Soccer Camp: Prayers Needed!!

Hi TEAM!

AIA is partnering with several churches across Canada to host soccer camps for kids!

My church, Sequoia Community Church, is hosting a Soccer Camp August 10 - 14 and we are really excited to engage with the kids!!

Tomorrow, July 1st, my town is putting on incredible Canada Day Festivities and my church will have their Fun Cruiser which provides FREE popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy. A great way my church is able to engage with your community.

AIA will also set up a table beside this Fun Cruiser to encourage parents to register for our Soccer Camp! Here's where you come in. PLEASE PRAY over the next 24 - 30 hours!!

1. Incredible Weather: this will allow many residents to come out, enjoy the festivities, have the chance to talk to cool christians from Sequoia, PLUS there will be many families there who may be interested in the camp!
2. At least 30 kids will register tomorrow for the camp. We are believing God for 60 kids to attend camp.
   

Your fervent prayers are appreciated. We see this camp as an incredible opportunity to reach out to our community; to share with the kids & their families Jesus' amazing love and forgiveness for all people!

Thank you TEAM!

One Week + 36 Students + Transformed Lives = Priceless

NTC 2009 - what a ride! Walking into NTC, I didn't know what the Lord had in store for me but I was pretty much ready for it.

Thirty-six student athletes came to Ottawa from across Canada to learn about integrating faith & sport. I am confident in saying that they each left the conference at the end of the week with a new perspective on who God is, who they are in Christ, and what it means to surrender all! Their testimonies at the end-of-conference banquet said it all. Very moving stories of what God did and the walls that were broken down. Praise GOD!

I will share more details in my newsletter which is coming next week. But let me say that the experience of NTC was amazing. Not just seeing what God was doing in the students' lives but what He was doing in mine!

TEAM, thank you so much for keeping us staff & the students in your prayers. Your support and encouragement went a long way. Bless you for your faithful partnership!

National Training Camp

National Training Camp (NTC) is finally here! Thirty six students from across Canada are gathering together to better understand the relationship between faith and sport. Combining in-class instruction with competition application, the National Training Camp is designed to address this issue.

The students will be challenged to raise their level of faith, on and off the field. And see themselves and competition through the lens of God. The culmination of NTC ends with the “ultimate” test...a 24-hour multi-sport marathon known as the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. This is a time where the students can apply what they learned throughout the week and fully surrender themselves to God. A very challenging but rewarding time is ahead of them.

Can you take a few minutes out of each day from today to May 10 to specifically pray for the following?

1. Health and safety for both staff & students
2. That the students' will be challenged & convicted by what they will be learning
3. For students to see the amazing reality of Christ and who they are in His eyes
4. That we as AIA staff will be in tune to the Holy Spirit's leading and not our own agenda as we pour into the students' lives
5. That ultimately God will be glorfied throughout this week

Thank you TEAM! Your prayers are cherished and God will answer :)

Finally, do you desire to come alongside us and financially support the event OR support a student who can't afford the funds for the conference? All contributions are tax deductible. Email me today and we can chat about the process to set that up. Thank you for prayerfully considering this!

I will send a full report next week! Stay tuned...!!

AIA Winter Retreat

What an amazing weekend we had at the retreat! It was a wild & crazy ride up to Camp Iawah...literally. As we were leaving Ottawa, we got hit with freezing rain. A few cars slid off the road, I almost rear-ended a truck as we were both slowing down, a deer ran across the highway....and to top it all off, I missed a turn-off and it took us an extra hour to get to our destination. BUT, we made it :)

I didn't know what to expect at the retreat because I had never been to this one before. It is targeted to university students; kids a good 15 years younger than me! "What am I going to offer these people?" I thought. I came in with very low expectations, asking God to use me as He saw fit.

And use me He did! I was able to connect with 2 girls in particular and was able to share my story with them! They were open, honest, vulnerable and ready to hear. So I said silent prayers and just let God speak through me.

It was amazing to see the truth release them from the struggles they were dealing with. One girl, Melissa, after opening up to me about her upbringing and her journey to faith, broke into tears when I shared with her that she should not feel guilty for things she did in her past. That guilt is not from God but from the enemy. I explained that God is so merciful and compassionate that He does not nor will He ever look down in condemnation but rather He loves us so much. I shared that our sin is covered by Jesus' blood on the cross and that what God sees is purity, perfection, beauty. She said that she never heard that before. Her life before coming to faith was very much guilt driven and this was such a new and refreshing concept for her.

God in His amazing way, planned for that conversation to happen because after she & I spoke, our speaker highlighted those truths in a very very clear way. Actually many if not all the things Melissa and I spoke about were brought up again during the speaking sessions. Obviously God wanted her to hear it and believe it.

Another young woman, Jaclyn, and I hit it off during our time at the retreat. She and I (pictured above) took quite a bit of time going through some things she is struggling with. It was actually uncanny because many of these things I struggled with at her age. Of course God knew this and paired us up :)

When I first thought about joining the Campus Ministry, I kept wrestling with the thought, "What do I have to offer these girls? I am 15 years older!". However, this past weekend God spoke very clearly to my heart. "Rachel, you have gone through things and struggled with things that they are now or will very soon be dealing with. Offer your heart and ME to them." WOW!

After the weekend, I was just in awe of how God worked. I know these girls didn't approach me to talk because of anything I did or said but because God knew that He could use my experiences 10-15 years ago to speak to these girls. Incredible!

TEAM, please join me in:

• PRAISING GOD in how he used little 'ol me to reach 2 precious young girls
• Praying for Melissa & Jaclyn as they live out their faith and apply what they learned at the retreat
• Although they live in Southern Ontario, I offered to have a weekly call with them in order to support them in the things they are wrestling with. Please pray that the calls take place and that I will follow the Spirit's leading as to what I should say...or NOT say

Thank you TEAM for your amazing support of me in my ministry with AIA. I am so excited for what God has in store and I am thankful you are on this journey with me.

Jet settin', in more ways than one!

Happy New Year, TEAM! How many people made resolutions and already 'broke' them? (My hand is up) :)

Earlier this month Corey, Olivia, and I jet-setted off to BC so I could attend AIA's Summit (conference). It was hit or miss if the conference was actually going to happen since BC was inundated with snow. The main road up to the conference centre was washed out due to flooding. Thankfully, the road cleared up and we all made it safe & sound. We had 2 speakers join us and so our schedule was quite full but it we had good teaching on Servant-Leadership plus Organic Multiplication. More details to come in my newsletter.

We had great down-time too at the conference with most AIAers taking part in the annual "DJ Knuckles Football Tournament". It was wet, snowy, and cold but people braved the elements :)




We were able to spend a couple of days with Corey's family too. It was great to chill out, catch up, and celebrate Christms (a second time - WHOO HOO!). Olivia had a BLAST in the hot tub :)



A couple of weeks ago I jet-setted off to Calgary for our first 2010 Grey Cup Breakfast meeting. It was a preliminary meeting to connect with those in the Calgary area who are interested in working on this project on a volunteer basis. Next week we will meet again (by phone) and hopefully will have people confirm their involvement. We are pumped for this event - we expect between 1000 -1400 people to attend! We will also incorporate a new element this year. The largest church in Calgary (Centre Street Church) will be hosting a Youth Event on the Friday evening. We are praying for 500 youth to attend.



As we begin to plan and get this project off the ground, please pray for:
1. Us as a committee as we plan
2. Those who are considering volunteering

Still on the jet-setting theme, I feel God is calling me to get more involved when it comes to ministry with AIA. The last couple of months, I have felt that I could be doing more. Not regarding Project Management, but ministry with others. After much prayer, I feel He is leading me to work with student athletes on campus. I have felt this tug for quite some time and fought it for different reasons but earlier this month it was clear that was the path I need to be on. So last week was my first official week on campus at Ottawa U. I am dedicating 25% of my time to this path for now. I am really excited to journey with young girls in their quest to know God more...or at all. I believe my testimony is meant for someone or many student female athletes and I am pumped to see how God will use me. More to come in my newsletter...

Pickford's Ranglin' Christmas Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Do you like our dance? I think Olivia is hilarious!

We are really looking forward to the Christmas holidays. We have had a few parties that we have gone to and a few more to come. I am full already.... :)

It will be a busy holiday but one that is filled with visits with family & friends.

I want to end this blog with a familiar story found in Luke 2... Enjoy...

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Christmas 2008

I can't believe Christmas is only a couple of weeks away! There is so much to do and so little time...that seems to have been my motto these last few months... :)

Christmas is, by far, my favourite time of year. Although I am not a fan of winter (you can't play beach volleyball on the snow!!), I do like the snow and how peaceful it is. The trees are beautiful with snow-capped branches. Kids are making snow angels. Things are bright & beautiful.

What an amazing glimpse of beauty God has given us with the season of winter. There is so much beauty waiting for us in heaven. Winter is like Jesus saying to us "Just wait til you see what I have created for you up here!".

Friends, Merry Christmas. Corey, Olivia, and I wish you a time of relaxation, rest, and rejuvenation as you head into 2009.

Bless you.