Memorial Day Fun in Nashville!

Nancy’s assistants, Katelyn and Reid here. Nancy is currently jet setting around the world spreading the vision of Mercy, but we thought you might like to see an inside look at how our Nashville residents celebrated the Memorial Day holiday this week and hear their comments. A huge thanks to the Millsaps family for throwing such a special BBQ celebration for our residents – the girls absolutely loved it!

“Having people come over and throw a BBQ for us really did make this seem like a home! To have people do something so great for all us girls, while expecting nothing in return, was really inspiring. It showed me that doing something so small can have a really big impact!” – Jennifer, Current Mercy Resident

 “I really enjoyed my day. It was so relaxed. I was so grateful when we had a family come and spend their Memorial Day with us. They were so sweet and it meant a lot to me that they came. Plus, the food was amazing!” – Lexie, Current Mercy Resident

 “It was very kind of the Millsaps family to come and make dinner for us! I especially appreciated how they made an effort to get to know us and talk to us. It created more of a family type atmosphere that was perfect for a holiday.” – Heather, Current Mercy Resident

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day holiday as well…we would love to hear how about it!

- Katelyn and Reid

Mercy Sisters Have Strong Bond…

Me and recent graduates Kellie, Kelsey, and Bekah

I tweeted yesterday that 115 young women have graduated Mercy Ministries in the United States alone since late January. Three of those young women graduated the day before yesterday, and it was so cool to see how five of our previous graduates showed up to surprise and celebrate with the three girls who were graduating that day. It was such a great time of joy and celebration, and I wanted to give you a glimpse into what a great time we had by showing you the pictures we took with both our graduates and residents. These three graduates represent the 115 that we are thanking God for in the last few months.

Me with former graduates Chelsey,
Danielle, Nikki, Jen and Kristin

Please pray for the young women that are on our waiting list fighting for their lives and desperate to come to Mercy. For those of you who partner with us to provide financial help, please know that you are greatly appreciated as you literally help us pull these young women out of a place of death into a life that Jesus Christ died for them to have.

 Hope you have an amazing holiday weekend. Thank God for our troops who lay down their lives every day to keep us safe. Let’s take a moment to thank God for them and their families, and for all the sacrifices they have made.

Fishers of Men and Fishers of Fish!!!

Yesterday I had the awesome priviledge of speaking in Destin to approximately 500 marketplace and communitity leaders including business leaders, political leaders, law enforcement and government officials, and pastors from 15 different churches in the area. Not only was it a great time to connect with the locals here and share the vision of the next Mercy Ministries home, which will be located between Destin and Panama City, but it was also a great excuse to find my way into the water. I love fishing for men, but I have actually discovered a love of fishing for FISH! Thought you might enjoy seeing the 20 pound amberjack I caught this morning, along with numerous other types and sizes of fish. It was so fun! Special thanks and shout out to my wonderful host Captain Mike Parker and his beautiful wife Marguerite. This is truly a day that I will never forget!!!

Beatles Mania Hits Mercy... God Style!!!

It’s extremely rare to find the Beatles at the forefront of what goes on at Mercy Ministries, but this week that was actually the case. In two of our locations, St. Louis and Nashville, my dear friend, Ken Mansfield, came and spoke to our residents and staff. Ken is the only person I know on the planet that has the ability to share intimate details about the Beatles and the Gospel at the same time! He was the US manager at Apple Records and directed the Beatles’ US career on many levels. He was not only involved in business, but was a close personal friend. Since that time with the Beatles, Ken has committed his life to Christ and has written two books. His wife Connie has been a personal friend of mine for over 30 years, and she was instrumental in leading him to the Lord prior to their marriage. Today Ken and Connie travel across the United States speaking about his journey, both with the Beatles and with Christ. Ken will be the first to tell you that there’s no comparison between the two, as he was fully given his life to Christ and found a unique niche in his ability to engage others in connecting with their Savior and Creator.

This was Ken and Connie’s first visit to our St. Louis home. Both staff and girls were blown away by their message and their love and support of Mercy Ministries. Though not a stranger to our Nashville home, this was Ken’s first time to visit in quite some time so he was speaking to an entirely new group of residents and even some new staff members. It was a tremendous week where God used Ken and Connie in a powerful way to touch the lives of so many, and last night Ken was a guest on our Mercy Multiplied radio show and will be so again this evening at 5:15 PM CST! Not only Ken, but we had a surprise guest as Ken’s close pal Phil Keaggy dropped by to join him on the program. These two were quite the team and Phil is also a Mercy supporter!

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pictures from our special time this week. If you’re a Beatles fan, you definitely need to check out Ken’s website and order his books today. There is no one out there that can give the kind of detail that Ken provides with amazing pictures and a true inside look at this legendary group! We love you, Ken and Connie… you are very special and we consider you a part of our Mercy family!!!

Ken had the Nashville residents on the edge of their seats!

Ken and Connie at our Nashville home

Ken and Connie hanging out with the St. Louis residents

Ken Mansfield and Phil Keaggy struck a pose for us in the Mercy Multiplied studio!

Special Guest from UK in Nashville

Hey everyone! Katelyn here. Nancy’s currently out of town, but I wanted to share with you all about a very special guest I had the privilege of hosting this past Tuesday. Abs Niblock from Abundant Life Church (Pastored by Steve and Charlotte Gambill) in Bradford, England came to Mercy to share with our staff and girls. Abs and her husband are the youth pastors at Abundant Life Church, as well as oversee one of the church campuses.

I first met Abs last September in Springfield, MO when we were both there for the Designed for Life Women’s Conference hosted by Debbie Lindell and James River Assembly. Abs and I had a great time getting to know each other and I was so excited when I found out she was going to be in Nashville, so of course we invited her to come share at Mercy!

Abs spoke a powerful message about the power of vision and the importance of having a vision for your life. Abs shared about not getting distracted by the obstacles and hurdles that may try to get in the way of your vision, but to rather stay focused on Jesus. Many of the residents shared how timely this message was and others said this was the best message they had ever heard! Here’s what a few of the girls had to say…

“I freaking loved this message and her accent (LOL), but for real this was such a great message and definitely what I needed to hear especially since I have spent the past couple of days legit freaking out about graduating – standing in front of everyone and giving my testimony. Well in the middle of this message, I finally came to terms with it and became at peace that I was going to get up there and talk because it is not about me – it is about God and His glory, and awesomeness. ‘If God says I can, then I can, but if I say I can’t then that is my own limitation.’ I really liked that statement she made because it is so true in my life. I have set so many limitations on myself and would look at different visions/dreams that I would have and then back down because of all the obstacles or giants that stood in the way. Not realizing/grasping that God is so much bigger than anything I will ever face and with Him all things are possible! I need to keep my focus on Jesus and not on what I can or can’t do. I need to stop being led around, whether by my past friends or circumstances. I am done settling for less and backing down – God is on my side and He is bigger than anything that I face. My life has a purpose and I will see my vision become reality – I just need to keep my focus on Jesus and remain steadfast in Him.” – Nikki, current Nashville resident

“Wow, Abs was so good. For so long I have let the devil discourage me by making my obstacles bigger than my vision. I cannot let my vision be drowned out by obstacles. Everything in Abs’ message totally resonated in my spirit. I have a vision, and I am going to see it come to pass!!” – Madeline, current Nashville resident

“This message was amazing. She was probably my favorite guest speaker we have had. I loved her!! I loved how she talked about my need to have a vision and not let the obstacles distract you from your vision!! I am being called to be an evangelist, I know I am, and I have been scared because I keep thinking about the obstacles that could keep me from being that. However, this message completely cleared things up for me!! I needed that.” – Niki, current Nashville resident

Special thanks to Abs for coming and sharing with our girls! I hope this encourages you to seek God for your vision and/or to stay focused on the vision God has already given you for your life!