This past weekend was an amazing weeked. I had the chance to go to Clovis and not only visit some of my friends but I got to speak at the church there and tell them about my call to missions. For those of you who missed here it is...

It is great to be back here in Clovis and I want to say thanks to Pastor Randy and everyone here at Faith Community for allowing me to come share some of the ways God has been working in my life over this past year. There are so many familiar faces as well as many new faces so I want to start by sharing a little history about my life and journey with God.

As many of you know God moved my family to Clovis in 1999 when my dad accepted the position of Children’s Pastor here at Faith Community. I was in the second grade when we moved so this was the place where I spent most of the formative years of my life, especially in the area of who I was in Christ. It was also during both the move to Clovis from Bakersfield, and then the move from Clovis to Lompoc that I saw how important it was to be open to what God wants and then be obedient to follow Him as He leads your life no matter what it is He is calling you to do or where it is He is calling you to go.

From an early age in my life I always felt that God was calling me to be a missionary when I grew up. I remember sitting in Sunday School class with Norma Hyde over in the annex as she told the stories from the missionary books. There were times she needed help and I was always the first to raise my hand and want to help. I loved hearing the stories, seeing the pictures, and thinking of how exciting it would be to right there on the mission field with the people in the stories. Little did I know it would really happen.

Then whenever missionaries would come to church I would love to hear their stories, see the pictures, and be so excited to hear how God was working in the area of the world they were called to. I knew that this was what God was calling me to. As I entered my teen years things changed a little bit and a call to missions seemed to be much bigger than what I could be part of, and it started to seem like something I could never do because fear started creeping in – fear of leaving my family and friends, living in hard situations, and even eating foods that aren’t normal. But even during this time I remember getting the missionary books from Jean Shamp so that I could still read about the exciting things going on around the World. It also gave me the chance to do “my part’ of mission work without “fear.” It was during this time that I kind of felt God wasn’t really calling me to missions, but instead he was calling me to be a Children’s Pastor like my dad.

Fast-forwarding to 2010, which was an exciting year for me because, I turned 18, graduated from High School, went on a mission trip to Peru, a mission trip to Mexico, and started college. It was during this time that God started to intervene in my life in a big way as He started to reveal the path He had for my life in a very clear way. Before we left for Peru during one of the training times Pastor Charles mentioned that it was weird that I had never gone on any mission trips out of the country before and yet here I was going on two mission trips, Peru & Mexico, within a month of each other. He said he wondered what God was going to do. I told him I was getting to finally go because my dad was going to Peru with me, which meant my mom didn’t have to worry about anything happening to me. However at this point I started praying that God would make His desire for my life clear and that I would without a doubt know what He was calling me to. I believe that it was during this prayer leading up to both of these trips that God started working in my heart to make the calling clear.

As you have probably heard from the people here at Faith Community who went to Peru it was an incredible experience. The multitude of experiences, emotions, and opportunities for ministry were endless. I was able to participate in many different ministry opportunities including promotions, kids festivals, painting a church, drama skits, and visiting a girls home to name a few. While visiting the girl’s home one of the women shared her testimony and all 12 girls in the home accepted Christ – what an awesome God we serve. It was neat to go to the schools, public schools at that, and do drama skits about Christ. While these were all great experiences there were two special times that God used to shake my life right out of that comfort zone and reignite the call He had for my life into missions.

The first thing God used was spending time the 40/40s who were down there serving on the mission field. Being able to hear them tell the stories of how God was working not only in Peru, but also how He had worked in their lives leading up to this time and how He continued to strengthen and develop them as He led their missionary journey. I found during this time that many of my fears were many of the fears they faced and still face and yet God was working to show that nothing was impossible when we turn our lives over to Him and walk with him. One example of that was how my dad and I spent a whole day walking, and boy did we walk, with one of the 40/40’s named Sammy who could speak very little English, and we spoke very little Spanish so you would think it would be a quiet afternoon, and yet there was so much communication as we allowed our common goal to further God’s Kingdom work. I still keep up and chat with Sammy over facebook. It showed me that when we allow God to work nothing is impossible and language barriers are nothing to be feared.

The second thing God used to reignite this passion and call was the whole weekend of the mega event “Love Extreme.” While it was a long day, and we saw over 1,000 people come to know the Lord that day it was the Celebration Service the following morning that God set the call in stone for my life. At the end of this service they started with a small candle and just a couple of people and ended with all the staff of Extreme Nazarene on the stage with candles showing how God uses us, people, to carry His light into the world. They said that if there was anyone who feels God is calling them to be a missionary they should come to the front and light a candle also. So that day in Peru at the celebration service I went forward and lit a candle and accepted Gods call on my life to be a missionary.

After the service I was talking with one of the 40/40’s about how I felt that God was calling me to be a missionary and how I wanted it to start NOW. I mentioned how I hated that I would have to wait so long before I could come back. She was excited that I had accepted God’s call to the mission field and said that they needed people immediately to go to Tacna, Peru. I talked to one of the mobilization officers, Brent Deakins, that day in Peru and they decided to set up an interview for me while I was still in Peru. I didn’t know the results of the interview before I left to come home but when I got home I had an email from Brian Tibbs saying that they had accepted me as a 40/40 and they wanted me to head back to Peru in two weeks.

For many of you who know my family you can probably imagine how this went over, my dad said go for it as long as this was were God was leading, my Mom was the voice of sanity and I was on fire and ready to go. It was during this time that God taught me some very important truths about “the call” and especially “the call to missions.” So it was during this time of praying, my mom and dad praying about whether or not 2 weeks was the right time and me praying for God to change their mind or change mine that God continued to reveal these truths. The truths that the “call’ isn’t about me and only me, but about how God wants to use me to reach others for the Kingdom. It was the truth that while our faith is a personal decision it doesn’t stop there because our faith is about inviting people along for the journey with you, and this is especially true when it comes to a call to missions.

As you see, I didn’t go back in two weeks, but I am now heading back in January 2011 to the mission field which helps me see the truth that the Lord had the perfect timing and plan for my for me just like Jeremiah 29:11 says, “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give me a future and a hope.” So I want to be able to share with you all my future and to invite you to partner with me on the journey I will be taking these next 27 months. Thank you all again for letting me share my call with you, and thank you for the impact you have had as a church on my life.

August 24

So I have finally Finished all the paperwork I had for Paragauy. Now I just have to go to a missionary assement in Idaho Spetember 10-12.(Please be praying it all goes well) After that I have to get the shots that I need and I have to start asking for support.

I finally have a job! This is definetly an answer to prayer. I am starting a spanish class at our community college, Alan Hancock, tonight.

I am getting excited for what God has in store for me. I know that he has something great planned. I just can not wait! I have been doing more research on Paragauy and the capital city Asuncion(which I do not now how to pronouce exactly), and it just makes me more excited. Please pray for my family and I as we continue on our journey.

Thank you

Peru was an amazing experience and I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. I know I was able to help impact the lives of the people in Peru just as much as the people of Peru impacted my life. While I was in Peru I was able to do many different things like painting a church, working with kids, passing out flyers, and hanging up posters as well as taking part in the Mega Event “Love Extreme.”
I spent most of my time in Peru painting the Umacolla Church of the Nazarene. We were painting the church as a surprise for the Pastor, however it was not much of a surprise because we didn’t do it all in one day and the Pastor lives at the church. The Pastor was so grateful for all we did. He also opened the church for us and allowed Extreme Nazarene to use it as our home base. We ate there, had service there, and had all our meetings there.
I was also able to take part in many impact events like going to different schools and performing a skit, participate in a kid’s festival, and visit a girl’s home. The skit showed how much sin can be a burden and how Jesus can take all that away if we only ask. You could tell that the skit really affected the kids. Helping out with a kid’s festival was my favorite thing I did in Peru. What happened with those is we would find a park to hang out on. We would then pull out the jump ropes and soccer balls and start playing with the kids that were coming in. After all the kids were there we would put on a puppet show. The kids loved watching the puppet show. Another thing I did was visit a girl’s home. We preformed the skit there and then some of the women shared their testimonies. There were eight girls in the home and every one of them accepted Christ that day. After that we were able to hang out with them and play volleyball. It was a really great thing to be a part of.
All of the events that we were doing were to help promote the Mega Event, “Love Extreme.” The event “Love Extreme” happened on the last Saturday we were in Peru. So the Thursday and Friday before everyone was doing promotion stuff around the city of Arequipa. My dad and I were put on the same team and walked around hanging up posters and passing out flyers. On Thursday we walked over 4 miles and then on Friday we walked 8 miles so we got to see a lot of Arequipa. During this time we were able to walk around with some of the long term missionaries of Peru. It was so cool listening to their stories and hear about how God lead them to Peru and how God is working in their lives and in Peru now.
The Mega Event, “Love Extreme” was an amazing experience. We had over 10,000 people attend and out of those people we had over a 1,000 accept Christ. That day I helped with the Kid’s Festival making Balloons animals. I think I can now say that I am a professional at balloon animal art. We had about 2,000 kids there and they all left with a balloon animal. My hands were so sore after that. That day I also got to help with the food booths, which was difficult because I did not speak Spanish well and people would ask me questions about what I was serving. It was a tiring day but it was so worth it to see over 1,000 people accepting Christ.
Peru was such a great experience and I think it would take me twenty pages to describe everything that happened. However, all of that is not as important as what I took away from this trip. I have always felt a call to ministry but I just never knew exactly where it would be, but while in Peru God confirmed my call to missions. I have the chance to go to Paraguay as a missionary this coming January for 27 months. So please be in prayer for my family and me as I explore this journey and see where God is leading me. I will be updating my blog (http://kelseyhalterman.blogspot.com/) as I go through this journey posting prayer requests and praise reports along the way and would invite you to join me as I discover God’s plan for my life.
I cannot express how thankful I am to all of you for your prayer and support. I know that I would not have been able to go to Peru if it were not for your investment in my life. Thank you and God bless you.

With Love,
Kelsey Halterman

July First

It has been exactly one week since we have been home and a ton of stuff has happened. But first I want to just kind of sum up Peru.

First things first I did not eat any Guinea Pig. Not because I did not want to but because I never had the chance.

Now here is the important stuff. The big event Amor Extremo went very well. There was at least 10,000 people there. And out of those 10,000 at least a 1,000 of them accepted Christ. It was an amazing thing to witness and be a part of. That day I helped with the kids festival and I am not meaning to brag but I am very good at making balloon animals, or at least dogs. I think every kid (and there was about 2,000 of them) left with a balloon creation. We made alot of animals.

The main speaker for the event was Nick Vujicic. If you have never heard of this guy you should look him up he has a great testimony. But anyways Nick spoke and at the end of it he did the sinners prayer and he said that anyone who said this prayer should stand up. At that time 80% of the crowd stood up. He then had everyone sit back down and explained the commitment they made all over again trying to get them to understand this was not a blessing. He then told them to stand up again and still 80% stood up. It was amazing. However Nick still did not believe that they understood he explained it again and there was still 80%. We could not believe it. All I can say is God is great.

The final days of our stay in Peru were great. We helped clean up stuff and get the church organized (okay that part was not great.) We then had a tour of Arequipa. That was cool but kind of hot because we were on a double Decker bus and the sun was beating down on us.

When I was Little I always told people that I was going to be a missionary. That then changed to me wanting to be a children's pastor. Even before I went to Peru I had this feeling in my gut that I need to be praying about my future and kind of what God has planned for me. The last Sunday we were in Peru we had a service that was to announce the next extreme. At the end of this service they had a candle lighting ceremony thing that was if you felt a call to join the extreme team come up pick up one of the candles and have it lit. I knew i had felt a call so i went up there and lit and candle. I then visited the information table and signed up to get information on a 40/40. A 40/40 is a person who is a missionary for two years. The reason why it is 40/40 is that it is one North American Paired up with Peruvian and they are expected to plant churches in the area they are assigned. What happened next was crazy I had mentioned to one of the 40/40 that i hate that it would be a year before i got to go. She said that there might be a spot opened sooner than that and i should talk to one of the mobilization people. I then got an interview set up. The interview was crazy tough.

I went home a day after the interview so i did not know if i had made it and would not find out until i got home almost two days later. So when i finally got home and checked my email i found out that i had made it and they needed me back on July 10. There was so much tension in our house after that.

Now i sit here a week later. I completely feel that it is Gods leading that I am to go back in two weeks. However my parents do not agree. The feel like it is to short of a time and there is to much that would have to be done. First there is all the money, it is 15,000 dollars that I would need. Then on top of that i have some shots that i would have to get and those are not cheap either. Then the final thing is Prayer support. Going to a different country by myself is hard enough, but if I do not have the prayer support from home I know I would not even have a chance

However if I do not go in two weeks then I will go in 6 months. But if i go in six months I will go to Paraguay instead of Peru. Right now I ask for your prayers as my family and I figure out where God is leading us. This is a tough Decision and I only want what God wants for me.

Peru was a great experience with lots of new lessons learned. My favorite was that you are allowed to kick dogs but only if you do it in the name of the Lord.

Promo

So today we start really pushing Amor Extremo. We have been working on promotion stuff for the past couple days along with many other activities, but since the big event is on Sabado (Saturday) we really have to start working hard on getting people there. My dad and I and about 7 other people were put on a promotion team and we went out on the streets of Peru passing out flyers and hanging posters. We walked 6 kilometers! (If you do not know what that is, it is about 4 miles) But we passed out a ton of flyers and hung about 300 posters. We hope to have a ton of people at the event. So as we get closer to the event keep everyone here in prayer. Pray that all the staff can have enough energy and that the people of Peru will be radically changed. Thanks to all and lots of love.

Kids Festival

So we went to a town called Cayama on monday. We did a kids festival. It is really cool. The only way kids know we are doing it is when we walk around in the street and yell that there is a kids festival. Then the kids start trickling in. We play games with them and put on a puppet show. I got to be one of the puppets and it was hard work. My arm hurt so bad after it because it was long puppet show.

The next day was very trying. I had to be at the church at 7 which meant I had to get up at 6. The reason we were up so soon was that it was a drama skit. It was fun to be apart of it and it had a great lesson. I then went back to the church to help paint and get the church fixed up. Later that night i was invited by one of the missionaries to go to the Plaza de Armas. It is this really pretty cathedrial area in Peru that has lots of shops. It was cool walking around there with the Missionaries and just talking and shopping.

Today we went out to do another drama way to early in the morning. It is all worth it though. We then went to a young girls shelter and played with them and preformed the drama again. All eight of the girls accepted christ. It was amazing. Extreme Nazarene hopes to go back next week and play so more and follow up on there commitments.

Tonight we are going to the Plaza de Armas again to eat dinner and shop some more. I am looking forward to seeing it at night.

Hasta Luego

Alto Libertad

Yesterday we went to the church Alto Libertad. I was an amazing service. The pastor talked about how our faith needs to be big. The Pastor talked about how irratated he is by the christians who are afraid. He said our faith is no use unless we are able to be loud and take chances. It was a very good service.

Later that day we went around the town of Alto Libertad and passed out flyers for the main event.It was cool walking around and passing them out. The town was very pretty in some areas and in others it was very run down. We also went to a park that had some statues of dinosaurs. They were huge. It was crazy.

Today we helped paint the church of Umocolla. We still have alot more painting to do given it is a very big room. THe pastor is so thankful for what we are doing. This afternoon we go to a school and do like a kids festival and i am very excited. I can not wait.

Love you all. Dios le Bindega

Amor Extremo

Today was our first full working day here in Arequipa. Everyone was going to different places. My dad and I were at the church in Umacollo. Our job was to clean and get it ready to paint. It is in desperate need of a face lift. We are doing it for the pastor who did not know about it till we were started. He was very blessed. In the afternoon I went with another team to a different place in Arequipa. It was the central hub for extreme nazarene. I painted posters for the mega event Amor Extremo.

Then end of the night we had a service get together thing. We did an activity. It had everyone pretend they were non christian while a select few were christian. The christians were suppose to spread the good news before everyone died. It was a wake up call. We just need to share the news right away because we never know when our time on earth ends.

Tomorrow we head off to different churches here in Arequipa and spend the day there. I can not wait to see how people from other countries worship the Lord.

Well good night all and Dios le Bendiga.

Peru!

We finally made it to Peru. We were in Thursday night and flew to Arequipa early Friday morning. It is so cool being here and seeing everything. I will post pictures later and more updates.

FOOD!!!!!!

Right now we are at the hotel in LA. We just finished eating at Claim Jumpers. It was very good but now I am very full. There was so mich food. Pastor Charles said it was our last supper and told us to just keep eating. So thats what we did.



T0morrow morning we have to be up bright and ealry so we can get through customs and everything. I have to say it does not feel real yet. I do noy believe that we are leaving for Peru tomorrow. It is Crazy! But I am super excited and know that God has big plans for me.



Keeps us in prayers as we fly out tomorrow.

06/08/10

I am finally packed, or so I hope. We head off tomorrow for LA and then we will Fly out Thursday. I am Trying to figure out where all the time went. It seems I was just counting the days and I was still at like 50. Now I am the night before and not sure if I am ready. I know God has big plans for me, my dad, and all my friends that are going. So Peru here I come!