Nevada Wolfpack Basketball Team Visits California Home…

University of Nevada Women’s Basketball Team

The 40 residents and staff of our California home had the privilege of hosting the University of Nevada women’s basketball team last night for a special dinner together. This dinner not only included the student athletes on the team, but also the entire coaching staff as well as their support staff. Head Coach, Jane Albright, is a longtime Mercy supporter, and she brought her team to town to take on Sacramento State this evening at 7:00 PM PST. Arrangements have been made for our 40 Mercy residents and staff to attend the game in support of the Wolfpack. No doubt the cheers will be even louder since the bonding that took place last night between the two entities. Our residents were so touched by the young women on the team and vice versa. The chatter was loud as interaction took place during mealtime and fellowship afterwards. One of the residents even wrote and performed a rap about the team and their early undefeated record thus far. If the Mercy residents have anything to do with it, they will cheer this team on to another win this evening. I thought you might enjoy seeing some pictures from their special time together. No doubt about the impact on both sides of the equation. Thankful for special times with special friends.

Mercy girls and Nevada Wolfpack!

GO WOLFPACK!!!

Sex Trafficking Victim Now Mercy Graduate

Last week, I shared with you about a local sex trafficking ring that was busted right here in Nashville, TN and linked you to the article. As a follow up to that story, The Tennessean highlighted Mercy Ministries as an organization actually working with the victims of sex trafficking. One of our graduates, Christine, shares her story of how even though she was a victim of sex trafficking, she looked just like any other young girl – in school and a part of many school activities. Christine talks about how her father would pick her up from school several times a week and sell her for sex. To hear more about Christine’s story and what Mercy Ministries is doing to help victims of sex trafficking, check out this article in yesterday’s paper…


http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101114/NEWS01/11140373/Sex-trafficking-of-girls-isn-t-new-to-Nashville-victim-says


Mercy Ministries is continuing to receive an increasing call for help from victims of sex trafficking. Please keep us in your prayers for more monthly partners to help answer the calls for help. If you are interested in becoming a monthly partner with Mercy, click here.

Mercy Graduates Show off their Rings…

It was my great joy yesterday to participate in yet another graduation of three beautiful residents at our Nashville home. These three young women have experienced amazing life-transformations through the power of Jesus Christ working in their hearts and lives. It is so exciting to know that they will now begin their journey to serve God and to pursue the dreams and visions God has put in their hearts for their individual lives. I thought it was so cute that these three girls were showing off their graduation rings afterward...it makes me so proud to know that they are so proud!!! I thought you might enjoy seeing pictures from their special day.





In closing, the good news is that this means that we will be able to move three more girls off of our waiting list and into the space vacated by these three success stories. Please pray for these three new young ladies as they walk through the doors of Mercy to deal with very painful issues that have controlled their lives. We know that the same freedom that we celebrated yesterday will be available to these three young women as well. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and we are having so much fun seeing Him do just that!

Have a great weekend!!!

Sex Trafficking Ring Busted Right Here in Nashville…

As I travel across the United States speaking out against sex trafficking and sharing testimonies of the young women we have helped who have come to us after being trafficked, I continue to be amazed at the people who are either still in denial or simply in the dark about this issue. I have actually had people get in my face and tell me that this is not going on in the good ole United States of America – I wish that were the case, but it is not so!!! Not only do I know this from a law enforcement perspective, but I also know it firsthand from the young women who walk through our doors completely traumatized because of being sold into trafficking. Just last year, there were 350,000 reported cases of trafficking right here in the United States. Keep in mind that those were only the cases that were actually reported. For those who may still be doubting that this problem actually exists, let me link you to an article that was just printed in the Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean, yesterday.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101109/NEWS03/11090332/Somalis-charged-with-sex-trafficking

Please pray and believe with us for the money we need to help more and more of these young women who are calling us asking for our help.

Great Weekend at The Rock of KC!!!

I had the great privilege this past weekend of visiting a wonderful church in Kansas City for the very first time. It was my great joy to be the guest speaker for The Rock’s annual women’s conference beginning on Friday night and continuing throughout the day on Saturday. The theme for this year’s conference was “Freedom in Every Season of Life.” It was a tremendous time of encouragement and a call to action for the women in the Kansas City area and beyond. What a great leader Pastor Susan O’Reilly is to the women that she serves. Not only is she gathering women to do great things for God, but she is also raising up the next generation of leaders. See Susan below pictured with two of the young champions she is raising up.

From left to right: My Executive Assistant, Katelyn, Conference Host, Pastor Susan O’Reilly, Me, Christie, and Ashley

Following the women’s conference on Friday and Saturday, I had the privilege of being the guest speaker at the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM services on Sunday morning at The Rock, which was founded seven years ago by Pastors Phillip and Susan O’Reilly. I was so impressed by who these people are as solid leaders and believers who are doing a great work and having a huge impact in a very short period of time. I believe this is one of the key churches that God is raising up in America for such a time as this!

I want to give a big shout out to Pastors Phillip and Susan for the great job they are doing, and I thank God for these awesome new friends that He has put in my life!!! If you are ever in the Kansas City area, I strongly suggest that you check out this great church – www. rockofkc.com.

Nancy speaking during the women’s conference

Nancy speaking at the Sunday morning services

Worth Much More than 45 Cents…

I have to admit that I’ve never written a story about money given to Mercy Ministries that has been less than one dollar, but this 45 cent gift is priceless. I hope your heart is as touched as mine as you read a letter I just received from one of our graduates passing on a gift to Mercy Ministries of 45 cents….


Dear Nancy and Mercy Ministries Staff,

It may seem odd to you that I have mailed this 45 cents in the mail. It seems like such an insignificant amount of money compared to the thousands and millions of dollars needed to run such an amazing ministry. But there is a story behind these nine coins that has value treasured way above any million dollar gift that could be given.

A couple of weeks ago I held a yard sale at my house to benefit Mercy Ministries through Run for Mercy. This is a miracle in itself because all the items for the sale were donated by my mother and grandmother. It was entirely their idea to raise money for Mercy. That in itself brought tears to my eyes!

On that Friday afternoon everything was set up and things were going well when I got a tap on my hip. It was my eight year old neighbor, Gavin (pictured below). I have been babysitting Gavin since he was a year old and he has always displayed a very giving heart, but my heart was not prepared for what he was about to do. Gavin asked me why I was doing the yard sale. I spent a couple minutes explaining in third grade terms what Mercy Ministries is and what it does. There was a long awkward pause and I just knew it was because he couldn’t fully understand it. Without a word, he darted off to his house and I resumed my yard sale. About two minutes later, there stood Gavin in front of me with his hand clinched around something. He extended his hand up to me and opened it. There sat these nine little coins, all totaling 45 cents. He very graciously said, “This is all I have, but I want Mercy to have it.” As he dropped those nine coins into my donation box my heart exploded into a million pieces. That little boy, Gavin, has a heart of gold. There can be no earthly value placed on these coins because these coins contain his heart. We raised $305 for Run for Mercy through this yard sale, but not a dime of it is worth as much as those nine coins.

I have learned a lot through that eight year old and I hope it touched your heart as much as it did mine.

God bless you and God bless Mercy Ministries!

Love,

Lauren

Lauren's neighbor, Gavin

A special thanks to Gavin for having a heart much bigger than many people have ever had. Thanks Lauren for sharing the joy and for having a garage sale to help other girls get the same help that you yourself received.

Mercy Missionary from India Visits Nashville…

One of the great joys I have as someone who believes in giving 10% of our support to other ministries is being involved in global outreaches that are having a huge impact. It is our great joy to give each and every month to Bishop Sudheer Mohanty and his amazing outreach called CLC Ministries in India. Bishop Sudheer has started and now oversees 50 churches in addition to the orphanages he has built across the nation of India. Not only does he run the orphanages, but they have feeding programs for widows and their children. They also run a school for hundreds of children in addition to the many community outreaches their churches host several times a week. It is our great joy to support this incredible work that is impacting the lives of so many people in India, and I wanted you to see firsthand some of the pictures that Bishop Sudheer shared with me and my staff yesterday as we spent time together. After hearing all the great things that are going on and how the ministry has grown and expanded, we made the decision to up our monthly support beginning in 2011. Thought you might enjoy seeing one of the many ministries that we have the privilege of supporting who are making such a huge difference in the lives of people around the world.

Nancy and Bishop Sudheer at Mercy!

Open air crusade with 10,000 people in attendance.

Bishop Sudheer serving the poor in India

Bishop Sudheer praying for the sick

Bishop Sudheer gave away bicycles to other evangelists in India