OASIS prayers

I first want to say thank you for your support of my ministry in South Florida! We are doing good down here - managing the heat while the rest of the country is hoping for an end to winter! Programming is coming along quite nicely as the first month in our new building has flown by. We have been able to expand what we offer for our youth group - girls and boys fitness classes, more tutoring time, the addition of a computer lab, ACT/SAT/GED/FCAT (Florida's standardized test) study courses, paper making (a skill that one of our employees possesses and shared with our kiddos so they could start up their own business) and so much more! We are really growing, moving, and shaking now! Right now is spring break time, so we have an abundance of college groups coming to help out on mission trips.

So, the main update is that GOD IS GOOD!!

The main reason, however, for writing this email is to ask for your prayers. On Sunday, we leave for four days to take all 74 of our youth to camp OASIS. OASIS camp is the camp that we put on for our kids during Spring Break. It is an incredible opportunity for them to encounter the living God and have radical experiences that often change their lives. When you ask the youth what their favorite part of Branches is, 10 out of 10 of them will answer camp OASIS. We chose the name "oasis" for the symbolism of an oasis in the desert. For so many of our youth, this is their time to get away from all their troubles. They get out of their crazy home situations, they get away from their friends who aren't the best influences for them, they get to leave Florida City and travel to the wilderness and spend the nights in cabins - where they have their own beds. They also get to do "crazy" things like archery, hiking, canoeing, swimming, and play in the great outdoors. If you can't tell, OASIS is a time for our kids to have great and sometimes new experiences! What I'm asking for is lots and lots of prayers. We need prayers for safety, (I am the camp nurse this year, so we need EXTRA prayers for safety...) prayers for energy for the adults - especially myself, prayers for God to move and work in all the planning, set-up, and on goings of camp. We need major prayers for our youth to be open to the words they hear and that they have fun, learn a lot, and really let God into their lives.

Thank you so much for being willing to help in this way! I will update you again when we come back on how things went and what happened over the week.

Lots of love and peace!