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Dear Friends and Family,                                                                                                                                       

Greetings from the desert!  This month, the week after our monthly outreach event, my family went to a convention that took place in the Valley (what folks here call Phoenix and the surrounding cities).  Walking into the ballroom after coming out of blazing 115-degree weather, one of the keynote speakers was asked what she thought the difference was between Florida (her home) and Phoenix, AZ.  She paused and then remarked candidly, “It’s the difference between being in a sauna and being in a convection oven.”   This summer has been not only an oven in the Valley but also here in Holbrook.  We will all be grateful to have some rain and cooler weather.  Even our weeds are wilting (and they are normally quite hardy).

 

This month we combined with First Baptist Winslow and took students to Jakes Unlimited in the Valley for our outreach event.  We had a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy the outing.  Over an hour into the drive home, there was an explosion when an SUV collided with a gas truck a few miles up the road.  This blocked the road, so we had to turn around, drive back to Phoenix, and take a different route, adding about 5 hours to the trip.  We were all thankful to arrive safe and sound, even if it was 2 a.m. instead of 8:30 p.m.

 

August begins our school year for ministry, and we look forward to what God has in store.  We have had several students graduate and we will certainly miss them, but we also look forward to the students we will be meeting and sharing Christ with this year.  

 

The Next Chapter, our small group for young adults, will be starting back this week, while the Well, our small groups for Jr high and high school students, will be starting back next week.  We also look forward to our Mentoring Moms program taking flight this month with some small group and mentoring times with young moms.  Gretchen, one of our leaders (who heading up this ministry), finalized the adoption of a wonderful little boy last month and is anticipating God working through this ministry in big ways. I love her heart for these young moms and look forward to seeing how God uses her and the ladies that she ministers to.

 

We also look forward to three new people joining the team!  We are sad to see two of our long-standing volunteers leave us (they are moving to the Valley) but we are grateful for how God provides.  Please pray with us that God will continue to grow this ministry team so we can have a greater impact on our community for Christ.  The three joining us have many talents and they are grounded in their faith, for which we are extremely thankful. 

Please pray for the churches and ministries in Holbrook:

  • 2 churches still searching for pastors.
  • One pastor had to leave a church early due to very critical health concerns.
  • One of our pastors recently lost his wife.
  • There is a transition happening at the Native American Christian Academy next door to us. The previous leader has moved (and we will miss her) but a new gentleman and his family have stepped in and it’s wonderful to hear such positive news about them and the direction they are headed with the school.
  • The director of our local Christian homeless shelter (Bread of Life Mission) recently lost her son, which, of course, is very tragic. Please pray for her family as well as for her son’s wife and child whom he left behind. 
  • The pregnancy center, the NAOMI house (a foster-care ministry to Native kids), etc… I’m sure they would all appreciate being covered in prayer at this time.

 

As for us at Oasis Youth Ministries, please pray that God guides us this year with all of our planning, events, and small groups. Pray that students and their families will hear the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, regularly from us and that we can adequately equip our Christian students to have a strong foundation, to be excited to share their faith in Jesus, and to receive the support they need from other like-minded Christian teens.  It is so difficult for our students to be constantly surrounded by the worldly influences they face daily in school—we need them to be able to gather often so they see and know they are not alone.

 

As always, we greatly appreciate your prayers for this ministry and for all those we reach out to. Thank you so much for your continued praying and giving, as this ministry would not be possible without your help! May God bless you!                 

 

—Jerad & Carrie Burgess