scenes of summer...in honor of the last day of summer!

news out the wazoo.....

wow....yes, i know how terribly far behind i am in reporting updates. i wanted to post a bunch of photos for readers to enjoy but can't seem to figure our blogger in order to do that. so anyway, i'll give you a photo of my new FIANCE and i. :) john kovacs and i got engaged on august 7 of this year and are planning for a january 2, 2010 wedding. i couldn't be more delighted and thrilled at the precious plan of our LORD in our lives. we had the opportunity in mid-August to travel to my dear friend, Emily's wedding in Texas, drove home w/ mom to spend a couple days in AR, then flew to New Orleans to spend some time in Baton Rouge w/ John's family. i have since thanked the LORD so many times for blessing us both with tremendous families that love us so much. i couldn't have asked for a more wonderful family to marry into.

in other news, summer has wrapped up for Embrace Baltimore and the Baltimore Baptist Association. we had another good year with more teams than i can count coming from all across the US to serve w/ Baltimore churches including two churches very close to my heart, FBC London AR (who served with Valley Baptist Church) and FBC Rogers AR who served with Graceplace Church. God has been doing a continual work of stretching and challenging our local churches and giving them a new heart and passion for loving Jesus and loving others as He has called us to do. there is still SO much work to do and i still beg your prayers for the ministry of follow-up that so many of our churches struggle to grasp.

we also had a team of incredible summer missionaries who came with hearts so ready to love and serve the LORD in whatever thing He called them to. i was very proud of their flexibility, ability to work together, and eagerness to serve. they're all back on their respective college campuses now, and i'm excited to hear how God might use them in those mission fields. thanks for coming and giving your all guys: Anthony, Anna-Colby, Ashley, Jeanna, Sara, Melissa, Elisabeth, Andrew, Natalie, Jared, Kathrin, Damian, Hannah, Emily, Miranda, and Mark.

the changing of the summer season seems a sign of other changes in so many lives around me including my own. roomie Lily married Jeremy Cotton-Schmidt on august 29 (they are currently honeymooning in Costa Rica), roomie Brandy has transitioned into part-time service with a local church plant called Infinity and has moved into her own apartment in their target area (they launch September 13, so be in prayer for them!). Dawn will be finishing her USC2 term in late September and be headed back to GA for whatever God has for her from there. i am now enagaged, planning a wedding, have recently moved into a 4th floor apartment in the middle of Mt. Vernon (2 doors down from the Light!), and am also working part-time with the Light Church. Brandy and I are still putting in two days a week at the Embrace office and serving our BBA churches however they may need. it has been a season of BIG change in all our lives, but God continues to prove Himself so incredibly faithful to us.

thanks for your continued love and prayers. there's still a lot of unknowns, particularly after january 2 :) but again, God has been faithful all along and i know He has some beautiful plans still to unfold for our lives. i'll try to do a better job of keeping you posted.

as you pray for us thru the fall please just pray for our BBA churches to stay motivated and driven by the Spirit to love the lost and take risks in Jesus' name and pray also for the Light church as we minister to college students and young professionals in the Mt. Vernon community. we're expecting a big season of growth both numerical and spiritual and we as the leadership of the church just want to be in the center of God's will in order to be ready for that growth. pray also for john and i as we plan a wedding and our lives together beyond december. both of our USC2 terms finish in December, so we are praying hard about how God will allow us to continue in ministry without the financial support of a NAMB missions position. we're open to whatever He has for us, and excited about it all.

thanks again. love you all. :)

m

if My people...

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14

I can't begin to express the heaviness of my heart for the Church in Baltimore right now. I’m hesitant to write this because I know it could be read the wrong way or feelings of those working in the Church may be hurt, but I’m writing because the Church so desperately needs your prayer right now. It has been a full summer of ministry and outreach happening all over the city and county and mission teams have flooded our fields once again, but the work is far from completed, in fact, it feels the work has barely even begun. As you may know, I work mainly with our churches on outreach such as VBS and Bible Clubs - this season is always supposed to be the most exciting because of the fruit it yields with hundreds of unchurched children finding their way into our church sanctuaries and hearing the glorious Gospel of Jesus preached loud and clear, at their level of understanding. This summer we've not seen the fruit in these ministries that we’d expected or hoped for, and I know that's due in part to the fact that as a Church we expect big movements of God without a willingness to commit to the big work those results require. Perhaps it’s also due to a void of purity and holiness within the Church. Perhaps it’s due to Churches failing to produce disciples of converts. Perhaps we have truly hardened our hearts and blinded our eyes to the great need of this dark city. Perhaps it’s safer to stay inside, to build a holy community that cannot be sinfully tainted, or to shut out the needs of those around us in order to focus on meeting our own needs. Whatever the case, sin and evil are rampant as ever in this broken city (check out this link for recent news: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.violence28jul28,0,6786209.story) and even the Church whose calling is to storm the gates of hell is silent in the chaos.
Please, brothers and sisters, pray with me for our Church in this city – for believers to humble themselves and pray and seek the face of our just and holy God. He desires to hear the cry of a broken heart offered in humility and repentance. Please pray with me for a passion for purity, a contrite and repentant spirit, disciples to be made intentionally, leaders to lead with wisdom and integrity, and a unified desire for our LORD to take His place as King in our hearts, our Church, and our city.

thank you for your continued faithful prayers....

love-m

SM photo shoot

photo of our Embrace office Summer Missionary team at the Inner Harbor

and another from Convoy of Hope - our Summer Missionary Crew and the lovely Mrs. Rose Dowell (wife of my wonderful boss Mitch)

two weeks in...

so our girls have been here two weeks now. it's been a fun ride thus far. our housing at Middle River Baptist Church has worked out well, but it also means our house also functions as a dining hall and hang-out. :) its been a bit of an adjustment, but the girls have brought a lot of life, fun, and fresh enthusiasm to our lives and workplace. i have one more missionary arriving this evening to join our evangelism team. please be praying for these three young women, Sara, Jeanna (pronounced Gina) and Elisabeth. i pray this summer will bring great spiritual growth for each of them as they seek to know God better and discern His will for their futures. i'm also praying they will provide a shot of encouragement and blessing as well as urgency and passion to the churches with whom they are serving over the next 6-8 weeks.

i had asked your prayers for the Convoy of Hope city outreach that happened in Baltimore a couple weeks ago. here are some stats:
* 1000 people served in Haircuts
* 375 families received portraits
* Over 200 people tested and screened for AIDS/HIV
* 80+ churches were involved
* 22 churches will be conducting follow up
* 70+ participating organizations
* 1101 volunteers
* 1100+ children heard the gospel and enjoyed the Kidz Zone
* 80,000lbs of groceries were given away
* 2600+ guests received personal prayer
* 110+ decisions for Christ
* 3052 Guests attended and witnessed first hand the love of Christ.

thanks for your prayers, and praise the LORD for His answers.

please continue to keep us in your prayers. summer is picking up speed and with crazy busy schedules its easy for attitudes to sour and make living and working together a trial. pray for extra grace for all of us to live with patience, a servant's spirit, humility, joy, and absolute dependence on His provision. and pray that Baltimore continues to see the love of God thru His children all summer long.

much love - m

a little updateage

i have been pretty good at inventing new words like "updateage" lately. apparently "prolongation" is not a word either....hmm.

so here's a photo of me and my "moms"....yes i have two. ;) john took us hiking at gunpowder falls.

just had a great week and a half visit with them. they were here for about 10 days so Mrs. Dixie could do some work for her doctorate that she's working on. i got to introduce mom to all the wonders of B'more like Patterson Park, Rita's Italian Ice, Trader Joe's, Pitango...i could go on. i'm pleased to report she really likes my wonderful city! they surprised John, he didn't know they were coming. :) i'm excited they both had a chance to meet him and get to know him a bit. for those of you AR folks still anxious to meet him, i think you'll have a chance in August. looks like we're planning a trip then to spend a little time with both our families. keep praying for this relationship as well, please. i can't tell you how full my heart is over how God is working in both our lives. He is a faithful God. pray we continue to trust His leading and wait patiently on His will for us.

so, i had requested prayer for summer missionary housing and you may disregard all i mentioned in the last post about the city dwelling. that all fell apart on us last week and we were back to square one clinging tightly to the belief that God really did have something better in store for our now homeless summer ms. at this point in time, the plan is to house all 5 girls (2 are with Brandy, 3 with me) in the church next door to our house. which works well for transportation, though not an ideal set-up for our girls. but God knows what He is doing and i have high hopes that it will all work out for the best. now, we have just a few days to get things set up and new sheets and towels washed and ready for their arrival. they all get in on the 3rd (next Wednesday!) and will be settling in on the 5th after a couple days at Orientation in Ocean City. i am still a bit anxious about how the summer will play out and would love your prayers for my ability to be a good supervisor for these 3 young women, to have wisdom in encouraging/mentoring them in ministry, and just knowing how to balance my own life over the next couple months. i have a feeling God has a lot to teach me this summer about leadership, balance, trust, and discipleship.

thanks for your prayers for John and Gracelife church in Peru last week. they had a tremendous week of ministry and saw God move in some exciting ways. i still need to be caught up on all the stories. the 2nd group from Gracelife will be leaving before too long for another week long trip. i'll keep you posted.

like i said above, summer missionaries arrive on Wednesday and all of us 604 girls and the summer Ms will head to Ocean City til friday for Orientation. should be a fun time. i'm excited to meet them all and see them get busy in their respective ministries. please be praying for them, their safe travel, their relationships with their local supervisors, and their time here in Baltimore. i really pray God lays a passion and burden on their heart for our city and shows them the potential for Kingdom impact that lies within them.

summer's just about here! thanks for your love and prayers! enjoy this last May weekend and happy June!

love -m

may day...

its a beautiful sun-shiny may afternoon in the city. summer is fast approaching yet again. we just got a handful of MayMester missionaries in from Hannibal La Grange College in Hannibal, MO. HLG is a great partner of ours who sent us MayMesters last year as well. these are college students who come and serve with our churches for the month of May. when they fly back home in June we will be getting our next set of missionaries who will be coming from all over the States and serving with our churches and in our office through the first of August. they bring a lot of freshness and excitement to our association and to our staff so we are all excited about what God has in store there. i will have three girls (from AL, FL, and MO) serving on my VBS/Bible Club team this summer who will also be staying with me in my new city home. yep, i said it. city home. one big area of prayer for me....there is an opportunity for me to live very inexpensively in the city in an area near the harbor called Canton. the house is a small rowhouse belonging to one of our associational churches. they wish to use the home for missionaries and as a ministry to families in the area for Hopkins treatment. i would basically be the "house manager" making sure things stay in order there. the downstairs has a private suite that would be my space with a common area in front and a common kitchen space. upstairs will be dorm-style living with enough bedding for 15-20 people. it could be an interesting experience, but may be worth it for the opportunity to be in the city until a better housing option is available. we will see how God provides. in the meantime, it looks like it will definitely be my summer home and that of my summer missionaries as well. i'd love to have your prayers that all of that works out smoothly and also that God would just bless me and these girls with a great summer serving alongside each other to be a blessing to our churches. i am pretty thrilled with the "shepherding" role i will get to have with them. mentoring/discipling college students has become a big passion of my heart in recent years.

i'll be home this weekend for a short trip to see little brother get his bachelors degree at AR Tech. pretty exciting, i am proud of him and Jered (who just got his Masters from UA). i'm eager to see what God has in store for them next. hope to see a few of you at church on Sunday. and so excited to know i will see some of you here in my city come August!

john and i went to our first "prom" this weekend. :) it was actually a party hosted by our friends from church (they advertised the party as a 2nd chance at prom- though 1st chance for me and john who had never attended one!). the girls have a big apartment in mt. vernon and love hosting parties for all their friends (a very unique group of people since there are 5 unique girls who live there!). so, john and i made a thrift store run saturday morning and spent about 25 dollars between the two of us for our prom attire. :) it was a fun evening and a fabulous first prom experience. i included a photo for y'all to enjoy!



please keep us in your prayer as things start getting busier with summer plans. pray especially for wise and diligent planning and investment on the part of our local churches in regards to their community outreach and also for our May missionaries to have a great month of ministry and for their overall time here to be smooth and positive - as always there have been a few kinks to work out, but we know God is in control of all the details. also, you can be praying for John and a group of Hopkins students and some of our Gracelife staff who will be traveling to Huaycan, Peru on Thursday. They will be there till May 22nd doing street evangelism, ministry in local orphanages and schools, and working with a local church there. Please pray for their safe travel, protection, good health, and God's hand on all they do while they're there.

thanks as always for your faithful prayers and support. love you guys so much! -m