Recently we asked the 2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist how attending Connection influenced their lives. Here is what Susanna said...

Seeing all the other Acteens at Connection, spending time with each other and loving The Lord really encourages me. Its easy to let things in our lives discourages us, but after being with other godly girls, your spirit is lifted in a fresh way!  Another reason is that you get to see many ways you can be involved in missions. That is just two of the many ways that Connection has influenced my life. 

 

Susanna Clouse Cookeville, TN

 

 

Susanna with panelists and serving with her Acteens group at OCC Warehouse

Recently we asked the 2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist how attending Connection influenced their lives. Here is what Lydia said...

This past Connection, I served as a Panelist which meant, I got to experience it in a new way. My favorite part has always been the conferences, even though I had other responsibilities this was still a small part of my experience. My other responsibilities led to more personal time with missionaries and other personnel. We had a good time visiting with them and hearing about their work. They encouraged us to be more diligent followers of Christ so we could be better leaders in all areas of our lives.                                                                                                                

 Lydia Huggins Erwin, TN

 

Lydia at Connection 2012:

How Acteens has changed my lfie!

by Susanna Clouse

2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist

 

Acteens has changed my life in many ways. I started Acteens almost four years ago. When I started it was time for my group to start fundraising for Blume. During that time I learned that I can do things that I never thought I could do. I have made great friends and became closer to the Lord through Acteens. I have been able to learn more about how to further grow as a young lady in Christ. I get to teach and see my sister and their friends grow in Christ and help them do more in missions. I have became more mission oriented. I have started doing more with the WMU group at my church, and being more involved in what they do. I try to do everything I can to help someone in need. One thing I have become super focused on is doing more missions involving the youth in my church. I started looking for things we could do. I found Nickels for Nets. We had a great time collecting money and were very proud of the response and support that we got from our church. I wanted something else to do and get even more people involved this time so I started looking again. A couple months later I got a catalog in the mail from Samaritans Purse, I started looking through it and I found a new project for us. We are going to start fundraising in a couple weeks, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out. Acteens has given me the fire to want to take this and run with it. Acteens has changed my life in too many ways to count.

Let me tell you about my awesome Acteens leader!

Sabrina Thompson

2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist

Sabrina

If I had to describe my Acteens leader in one word it would be compassionate. I remember the first day I walked into her Acteens class. I was scared to death because I didn't know anybody. I hadn’t been to church since I was in kindergarten. I came in clueless. I had no idea what a missionary was or why anybody would ever want to be one. The lesson she taught us that night was about Lottie Moon and why we take up an offering every year that's named after her. The things Kelley taught me that night and from then on have really opened my eyes to the world we live in today. My perspective of this world has completely changed and now I wonder how people aren't doing everything they can to be a missionary locally and globally.

Mrs Kelley and her family

      My first night in Acteens was the first time I had ever met Kelley and the love and compassion she poured out for me isn't measurable. She saw the potential in me that nobody else did and when she invited me to come back I couldn't say no. Now I have goals set to live on the mission field and this summer I am going to be a summer missionary with the North American Mission Board as a sojourner. My relationship continues to grow with Kelley just as my love for missions has.

How my Acteens group has impact my community.

by Lydia Huggins

2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist

Lydia on far left

Our Acteens group recently went to The River Ministry in Johnson City. This place ministers to women who are homeless and in dire situations. To help the women feel safe, they do not allow men. It was a great opportunity for our Acteens group to be able to minister to these women. The River provides them with basic needs such as washers and dryers, showers, classes that help them become independent, job referrals, and devotions. They give the women support with a Christ-like love and non-judgmental attitude. This gives the women a safe place to go and shows them the hope and love of God. We attended their daily devotion at 9:30 in the morning on Monday. After the Bible study, the women discussed prayer requests. The women asked for prayer for someone they knew, rather than for themselves. These women at The River have many needs, but they prayed for friends who have more needs. It humbled me because so often we pray for ourselves. We need to spend more time praying fervently for the people who need God. While at The River, we talked with the women and listened to them. We painted their nails to minister to them and show them that they are beautiful creations of God. As I visited with these women, I discovered that I can help needy people by praying for them and just listening to them. In Acteens, we have been studying about human exploitation in its many forms and how missionaries help people who have been exploited. Going to The River and ministering to the women was one way we could help the people in person.

What I have learned on a mission trip.

Sabrina on left

by Sabrina Thompson

2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist

This past summer my church went on a mission trip to Townsend, Montana. This trip taught me so many different things and some of the learning experience started before we even made it there. When I was asked to go of course I said yes. I knew it was going to be a lot of money and it was going to be hard to convince my mom to let me go but I knew it could be done. The next morning the lady in charge of the trip at church called me and told me they got a ticket for me and it was not refundable or exchangeable. Sounds great, except for the fact that I still hadn’t talked to my mom about it who I knew would not want me going and now I had this ticket that I was going to have to pay for even if I didn’t go. I instantly started sending prayers up. I asked God to soften her heart and to realize what a great opportunity that it was for me and how much it would help other people. When I finally asked her about going it was a dead set no. I continued to pray asking God for anything that could help change her mind. The next day when my mom came home from work she told me that she had decided I could go. She told me that while at work she met a preacher. She told him the story of me wanting to go and she expressed to him how she was afraid something would happen to me while I was gone and she wouldn’t be able to get to me. The preacher gave her his card and told my mom that if something happened he would get her to me. My lesson in this was faith. I learned that amazing things happen when we have faith in God and anything is possible. I was able to go on this trip because of the things He did!

All about my relationship with my Acteens leader.

by Susanna Clouse
2012-2013 TN WMU State Acteens Panelist  

   

My relationship with my Acteen leader, Mrs. Sandy, is very unique. I meet her first through school. She was my fifth grade teacher. She has been my Acteens leader for 2 years. She lets me and all the other girls know that she will always be there for us. She has helped me through some very hard and tough time the past years. She is a friend but at the same time she is so much more. Mrs. Sandy is a mentor, guide, prayer warrior, and a great Acteens leader. If you ask her to pray for something she will pray and pray until she hears how it turned out. Mrs. Sandy is also very missions oriented. She looks for ways for us to help out people around our area but also to help people all over. If we have an idea she is always open to hear it, she will help us plan what we are going to do and help us get it started. Mrs. Sandy helps us get more involved in our WMU group at my church. We go into their meeting on the first Wednesday of every month. We are in charge of doing the prayer calendar for that day. We hand out prayer reminders and read off the names of missionaries celebrating their birthdays. She is a great teacher. She makes sure that the things we do will help us grow in our faith. I appreciate Mrs. Sandy for not only being a friend and being there for me, but for being someone who will help us through our hard times and prepares us for the future! She means more to me then she will ever know.
 

          

Quick Tip for Sharing the Good News

I’m a big fan of evangelism! I’m a big fan of evangelism trainings and workshops, but I’m also a big fan of simplicity.  So much of our lives are complicated, but the saving power of Jesus’ name is not complicated at all, and there are some very simple ways to share the Good News of salvation!  Here is one:

…What if we simply told our story! What if the next time we are at the mall or at Starbucks, we find a new friend and share the story of how we came to know Christ and the difference it has made in our lives! What if we encouraged our girls to do the same! It’s simple, here is my story.

My life before Christ was empty.  Although I was a child I knew I was missing and important piece! I had committed sin that I knew as wrong.  That sin had made things in my life difficult. One morning during a church service, I heard the pastor talking about how sin separated us from God. In the car on the way home I asked my parents what that meant.  They explained that because I sinned I could not have a relationship with Jesus without forgiveness of that sin.  I wanted that forgiveness and relationship with Jesus so I prayed asking God to forgive my sins and lead my life.  From that moment on I felt that emptiness filled.  I knew the love and acceptance of Christ as my Savior!  I knew my sins had been forgiven and that my life would now be lived for Christ.  This relationship has led and directed my life, decisions about college, career, and relationships!  No matter what the world throws my way I don’t have to face it alone! I have a heavenly Father to go to with my hurts, pains, and questions.  Now my life is filled with joy each day that nothing can separate me from.

Your story may look similar or completely different but regardless it’s worth sharing!  The beauty of the Gospel is that the Holy Spirit is at work, seeking and saving the lost (John 6:44; John 16:8).  Our story may be one of many touches or it may be the touch that the Holy Spirit uses to lead a person to accept a personal relationship with Christ.  We aren’t responsible for that part, we just need to share! 

Use these simple steps to write your story, as well as encourage girls to write out their story.

1.    Make it short (2 to 5 minutes should be enough)

2.    Start with what life was like without a relationship with Christ

3.    Next tell about when you made the decision to follow Christ

4.    Follow it up with what your life is like now

5.    Practice with a friend, then go out and share!

6.    Have some of your favorite scriptures ready to share—if a person wants more information (I keep a spiral index card book in my purse with lots of verses to reference)

Who can you share your story with?  

SERVING TOGETHER

            On Tuesday, April 24, your TN WMU staff spent the morning at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee packaging food.  In an effort to involve ourselves in local and community ministries, we set out on a mission to be a part of feeding the hungry! 

We were greeted by Second Harvest Volunteer Associate, Ryan Havice.  Ryan welcomed us and led us to the manufacturing department where we worked.  Four of us worked together boxing prepackaged soups while the other three prepared microwave dinner meals.  When we were finished we had boxed up 7,000 entrees that according to Ryan Stanton, Manufacturing Manager would later be shipped to a brand new food bank in Savannah, GA and  made around 500 full meals that would be distributed here in Middle Tennessee.   Ryan S. explained the food processing and packing we had just taken part in was a part of their Project Preserve program, a program that according to their website, works with food vendors and manufacturers to provide quality meals for distribution at food banks all over the United States.  (To learn more about Project Preserve visit http://secondharvestmidtn.org/project-preserve/) 

         We accomplished our tasks at great speeds and ran out of work before our allotted time was up so as a bonus we took a quick tour of the facility.  This was a great addition to our project, helping us to see the overall work of Second Harvest.  All food that enters the warehouse has an eleven day turn around!  We looked around at the massive amounts of food and were astounded at the thought of it being used so quickly! 

All this is possible when people like you and I play a part! Their ministry is dependent on volunteers.  We saw several other volunteers doing everything from food sorting to quality control.  Ryan mentioned they have volunteers of all ages work with them throughout the week and on two shifts a week they can take volunteers as young as seven years old.  That means if you want to bring your RA, GA, Acteens, or Women’s group there is a way for all of you to volunteer! 

We had a great time and would love for you to have the same experience.  If you are in the Middle Tennessee area and would like to be a part of what Second Harvest is doing, checkout the volunteer page of their website at http://secondharvestmidtn.org/act/volunteer/ or call 615.627.1570.  If you aren’t in the local area, check out food banks, or ministries like this in your area. I am sure they are in great need of volunteers just like you.

Where have you volunteered recently? Tell us about your experience!

Tell us about a project your Acteens group has done and what impact it made on you and your community.

by Alyssa Hargrove
2011-2012 Acteens State Panelists

 The most meaningful thing I’ve done in Acteens is going to the Christian Women’s Job Corp and babysitting the women’s children. It blesses my heart to be able to love on these kids while the moms are furthering their education to have a brighter future for them.

CWJC is an organization where women can go, work to get their GED, further their education, learn basic skills to get a job, and seek Godly counsel and encouragement. Basically to help these women get back on their feet and show them Jesus’ sweet love for them.

My Acteen’s group had the opportunity to go a few times. Our job was to babysit the women’s children as they attended their classes and Bible studies. We provided them with free child-care! The women were so thankful for young girls taking time out of our lives to love on their kids. At the same time we had the chance to show them God’s love and witness to them.

Going to CWJC opened my eyes in many ways. I have two parents in my life, food to eat, shelter over my head, clothing. Not all of these women and their kids do. I’m blessed to have had the chance to love on these kids and let them know there is hope in this life, to never give up, and that Jesus loves them. I hope that with my example and love for Christ these kids saw something different.