My Story........

John 3:30 says….
He must increase, I must decrease.

My story of how I met Jesus came in stages. The good news of Jesus Christ dieing on the cross for me came at different times and at different ages. I responded to what understanding I had at the time.
When I was a kid, my understanding of God was that there were religious people and not. Religious people got in their car on Sunday and went to church, non religious people didn’t . My family didn't. Also as a kid I did the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer...just in case and I couldn't sleep until I prayed. I do remember when I was about 10 years old or so walking into an unlocked church, no one around, I knelt at the alter and said Hi God, Hi Jesus, Hi Mary and walked out. My understanding was very small.
When I was 14 years old, a neighbor invited me to her church. A nice Sunday school teacher told me that if you ask Jesus to come into your heart, you will go to heaven. Of course , I wanted to go to heaven. So I was baptized there and very excited to tell everyone who would listen , that I was going to heaven! Seeds were sown at that time, but I didn’t grow in the things of God. My neighbor moved away and I stopped going to church.
At 23 years old, I worked with a girl that at that time had just given her life to Christ. She invited me to her church. The minister said that the bible said that We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God . I took a look at my life. I had made many mistakes and wrong choices… a sinner ......, yup! I am. He said God loves us and has a plan for us and asked if anyone would want to get to know God? I thought , of course , doesn’t everyone!?
The bible says if you confess your sins, he is faithful and fair to forgive your sins. He will forgive you. The bible also says that if you confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead , you will be saved.
Jan 9, 1988 I made a decision to be a new creation in Christ . Jesus saved me!
My life changed so much . I joined a new believers class and sat there for 2 years learning about prayer, where to read in the bible, the importance of fellowship, and a lot more. I was baptized and understood why. Within a year I got involved in ministry serving and was building on a foundation in Christ.
From then til now there has been many seasons of understanding where God would say…give me your heart, your life, your plans, your thinking, your family, your everything to me. I’m going to give you a new life.
He has and continues to shed off the old me and uses hardships sometimes to perfect the character of Jesus. Remember, He is a good God. He wants to be glorified, HE wants people to see Him and what He does. He has done so much. It really is all about Him not me!
John 3:30 He must increase, I must decrease.

The goodness of God!

I am in awe at how great God is. It seems the more I hear of storms, houses flooded , adversity all around us, the more I see the goodness of God in my life and in the lives of others. I see more people hungry for Him. I see answered prayer. I am experiencing incredible peace and security in my God. I am so thankful to Him for so much. How about he saved me and is constantly trying to talk to me. His word is alive and active in me! What a priviledge to know Him. It is time to get serious about the Kingdom (it always has been but do you sense the time now to be so close to Him because so many are asking questions) There is no room for playing games with God and wasting time with selfishness. The more He purifies the more the world will see Jesus! Can I get a witness?

One of many purposes of God during our Istanbul trip.....

The purpose of this trip was to share Christ with everyone we came in contact with. We believe we accomplished this.
Sometimes in word, sometimes in action.
We built a nice relationship with the Hotel staff. We bought a chocolate mousse cake to share with them and they gave us a “going away” party. We had lots of fun learning more of the Turkish language with the manager and his staff. Our goal was to go away with them thinking that Americans are nice people.
The Christians associated with the refugee center were blessed by our visit. It was enjoyable to meet so many that sacrificed their “comforts” (ex: away from family in America) for the sake of the Gospel. We were among God’s family as they shared with us how it is to be a missionary. We traveled by foot, taxi, bus, subway, tram, trolley and Ferry (from Europe to Asia). They wanted us to get the real missionary experience.
One of many highlights was meeting and loving many refugees. One was Neiousha. She spoke English pretty well. She read one of our testimonies. (How someone gives their life to Christ) We were blessed to see her translate and watch her add to the story. She knew Christ but not everyone in the room did. She passionately read and spoke. We worked as a team. We formed a circle and prayed. Some may say there was a language barrier but we didn’t think so!! Through tears and songs we enjoyed the presence of God. Nazli is a young girl that loves Jesus and was hungry to hear more. She loves to pray and boy, does she have the hope of Jesus. You can see it on her face.
We did many other things. We performed a MIME in their church. We made over 6000 tracts (Christian pamphlets). We visited other missionaries and saw life from their perspective. This was opportunities to do prayer walks. They need prayer!!!
To sum it all up…Jesus went and affected people one at a time. Wherever he went, he loved them and told them the truth of the Gospel. Sometimes in word and sometimes in action.


Love, Steve and Karlene

Back from Istanbul, Turkey. God started with some cleaning ...cleaning my heart that is!!!

It's funny how people who love God want to be shaken by Him. I know him , trust him and down deep are far from him. When he reveals how wicked I am, I'm grateful because he is going to clean and restore me to a right heart. When I say that the trip was great , it was. God moved through us and in us. That first day God revealed the sin in my heart...... Selfishness, impatience, lack of steadfastness and lack of love. I could go on and on with the list. I wasn't fit for this trip, but God was going to work anyway. Little did I know that he had a plan for me and if he had to ...he would use me!
The picture you see is of a toddler (little over 2) and his infant brother. Their mom is hidding in these bushes. She is waiting for people to come by , feel sorry and put money in a cup that is waiting near the baby. This image bothered me all day. We are told that many refugees are in Turkey. Some find housing and jobs but some do not. I don't know the story behind this situation but I do know that this level of "living" is not what I can relate to. "I" could not imagine any mom doing this to their children but "I" have not been in their situation. This woman might of been forced into prostitution and these are babies out of that. We are told lots of stories. My mind wanders and can only guess. Are these children loved and cared for?? (I don't think so) What is their future? ....... I pray that someone will share the love of God with them someday and they will have a real "life". Life in Jesus!!!!!
When I asked God to reveal himself to me , he wants to show me what he sees........ brokenness, despair, and lost souls that need him!!!
1 john 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus walked.
(I will post more soon. Next one will be lighter:) )

Missions mmmmmm

Steve (my husband) and I are going to Istanbul, Turkey. We leave Aug 7 and return Aug 19.
Missions mmmmmm......... We love Jesus. We want to love Him and show we do by loving and serving others. We are open to go wherever, do whatever and love whoever. The ultimate goal is to win many for Christ. This is our mission for the whole time we are on this earth. If it's to win our neighbor next door or a person across the world. So for now God is directing us to Istanbul. We will be helping a refugee center, teaching classes (I'm cutting hair and Steve is teaching harmonica and kazoo), doing MIME, teaching line dancing, going on prayer walks, visiting and encouraging existing missionaries, visiting home churches, cooking and serving over 100 refugees and whatever else they would have us do!! Pray for us for openness in the hearts of people, health for the team (9 of us), safety and smooth travels through customs and such. Anything else that you can think of , please pray. We know God is faithful to change us!!! Pray we cooperate with Him! Thank you for your prayers!!!!!! We love you , Steve and Karlene

He is so good!

God is so good!! I've been praying for my 93 year old grandmother for 17 years. Monday afternoon a bold, loving, woman of God, Joan asked her if she knew Jesus, she said sheepishly, yeah. "You mean you've surrendered your life to Jesus?" "Well, I don't know about that"she honestly said. "But Doris, you can trust him, he won't hurt you." My heart was going to jump out of my chest! I shut up (which isn't easy to do) and prayed that the Holy Spirit would go right to the "block". He did! The car ride home was quiet. God gave me the priveledge to witness this exchange. It went on for the length of our luncheon. I thank Jesus for this woman that was ready "in season and out to give the reason for the hope that is within her"!!!
You don't realize that it could be someone's grandmother that YOU could be witnessing to!