As my year closes

August 9, 2011

On 8 mile trail to Hallett's Peak where Kileab got ear infection

Thank you so much for your prayers and support over the last year of this internship. I know I have

grown through this year’s experience in God glorifying ways thanks to you. I sincerely thank you. And

thank you again.

This is not how I expected to spend the last week of my Honor Academy Internship. I am currently at

home with my family on medical leave, having been diagnosed with mono and an ear infection. I will

travel with my family to drop Kendra off at John Brown University on Thursday. Then my family will

take me to the Honor Academy so I can participate in the graduation ceremony and tell some dear

friends goodbye this Sat. August 13.

Following graduation, I will take some more time with my family for R&R&R&R (That is Rest and

Relaxation and Recovery & more Rest). We are planning on a week right now, but if you are familiar

with mono, it can last from 3 weeks to 3 months.

Once I have recovered adequately, I will be back at the Honor Academy as I have been accepted on the

Acquire the Fire Ministry Team as a second year intern. After wrestling in prayer with God, He opened

this door in a miraculously unexpected way. I watched about 140 people desire to be placed in the 20

open ministry team positions and didn’t think it was even a possibility for me. I wasn’t honest with

myself for months about the fact that being on the ministry team as a second year intern was exactly

what I WANTED to do. Take a look at Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the

desires of your heart.” Wow! He is such a gracious God and all is a grace gift from Him, even the

desires.

As a second year intern on the ATF Ministry Team, I will be traveling from the end of September

through May from city to city to set up, assist in pulling off, and tear down each Acquire the Fire Event.

Our team is also in charge of the dramas that will be performed at each conference. Basically I will

live on the charter bus, sleep at host homes or churches along the way and occasionally return to the

Honor Academy.

Click www.acquirethefire.com to see this year’s theme in a video and learn more about Teen Mania’s

Acquire the Fire weekend events. At this website you can see where I will be traveling, see a trailer

about this year’s theme “Normal’s Not Enough” and find out much more about Acquire the Fire.

“Normal’s Not Enough,” resonates with my heart! As you know, that could be my life theme as I have

always taken joy in being different. The cool thing is that now I am thoroughly enjoying not being

normal for the glory of God instead of the glory of self.

I need to raise $5,400 for this second year internship (about half of what the Honor Academy

Internship cost.) I was awarded $500 for a director’s award in the spring, which will be credited

towards this need. This is roughly $450 a month to support my expenses for the ministry. This will

cover all of my travel, food and living expenses.

• Praise God for how He has provided for me this last year.

• Praise God for His blessing and protection in Ecuador.

• Praise God that I was home for a wedding and able to visit a doctor to diagnose my illness, so I know how to recover.

• Pray for quick recovery and that I am wise in taking care of my body.

• Pray for the leadership team of the Acquire the Fire as they pray and decide where to place me on the team in regards to this illness.

• Pray for the financial support for this second year internship.

• Pray that I would be disciplined with my few wakeful hours to know God better and do what He wants me to do.

• Pray about financially supporting me through Teen Mania for this second year internship. If God provides for you to do this go to http://www.honoracademy.com/index.cfm/pageid/2120/index.html Click Donate. Enter my I.D. # 2610558 and you may donate with a credit card.

Thank you for your friendship and your prayers.

To God be All Glory for All,

Kileab

Post Ecuador

July 28, 2011

{Left to right Timmy, Gabriel, Ruben, Alex, David, Israel, Kileab}

I have returned from Ecuador, and have hit the ground running.  This week I am heading to our Mountain Life Transforming Event.  Since I returned, I rested a little at my Aunts house in Dallas with my Mom and siblings while my Dad and Kendra and Kramer were in Peru.  I have worked G.E. registration and also been lifeguarding for the Honor Academy Extreme Camps this week.  I want to take this opportunity to share with you some reflections on the Ecuador mission’s trip. 

·      I was the Missionary Advisor aka. Small group leader to 4 teenage guys who are in the above picture with me and two of our translators.  We called ourselves the Bros.  The first night on campus during pre-trip training with these guys I shared my testimony and I opened up and shared the nasty unseen and how God has rescued me from death and brought me into marvelous light. The guys in my group opened up and started sharing and from then on they all got excited for “Bro-Time” (our man-time).  Something inside of me jumped for joy when these guys started sharing and the Spirit of God began to knit us together.

·      I played Jesus in the Ragman drama.  God worked on my heart.  He brought me from a place of fearfulness to do the drama to a place where I was looking forward to performing the drama.  I was looking forward to doing the drama because I could show these people Jesus.  When my heart cared more for people to know Jesus the fear and nervousness faded away and passion to share the truth with people and boldness rose up inside of me.  I not only came to ease with performing the drama but also had a desire for people to find satisfaction in Christ alone.

·      I had the privilege to meet Minkayani, the man who killed Jim Elliot and 2 more of the missionaries, as well as hear him testify how God has mercifully redeemed and changed him and used him for His glory.  He is full of joy and I don’t know if I ever saw him stop smiling.

·      While on the trip I had wonderful leadership above me and they encouraged us to pray and get in the Word everyday.  We had a couple of very cool nights where the Project Directors spoke at night on the roof and the Holy Spirit came and convicted people and called them to lives dedicated to sharing the gospel.  They had 1 hour set aside for “quiet time” (devotions).  I enjoyed that so much.  It was a relieving time having an hour that I didn’t have to fight for to spend seeking God.

·      Our Ecuador team did work projects where we were cleaning out this area and laying a foundation so that they can add on to the kids club building.  Kids were coming and learning about God.  When the kids club started the numbers of kids consistently attending was 4 and now there are about 15.  This extra building will help provide more kids to come who don’t know who Jesus is or that He loves them.

·      Our team did VBS for children; over the last two days we had 27 children choose to follow Christ.  Praise the Lord hallelujah!!  Pray that God would stay near them and that He would water and grow the seeds we planted.

·      We also did a drama a couple of times.  One of those times, on the day we went riding in giant canoes down the river, we walked around and informed people that we were doing dramas and about 50-100 people showed up and were watching from all directions.  We were able to share the gospel with a translator after the dramas.  We then went out and prayed for people. I prayed with a couple of others from our group for a lady.  She currently is following Jesus and has a heart to see her 2 children (Carmen and Adriana) of 24 and 20 years of age come back to Jesus.  Pray for those two to reach the end of them and be broken so God can grab His children and use them.

·      The one night when Eddie, our project director, was sharing with us on the roof I saw brokenness and it was beautiful.  Eddie was sharing stories of many people all over the world that will walk 10+ miles to get dirty water that ends up killing them and their children from worms that eat away from the inside out.

·      Pray that God continues to work in and through the missionaries that went on the trips.

·      Pray that anything that they need to get rid of or take out of there life gets destroyed

·      And pray that God would fill that God shaped hole in the leaders, missionaries, converts and lonely lost people

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go to Ecuador and experience God there among a different people.  He is so BIG and to be magnified.

Kileab (pictured with Minkayani)