Villages, Hula Hoops, Jesus

Hi friends! We are almost 2 weeks into our outreach here in Georgia. We are staying in a little Muslim village just on the edge of Tbilisi; where the paved road, gas, and city water end. It is a very interesting to see the village life. We have been doing many different ministries. Here we have helped with the Kids club that our hosts run each week for the village kids. I was thrilled to find supplies to make hula hoops here and I got to share them with the kids Friday! I used red, black and white on the hoops to explain our sin, Jesus blood that covers our sin and makes us white as snow. Then we played games,  they loved it and so did I! It was so sweet to finally see my vision for hula hoops happening, praise God! I can't wait to see how He continues to use this ministry.

We visited a family in an isolated village who take care of their little fields, animals, and of course with traditional hospitality served us homemade bread, cheese, cake and coffee. One of the girls got to share her testimony and we sang Jesus songs with the kids. There is no church in that town. We also did a program with a preschool there. Our team has also visited some churches and been able to share testimonies and Evan does worship. One church we visited was in a Muslim village and the church was so full of joy! We were encouraged, but even cooler God gave us words and vision for the church that was confirmation and encouragement for them. We also visited another YWAM ministry house in a YWAM village and met the YWAM outreach team from Azerbaijan. We hiked up to an ancient church (no longer used and no other churches here) overlooking many miles all around. Together we praised God and proclaimed God's kingdom over the land. It was really neat. We had fellowship with the team there and Evan finally had guys to play soccer with!

A really ancient church foundation

I am thankful that we're also doing ministry in the city. We're helping a street kids ministry with Muslim children. Their families send them out to beg everyday. This ministry brings the kids in every afternoon and plays, does a Bible story, teaches them reading, writing, math, and feeds them. We are also doing street evangelism. Yesterday we had a good lesson. Our team missed one of our scheduled ministries and we had no other plan. We started to pray and Evan had the idea to make a sign that said Come for Prayer. We went to a bus stop, Evan played guitar and we held the sign. Some people came and we got to share about Jesus and pray. It was so encouraging that the Lord still had a plan for us even when we messed up and He gave us so much joy after that! Here is an ancient castle overlooking Tbilisi where we prayed for the city.

 
Our team has also been focused a lot on getting visas for Israel. Two of the girls applied for their visas today. Our team has faced a lot of struggle and attack regarding this and some other things. It really feels like we've been on the front line of attack here. We are praying for the impossible to be possible. We need your prayers during this time and are so grateful for them! God has been speaking to us and giving us His strength each day to move forward. There are challenges, but we are learning so much and know it is preparing us for the future. It is most important to keep our focus always on Him and His purpose: to know and glorify Him. We will be back to Indiana/Charleston in June and we look forward to seeing many of you then! We love you all.

Blessings,
Alicia

What's next for the Adams?

Wow where can I start!? Its been a busy few weeks around here! Last weekend we went to a celebration to end the month long Women's month here. We enjoyed traditional Armenian dancing. And Sunday our team did a program at the church for Easter. Monday we celebrated my birthday, 25!! It was a really joyful day with the team eating delicious grilled chicken (a treat) and homemade brownies. God gave me 2 special gifts, the tulips bloomed and He multiplied the brownies! :) Thank you Jesus and thank you to my wonderful hubby for planning a special day! Our teacher and his family came from YWAM Georgia to teach us about studying the Bible. Our team has been praying and meeting, working through some difficult issues, and preparing for our time of outreach. Really praying for unity, passion, and God's great love to fill the 5 of us during this time! Oh and Evan will be assistant staff to our leader so pray for his wisdom and discernment. One student will stay in Armenia for outreach, and one student went to Africa for hers!

We will stay in Georgia for 3 weeks in a Muslim village on the edge of the capital. We will work with street kids in the city, do a kids club for the village kids, and see where else God leads us! We plan to go to Israel from there! We are still working on making contacts and plans there. We are expecting a miracle soon because our team only has enough money for Georgia, none for plane tickets or anything; and 2 girls need visas. Please join us in praying that once again God will make the impossible possible! We are so excited to see what He will do, He is so big and mighty and His ways are much higher than ours! I think we're off to a good start; on our jam packed bus ride to Yerevan today we were able to share about Jesus with one woman and pray for her, then the 3 women next to her also wanted us to pray for healing! Sooo cool :)

Now here is another big UPDATE: We have decide our post DTS plans. We will return to Chicago June 10 then to Charleston a little later. We will spend all of July in Charleston! August we will return to Armenia for the 2 week YWAM DNA conference, led by the founders of YWAM. In September we will begin the YWAM School of Frontier Missions for 3 months. This will teach us about how to go into places where the Gospel has not been preached and there is no church. To reach the unreached. And there are billions of people around the world who have never heard about Jesus! We will learn how to study language, plant churches, study about Islam, etc. An outreach time follows where we can discern where God wants us to go. God's adventures are so much cooler than anything we could come up with!

So I just want to do a little recap of our time in Kapan. After I last wrote we had a wonderful joyful team from Norway/Latvia join us and teach about church planting/evangelism. It was such a good time of fellowship for us. Their radical faith and holistic strategy are inspiring. It brought back many joyful memories of my River Church family! The next week we learned about worldview and Old Testament. Our views of the world can be so inaccurate its important to be teachable and always thinking for ourselves, seek the Truth, not just what a professor or pastor tells you. So we could both say so many things we have learned during this time and many things Jesus has changed in our lives. Maybe I will save that for another blog post. But I will say that our lives have been changed, we have more freedom in Christ, our identity in Him and His authority has grown, our hearts have been healed from wounds and sin, and we have a desire to see Him more and more everywhere! It has not all been easy, but it is all so worth it!

We love you all so much. We could not be here without you. Your prayers and support make you as much a part of this team as we are! Truly this is the body of Christ in action, working together to reach the world with His great Name! It is all such a huge blessing to us and we are so grateful for you all! Again please join us with your prayers for our outreach. Our team thanks you!

Much love and blessings,
Alicia
My birthday tulips!

 My birthday lunch :)

 Homemade brownies yum

 Our Armenian church on Easter

 Armenia Easter food

Kapan, Iran, and Pizza Hut!

Wow where to begin!? We have had 3 weeks of teaching and a week of outreach since we last updated! The teaching was good, deep stuff! One week was about how our wounds and sin affect our relationship with God and others and how to get rid of the bad stuff. Another week was about intimacy with God: hearing His voice, walking with Him day by day, and having fear of God instead of fearing man. Really good time of just focusing on knowing Him more and more. He is so mighty and infinite! We had fellowship with a Creative DTS team from Norway who came to Armenia for outreach and joined us in Kapan. It was a blessing to have them, and Evan and I got to perform together at a coffee house night they hosted. First performance out of the states whoo! It was really fun :) You can see the video here http://youtu.be/-PArKoxc0Go Then we had a week of Encountering the world of Islam course. It was eye opening, challenging, and very interesting to learn about our Muslim neighbors; created in God's image who we are called to love. We learned about the religion itself and a lot about the culture of people living in Muslim countries.

Then we got to put into practice what we have been learning with a week in Yerevan! Last week began the Islam new year holiday and thousands of Iranians came into Armenia to celebrate in freedom. We made the long, scary drive through the mountains (these roads are nothing like America) and we got the great opportunity to meet people and make friends! It was so cool for us to learn about their culture and just hang out with them, not something we get to do in America much. If you would like to hear more about the time there just ask we would be happy to share! We did have some frustrations as our 1st time doing outreach together, but overall we really enjoyed the experience. And of course Evan and I enjoyed the comforts of a big city: always running water, good food, restaurants, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc :) It was a busy, tiring week but also a refreshing break from the classroom.

Now we are back in Kapan for just 3 more weeks of classes! This week the topic is church planting with 2 guys from Norway and 2 girls from Latvia. I have already been reminded of the great blessing it was to be a part of the core team at River Church! I can only say good things about what they continue to do; love and serve others and share that I experienced a loving family there in a whole new way.

AND finally, we know where we will go for OUTREACH.... 3 weeks in Georgia then 4 or 5 weeks in ISRAEL!!! We are very excited!! The Lord continually spoke to our team about Israel during many times of prayer together. In the coming weeks we will seek His guidance for ministry opportunities, accommodations, visas for 2 team members (not so easy), and finances for the team. We did not anticipate traveling that far for outreach and it so we need God to provide more. Some students still don't have enough to cover even just the lecture phase. We trust that He will continue to provide for the expenses to where He calls us. He is always faithful! Please keep us and our team in your prayers regarding all these things! Your prayers are powerful and have great impact in God's Kingdom!

Today I shared about my life with the team. As I prepared and looked back at this journey I have been on I am full of joy. Joy that I have love and peace in my life and freedom that can come only through Jesus Christ. My pain and shame is gone! His grace is more than we can imagine and it is always enough to save us! This great adventure that I have found by following Christ is full of more fun and happiness than I have ever known or found in the world. All the traveling, concerts, parties, and drugs don't compare to the new life I live with Christ. My dad Always told me, "Don't do anything you'll regret." I always thought I don't have regrets, these experiences make me who I am. But now I can see I regret not having a relationship with Jesus sooner because I had pain instead of His great joy!

Shout outs: Congrats to Alex & Tiffany Baker on their MARRIAGE!! May your lives be full of God's love and blessings!
Congrats to Peter & Tanya & family, on getting their new boy Will from China!! It has been so amazing to see God lead and provide for their China adoption. God bless your family!!
Congrats to Will on his baptism! Blessings to you beloved brother!

We love you all, blessings!
Alicia

Kapan, March 17 snow covered

 Evan leading worship at International Church in Yerevan

Mt. Ararat, where Noah's Ark landed!

 Typical Armenian mountain village

Republic Square, Yerevan

Latest from Kapan!

Wow where can I start!? So much happens each week and we are almost finished with week 7! We have 5 weeks of lecture phase left, one of those will be spent in Yerevan doing outreach to Muslims for the Iranian new year. We have been praying as a team about where we will go for the 2 month outreach. God has definitely been speaking and guiding those times of prayer through pictures, words, visions, and Scripture; but we continue to seek clarity. It is an exciting process!
Since the last post we had a week on Holy Spirit & spiritual gifts with an American couple who are missionaries to Turkey. That was a great week for me! Holy Spirit really spoke to me in new ways and renewed passions :) We learned a lot about our authority in Christ as well, to do His works and to stand against the enemy! Mark 16:15-20- Jesus has sent us All to preach with signs following! But most importantly, we must know God and always keep Him at the center of our lives. When we do, everything is answered. Out of the presence of God, comes the power of God. Please draw near to Him and ask Him to draw you near.
The following week was Identity in Christ with a YWAM leader from Norway. He taught about God's love for us and the joy of Christ. And our identity in Him. How cool is it that we are seated with Christ in heaven because God loves us so much!? Ephesians 2:4-7 now that is something to be joyful about everyday! And of course more repentance and healing (seems to be a constant theme here). Are you learning to love more each year? What is hindering you from receiving and giving love?

Last week brought 2 YWAM guys from Russia, sharing about priorities, preparing for the return of Christ as His bride, Christ's fulfillment as the tabernacle, and evangelism. This week and next we have a couple from Canada who have been with YWAM for 25 years and lived all over the world. The material this week about our sinful personalities, wounds, and healing has been really great! I'm sure their 2 weeks here will be very fruitful!
As for us, we are doing well and thankful for this great time! As the only Americans here, the cultural and language difference is still a struggle, but God is good and He brought us here with purpose! Water has been a problem for the last couple of weeks making it difficult to do dishes, shower, or do laundry; but it seems okay the last couple of days. Praise God! We are growing closer to our Savior and closer to one another in our marriage through everything. Last Sunday Evan led worship and shared his testimony at the church which was great. This week has been sunny and warm and really lifted our moods to spend time outside!

We have a couple of prayer requests: First for clarity and direction for where God wants our team to do outreach. For financial provision for our team. Many of the students here are still in need of much more to cover the cost of the school. They are all ages, from different countries, and they all have a huge heart for the Lord. Some have left their children and wives behind to come, jobs, etc. Even when everyone raises the money they need it still doesn't cover all the costs of the program and outreach. If you are interested in sponsoring a student or giving to the school please let us know! And last, for our direction after our time here is finished this summer. Sorry this is long but I hope you enjoy. Here is a video of our house

http://youtu.be/Ks1lDaa7PEw

More pics to come, internet is too slow right now. We love and miss you all! We are very grateful for your prayers and love hearing from you!

ps. If you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus and you think this all sounds crazy, please call out to Him and welcome Him into your heart! God's love given to you through Christ on the cross is more than anything you can imagine in this world. He sent His Only son to earth to die on the cross to save YOU, so that He can have a loving relationship with YOU. His salvation brings love, joy, peace, and freedom like you can't find in anything else (and I looked in A lot of other places!) 
Love and joy,
Alicia

Week 3 Father Heart of God

Last week was a good one. I'm feeling more adjusted to the very full schedule and we're learning a lot. Still waiting for the snow to stop and melt. We havent had water for 3 days And maybe the Lord was even teaching us through that. He has definitely called us out of our comfort zone! We were reminded last week of our heavenly Fathers great love for us, and you. Much of the teaching was about wounds that effect your relationship with God and how you view Him, forgiveness, and confession of sin. The last 2 days were, all day, a time of inner healing prayer ministry for each person. For some a new journey of healing began and for others the process continues. We never end this process of getting closer to God, can you imagine His infinite love, personality, and might? There is Always more to learn about Him! And the Father's love and grace is so amazing, He has forgiven us and enables us to forgive others. I want to say a little about forgiveness because Evan and I have both experienced its power.

Forgiveness is God's key to being set free!! Forgiveness is for us not them. Forgiveness is not automatic trust, it is not forgetting how we were wronged. It is releasing the person to the justice of God, giving Him control. It is a decision we must make, even if we don't feel like it. Are you willing to forgive? Willing to be willing? Think about this. Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, you heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Pretty serious. He saves us, forgives us of all our junk but can we do the same?
Leave and release them- a person, country, church, people group, etc. Bless them. Cling to God and receive from Him. Let God become our Father and receive His love. God's healing is a process and it begins when we open our hearts. God loves you so much that Jesus left His Father to come and give His life up for you! Forgiveness is the key to our healing. So here is the challenge: is there anyone in your life that you have not forgiven, big or small? Try it and experience the difference in your relationship with your Daddy.

On another note I am amazed at our times of intercession and how much the Lord reveals even about the nations to those who seek Him and pray on their behalf. I think we will share more about this in our next post. We would ask your prayers for God's vision for our future and where He wants us. May we all keep Him the focus of our lives and know Him more and more.
Alicia

WAR!

Hey everybody! Sorry about not posting anything this weekend, I was busy with things so I will update now for last week!

Last week was spiritual warfare week here at our DTS! We were taught about the spiritual battle that we face every day as Christians against the spiritual forces in this world. How we are to deal with evil forces that seek to deceive, hinder and destroy our walk with Jesus Christ and how we are to wield the power given to us through Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit. We learned more about the spiritual gifts that God has given us and also how to use them for God's glory. That is an EXTREMELY brief overview of what we are learning about, an trust me, if you deny that the things that I have just spoken of aren't real, please come to this side of the world, the spiritual battle is VERY real, and you should be aware.

We have been doing many things here other than just learning in class. Most notably we have been interceding for the city that we are living in (Kapan), interceding for people groups, prostitutes, alcoholics and more. The Lord has been giving us very unveiling visions about the spiritual state of this city and we are taking up the authority given to us as well as the guidance, both from Jesus to combat the spiritual forces of evil in this city. We believe that this city is going to experience its first ever spiritual revival because of the praying we have been doing and it is already showing in small ways!!! We are soooo excited about being apart of this glorious mission for God's kingdom. Please pray that we remain steadfast against the enemy and that we all continue to seek the Lord with everything that we have.

I ask that you would all start to pray about the battle that the Lord would have you take up in your own city. I am so convinced of the power of prayer in numbers and I know that the Lord wants to set each of our cities free from whatever spiritual bondage that has it captive. We also certainly covet your prayers in this time for both Alicia and I, as well as our team. We are on the front lines here and Satan is hard at work.

We love all of you and will update you on the next week when it comes that time! THANK YOU for your support!

In Christ
-Evan

Kapan, Armenia!

I would like to share a little about Kapan, where we will be doing our Discipleship Training School for the next 3 months. The school has a focus on reaching the Muslim world. As Evan shared we just finished our 1st week. Each of the 12 weeks will have a different topic with a different teacher from somewhere around the world. Soon we will begin to pray as a team about where we will go for outreach.

Kapan is in southern Armenia about 25 miles from the Iran border. It is nestled in a mountain valley with apx. 30,000 people. It is not extreme poverty, but in comparison to most of America, it is. It is a developing nation and I believe still considered 3rd world. Christianity just came to this town about 10 years ago and pagan sacrifice sites still exist today. So as you can imagine it has a lot of room for salvation and growth! We are very excited to learn more and see how the Lord shows His love to this town and pray He will use this group as a tool.

Your prayer is so valuable to us. You are all the hands and feet of the church as you join us. Whether we are here, praying at home, or supporting financially we are fulfilling the Great Commission and God's dream, that His glory will be known in all nations! May He give us all His love and heart for the nations. Please pray for our transition and culture shock: food, language, schedule, focus in class. Building relationships within our team. Sharing the love of Christ with this town. God to speak and transform our minds in the likeness of His.

Love & blessings in Christ,
Alicia