http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org Sherry Hemsoth - Serving The Kingdom en-us Sun, 7 Sep 2008 22:30:45 GMT 30 http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=i-miss-my-home-churchbut http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=i-miss-my-home-churchbut I miss my home church when I am on the rez.  I miss the worship and the teaching.  I miss the people.  I miss the joy I have from being in the presence of the Holy Spirit during the service.  But God has used this position I hold with AIM as Ministry Coordinator of American Indian Discipleship to show me that "His church" is much bigger than my home church.  He has shown me that I can have worship and teaching from the churches I attend on the rez.  He has given me relationships with people at the rez churches I attend that are so fulfilling to me as a Christ Follower.  He has given me joy and filled me with the Holy Spirit through the church services I attend on the rez.  I now see "His Church" as the church of the New Testament...........people..........the Body of Christ.........so much bigger to me now.  I can't even begin to tell you the feelings and emotions that come with being the only Anglo in a worship service of over 200 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=be-ready-to-give-an-answer-for-the-hope-that-is-within-you http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=be-ready-to-give-an-answer-for-the-hope-that-is-within-you I am here in Whiteriver, Arizona at the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.  Outside access is difficult.  I have no phone service or email access on my own.  I either drive 45 minutes off the reservation north to Show Low to be able to use my cell phone or head down to the Kennel to use their computers.  The Kennel is run by Apache Youth Ministries and is a Youth Center for the youth of Whiteriver.  It is a vital part of what God is doing here in Whiteriver with the youth.  Vital perhaps, because it is pretty much the only thing for the youth to do in their own hometown.  Life is bleak here.  Poverty abounds.  Drugs, alcohol, suicide, gambling addictions, automobile accidents, teenage pregnancy.......not much hope.  Jesus is the answer......really the only answer.....some get off the rez at some point in their life but without the hope that Jesus puts into our lives they usually come back and fall into their old lifestyle, which is a lifes Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=and-the-answer-is http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=and-the-answer-is I've led three projects this summer, and have one to go.  Much went wrong on those three projects but much more went right, God truly showed Himself faithful.  As I prepare to leave tomorrow (Saturday) to lead my last project of the summer on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in White River, Arizona, God is telling me to continue to trust Him, that He has proven Himself faithful and He won't let me down.  In my devotions this morning He took me to Ephesians 1:3-8, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.  In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will-to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiv Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-pictures-from-my-naomi-and-belize-projects http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-pictures-from-my-naomi-and-belize-projects Hope you'll check out the new pictures from my NAOMI House and Belize, Central America projects, summer of 2008.  If they inspire you to want to go on a mission trip with me.......just give me a call or send an email my way........I'd love to have you join me in sharing the Good News of Jesus with those in need.  To God Be The Glory! Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=jesus-has-wrecked-my-plain-old-ordinary-days http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=jesus-has-wrecked-my-plain-old-ordinary-days I really like it.....no more plain old ordinary days.....just days filled with Jesus, His Word, worship, surrender, faith, obedience......I've been wrecked for the ordinary by Jesus!   The ordinary does not satisfy me any longer.  I want more.....more of Jesus.....more of pouring Jesus into others.....more of growing closer to God.....more of the joy and peace that comes with 100% surrender.  Since I have begun leading projects with AIM, I have slowly removed myself from the world.  That which used to bring satisfaction to me no longer does.   I no longer desire that which the world desires.....God is drawing me into a closer walk with Him.  He has stripped me of my desire for watching TV and movies.  He has stripped me of my desire to know what is going on in the world through the eyes of the news.  He has stripped me of my desire to satisfy my own flesh.  He has wrecked me for the ordinary things of life and replaced them all wit Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-photoshouck-aznavajo-project http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-photoshouck-aznavajo-project Check out the new photos of my Houck, Arizona Navajo project, June, 2008. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=rushing-waterliving-waterjesus http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=rushing-waterliving-waterjesus This week God sent me two gifts to help me lead my first project of the summer here on the Navajo Reservation in Houck, Arizona.   The names of the two gifts are Lia and Shawndine.  Lia and Shawndine are two lovely Navajo teens that God has put into my life so that we can bless and encourage each other.  And they have certainly encouraged me as well as blessed me since the project began a week ago.  They are my right-hand girls, always there when I need them and willing to help with anything I ask.  Every morning we take a Prayer Walk before the day begins and today as we were walking down the rez road that the church is on, Lia asked me to go down a side road that leads to what the Navajo call, The Pillar of Evil.  The Pillar of Evil is an isolated place on the reservation that Navajo go to to drink alcohol and do drugs.  There is broken glass as well as trash everywhere.  We had been there earlier this week wi Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=and-my-god-will-meet-all-my-needs http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=and-my-god-will-meet-all-my-needs I landed in Albuquerque this past Thursday to lead my first project of the summer on the Navajo Nation.  I left behind a husband, 3 children, a daughter-in-law, a brand new 2 week old granddaughter, a mom who lives with us, an aunt and uncle that are a big part of our lives, a dog and a cat.  As soon as I stepped into the terminal the thoughts came...(Satan of course)..."What are you doing here?  You're alone again!  You can't even make a dent in the needs on the Reservation!"  On sheer obedience I retrieved my luggage, rented my car and began to drive west.  Two hours later I stopped at an Indian Souvenir shop for a rest break.  As soon as I got in the door I noticed Christian music playing over the intercom.  I asked the Navajo lady working in the store if she was Christian.  "Yes I am." she replied as her face lite up.  "Are you?" she asked me.  As I affirmed that I was, we began to talk about Jesus.  She shared h Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=is-that-you-god http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=is-that-you-god Have you ever felt that God was calling you to do something but that Satan was talking to you also?  How do you know if it's God or Satan calling you to take action?  I experienced that this last week.  I felt that God was calling me to do something very difficult and if I messed it up, there could be disastrous consequences.  Oh, how I agnozied over that call.  I prayed and prayed, I talked to my accountabilty partner, I searched the scriptures.  I wanted to be sure I was hearing God correctly.  I didn't want to mess up.  I took my time.  I continually asked God to let me hear his call clearly and know deep in my soul that He was calling me.  As the time approached for me to take the action, I stepped up my scripture search.  And time after time God took me to the scriptures that confirmed the call was from Him.  God also used my accountability partner to affirm that the call was from Him.  Finally, when God pu Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=its-coming-fast-and-furious http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=its-coming-fast-and-furious It's coming fast and furious.  God is teaching me, speaking to me, refining me, stretching me, preparing me.  As I prepare to head out in less than two weeks for a jam packed summer of leading 4 projects with AIM on American Indian Reservations in the U.S. and in Belize, Central America, God is showing me that He is right there beside me.  I'm not in this adventure of a lifetime alone.  As I am the Project Leader for my groups on the projects He has called me to this summer, God is my Project Leader.  I never have to make a decision on my own, God will make the decision through me.  I don't have to manage the groups He sends me on my own, God will manage them through me.  I don't have to make up the schedules for the projects on my own, God will make up the schedules through  me.  He is showing me that I need to depend on Him alone.  He said to me last night, "I am all you need, Sherry."  All I need to do is get in the wo Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=not-just-a-hunk-of-metal http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=not-just-a-hunk-of-metal Ever feel like you're just a hunk of metal?  Like you're a reject?  That you could do better but you messed up again?  Well, I've kind of been there this week.  By coincidence (?), a couple of my friends expressed the same sentiment to me this week.  Coincidence?  Or is God talking to me.  Is He telling me that everybody has times when they feel inadequate.  Times that they feel like they've messed up.  Times they feel like just a hunk of metal.  Oh, what a compassionate God we serve!  God didn't let me linger over just being a hunk of metal long.......he reminded me of one of the greatest men in the Bible, David.  David was a murder, an adulterer, a liar......he really messed up.  I wonder if he felt like just a hunk of metal at times.  But my oh my....... how David loved God.  He loved Him with every part of his being.  David confessed, repented, received forgiveness and then walked in obedience Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-pictures http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=new-pictures Hey Everybody.......check out the pictures on my Blog from my 3 week trip to the Navajo and Apache Reservations in AZ and NM!  Pictures are worth a thousand words! Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=it-happened-so-fast-and-so-unexpectedly http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=it-happened-so-fast-and-so-unexpectedly It happened so fast and so unexpectedly......I had been in the field 14 days and had not had access to my email.  I knew it was building up and needed my attention.  Finally, at midnight, I was able to sneak away from my hotel room and 3 sleeping Indian teens I had taken to Phoenix for a graduation celebration.  "Yes", I said to myself as I saw that the guest computer in the office was not in use.  I eagerly sat down and began to read through my list of 128 emails.  I had only read 2 when a young man approached and sat on the chair beside me.  I tried to ignore him and continued to read my emails but he began to talk to me.  When ignoring him didn't work, I tried talking to him out of the side of my mouth with an occasional glance away from my computer over to him and then back to my emails.  Then he really began to get persistent in talking with me and I realized that the tone of the conversation had swung from small talk to "serious" talk.&nbsp Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=flying-american-anyone http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=flying-american-anyone "Are you flying American any time soon?" my pastor asked me on Friday.  "Yes, Tuesday," I replied.  "I am scheduled to fly to Albuquerque to begin training with my boss for my new position with AIM as Ministry Coordinator of American Indian Discipleship."  Then my pastor proceeded to tell me what the latest news was concerning American Airlines, which wasn't good.  In the past, that news would have bothered me.  Satan would have run rampant with it through my brain.  But God has really been working on refining me lately.  He is teaching me to trust Him 100%.  He has shown Himself to me as faithful in these past months over and over and over again.  I am learning to lay "it all down" at the feet of Jesus.  And I'm not just talking about "laying it all down," I'm really doing it!  When I walked away from that conversation about American Airlines I felt such a sense of peace.  I knew in my heart that if God wanted Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=dont-be-like-moses http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=dont-be-like-moses God has made huge changes in my life in the last 5 years.  I, at times, have had a hard time keeping up with Him, and have tended to ask alot of questions when something would happen or He would tell me to do something.   And in the last year, God has begun to deal with me along those lines.  He has put a dear friend in my life who has challenged me on my questioning God.  When my friend  first told me that I question God too much, I was a little offended.  I didn't think that I did.  But my friend wouldn't let up on me and kept telling me, "Don't be like Moses, Sherry.  He kept questioning God and missed out on the blessing."  Well, when my friend put it that way, I began to pay more attention when God told me to do something.  I certainly did not want to miss out on any blessing that God wanted to bestow on me.  So now, when anything happens in my life or God tells me to do something, the words, "Don't be like Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=spiritual-warfare http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=spiritual-warfare Spiritual warfare!  It can sure create havoc in my life!  Oh, how it creeps up on me.  Quietly, slowly, but then before I know it, it's out of control and I can't see my way through the thick of it.  But, as always, God is there for me.  I just have to take a breather, recognize that Satan is at the heart of it all, and cry out to God for His deliverance.  And, of course, He's there for me.  Always there for me!  I drift so far from Him, but He never drifts from me.  He patiently waits for me to return and call out to Him for help.  And then He rescues me.  Oh, Thank You God!  I can breathe again.  I can see the light of His face again.  A face that never turned away from me.  A face that shines His grace down on me.  And when it's all over, a face that forgives me.  My Jesus, My Savior, My deliverer, My all-in-all!  Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you for a forgiving husband!  Thank you f Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=youre-stretching-me-god http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=youre-stretching-me-god On a recent ministry trip to Arizona and New Mexico, God had me on my knees one night in intercession for a ministry partner's father who does not know Christ.  As I wept and prayed over him, God told me He wanted me to go and tell him about Jesus.  Was I hearing right?  God wanted Me to go?  I had reasons why He couldn't possibly want me to go.  This man lives on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and in the dead of winter where the red dirt roads freeze at night and thaw in the day the roads are a mess.  "God, I don't want to get stuck in the mud in the middle of the rez without any cell phone service."  As I continued to pray God was not letting me off the hook.  "This man is an alcoholic God, what if he is drunk when I get there?"  I continued to pray and God was still not letting me off the hook.  "God, what if his dogs bite me?"  Suddenly a peace flooded me and I finished the prayer of intercession,  got up and wen Sat, 2 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=the-harvest-is-plentifulbut-the-workersare-few http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=the-harvest-is-plentifulbut-the-workersare-few "When he saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.'"  Matthew 9:36-38    As Christ Followers, we are the workers that Jesus wants to send out into the harvest field.  No matter where we live, there is a harvest field that is ripe for us to invest ourselves in.  I was reminded of that this week during my churches Christmas Outreach when between 40-60 people came each day seeking assistance from the church.  They all had physical needs but their spiritual needs were even greater.  I saw that those who did not know Christ were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd and were in great need of a Savior.   As a worker in the field, what a privilege it was to pray wi Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=giving-out-of-poverty http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=giving-out-of-poverty God is teaching me so much through this fundraising adventure He has put me on.  I received a pledge from an old friend that I haven't seen in many years.  She pledged $30 a quarter and sent me the check for the first quarter with a note saying, "I am happy to help and will enjoy being a Prayer Partner.  I'm going to start with this check and trust that God will help it grow."  My friend has been a single mom for many years and has struggled financially but, like the poor widow in Mark 12:41-43 who "put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny", she is giving what she has and giving with a joyful heart.  Jesus said, "This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."  Basically, I think that's what God wants from us.......all we have.......whether it's financial, spiritual, emotional or physic Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=stepping-out-in-obedience http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=stepping-out-in-obedience My first pledge of support came in this week.  A friend of mine who is 85 years old pledged $10 a month for two years.   Instead of sending the $10 in every month he handed me a check for $240.  As he handed it to me he said, "I'm giving it all to you now because I might not live that long."   That really blessed me.  He wanted to make sure I received his pledge to help further God's kingdom among American Indians if God choose to take him before the two years were up.  God is teaching me so much through this journey of going on staff with AIM.  If we let Him, God will use us until He decides it's time for us to go home.  All we have to do is keep stepping out in obedience  through the doors He opens to us.  My friend is tired, he's old, and he desperately wants to go home to be with Jesus.  But God hasn't called him yet, so he's still stepping out in obedience through the doors God opens to him.  That's how I want t Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=trust-the-lord-with-all-your-heart http://sherryhemsoth.myadventures.org/?filename=trust-the-lord-with-all-your-heart I've been a stay-at-home-homeschooling-mom with three children for 23 years and have been praying for several years that when my youngest son graduated from high school, God would give me a ministry and not just a job.  Well, my son graduates this coming May, and here I am going on staff with Adventures In Missions ministering to Native Americans. I've been a Christ follower for 32 years and with the gifts of administration, faith, leadership and serving, had been content with serving in my home church for 26 of those years.  My missionary journey began in 2002 when God broke my heart for the unsaved through a youth evangelism seminar that I was the administrator for.  The following year, 2003, God called me to my first missions trip with Adventures In Missions, a family trip to the inner-city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  I was hooked!  What a mountain-top experience to share Jesus with people who haven't heard. Shortly after that trip, God called Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT