James & Carolanne

Today, I received an update from our director, Karen, with some more encouraging stories and thoughts from around the ministry.  I thought you might also like to hear them.  I have included much of her email verbatim with a few minor formatting changes.

Also, you may notice that this email newsletter looks a little different from past ones I have sent.  I'm switching to a slightly different way of sending these, but you should still continue to receive them normally.

This morning, as I was going through some of the stories that have come in the past few days, I am reminded that people are continually showing up at our doorstep looking for answers to their life issues. It's a tremendous opportunity to engage in conversation and share Christ!

We are continually looking for creative, dynamic and effective ways to share Christ with others. People are alone. They need someone to talk to and often they have no idea where to go. We are positioned in such a way that we can be there for them. This opens a tremendous door of opportunity to engage in spiritual conversations with people through their areas of need.

Here is an incredible story of how a lonely person came to us for help. Through the role of one of our mentors, this person came to know Jesus!

"I'm at the lowest point in my life. I feel lonely, unloved, and misunderstood. I am feeling worthless and confused... I pray that God helps me get through this…"

A mentor spoke her telling her how sorry she felt that way but that God felt just the opposite about her and that He wanted to have a person relationship with her. (she talked to her about her feelings and then shared the prayer).

The mentee responded "Wow thank you so much for the prayer. On that Tuesday specifically, I felt so much better. I did read the prayer out loud and have accepted Jesus as my Savior ...I have been overwhelmed by my worries this past month that I have not been going to God as often as I should and that has probably made the difference. I will surely turn to the Bible for help and hopefully find a church community here for good support. Thanks for the advice. Reading this really made my day."

Here is another story of one of our mentees expressing the difficulty of finding a good Christian mentor:

"Oh boy. Today after I sent that email, asking for help. I said to myself 'I really suck at this whole Christian thing', I felt like giving up all together. I had felt so helpless because everyone knows me as the 'christian kid'. I couldn't ask a pastor, older adult, or even my own parents for help, because I didn't want to disappoint anyone. But this organization is amazing. God is doing good things through you and Teen Hope Line. I've always know that 'God loves me' and 'He died for my sins', but I had never really felt it. But through God, your words spoke to me. I actually wrote some of them down in my journal. I feel changed. I feel the Holy Spirit revived in me. God has given me the strength to carry on more than ever. Thank you so much for your inspiring words. May God bless you."

God is at work in this ministry! Would you keep us in your prayers?