July 2019 Newsletter

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2:14-18

I have been reflecting on this verse a lot this past month, especially as I think about serving, both locally and internationally. The definition of 'serve' is:

1. perform duties or services for (another person or an organization).
2. present (food or drink) to someone.
3. be of use in achieving or satisfying.

I have had many opportunities this year of showing my faith by my deeds and acts of service. But I have also been convicted recently to check my heart and what my core belief is regarding serving. Am I serving joyfully and willingly or because I feel I have to? Am I serving because I want recognition or because I want to be obedient to what God has called me to? In my service, am I sharing openly about why I serve? I am putting my faith in action but I am also hoping that I am putting my faith in words. And am I taking the time to be renewed or going from one act of service to another to another? I do not have good answers but it has been good for me to stop and think more intentionally about this. 

Part of why this has come up is I had the opportunity to be a participant in a Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills (SYIS) workshop in Milwaukee. It was good to take off my facilitator hat and learn some new skills. A few highlights from the workshop include learning about conflict mediation and talking about stress management and maintaining margin in your life, especially as we serve the needs around us. The workshop gave us an opportunity to examine in-depth our core beliefs (not what we say but how we act), which is what has gotten me thinking deeper about service.

I also had multiple meetings to share about Healing the Wounds of Trauma with Youth for Christ and Outreach, a ministry in Indianapolis that serves homeless youth. I am thankful that we have opportunities to work both globally and locally with Ministry Care. Please pray about the possibilities of healing groups and training with these ministries as their leadership considers the options. Ministry Care was also the mission spotlight at my home church, Dover Christian Church so it was nice to be able to share about the vision and purpose of the mission. Finally, I had some meetings regarding fundraising. My contract with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry ended June 30th, therefore I need to look carefully at my budget and consider raising an addition $600/month. Please let me know if you may be interested in partnering with me. 

Thank you for your support, your faithfulness, and your partnership.

With love,
 
Misty

Prayer requests and praises:

• For the Lord to provide wisdom in our opportunities to serve Him.
• For Global Outreach as we continue to grow and develop the missionary care team.
• For continued healing for my mom who has returned to work on a part-time basis.
• Representation of missionary care and Trauma Healing at a worldwide missionary conference in Ireland August 25th-31st.
• Travels to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia August 31st and for our Advanced Equipping September 2-4 and a pilot the new teen version of Trauma Healing with 16 teen boys September 6-8.

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Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2019? There are 2 ways you may donate to Misty at Ministry Care. You can make checks payable to “Ministry Care” and send them to:
 
Ministry Care
14934 Pacer Ct.
Carmel, IN 46032
 
Or you can also make an online donation, using Givelify, on our website at www.ministrycareinternational.org
 
Ministry Care is a 501c3 therefore your donation will be tax deductible.
 
If you have any questions feel free to email us as [email protected]

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