picks us up and gives us a good shake, so that he will have a clean canvas to create something beautiful.

As scripture says, "9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 1 John 1:9.

2 Things to Take Away

1)      Remember that when God looks at you he sees you a spotless and beautiful

2)      Remember that God loves you.  (John 3:16Shawn's paraphrase) "For god loved the world, he gave his only son, so that who ever believes in him will be saved.)

We ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering, with us to changes lives in South Africa and the Dominican Republic by Giving

$1 a day - $30 a month

$2 a day - $60 a month

$3 a day - $90 a month

$4 a day - $120 a month

$5 a day - $150 a month

Special Contributions

________________________________________________________________________

2 ways to give (all donations are tax deductible in the USA):

1.  Donate here at our blog, by clicking Support US

2.  Mail your donation by form of a check to:

Adventures In Missions,

PO Box 534470, Gainesville,

GA  30353-4470

designating the funds by note (please note on the check) for "Shawn & Sarah Summey" 

________________________________________________________________________________________

Prayer

1.      Pray for finances

2.      Pray for our DR trip

·         Unity

·         He would lead us to the right ministry

·         Safe Travel

3.      Wisdom to Lead

4.      Pray for a Vehicle to Drive until we leave in June.

We thank you for your prayers and support.  They mean so much.

For His glory,

Shawn & Sarah Summey

      God has been so good to us. In the last few weeks we have seen his hand of provision in our lives. We have been looking for hiking back packs for a while but they are so expensive. So for my birthday last week we were planning on buying me one because it will be great for traveling.  We decided to go look at Rock Creek Down Under hoping to find a deal, and the guy at the counter told us about a gear swap in the park so we thought we would take a look. We found a guy that had two used North Face packs. One for a man and one for a woman he sold us both packs for $50.00. It was amazing.

      We knew that Sarah had to go the oral surgeon about having her wisdom teeth removed. So she went to the Doctor and he was able to pull the tooth that was giving her the problems and for now she will not have the other three removed. It was such a blessing. He chooses to overwhelm us so that we remember exactly who he is even in the hard times.

       I wanted to also take a few moments to update you on where we are. As most of you know we are leading a team of 10 Students to the Dominican Republic in June for one month. On our team we have 9 girls and 1 guy. We are all very excited, they are a great group.  We are trying to raise support for this trip we need $4000.00 in our support account before we leave. That gives us about four weeks to raise the money.

     Also just a quick update on South Africa we are at 8% of our monthly support goal. We have $300.00 coming in monthly, but that is a far cry from $3600.00 monthly. Thank you to everyone that is giving regularly and special contributions they were truly a blessing on our vision trip.

We ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering, with us to changes lives in South Africa and the Dominican Republic by Giving

$1 a day - $30 a month

$2 a day - $60 a month

$3 a day - $90 a month

$4 a day - $120 a month

$5 a day - $150 a month

Special Contributions

_______________________________________________________________________________

2 ways to give (all donations are tax deductible in the USA):

1.  Donate here at our blog, by clicking Suport Us

2.  Mail your donation by form of a check to:

Adventures In Missions,

PO Box 534470, Gainesville,

GA  30353-4470

designating the funds by note (please note on the check) for "Shawn & Sarah Summey" 

________________________________________________________________________________________

Prayer

1. Pray for finances
2. Pray for our DR trip
   • Unity
   • He would lead us to the right ministry
   • Safe Travel
3. Wisdom to Lead

We thank you for your prayers and support.  They mean so much.

For His glory,

Shawn & Sarah Summey

      So we went to training camp this week. It was a great time of community. We were able to learn a great deal about the specifics of our ministry foe the summer. we now have the names and information of the students that we will be living with for four weeks this june. We are excited to make contact with them. One of the best parts of training camp was our listening prayer activity better known as ask the Lord (ATL). as soon as the session started, I began to pray and ask the lord what He would have us do during the time alloted for this activity. I had a vision of flowers first. Not knowing what that ment I prayed further into it, asking for more. The next thing the Lord gave me was the scripture James1:27. My first thought was that we were supposed to take flowers to someone who worked at an orphanage to encourage them in the work that they do. However since there is not an orphanage in Gainesville I continued to pray. it was then that God gave me the vision of a building. The building was the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS).Still wanting to be sure that it was The Lords Idea and not my own, I waited  for my team members* to confirm that they believed the plan was God-given. After more time in prayer we were on our way to buy flowers. 

      After we obtained the needed flowers and prayed again we head inside the DFACS office. We had such a wonderful time ministering there. We gave the flowers to the girls at the reception desk which completely made their day. I wish that we had a picture of their smiles. We were also able to pray with them for wisdom and strength as the do their jobs. One of the girls, mildred, started crying when we prayed for her/ It was great to know that we blessed her. While we were there we also got to  talk and pray with people in the waiting room. Shawn and I  Prayed with a woman named Catanya. She was discouraged about her middle school-aged son Jeffrey. He was getting into a lot of trouble at school. If you think about it say a prayer for them.

      Anywayit was a really great time. I really felt like we were used by God. What are you going to let Him do with you today?

*ATL Team Members - Kayla Phillips, Whitney hanson, Tana Turner, Page Tremble, and The Summeys

I know that most of you want to hear about our trip, so I thought I would use this blog to accomplish that.  I am sorry if this one is not nearly as exciting as the last one.

We were in South Africa for a very short time, but it was truly amazing. We were in Jeffrey's Bay for 6 days we spent the rest of the time traveling. The first day we spent recovering from the flight. We went to a lion park, and the beach. It was a lot of fun getting to catch up with our friends Tag and Holly who are already serving in SA for AIM. If you don't know them check out their blog http://tagandholly.myadventures.org/they are very dear friends that we will be working with in our time in Jeffrey's Bay.

While we were there we were able to sit in on sat in on discipleship classes and visit the ministries. The Team in J'bay spends most of their ministry time in one of three ministries. 

Ithemba  - is a crèche or daycare that is run by three women.  They have 50 in the morning under 4, and about 100 children in the afternoon for after school care. The students get to teach classes that reign from bible stories to hygiene and, dance and sing with these children, and show them the Love of Christ.

Joshua Project - Is an amazing ministry that consists of a school, and after school bible program for street kids. Our students help to leach bible lessons to the children and love on them. Check out Holly's Blog about their ministry to JP. http://tagandholly.myadventures.org/index.asp?filename=joshua-project.

The Clinic - The students are able to serve the nurses while they serve the community. They are allowed also to minister to the patients while they wait to be treated. Some of the students have even been able to help with some much needed aids counseling.

One day we went to Humansdorp to work on rebuilding Virginia's crèche. Virginia is an amazing lady she takes care of 20 children 2 years old and under. She feeds the children and keeps them all with little or no pay. Her daycare consists of one small room, with a dirt floor. When some people in the states heard they sent money for the FYM team to "remodel." Over Christmas break someone came in and poured a concrete floor. Tag and the guys are working on building new walls, and making beds that will fold against the wall, this will give the children a safe place to sleep. New clean baby mattresses and bedding, were also purchased with the money from the states. 

Because a week in Africa would not be complete without a safari, we spent our last day at the Addo National Game Reserve.

"3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."

Romans 5:3-4

            This area of scripture gives me great comfort as I look back on our vision trip last week. We definitely encountered problems and trials of all shapes and sizes. It has been a growing experience for both of us. As we were coming home from South Africa last Monday, we had probably one of the scariest moments of my life.

           We boarded our second flight of the day in Johannesburg, South Africa at

6:00 PM local time. While waiting to taxi onto the runway, the plane went black inside. The pilot told us that lightning struck near the plane affecting the electrical system. So we waited longer while the whole system got checked and reset. After two hours we were cleared to takeoff.

            As the plane began to lift off the ground we smelled an awful electrical burning smell in the cabin. We are approximately twenty minutes out of Johannesburg when the plane goes pitch black again. After sitting in darkness for a few minutes the emergency lights came on and we see smoke coming from the front of the plane. The pilot tells us that he has done the routine checks and cannot locate the problem. He began to dump fuel in order to lighten the load of the plane so that we could make an emergency landing.   We were met on the runway by five fire trucks, who escorted us to a near by  empty lot. We were then bused to the terminal for safety. It was truly a very scary moment, a very surreal moment in which God began to speak, "Remember Shawn, this life is not yours, and the work you are doing is because of me, and for my namesake. I will do with your life as I please," and my response was, "yes, Lord."

            As we finally reached safety, my heart cried out to god much like Daniel in Chapter 2,

"Praise the name of God forever and ever,
      for he has all wisdom and power.
 21 He controls the course of world events;
      he removes kings and sets up other kings.
   He gives wisdom to the wise
      and knowledge to the scholars.
 22 He reveals deep and mysterious things
      and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
      though he is surrounded by light."
 

            Once we boarded the plane the next day, the pilot explained the situation more thoroughly. When the lighting struck the plane, it damaged the auto shut off on one of the water kettles. Once the kettle was turned on it would not turn off, and eventually caught fire. As for the black out I guess we will never really know. However I do know that you cannot begin guess the different situations in your life that God will use to teach and remind you of who you are in him.