History Made in California Today – Mercy Ministries Opens First West Coast Home!

Hi Everyone!

I just landed in Springfield, Missouri to speak at a conference called Designed for Life and hosted by Pastor Debbie Lindell of James River Assembly. Chris Caine has told me that this is one of the top five churches in the whole United States, and I am so pumped about being here for the first time! Not only do I get to speak in this amazing three day chicks conference, but I also get to speak in three Sunday morning services at the Wilsons Creek James River campus. It will be tons of fun speaking with my fellow conference speakers and close friends, Lisa Bevere and Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill. We always have a great time, and the conference is expecting over 2,000 people to be in attendance. Check out the website at www.jamesriverwomen.org if you want to know more!

NOW BACK TO THE MAIN STORY!!! (What can I say?! I am like every other girl I know – prone to rabbit trail!) Today, October 1, 2009, is definitely a day of history and another huge milestone in the Mercy journey of 26 plus years. The doors of Mercy Ministries in California opened today and have officially taken in the first four girls. Pictured below is the very first girl walking in – a young woman named Beth.

First West Coast resident, Beth, arrives at Mercy Ministries in Lincoln!

No doubt that lives will be completely transformed, and I am already anticipating attending the very first graduation to see her graduate from the program. This home is so beautiful, and as I have told you before, we will be able to take in 40 more girls off our waiting list and approximately 100 more girls each year. I give all the praise to God for His provision and all the thanks to our supporters who have given so sacrificially to make this possible. A special thanks to Buzz Oates for giving us the land and providing the huge financial resources to build the building.

Our team there is amazing!!! Even though I was not there to see the first girl walk through the doors since I am in Springfield, I did want to officially introduce you to our California staff led by our Lincoln Program Director, Cheryl Bangs.

Our awesome California team!

We have a great team out there already, and our leadership team has been very busy over the last few weeks training them for such a time as this. This home is located in Lincoln, California, and for those of you who do not know where Lincoln is, it is located in the Sacramento area. We are so thrilled as we open our first West Coast home.

When we opened the St. Louis home five years ago, God gave us a word that just as the well known arch located in St. Louis marks the gateway to the west, so it would also be in the spirit – the St. Louis home would mark the gateway to the west, and our next home would be on the West Coast and that we would receive the double portion. Not only did we believe for the double portion anointing, but also for the double portion literally because our next West Coast home is scheduled to open in January in Vancouver, British Columbia, north of Sacramento into Canada. This is a thrilling season for us, and we anticipate much more as we are already laying groundwork for the property we own in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Panhandle of Florida. Please keep us in your prayers. We celebrate today, but we look forward to all that God has for us ahead!

Beth pictured with Lincoln Program Director, Cheryl Bangs


California Staff excited to welcome new residents!

As I close, would you please pray for the new girls that will be entering the California home in the next few weeks? We are so excited for what God is doing, and we also envision a future home opening in the Los Angeles area. Thanks for sharing the joy with us!!!