Hello dear family!
Happy Birthday to our dear Agnes! We praise God for sending such a woman and we thank Him daily for the strength, wisdom and grace that He gives us to continue His vision of Isaiah 58.
In celebration of our dear Agnes, our family gathered for a special lunch and afterwards, went to have her favorite treat: McDonald’s ice cream cones.
We know many of you miss her greatly, and appreciate your words of love, encouragement and birthday wishes. Lucille Delnevo wrote:
“Happy Birthday Agnes! We love you and miss you! It’s so awesome how her vision lives through all of us! I feel so blessed to be a part of the Lord’s work!”
What a blessing it is indeed. We thank all of you who have stood and carried on the vision, both here at home and across the world. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and so it is with Isaiah 58. It takes a family of leaders to raise up other leaders. It takes a family to carry and do the work of the Lord. We thank you for your support as we continue to move by the Spirit and do Isaiah 58, in whatever area and capacity He leads us in.
That’s the only way we know to work. It’s one of the principles deeply ingrained in our being, etched in the tablets of our heart that Agnes taught through the Spirit of God. For we feel a new season upon us; a renewing, refocusing, re-strengthening of vision and refreshing of His Spirit upon this, His ministry. We thank God for all of you who pray and support this ministry, both those who are longstanding, and those who have joined in the last few years. This brings us to something we’re excited about: Volunteers! The Lord has been bringing many volunteers with a heart and desire to help in His work. We’re overjoyed at this, and thank Him. We know it’s a part of the new season He is bringing us into.
Turning the calendar to August means that the First Annual Pastor’s Conference is right around the corner and already several of international pastors have confirmed their coming and will begin arriving as early as this month! Great things are being anticipated of this event, and your prayers are greatly appreciated as we begin to prepare for this event.
Visit www.allnationsis58.org for more details!
Speaking of Internationals, this week we had a visit with our dear friend Sister Amy Wang. Not just once, but twice! Friday, Sister Amy came with a few people to visit and discuss bringing a group out on Saturday. Sure enough, on Saturday a group of 15 youth and 6 adults came to work in Sister Amy’s garden plot for her ministry. For those who are new, Sister Amy Wang is an incredible woman of God who is the founder of Azusa Lighthouse Mission, located right on Skid Row, one of the most impoverished areas of Los Angeles. On a daily basis, Sister Amy feeds and ministers to the homeless and poverty stricken, fighting homelessness and the problems and causes of it. To learn more about Azusa Lighthouse Mission and how you can be involved, click here.
For more information on Sister Amy’s ministry and volunteer opportunity, visit www.azusalighthousemission.org
To continue in the vein of international news, we’ve received word (and pictures!) of the distribution to our friends from Smokey Mountain. Pastor Edelberto Casasola says:
“Thank you so much to the Casaq The Eagle team, to All Nations and to the Congregation out there from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you so much.”
Isn’t a blessing to be a blessing? It gave us joy to see the gratitude and love in the faces of the people! If a picture is worth a thousand words, than these pictures are worth millions! We were able to send clothing, shoes, medicines, computers, school supplies, even some candy! Some of the clothing as even hand-sewn by Carrie Durren, Casaq The Eagle’s “Mother Storm”. We would like to thank those who were a part of the process, the packing, sorting and shipping. To view more photos of the distribution, visit our Gallery!
“Thank you so much to the Casaq The Eagle team, to All Nations and to the Congregation out there from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you so much.” – Pastors Edelberto and Shirley Casasola.
In more home news, this week brought some exciting local ministry opportunities and praise reports. Obviously, the news of the distribution in Smokey Mountain was one praise report. One praise is report is how God is not only bringing workers, but the way He has been working with them brings to mind the verse about the calf in the stall. As we’ve been training and working with them, the Lord has opened up immediate doors for the training to be put into action. We’ve been receiving beautiful food, courtesy of Deborah Sharp, and have been able to bring the volunteers in, show them how to sort, handle and distribute the food, then watch as they catch and run with the vision! This Sunday we were able to do that, and the volunteers were able to quickly and easily look at the food, and make food orders for those the Lord put on their hearts. Praise God!
As we mentioned earlier, God’s been so good to bring people our way who genuinely want to help and are joyful to be a part of His work. Some of them are searching and seeking to know the Lord, and as they work with us, we see how God is working in them! Two of these people are sisters and members of the Casaq The Eagle cast as well as All Nations, and have overcome some difficult circumstances in their life, especially in the past few months. Before leaving to the Philippines, the sisters suffered a terrible and tragic loss. Just weeks before their departure, their father suddenly passed away of a heart attack. After a blow like that, it would be understandable if the girls cancelled their trip. Concerned, Teresa Skinner asked if they needed to. Amazingly, the girls were firm in their decision to go to the Philippines. Their dedication and commitment to their work is beyond commendable, and when the youth of the churches in the Philippines heard what had happened to the sisters, it was a powerful testimony of God’s love.
Recently, these precious girls have moved into a new home, and asked if the All Nations family would join them in celebrating this new step in their lives. Naturally, we said yes, and were able to spend time, and just minister’s God love to this wonderful little family. We pray that the Lord continue to minister to this family, and bring them further into His fold.
Joining our family this week is Mom Jennene Jeffrey! Jennene left a month ago back to Kentucky, and her absence was felt in our home, so she was warmly welcomed back. The Lord has been using Teresa’s mother in a mighty way! Because of Mom Jennene’s faithfulness and diligence in her transcription of Agnes’ messages, along with Virginia Russell and her countless hours of careful editing, we have been able to spread God’s Kingdom principles all across the world, just with a simple mouse click! The weekly messages you see posted are the work of this dynamic duo! Because of their obedience, countless people both here and across the globe now have access to key spiritual principles that will aid in the furthering of the Gospel, and the transformation of lives! All via the internet! It gives a new meaning to the verse, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Isn’t it interesting that there are now tablets in which people can access information, and it be portable? Selah!
Speaking of messages, be sure to read this week’s message titled “The Word is Nigh Unto Thee”! It’s a wonderful one! Be sure to share it facebook, twitter, Google +, email, StumbleUpon…however you can!
We’ve been seeing people posting old photos of Agnes, reminiscing and sharing memories. We thank you and love hearing how precious Agnes affected your lives and how God used her to work in you! We invite to share these pictures and thoughts with us on our All Nations Facebook page. More than we want to inform you, we want to interact with you. We love you and pray for all of you.
May your week be blessed!
Your family at All Nations
