Photos from Carlyn’s YARD SALE . . . for Rapha House in Cambodia:
Ready to go! Fresh baked cookies, raspberry lemonade, brochures and magnets . . . and, of course, the scarves!
In process! wow! That’s a lot of stuff!
Lilli at the “ethnic” table
The girls taking a mid-day break and I caught them doing some reading! Ha!
“Vintage finds” section of the sale!
The finished scarf “display” – God was faithful down to the last detail! This was the exact image I had in my mind when I was thinking of how I wanted these precious and beautiful items displayed!
A lovely “customer” – our first scarf purchase!
A woman from Kenya, tying one of the silk scarves “African style” on Bella
Thank you for praying with us! We praise God for all He has done!
“They desired only that we should remember the poor,
the very thing which I also was eager to do.” 1 Peter 2:10
Today, continuing this week’s series, “Dare to Rejoice…in Missions!” Ann talks with her dear friend and missionary, Katy Ricards, who works alongside her husband, John, with Ministry to Christian Nationals (MCN) in the Philippines.
Katy shares how God surprised her by going “outside her box” of what a missionary call should look like. Highlighting over 20 years of mission ministry to village pastors (Tribal Gospel Fellowship) and their outreach to impoverished villages (Remember the Poor) Katy also shares how God can link believers to specific areas of missions, even through hobbies and interests, like gardening or travel.
Click below for the LINK to today’s ONLINE audio . . .
Dare to Rejoice . . . in Missions #4:
Mission Photos from John & Katy Ricards in the Philippines:
Filipino Pastor Mateo (left) with Katy’s husband, missionary John Ricards. Here they are standing at the site where the tornado wiped out the village church and where Pastor Mateo’s family died. Please keep them in your prayers.
Clean Water Filter
Drinking water in tribal villages most often comes from open surface water sources which are easily polluted. Outbreaks of diarrhea, amoeba, liver fluke, typhoid and other water borne diseases are common occurrences in tribal areas and many die each year from these diseases, especially children and the elderly. This photo shows a clean water filter, which (for only $50) can help a family or village.
Nurse Merly (in the center) assisting with medical needs
My sister, Sue Stuart, was adopted from South Korea when she was 3 years old. In this interview, she shares some of her memories of this special time in both of our lives. Listen ONLINE (5 minutes)[mp3_embed playlst=”http://www.daringdaughters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DD-sue-1.mp3″ colors=”#B2B11F” id=”4″ nums=”4″]
I’m very excited to have Sue join with us at Daring Daughters as one of our Mentors. Sue is a worship leader and piano player for her church, an elementary school music teacher, and an international minister alongside her husband, Dr. Bradley Stuart.
In the words of our friend Carlyn, a Daring Daughter and mission-minded mom from Washington state:
A few months ago, my eleven-year-old daughter, Bella, asked me about the “Sex Trafficking” donation description in a World Vision catalog we had. I felt the Lord prompting me to go ahead and give a bit of information. It struck and stirred something within her and within a few hours she came to me saying she had been praying and felt the Lord was calling her to save money for this cause.
Carlyn’s daughters: 11-year-old Bella and 9-year-old Lilli, at a World Concern 5K-Run for Human Trafficking Awareness
She had asked Him, “How much, Lord?” (This is the kind of conversational, intimate relationship my daughter has had with the Lord for as long as I can remember.) Bella asked, “Fifty dollars?” “One hundred?” “One hundred and fifty?” The Lord confirmed the amount of “400 dollars” in her heart and she promptly came to tell me. Though she knew nothing is impossible with God, this amount seemed gigantic considering the allowance she receives of a mere few dollars here and there.
Carlyn and her mission-minded family: what a Daring Daughter momma!
And, as God is faithful to do, He wove all the pieces together with a greater underlying purpose. He showed me that this ‘home and heart cleanse’ would be the answer to the $400.00 we desired to give to these girls so desperately needing hope, healing and restoration. At the same time, this yard sale would be used to bring a restoring freedom to me. In fact, the Lord began to stir and awaken a compassion and sense of purpose in me that I that never before knew existed: a compassion for those trapped in the darkness of human trafficking.
Carlyn’s 11-year-old daughter, Bella, in a special scarf from the girls at Rapha House in Cambodia
Two weeks ago the $400.00 goal turned to $800.00, and then this week, $1000.00, as the Lord continues to speak to our hearts to believe for more. My house has been purged and there are numerous items in boxes, filled and priced, awaiting their new homes. This has brought a deeper unity to our family, as we not only have gone through things together with this common purpose in mind, but also have prayed daily in bold and specific ways.
After a series of late nights spent researching and praying in order to determine who we are to donate the proceeds to, the Lord led me to the “Rapha House” located in Cambodia. Their mission is “Love, Rescue, Heal.” As I looked into this organization I truly saw the hands and feet of Christ. His love is lavishly shown through all they do.
The Lord has spoken to my heart that this is so much more than a sale. It is a step, no . . . more like a giant faith faith-filled leap for our family. His hand has been evident through every aspect. We have found additional families who have offered to donate items. We’re selling silk scarves handcrafted by Rapha House girls who have been rescued from trafficking. We will be handing out information I put together on trafficking in hopes of raising awareness. Our kids will be helping to give out information as well as sell cookies and drinks to raise additional funds.
Preparing for Tomorrow’s “House-Purging” Yard Sale
With all proceeds going for Rapha House in Cambodia:
(By the way, note the JOY in these kids. Wow!!! What a testimony of God’s love!)
Carlyn says, “I am praising God for the work He is doing in my life and in the life of my family. I humbly praise Him for using us to be advocates for these girls who desperately need His healing, love, and restoration! And, how amazing is it that He allows the goodness of His perfect love to bring these very blessings into my own life as well. He has truly begun the process of teaching me that I too, am His Daring Daughter.”
Daring Daughters, let’s join Carlyn’s project in PRAYER!!!
Please pray for Carlyn and her family as they are working today on this mission project. Pray for GRACE and STRENGTH and FAVOR and PROVISION for God’s work.
Invite moms to join us for an encouraging discussion. We’re going to be recording this LIVE to have available for many moms who are asking these same questions:
How can we “do missions” with a baby or little ones?
How can young moms be a part of God’s Great Commission, even now?
How can we balance our call to missions with our call to motherhood?
How can we find contentment, when we’re at home . . . and longing to go?
Do you know any young Daring Daughter moms, with a heart for world missions and a love for motherhood? Share this link and give her some encouragement!
In the words of Tara Riley, Missionary with YWAM (Youth With A Mission):
I remember the day clearly. I was homeschooling my 5 year old with a 2 year old on my lap, yearning to impart the passion that I felt in my heart about living a life for Jesus. What does it look like to truly live for the One who adopted me so I could have an eternal inheritance? I knew I was trying to teach my children about kingdom living but at the same time feeling like I was saying one thing and doing another.
My husband was an in-house employment attorney for Tyson Foods (and previously Walmart). His hours were long and travel was frequent. The more he embraced work, the more I embraced motherhood, and, in spite of the fact we both desired to embrace more of our relationship with the Lord, the more we found ourselves being wooed by our culture rather than by the Kingdom and the further and further we drifted apart.
My heart ached and I begged the Lord to make our marriage whole again.
I heard the Lord ask me this question, “Tara, can you leave this house and the job (as a pediatric occupational therapist) that you love?”
I said, “Yes, Lord, whatever it takes to restore our family.”
Even though I had never had an experience like this with the Lord before, I felt that it was significant. But, I had no idea how our world was going to change! I don’t know when the transformation began after that discussion with the Lord, but I know He was preparing my heart for all that was about to happen.
It was the beginning of July 2006. I was at my sister’s house several hours away when I received THE CALL.
My husband said, “I quit my job today.”
After a brief silence I said, “Well, good.”
And that was the beginning of the journey we are still on. We made a drastic change in every aspect of our lives, from a 6 digit income to living by faith for each meal, from the corporate world of suits and cocktail parties to ministry in the Smoky Mountain Trash dump in the Philippines. We lived on 4 different continents in 4 years, beginning when our children were ages 2, 5, and 7. We founded a non-profit ministry called FJ Ministries and became missionaries with Youth With A Mission.
Our God-given mission as a family is F.A.I.T.H. – Families reaching families, as Avenues to the nations, Inspiring passion for God and compassion for people, through Teaching and Training in God’s word, with open Hearts and Hands.
This year we are pioneering the Family Discipleship Training School (Family DTS) in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, at the University of the Nations Kona YWAM base. On April 4 we will welcome 8 families from 5 countries, including 21 children from ages 6 months to 15 years, and begin a 5-month long adventure training them in missions and ministry as a family. There will be 11 weeks of discipleship in Kona with international speakers each week, followed by 9 weeks of outreach in the Philippines, living love out loud.
Family DTS topics will include the Father Heart of God, God’s nature and character, the biblical foundations of marriage, family, and parenting, spiritual warfare, evangelism, relationships, missions, and the mission-minded family. It is time set apart to focus on who God is, His purpose for your family and how to live out His calling as a family.
We would love for you to join us on this life changing journey! We will be running this school at the same time next year. If you would like to step out of the boat and join us for 2 weeks or more this summer in the Philippines, then contact us!
These young Daring Daughters have already made a big impact for world missions through simple creative projects. Becoming “Granola Girls”! Breeding Bunnies for Bibles! Raising “Sister-Starts” (organic vegetables)! Even sewing Little Dresses for Africa . . .from pillowcases!
What an inspiration. What will they think of next?
(And what do you think YOU could do for world missions?)
During this week’s church service, our congregation heard an exciting testimony from a medical missions team that had just returned home from The Philippines. As two of my friends, Shannon and Alice, shared about their experiences, an “idea” came into my head for Daring Daughters.
The thought was about how “cool” it could be for women to share current testimonies here on Daring Daughters, while their personal mission experiences were still new and fresh. Specifically, the idea was to create super-easy video testimonies. To simply grab my iPhone and do instant Daring Daughter mission reports, add a few iMovie texts, and to upload these testimonies to YouTube as quickly as possible.
As the service continued (and yes, I was paying attention), other discouraging thoughts argued in my brain: “Oh, you can’t do that. You don’t have enough media expertise. It’ll be too difficult. You should wait until you can do it better… yada yada…”
But then, as our pastor began to minister from the Word of God, guess what his message was about? He preached about stepping out in obedience with that God-given creativity He’s put in us and to respond to those little “promptings” in our hearts to do new things for His purposes. Our pastor talked about how as Christians, we’re called not only to “preach” the Good News of Jesus, but also to “create” Good News for Jesus.
God’s love is not just a historical message. God’s love a living and current message that we preach, both through our words and through our actions. As we DO what God puts in our heart and what He shows us to do — like reaching out in love to help others and to extend God’s love to a lost and hurting world — it “creates” Good News.
Then, our pastor mentioned how FEAR keeps us small, silent, and stationary, but FAITH and PURPOSE allow us to move forward to help expand God’s kingdom.
He was encouraging us, as a congregation and as individuals, to begin to step out and to be more creative for God . . . and to not be stopped or hindered by FEAR.
Along with many biblical illustrations, our pastor used the example of our church’s missions team, explaining how the team took creative action (they had a good idea and they did something about it) — to love people in Jesus’ Name, physically and spiritually, in a very needy area in The Philippines.
As God’s ambassadors, the team brought the eternal Good News of the Gospel message — PLUS, they also helping to “create” more Good News for those people by expressing specific love in Jesus’ Name through the medical mission work.
Through the Gospel and by grace, God helped this team to bring Good News of Jesus’ love. And then, as they came home and shared about their trip, they created even more current Good News, for us to hear and to praise God for.
These thoughts about “creating” Good News were so simple and so encouraging. And as I listened to the preaching, my own thoughts about creating a little mission-testimony-video continued to stir in my heart.
As the service was coming to a close, I knew what I wanted to do.
After Jon and I finished praying for a few people at the end of the service (on our church’s prayer team), I quickly found my two friends, Shannon and Alice, and shared this idea to “create” more Good News by sharing their missions testimony here on Daring Daughters through a quick and instant video. The second church service was about to begin (and our family was heading home), so we only had a few short minutes to make this happen.
I felt really excited in my heart and my friends were more-than-happy to help. We responded to the idea quickly and very spontaneously . . . and here is the result:
A Daring Daughters Medical Missions Testimony from The Philippines:
Daring Daughters, as you watch this little video, I want to encourage you in two ways.
1. First of all, I want you to be encouraged by the testimonies of my friends as you listen to them share their heart for the mission needs they saw in The Philippines.
2. Secondly, I want to encourage you to be willing to step out with INSTANT faith and obedience in the ideas that God puts in your heart. Let’s not make things too difficult. Let’s obey those little “promptings” in our hearts and minds and simply step out to DO those good things that God gives us ideas to do. Let’s love God, let’s love others, and let’s step out to CREATE Good News for Him.
Also, here’s The Philippines Medical Missions team video update that team showed to our church. It was such an exciting update (and the team was so gracious to allow me to share this with you here on Daring Daughters, to encourage YOU for world missions)! As you watch this video, be sure to notice the look of JOY on all of the faces (including the faces of the team, which included our missionary leaders, John & Katy Ricards, along with Shannon Roberts, Alice Wilson, and Alice’s husband, Ryan Wilson)!
Philippines Medical Mission — 2013
As Alice said, “As we give of ourselves to others . . . it’s such a joy!”
Daring Daughters, let’s not be afraid to step out and to be creative for God’s purposes. Let’s “Create” Good News!
ABIDE in Christ, all throughout the day, especially through being in God’s Word.
B. Brain-dump
Get a BINDER and use it for BRAIN-dumping. Keep track of your BIBLE reading. Dump out your to-do’s and your dreams . . . and surrender everything to the Lord, spirit, soul, body. Get your BODY moving and keep your BRAIN at peace..
C. Clear the clutter
Emotionally, get rid of the clutter in your life. Clear out extra junk, such as fear, worry, concerns, and emotional baggage. Cast your cares on the Lord. Light a CANDLE and remind yourself to live in God’s peace and to be a light for Jesus in the world.
D. Dare to Die
The Bible tells us that we are to be “crucified with Christ.” Jesus paid for it all on the Cross of Calvary and He is calling us to pick up our cross and to follow Him. We are to surrender everything to Him — all of our dreams and desires. Live a radical surrendered life.
E. Enjoy every moment.
Let’s enjoy life, right now. The Bible tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord. Enjoy God’s presence.
God’s Name is “I AM that I AM.” He is the EVER-present One. He is EVERLASTING and ETERNAL. He is with us. We should be full of LIFE and JOY. Enjoy the beauty of His world. Consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Enjoy the stars and the sun. Enjoy your friends. Enjoy your relationships, with God and with others.
Worship the Lord . . . and enjoy all that He has for your life, right now.
Don’t just live with a BUSY-BUSY mentality. Instead, ABIDE with God.
Part 4: Living in God’s Balance and Order — In this session, we’re looking at 7 different areas of our life: Our spirit, soul, and body . . . our family, our friendships/fellowship with others, our stewardship of resources (home, time, talents, money), and our ministry/mission. How can we keep in God’s balance and order? What goal should we focus on next? What area would bring the most momentum?
Listen ONLINE Goal-Achieving Workshop — Part 4 (21:43 minutes)
[mp3_embed playlst=”http://www.daringdaughters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DD-goal-night-4.mp3″ colors=”#B2B11F” id=”4″ nums=”4″] Or CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the mp3 . . .
Hear Carlyn’s praise report, how a yard sale helped Rapha House in Cambodia (rescuing girls from child trafficking). “Dare to Rejoice…in Missions!” #5 Download mp3 < < <
