"Breathe" Support Letter

My summer plans are set. There were so many options for this summer…Rwanda, Seattle, Forest Home…but I feel like the Lord completely changed my path to something that wasn’t really even on my radar. This summer, I am going to Breathe with the Hahn family. I sent out support letters a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to post it on this blog as well. If any of you feel called to support me financially, please let me know, but I more wanted to post it to ask for prayer. And I know it’s still four months away, but it’s never too early to start praying :) So, here is my letter, and here’s to a fantastic summer orchestrated by Jesus.

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! I have been invited to serve on the volunteer staff at Breathe, a ten-day conference for missionaries and their families happening June 22-July 2, 2011. As some of you may know, I served at this conference in 2006 and 2007, and was blown away by the restoration God did in people’s lives in this short amount of time. I am so thrilled to be able to be on staff again this summer. The vision for this conference is to care for and encourage missionaries who serve in difficult places. Many of these people work in “closed access” countries where it is illegal to be a Christian or even talk about Christianity. This type of support for missionaries that Breathe provides is sorely lacking (or even non-existent in many regions) and, as a result, many missionaries face on-going and overwhelming stress, exhaustion, family problems, etc. This diminishes their effectiveness and often causes them to give up ministry all together. Breathe is a time for them to refresh their spirits and be served and poured into, instead of constantly pouring out.

This ten-day program will be held in Interlaken, Switzerland at a Christian conference center, which is central to missionaries coming from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Breathe uses a holistic approach that addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the missionaries through psychologists, doctors, therapists, and counselors.

I have been invited to do the preschool ministry. Essentially, my job will be taking care of the preschool-and-younger aged children while their parents attend the teaching sessions, get counseling, have doctors appointments, or just spend time together. My first year at Breathe, I babysat for a couple who went out on their first date since their kids were born—11 years. It is crucial for couples to get that alone time and I am honored to be able to provide that for them.

In order for me to take part in serving on this team, I need to raise $2,200 to cover my airfare and room & board. If you would like to make a donation to help me, checks can be made out to BFC/Catalyst Int’l and mailed to Bible Fellowship Church, Attn: Karen Narula, 6950 Ralston St. Ventura, CA 93003. Please do not write my name on the check in order to make your contribution tax-deductible. The other way that you can support me is through prayer! Pray for everyone on the team, that we can serve these missionaries as Jesus served. Pray that we can be selfless during these ten days and pour love into these beautiful people. Also pray for the missionaries and their growth and healing during the conference. Pray for God to restore their hearts and refresh their passion for the work they have been called to.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope this letter finds you well and resting in the joy of Christ.

With love,

Alex Gennaro

He comes with Himself

The past few weeks have been emotionally crazy. Heart stuff, processing the past, wondering about the future, nervous for unanswered questions....but I was reminded today of how good God is. He is our portion and our prize. He is our defender and our helper.

At church on Sunday, the pastor said something that touched my heart in a deep way. He said, "Often, God won't come with an answer. But He comes with Himself. The help He brings is the help I need."

Today, as I started to let the hands of worry grab at me, I was reminded that His presence is always with me. That even when things seem overwhelming and painful, they pale in comparison to His sweet presence and love.

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." -Psalm 116:7

In Over Our Heads

When God calls, He doesn’t invite us to a picnic. He calls us to go to a stiff-necked, rebellious, stubborn people. Our success is not measure by fame; it is not measure by popularity contests; it is not measured by how many people raise their hands; it is not measured by how many souls were won today. God doesn’t call us to that kind of task. Rather, God calls us to faithfulness. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). That’s the key—faithfulness to God’s call.

God calls us; He locks us in; but He never leaves us alone. He goes with us. He sustains us. That is the only assurance we have.

You know, if you think you’re going to sink, you panic. Ever since God first called me, I have lived on the verge of panic. I’ve always been in over my head. I’ve always been doing things I knew I couldn’t do. I’ve been like Peter walking on the water—always on the verge of sinking because he was doing something that took more power than he had. If he took his eyes off Jesus—off of God’s power—and looked at the storm, he would sink.

Obeying God’s call is like that. God never calls us to do something we can do in our own strength. He always calls us to get in over our heads—to move out to where we’ll have to either depend on His power or sink.

-John Perkins “With Justice For All”

still your love goes on

I know sometimes I lose my way

And then my heart gets so afraid

But I realize I must walk by faith and not by sight

Oh still your love goes on

The Floodgates of Heaven

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'

"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

-Malachi 3: 8-10

Oh man. Even just re-typing that brings a smile to my face. What a sweet promise from the Lord!!! This passage happened to me this week. Pretty much word for word.

I (very hesitantly) tithed this past week, and had to practically force myself to drop it in the bucket because my mind was screaming "YOU NEED TO SAVE THAT!" But I did not want to rob God of what is His. So I dropped it in.

And let me tell you...I do not have room enough for the blessings He has provided. I can't give details without telling the whole story, which would take way too long...for me to type and for you to read :) But seriously, I tested the Lord in this and He threw open the floodgates of heaven and poured out a HUGE blessing. Beyond what I could have hoped for.

He is so faithful. Even in our fear, even when we doubt or don't want to do what He's calling us to, even in our weakest moment, He is a faithful God. Praise Him that our lives depend on His strength and faithfulness, and not our own.