New life in Bethlehem!!!

We are currently in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where we are seeing the Lord do great things. There is new life in the hearts of this body of believers. Sunday morning we had quite a dilemma. We opened the service up for individuals to come and testify about what the Lord was doing in their lives since the beginning of this summit, and we had testimonies for an hour and a half in the first service and again, in the second service. Many that wanted to share had to come back

Sunday evening and we had another 2 hours of testimonies. We have been teaching revival principles all week, while Tom Nesbitt (with wife Marie) have been here with us teaching family principles. Parents have made things right with their children, marriages have been impacted as husbands and wives embrace their God-given roles in the home, men have stepped up to be the spiritual leaders in the family - committed to praying for and with their wives and children. Over 45 men have been coming to the church each morning at 6:00 am to cry out to God to do a work in their hearts as well as in their families. Read on, and you will see what the Lord has done......

from a teenage girl - I have had so much bitterness in my heart towards my mom. She left my dad when I was little and I have been so angry with her. This week, I have let go of the bitterness and I feel so free. There is no more anger towards her, and I know I need to be praying for her. I want her to see Jesus in me.

from a mom - I have been walking in my own strength. I have 2 sons and 1 adopted daughter. I have not loved my daughter as I should, because she wasn't everything I'd hoped for. I became angry with God. The Lord has dealt with me regarding my bitterness, and I have let go of the anger. I can now say I truly am happy that she is with our family.

from a father - When I first got saved, I was intimate with the Lord. But in the last several years, my life has been like the song, Slow Fade. I have not been the spiritual leader in my home, and my life has been filled with frustration. Our home has changed this week!!! I'm now teaching my children and they are responding in a very positive way.

from a husband - I started seminary this past fall. I was learning about God, but not becoming more intimate with God. My grades have become too important to me, and I have focused more on them than my family. I was failing to minister inside the walls of my home. This week, my prayer time with my wife has been so sweet. I thank the Lord for all He has done in my heart.

from a man - I ride mountain bikes, and this past Thursday, I wanted to go riding, but there was a storm, so I came to church for the revival summit. Ryan spoke on clear conscience, and God reminded me about a situation with an employer that I never made right. When I was let go, I stole some uniforms that belonged to the company. I never paid for the uniforms. So I went home and wrote an e-mail explaining what had happened, confessed my theft, and made things right. My past employer wrote me back and said he would gladly forgive me and that I did not need to pay him for anything. He was very thankful that I got in touch with him. It feels so good to have a clear conscience.

Family / Marriage Conference in Gettysburg, PA

We have finished our final 4-day conference for this travel year, and we had a wonderful week here at Gettysburg Baptist Church. We were just here 7 months ago for an 11-day revival summit, and God did a mighty work in the hear of Pastor Bill and his son, Ty, who happens to be the Associate Pastor. With the emphasis during this conference on marriage and family, there were several marriages impacted throughout the 4 days. Families were brought closer together, and relationships restored that were experiencing the threat of disconnection. We praise the Lord for all that He is doing at Gettysburg Baptist.

We're on our way.....

Welcome!!! We are so glad you are visiting our family ministry blog!!!
We are leaving Niles this morning for the final leg of our 2008-2009 travel year. We are headed to Upper Marlboro, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. for a 4-day Life Action THIRST conference. You can view our family schedule further down this page. We have just three more locations this travel year, then we will be back in Mihcigan for the summer. Have a super day!!

WHAT A WEEKEND!!

I (Maryann) have just returned home from Harvest Bible Chapel in Davenport, Iowa, where I had the wonderful privilege of participating in the first Pure in Heart conference, hosted by Revive our Hearts, an outreach of Life Action Ministries.
Just 8 hours ago, I was with 500 women who came together with their precious daughters (1,150 attendees in all) to learn how to live a life of purity in our futile, immoral culture. As a ministry, we desire to help young girls stay morally pure, and many times, moms feel inadequate for the task. This is a day-long conference to help mothers captivate the heart of their daughters before the world does. Our goal is to ignite a passion for purity in young girls as they explore their identity in Christ as a beloved princess, a daughter of the King!! The cool thing is that 300 miles away, our daughter Margo was teaching a purity session to the church's youth girls during our team's Wabash, Indiana conference. The joy of knowing that I had the privilege of taking her through the Princess and the Kiss study 6 years ago, and now God is using her commitment to purity to touch the lives of other young girls is a thrill to me!!! There truly is no greater joy than to know that our children are walking with the Lord!! We serve an awesome God!!! To learn more about the Pure in Heart conference, you can visit the REVIVE OUR HEARTS website. In addition to that, you can view the live blog from the weekend at the TRUE WOMAN website. Ryan and 5 of the children are still in Wabash, Indiana where they are finishing up the 8-day conference at Emmanuel Freewill Baptist Church. They will be departing there tomorrow evening after the final service to drive home to Niles. We've had a cancellation in our schedule, so we will actually be home here in Niles for the next 10 days. We thank you for your prayers and encouragement. We serve an awesome God who is worthy to be praised and our family is praising Him today!!

Graham, Texas testimonies

We had testimony night last Sunday evening, in Graham, Texas, and we thought you'd enjoy hearing what the Lord did at Oak Street Baptist...

"I began this conference not understanding brokenness. As a husband and father, God found me disregarding my family for the sake of my work. I have desired the praises of men more than the praises of God. The Lord has drawn my heart back to Him and I've sought forgiveness from my wife and children for not leading them as I should."

"I was content to be a "good guy". The Lord has shown me this week that I'm to be a godly man. I have not been praying with my wife, and that is something we have begun to do together this week. We are choosing to live completely for God."

"I began this conference sad, angry, and overwhelmed. My mother and I have had a broken relationship for over 18 years. After the message on hurt and forgiveness, I contacted my mother and our relationship has been restored. We are restored!!! Praise the Lord!!!"

"I was raised in this church, and three years ago, I got my girlfriend pregnant. She aborted that child, and I have been so angry with God. I thought He had left me abandoned. I have been involved in drugs and alcohol these past 3 years. I just couldn't handle things or hold down a job. The Lord has shown me this week that He never left me or abandoned me. I'm 2 weeks sober today, and I want to be a godly man."

These testimonies are just a small glimpse of what the Lord did during our time in Graham. Our God is a faithful God that meets us at our point of need when we cry out for Him, and many were brought back into a deep love relationship with Jesus!! We are driving to Illinois just thrilled that we get to be a part of His gracious work!!

Graham, Texas

We are here in Graham, Texas, where the pollen levels are at their highest peak for the year, and we're all being affected. Itchy eyes, stuffy noses, sore throats, headaches, etc... So, we're crying out for God's grace, and He's amply supplying it. Above you'll find a picture of our trailer community (we're in the middle), and a picture of Oak Street Baptist Church where we are currently holding an 8-day revival summit. This church and it's staff have been PRAYING FOR REVIVAL EVERY DAY FOR 2 YEARS. They began their 3rd year of praying 2 days after we arrived. The prayer cards have been very specific and we are anticipating the Lord to do a great work here. Please pray for our health in dealing with the allergies and for the Lord to rain down on us, his glory and presence. Thank you so much!!

2009 - 2010 SCHEDULE

2009
September 20-23 Hillcrest Baptist Church
Hopkinsville, KY

September 27-30 Fortified Hills Baptist Church
Dallas, GA

October 4-7 Indian Springs Baptist Church
Laurel, MS

October 11-14 First Baptist Church
Pearland, TX

October 18-25 Waller Baptist Church
Waller, TX

October 30-31 One day Vision Gathering
Fort Worth, TX

November 1-8 Church at the Cross
Grapevine, TX

November 15-18 Sale Street Baptist Church
Lake Charles, LA

November 20-22 Marriage and Family Conference
Sulphur, LA

November 29 - December 9
Missions trip to Central America

2010
January 10-13 Wayside Baptist Church
Miami, FL

January 17-20 Living Word Church
New Port Richie, FL

January 24-27 Spring Hill Baptist Church
Spring Hill, FL

January 31-Feb. 3 First Baptist Church
Leesburg, FL

February 14-17 First Baptist Church
Columbus, MS

February 21-24 First Baptist Church
Gonzales, LA

February 28- March 3 Ridgecrest Baptist Church
Dothan, AL

March 7-10 First Baptist Church
Headland, AL

March 14-21 First Baptist Church
Sylvester, GA

March 28-April 4 Hampton Road Baptist Church
Desoto, TX

April 11-14 First Baptist Church
Enid, OK

April 18-21 Concord Baptist Church
Jefferson City, MO

May 2-9 Berean Baptist Church
Mansfield, OH

May 16-19 Green Ridge Baptist Church
Roanoke, VA

May 23-26 Lakeside Baptist Church
Salem, VA

White Team in El Salvador

Our team was in El Salvador Nov. 22 - 29 and we had a tremendous time of ministry. Our entire team was able to go, along with our 4 older children, Margo, Shawna, Austin, and Holly.

Our team was sectioned into 3 groups. One group ministered at the children's home where we stayed. They spent several days painting buildings and ministering to the children.

A 2nd group worked in a nearby village teaching the villagers about proper hygiene and health, and our 3rd group dug and constructed a fresh-water well for the village. The villagers have been using the local river which is contaminated to bathe in, leaving them with skin rashes. They use this same water for drinking and cooking, which causes them to have stomach problems. What a blessing to provide this great need for these people!!! Our team was also privileged to minister at the local church across the street from the village and Ryan preached Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, with the help of an interpreter. We were thrilled to have been a part of this incredible time of ministry, and we thank the Lord for all we learned on this trip and all the wonderful experiences. We met some great people that are grateful for the little they have. We look forward to another missions trip next year!!

Austin serving food to the children at the Oasis feeding program.

Life Action White Team at fresh-water well that was constructed for the village.

Margo, Shawna and Austin have really enjoyed being on the platform this year. Margo is the female vocalist on our team this year, Shawna plays keyboard, and Austin ministers on the harmonica. Margo is also helping in the youth, Shawna in our 2nd through 6th grade kids club called Base Camp, and Austin and Holly help in our 4 yr. old through 1st grade club, Happy Heart City. We are thrilled that our children have enjoyed serving in these areas. They are gaining some very necessary skills for future ministry that the Lord may have for them. We are so very grateful!!!