Here is a short video that captures the essence of our annual Awareness Dinner that was held this past Saturday night. Dr. Barry Asmus was the guest speaker and delivered a timely message about how the distressed state of women around the world deeply impacts us all. David Hone, Ian Thomson and Christina Thomson lead us in worship and Shannon Cox was the charming emcee for the evening. We are so grateful to Cheryl Savoie for her decorations and to Alyssa Spitale, Mary Hone and Caye Siller for helping to bring the evening together. God was honored as the new vision for GRM was revealed. What an exciting night!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Who Do You Think You Are? in Liberia!
Recently, one of our former class members, Cathy, brought several copies of Who Do You Think You Are? along with her on her mission trip to Liberia. View this video for what Yvon had to say about it.
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Fall Romania Mission
God has called GRM to again serve the women in Romania.
As you recall, last year we hosted approximately 57 women at their first ever retreat.
This year, our team of 4 will be introducing the women to the
Global Training Institute for Women.
Kristin, Simone, Rosanne and Caye will be presenting a condensed version of the 3 year curriculum that is under development.
Kristin and Caye are very comfortable with the Romanian culture, but this will be a new and exciting experience for Simone and Rosanne. Please keep the entire team in your prayers for safe travels, protected health and adequate financial support as they follow God’s calling across the world.
Kristin 
Rosanne
Simone
CayeThe Master's Jewels
The annual GRM Awareness Dinner has been scheduled for Saturday, September 18th on the campus of Scottsdale Bible Church. The invitations have been mailed (many sincere thanks to Hannah for a wonderful job of designing them!) and have you received yours? If not, call the office and we’ll get one out to you right away!
Cheryl Savoie, GRM Board Member, is heading up a team of dedicated and talented volunteers who are preparing decorations, programs and an all-around exciting evening geared at glorifying God through the work at GRM.
If a good dinner and great fellowship is not enough to entice you to join us, remember that Dr. Barry Asmus is our keynote speaker. Dr. Asmus is a Senior Economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis. The NCPA promotes private sector, market-based solutions. Dr. Asmus has been speaking to audiences in the U.S. and the world for over twenty-five years.
See you there!
Monday, June 14, 2010
What Can We Do?
She smiled at me with a deep penetrating smile, her eyes communicating resolve, peace and conviction. She said, “Jesus is worth it all.” This woman knew what she was talking about. Having been raised in Nazareth in a Muslim family, she was discontent with what she was told about God and who she was and she was searching for spiritual truth. She was empty. So as a young woman she read the Koran and then read the Bible and decided that she could no longer follow the tenets of Islam. When her father discovered she had become a Christian, he had a heart attack. Then her family disowned her, threw her out of the house and she had to flee to another city. So alone, single, she forged a new life in Christ, a life that to this day experiences death threats because of her faith. Yet, she is at peace with her decision, counting “all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus…” as her Lord (Phil. 3:8).
In the context of my teaching and training ministry I have the high privilege of serving women like this one in many different cultures. (In just the last two months I have been in 6 different countries.) However, it is often true that I find myself being equally motivated by the very women I am helping. This woman, unnamed for her protection, inspired me with her sacrificial, no holds barred, radical faith, a faith I aspire to. There we were, sitting in a hotel in Jerusalem, while busloads of tourists filed by. It all seemed so unreal. But while other memories of that trip will fade, what I know I will never forget is the fire in her eyes and the intensity of her voice when she talked about reaching her world for Christ, a world filled with miserable veiled women, many of whom have the same spiritual hunger this young woman had. And she needs help. She is only one of two Christian women ministering to other women in Jerusalem. “I need help training and mentoring the many women coming to Christ,” She said. I think to myself, “What can I do?”
I met this Muslim convert in April. Fast forward one month. Now I am sitting in Romania with a group of women who want me to come and help them to grow in their faith. One woman says she wants to understand what God has left her on earth for. She tearfully said in front of the group, “I have a job, I have enough money, but I am empty inside. I want to understand how you have found what you have.” Here were two different women, from very different worlds, both with needs. This woman touched me with her vulnerability and deep desire for answers. I thought to myself again, “what can I do?”
What are you to do? How do you respond to and help the women next door to you, or in your church? Some of them are keenly aware of their spiritual needs. Many of them are from other cultures. And many of them feel empty, lonely, undervalued, less than. As our world becomes increasingly diverse and complex, where cultures and individuals from different cultures interact with each other more and more often, what are we to do? We can’t become experts in so many different cultures. We can’t learn all the languages. But we can understand what the Bible says about the Christ who came to redeem and the universality of the longings of our hearts. We can learn to know the real God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Esther, Deborah and Sarah. And we can learn what He says to us as women, about our value and identity. God’s Word transcends culture. But we must know what it says.
We not only need to understand what the Bible says, we also must live it out in our own lives. Women everywhere long to see God’s truth fleshed out in other women. You don’t have to travel far to discover this truth. Women want hope! They want to be inspired to be all that God designed them to be. And that happens through the context of relationship. We must be willing to let others, Christian and non-Christian, know us and humbly allow ourselves to be role models. Let me tell you: women are watching you and they will not be willing to hear what you say until you demonstrate the truth of what you are saying through your life.
Finally, I think we need to be willing to go wherever God calls us to go (and do whatever God calls us to do). I honestly don’t get up in the morning thinking about the next place I can go. I am a homebody. But I can’t sit home while women around the world are crying for help to understand the truth that will set them free. God has given us “pearls of great price”. How can we not want to share our wealth with others? May we learn the Truth, live the Truth and be willing to go to share the truth wherever He leads. A love as amazing as God’s love, demands our soul, our lives, our all.
In the context of my teaching and training ministry I have the high privilege of serving women like this one in many different cultures. (In just the last two months I have been in 6 different countries.) However, it is often true that I find myself being equally motivated by the very women I am helping. This woman, unnamed for her protection, inspired me with her sacrificial, no holds barred, radical faith, a faith I aspire to. There we were, sitting in a hotel in Jerusalem, while busloads of tourists filed by. It all seemed so unreal. But while other memories of that trip will fade, what I know I will never forget is the fire in her eyes and the intensity of her voice when she talked about reaching her world for Christ, a world filled with miserable veiled women, many of whom have the same spiritual hunger this young woman had. And she needs help. She is only one of two Christian women ministering to other women in Jerusalem. “I need help training and mentoring the many women coming to Christ,” She said. I think to myself, “What can I do?”
I met this Muslim convert in April. Fast forward one month. Now I am sitting in Romania with a group of women who want me to come and help them to grow in their faith. One woman says she wants to understand what God has left her on earth for. She tearfully said in front of the group, “I have a job, I have enough money, but I am empty inside. I want to understand how you have found what you have.” Here were two different women, from very different worlds, both with needs. This woman touched me with her vulnerability and deep desire for answers. I thought to myself again, “what can I do?”
What are you to do? How do you respond to and help the women next door to you, or in your church? Some of them are keenly aware of their spiritual needs. Many of them are from other cultures. And many of them feel empty, lonely, undervalued, less than. As our world becomes increasingly diverse and complex, where cultures and individuals from different cultures interact with each other more and more often, what are we to do? We can’t become experts in so many different cultures. We can’t learn all the languages. But we can understand what the Bible says about the Christ who came to redeem and the universality of the longings of our hearts. We can learn to know the real God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Esther, Deborah and Sarah. And we can learn what He says to us as women, about our value and identity. God’s Word transcends culture. But we must know what it says.
We not only need to understand what the Bible says, we also must live it out in our own lives. Women everywhere long to see God’s truth fleshed out in other women. You don’t have to travel far to discover this truth. Women want hope! They want to be inspired to be all that God designed them to be. And that happens through the context of relationship. We must be willing to let others, Christian and non-Christian, know us and humbly allow ourselves to be role models. Let me tell you: women are watching you and they will not be willing to hear what you say until you demonstrate the truth of what you are saying through your life.
Finally, I think we need to be willing to go wherever God calls us to go (and do whatever God calls us to do). I honestly don’t get up in the morning thinking about the next place I can go. I am a homebody. But I can’t sit home while women around the world are crying for help to understand the truth that will set them free. God has given us “pearls of great price”. How can we not want to share our wealth with others? May we learn the Truth, live the Truth and be willing to go to share the truth wherever He leads. A love as amazing as God’s love, demands our soul, our lives, our all.
Friday, April 23, 2010
News from the Middle East
Hello everyone! Where do I begin? In the last 10 days I have been to Cairo, Egypt, and seen the pyramids and met with believers from the largest church in the Middle East, been to Petra, Jordan, met with believers in Zarqa and Amman, been to Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Everywhere you go in this part of the world, you see the footprints of our Lord. He is everywhere, His People are everywhere. Forget what you read in the paper: God is at work here and many are coming to know Him.
I met with one Egyptian woman who felt the leading of God to start a ministry to women in Cairo in her home ... because so many women there have been abused. She and her husband now minister to 50 + families ... and their ministry is growing.
What I will not forget is the fire in the eyes and intensity of the speech of the Arab Christians when they talk about reaching their world for Christ. They risk everything for Christ and they count it a privilege. They are an inspriation to me!
I met with one Egyptian woman who felt the leading of God to start a ministry to women in Cairo in her home ... because so many women there have been abused. She and her husband now minister to 50 + families ... and their ministry is growing.
What I will not forget is the fire in the eyes and intensity of the speech of the Arab Christians when they talk about reaching their world for Christ. They risk everything for Christ and they count it a privilege. They are an inspriation to me!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Spring Travels
Spring is upon us and with it comes two very exciting trips. I am going with a small team of people to the Middle East next week - we will be exploring new ministry opportunities in several countries, building new friendships and nurturing friendships we already have. I plan to take my book with me and know it will be an encouragement to the women there who so desperately need encouraging.
Then in May I will be going to Budapest, Hungary for the European Leadership Conference, with a weekend stop in Romania to plan our fall trip there. I am also looking forward to the one day Women's Leadership Summit that is part of the conference. Plan to do lots of networking, book in hand. It is a thrill to hear the positive comments from women who are reading "Who Do You Think You Are?"
One woman writes: "I have already read 7 chapters and can't wait to read the rest of the book-thank you does not seem adequate!"
It is a privilege to serve the Lord through Greater Reach Ministries. To God be the glory! Happy Easter! Kristin
Then in May I will be going to Budapest, Hungary for the European Leadership Conference, with a weekend stop in Romania to plan our fall trip there. I am also looking forward to the one day Women's Leadership Summit that is part of the conference. Plan to do lots of networking, book in hand. It is a thrill to hear the positive comments from women who are reading "Who Do You Think You Are?"
One woman writes: "I have already read 7 chapters and can't wait to read the rest of the book-thank you does not seem adequate!"
It is a privilege to serve the Lord through Greater Reach Ministries. To God be the glory! Happy Easter! Kristin
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