Reflections on the Racetrack

"I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness."

Psalm 145: 1-6

Soli Deo Gloria! To God alone be the glory and honor for all that He has done this summer at the Arlingon Park Racetrack!

Today, as I was at Harvest Bible Chapel Elgin preparing my heart to begin the next season of ESL ministry, the presence of the Lord surrounded me as I worshiped his name and gave thanks to a fruitful summer of His ministry at the racetrack. God has really taken my heart captive with such a burden to care for those who lack the ability to communicate through English. I was sharing my testimony with the new ESL volunteers today, telling them how this was not something I ever planned I would be doing. But, God's word says in Psalm 37: 4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." This ministry was the Lord's desire for me and has through my obedience to his calling, also has become my desire.

This summer, the Lord specifically challenged me to grow in the area of prayer. I remember walking spending time on car rides on the way to work praying for students to grow in their knowledge of English and for seeds of the powerful message of the gospel to be planted deep with in their hearts. I remember asking the Lord for his protection for the children living on the racetrack. I remember asking God to grow the relationships between our volunteers and students and that the love of Christ would be so strongly expressed. God answers prayers! He answered those and so many more! He is the faithful One! God gave us all a blessing at graduation when he became so real to 5 students, 1 husband of a student, and 1 friend of a student who all prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

Galatians 6:9 says "Do not grow weary in doing good for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
There was a harvest at the racetrack this summer!

Below are some of the testimonies from our volunteers. Please be encouraged dear servants of the Lord and when your feeling weary, call apon God for his strength. It will sustain you! His word will fuel you! There is plenty of work he has got us to do and he is faithful to equip us with what is needed to complete his tasks:)

June 6, 2008- Volunteer Testimony

"Last night God allowed Marisol and I have have a conversation about the Lord! I got to share my testimony with her and she asked me which "religion" I was. I told her I'm a follower of Jesus and she asked if I was evangelical. I told her yes, then she told me about how the evangelicals in Venezuela only wear skirts, no make-up and no jewelry. She was asking why they do that and I don't. I told her that although the Bible says not to let your beauty be found in those things, the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. So I told her that if I treasure make-up, jewelry, etc in my heart then I shouldn't wear them because they get in the way of my love for God, but if my heart is right before God and if Jesus is my treasure then what I wear on the outside doesn't change that, as long as it honors God. While I was sharing some of this with her I saw Yolanda behind her listening in. It was great to be able to share with her. Then at the end of our class we asked if anyone would pray and Marisol said she would. She was brought to tears while praying. Let's continue to lift her up to the King! Praise God!"

July 3, 2008- Volunteer Testimony

"Usually when it's prayer time, our group is pretty quiet and shy. One week , with some coaxing, Marisol volunteered to pray. She prayed with a sincere and tearful heart. We were all blessed. This past week, to our surprise, 3 of our students prayed.! It was so encouraging to hear their hearts and see the comfort they are beginning to have with one another in such a short time. God's presence is clearly at Arlington. It is such a delight to see the growth and watch Him work each week! Our students are eager to learn English but also , deep down inside, eager to talk about God! Tuesday nights leave my heart filled for the whole week! God is reminding me of the great JOY there is in putting aside myself and serving Him."

August 12, 2008- Volunteer Testimony

"Last week, we saw the return of a student, Raymundo, who we haven’t seen in a couple weeks. Praise God! And group 4 had no students at 7:15 on Tuesday so we started to pray, asking God to provide and then group 4 tutors called their students. God was faithful and 2 of their students came to class!"

August 29, 2008

Message to the Racetrack Tutors from me:)
"What a harvest we saw on the track this summer! I praise God for each one of you for your sharing the love of Christ with your students, for sacrificing your time, for devoting yourselves and remaining obedient to what God has called you to do. We witnessed 7 people (5 students, 1 husband, and 1 friend) commit their lives to Christ! We saw many students become comfortable with stepping out and taking risks to learn our complex language. We watched students smile, laugh, and heard their sincere prayer requests in which we fervently prayed for. Those students LOVE you! Goodness, I heard from probably ALL of them…see you next year! This isn't the end. God will continue to use you in a mighty way! Thank you Thank you Thank you! God has been sooo good to us! Let us proclaim his mighty works boldly and give glory and honor to Him today!"

September 5, 2008- Volunteer Testimony

"As I look back on these past few months, I can say with all sincerity that serving at the Race Track with Harvest was the highlight of my summer! Week after week, going to Arlington on Tuesday nights was one blessing after another! The students we had the privilege of working with were great! They had eager spirits, an enthusiastic desire to learn and even more, they were open to hearing God's Word. God had clearly gone before us and prepared their hearts. The students were very attentive, faithful in attendance and faithful in doing the homework. Each one being unique in their own way, brought something different to class. We laughed together, worked hard and even shared a few tears together. God helped me to put aside myself and rediscover the joy there is in serving others and especially serving others for the advancement of His Kingdom. Without a doubt the culmination of this wonderful experience came on Graduation Night! I was extremely impressed by the effort put out by Harvest Bible Chapel to make our students feel welcomed , loved and appreciated. They were honored and God was pleased. On that night when 7 people stood to make professions of faith, including 2 of my own, my heart was full and my joy was complete. To God be the Glory! "