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 Rachel Buttig Director
East St. Louis Dream Center |
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501 C3 Status
The East St. Louis Dream Center has now received its
501 C3 tax exempt status and all donations will be tax deductible. Thank you so much to those of you who gave towards helping with this! It is GREATLY appreciated. | |
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Precious people,
Psalm 1:2-3 (NIV) But his delight is in the law (the Word) of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Over the past few months this verse has been ministering to me. I want my life to be like the tree n this verse. Never running dry, never withering, always bearing fruit because it is receiving a constant water supply.
Keeping the Word of God on our minds and praying in the Spirit will help us stay well watered throughout each day and each challenge. On our own this is not the easiest thing to remember to do. So, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you. That way it won't be just another task on your To Do list. He will remind you!
Rachel |
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The Miracle of an Open Heart
In July the St. Louis Dream Center gave us two portable basketball goals. Since then our Friday night Teen Ministry has come to LIFE! We had previously been meeting in my small apartment and were only able to have about 6 kids come. But since the basketball goals, we have about 25-30 teens come each time!
These basketball goals have been a TEEN MAGNET! If there is one thing the kids in this neighborhood enjoy most, it's basketball. There is a trap of boredom that so many urban youth fall into and this is one reason why they get into trouble. Several months ago, God told me to change the focus of Teen Ministry to RECREATION. Through recreation and spending quality time with them, we would have an open door into their hearts. And through a relationship with us, they would be drawn to a relationship with JESUS.
Having the basketball hoops and simply being able to hang with these wonderful teens, has made our time with them so RICH. The volunteers and teens leave on Friday nights feeling fulfilled because we have connected with each other.
This is what has happened since receiving the basketball goals;
· 15 salvations
· 10 kids received Bibles
· Tough kids who are in trouble with the law that wouldn't set foot in my apartment before are now coming.
· During our LIFE Line group discussion, when asked the question, "Is there a relationship that you have for LIFE?" One of the 15 year old boys said, "Ya'll are for LIFE."
· In response to the same question, a 17 year old boy said, "Ya'll right here, that's real talk."
· Kids are opening up more and asking questions like this, "Why do people go to hell if God LOVES us unconditionally?" AND "Sometimes I go all day without talking to God and I forget about Him, what should I do about that?"
· We're finding out more about their lives and what they go through at home.
· A volunteer said, "These basketball goals have changed my life and have helped me enjoy these kids so much more."
It's hard for me to truly put into words how precious our time has been with these teens. I believe it's like Moses and his rod. God took a simple piece of wood and did WONDERFUL miracles with it. That's what these simple basketball goals have done for Teen Ministry. Amazing things are happening that we have not seen happen in the 4 years we've been doing Teen Ministry. And one of the most miraculous things is seeing hardened hearts open that were once closed. They are beginning to feel SAFE. This is a miracle! |
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A Prisoners' Transformation
Once a month, I visit a young man who is at Menard Prison with a 25 year sentence. I have known him for 10 years and have been visiting and writing him for a year. In this past year, I have watched him grow from barely knowing God to hungering for God and His Word. In this period of ministering to him, I have been able to see these changes happen in his life;
· He began attending chapel 5 times a month
· He has linked up with other Christian inmates at Menard. They encourage and teach each other the Word
· While on the prison yard, he and other Christian inmates get in small groups to worship and pray together.
· He receives letters and magazines from Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) and regularly sends in prayer requests to them.
· He has felt so encouraged by KCM, that after he reads their monthly letter, he underlines points that ministered to him then mails it to his mother who lives here in John DeShields.
· Through letters, he has started encouraging his family to build a relationship with God.
· He is adamantly pursuing his two children in order to maintain a relationship with them while still in prison.
· He is looking into getting his GED through a school that is offered by mail. He is looking up words in the dictionary he is not familiar with and learning how to spell better.
· He is learning how to manage his anger according to the Word.
· He is devouring the Bible and studying different translations.
· He shares in his letters what he has learned in the Word and many times without even knowing it, has encouraged me in my walk with God.
This is something that he wrote in his last letter, "Rachel, I think that I am getting a better understanding about the Bible. I truly believe that I am learning more and more about my Father (God). And I also want to thank you for helping me do so. You have been such a good sister to me. When someone looks after me like this and I see that this person loves and cares for me so much, it makes me want to do more things in life..." |
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Sowing Seed
Did you know how GOOD of a Father you have? He wants to be GOOD to you. When things come to mind that you want or need, at that moment, in a simple way, just ask Him for it. Imagine Him standing right in front of you and all of His LOVE and GOODNESS coming out of His heart towards you, then just simply say, "Jesus, will you give me __________. Thank you" Then just sit back, relax and watch Him bring it to you.
If you would like to sow GOOD seed into GOOD ground, you can either go to the web site and click on the PAY PAL button or make checks payable to "ESL DC." If there is a specific item that you would like to give towards, you can check out the NEEDS LIST on the web site. Please specify in the memo what it is for.
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