The Here and Now

I'm sort of in an odd spot right now. Starting in January, when I realized I wasn't going back to YWAM Las Vegas, I applied to a HUGE amount of jobs (for which I was qualified for) and didn't get any job offers other than long-term ones or a far away one. When that wasn't working out, I decided to try to see if I could get into the spring college term in my town.Through a whole bunch of things, I realized that none of this was what God was really wanting me to do. I was running away from him by shuffling my feet like crazy- trying to find that "thing" that God wanted me to do. The reality was, God didn't want me to "do" anything.... just "be." It's a concept I've struggled with for my entire Christian life (yeah, so since I was six. lol).I've always tended to be an over-achiever and someone always trying to help do something or be better at something.God's been convicting me that, when those things take the focus off him, it's sin. (lol... duh, right?!)Yeah. ouch. not a fun realization that my common mentality is basically inately sinful.......So, I'm taking time to focus on being.... my family is really messed up, and I've taken the "stable person" role (which, if you know me well, is in itself pretty much hilarious!), so that takes up a big part of my mission focus right now :)In my forseeable future is lots of odd jobs, building things with my "dad" (we just finished a deck!), watching my niece most weeks, cleaning our house, improving my cooking skills, leading worship at church, and being as real with God and my circle of influence as possible :)....this is just a bit of a glimpse into more of who I am and where I'm at in this current moment :)

Dreams Differed

. Well, it’s been awhile since my last correspondence, and an update is certainly needed!
Since returning from Las Vegas and from my short trip to England, God has been doing some major work in my heart. At the time of my last update, I was planning on going back to Vegas until fall. However, God has re-guided my steps and I will be staying at home for a season. I’m not sure what God has in store for this upcoming year, but I am taking steps toward getting a job and pursuing a career in the education field.

. Thank you to all who have kept me in their prayers- they have been much needed and appreciated! Right now there are many opportunities to be a missionary here at home, and I am definitely staying busy!

. My Grandma Oldenburg just went through back surgery this week and has moved in with us for a few months. After she's recovered, she'll move back to get her house ready to sell before moving in with us permanently. There's lots of stress associated with these circumstances, and it's only by God's grace that it's going smoothly! At my current job, I'm making friends and being able to challenge them in their beliefs about God, religion, and morality. It's exciting and a bit scary to enter into these conversations with people I'm going to continue to see around the community- instead of people I meet in foreign countries who I'll probably never see again. God has been challenging me to live missionally and with my eyes latched on Him.

. If you would like additional updates on my current state, I'm going to try to add things to this blog occasionally. I would also love to hear from any of you with prayer requests or hellos! My email is leanna.rae@gmail.com
. God bless you, and may your new year be filled with the constant appreciation of His love for you.

~LeAnna Rae

The Current Movement Of Things...

Dear Friends and Family,
This past summer has flown by! It’s been full of stretching, learning, and growing… with a lot of high-schoolers thrown in the mix! Serving in Las Vegas this summer was very rewarding. I spent most of my time leading middle school age to adult participants in evangelism… teaching them the basics of evangelism and a few simple ways to begin acting upon that teaching.
One of my favorite outreaches that we did was called sack lunch giveaway. We each pack two sack lunches and take them to a local park where homeless people congregate. Then we just sit and share lunch with a homeless person- talking about their lives and how Jesus has changed ours. Once when we were going to do this, I brought my guitar and sat down inconspicuously… I was going to keep an eye on the kids and not take part in the outreach. After awhile, I started playing my guitar and worshipping God. A homeless man came and sat by me. I stopped playing to introduce myself and my friend Kati (another leader). He asked me to play a song, and I said okay. Looking at the man across from me, I had the urge to play a non-worship song… something that was “safe” and wouldn’t offend the hardened man sitting next to me. Instead, I ignored the urge and played a song called “Unashamed Love” that speaks of laying down everything and worshipping our worthy God. God was definitely with me as I sang…and, as it turns out, he was also working on the homeless man’s heart, too. When the song was finished I looked up, and he had tears in his eyes. The man opened up to Kati and I; telling us of his past and how he never felt worthy. Like so many of the homeless men I met this summer, he’d served in Vietnam and came home crushed in spirit. The wounds the war left on him were more inside than out. Before Kati and I left, we had time to pray for him and to encourage him. We challenged him with the truth- that God had made him and he truly was worth something. We were able to give him a taste of the joy that Jesus brings. As we left, he thanked us for taking time for him and for the blessing we had been.
So many times this summer, God set up divine appointments- certain people that were ready to hear about his love; people that needed some encouragement. We also talked to a lot of people who didn’t want to hear about a loving God. I spoke with one woman who told me she didn’t want to know more about Jesus because it meant she might have to change her life. God used times like this to break my heart with what breaks his heart in Las Vegas.
Another outreach we did was Free Prayer on Freemont Street (the old “strip” of Vegas). This was by far my favorite. One day, as we were standing with our “free prayer” sign and asking people passing by if they would like prayer, a woman came up to me. She had a smug smile on her face and a glint of pity in her eyes- “honey,” she said, “you aren’t going to get anyone to pray with you. This is Vegas, haven’t you noticed?!” Thankfully I was able to let this woman know that God was bigger than that and that we had prayed for many people that day. She was shocked, and I think her eyes were opened a bit, too. I got to pray with so many people this summer, and I’m continually encouraged by what God did through our prayers. One day, I prayed with a trio of women who had had a sort of family reunion in Vegas. They were sisters, and all at different places with God. One woman had been addicted to gambling and alcohol… but that day, she asked us to pray that she would be able to quit. As I was praying for her, her two sisters came up and joined in. By the end, they were all crying and hugging each other (and me!). Later, their mother came up and thanked me. She was a Christian who had been praying for her daughters’ salvation. The gambling and alcohol had caused a rift in her daughter’s relationship, but, because of our prayer time, reconciliation had begun. I felt so honored that God had let me be a part of a life change for these women… it was such an amazing experience- and only one of many.
Maybe this doesn’t sound like the Vegas you’ve heard of. The flashing lights, the glitz and the sin hiding behind all of it. Well, that’s definitely there! But what sticks with me about Las Vegas are the people… lost people searching for something to fill their hurts. Las Vegas is a city of extremes- there’s extreme poverty next to people blowing millions per night. There are people trapped in sin, and, in some places, a church on every corner. There are Christians hiding behind locked doors and painted church buildings, and there are “card-slappers*” peddling pornography every twenty feet on the strip. Above all, Vegas is a place that needs Jesus.
Since June, I’ve been ministering in Vegas. Now, I’m back home in Washington. But, I’ve felt led to return to Vegas in January. I will be leading youth missions again and assisting with other areas of need at the YWAM base there until September 2008. This year is going to be a lot different that last year, and I’m helping with the planning side of things. We are going to take teams overseas to Russia, Costa Rica, and Brazil. I’m not sure yet which of these trips I will be able to go on, but I would love for God to tell me to go on all of them! In the meantime, there will also be teams coming from around the country to do evangelism in Las Vegas- and I look forward to ministering to and with them as well!
But now to that part that every missionary dislikes… the finances. Living in Vegas is very expensive and although I’m going to be living in the ghetto, my food and housing aren’t cheap. The YWAM base suggests that I raise $400 a month in support. For me, this is new territory. Before, I’ve only ever needed a lump sum. But this time, God needs to provide in a different way. And knowing Him, I know that’s not a problem! My monthly support goes towards staff fees, housing, food, overseas expenses, and travel costs… basically the normalities of life- on the mission field. There will be additional expenses for the trips to Russia, Costa Rica, and Brazil, but I’m not sure what they will be yet.
Please join with me in prayer for the next ten months of my life in Las Vegas. Where God calls, He equips, and I’m trusting him for the finances and the daily grace it takes to live in “sin city.” My plan is to leave in January and come back home to Washington next September. If you would like to make a monthly pledge or a one-time donation, please send it to my Washington address, until I figure out my new Vegas one.
Thank you so much for all that you have invested in me. God is moving in big ways in Las Vegas, and I am so excited to be a part of His plans there!! Thank you for joining with me in the mission field!
Blessings,
LeAnna Kaiser

*card-slappers: people who forcefully hand out cards with call girl ads on them.

Big Surprise!

An extremely random, yet God-ordained, series of events has happened these past few days. As a result, I'm going home! :) TODAY! I will be raising support, working, and spending time with my family and friends until January. The plan is to come back to Las Vegas in January and become staff.
Wow! I can hardly believe how fast this has all happened, but I'm packed and ready to go. God has given me such a peace and sense of his presence that I haven't had in a while. Thank you so much for all your prayers- know that they were spirit-led! :)
I will be home for awhile, and am hoping to talk about what I've been doing with as many people as I can- if you want to meet for coffee or tea, that would be great! Also, I'm needing to raise substantial support, so if you know (or are) a possible donor, please talk to me about how you can help!! :)
God has so obviously been working in my life and I'm excited to see the continuation of this at home! Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support! See you soon!

It's been too long

Hello Friends!
It's been awhile since my last blog post and so much has happened since then! Just yesterday, for example, I bought a new pair of shorts for 37 cents!! *Smile* okay, so maybe that's not the kind of "big event" that you all want to read about...
Seriously, though- this past month has been totally packed. Summer Mission Adventures ended at the beginning of this month (as mentioned in my previous update) and I had a few weeks of down time trying to relax and get to know Richard Taylor more. Yes, for those who don't know, I do have a boyfriend. :) Now, for the girly crowd, maybe I can post a sappy relationship update, but if I was a guy I seriously could care less! So, for all your sakes, I'll hold back on that for now :)
After our two week rest, we left on a mobile tour of the west coast (CA and OR). We visited Ventura, Pismo Beach, San Fransisco, Whittier (LA), and Salem. We basically went through visiting some of the kids that came through this summer and some from Spring Break. It was so fun to hang out with some of the cool cats that came through this summer again. :)
The trip in terms of van ride was not as pleasant as getting out of the van, but we all survived (although there was definitely some conflict that had to be resolved)!
We got back a few days ago, and now I will be starting work at the base as a Mission Builder (kind of temporary staff until I'm accepted). Right now, my project is revamping the website, correcting the errors... it will be a lot of hours staring at a computer screen! Yippee ....

Current Events:
I went surfing at Pismo Beach! And LOVED it!!! I'm not very good, but it's so stinkin fun!
I got hurt surfing... it hurt to sit down or lean forward for a few days. Not good when you're riding in a van for hours and hours!
The boys did paintball standoffs in Salem- so fun to watch, but they all got ridiculous welts... not worth it :)
I finally met Sam's (on MA staff with me) Mom who he always talks about. She's a fun person- we stayed with her on the mobile tour. I understand Sam more. lol. Which is good because I'm supposed to be working with him this year as his kind of secretary for MA next year.
I'm applying for a passport renewal.
Richard left to go back home to England. It's hard. Today is the second day that I haven't seen him in three months. Although I've talked to him :)

Please pray for:
-FELLOWSHIP! I need friends here and a church body to challenge me. I feel a bit lonely at times.
-Wisdom in support raising. I'm new to the whole monthly support raising thing. Please pray that I know just how to do it and that God moves on peoples' hearts to be generous.
-For Richard and I; we are endeavoring to do our relationship right. It's going to be hard from far away, but right now the plan is that he is going to fly me to England in November if he can earn the money soon enough. That would be great, because he could meet all my "family" over there and I could meet his.
-Family- I'm really missing them and they're missing me. It's also really difficult because they haven't met Richard.

Thank you guys, I know you pray for me and I appreciate that SOOOO much! If you ever want to know more about how I'm doing, I'd love to talk to you! :)

MA is Over!!!

Thinking of how to start this update, I just let out a huge sigh… Mission Adventures (MA) is now officially over for the summer and I have been stretched, changed, pushed, used and blessed in so many ways. I’m exhausted, but I’m also completely jazzed on what God did this summer. I was a witness to the theory/formula of exponential growth and effect. For all you number nerds out there (including myself) this is what I mean-
One leader, Kevin, comes in to start, not sure how he’s going to get any staff and none of his attempts to recruit them really work. His effort was soon doubled into two when Frauke, a base-staff YWAMer decided to come on board and help. Then, from the corners of the world came us five summer staff… Richard (England), JD (Oklahoma), Laura (Colorado), and Sam (Idaho/CA), and Me! We were all unexpected staff in that we hadn’t really planned on doing MA, but God led us to. Then, the teams came, and this is where the exponential growth goes sky-high!! Thirteen Church teams came through Vegas to do Mission Adventures this summer. That adds up to Two-Hundred and one people!
The last number can’t really be figured out or pin-pointed… you see, it’s still growing- it’s the number of people’s lives that were affected by us. And it all started with one guy- Kevin… This summer, God has totally given me a glimpse into what people talk about when they challenge me to be the one to start something. So many times in church growing up, I’ve been told how this generation can be turned around if a few of us will stand up- be accounted for in the ranks of God’s army. To go into battle everyday with our hearts open to talk to people about Him. I’m still not all the way there…As MA is over now, I’m going to be tested. Will I continue this life or give into fear? With God’s grace and strength, I want to be one of those generation changers. A world changer.
So many things could be said about what God did this summer. So many more could be said about how I felt about all those things :) But for the sake of your attention span and because I know how hard it can be to read those mega-long updates, I want to take the last little bit of space and tell you about my next step.
After much prayer about the next step (a ridiculously over-used phrase in my life… lol) I really feel led to stay on as staff here in Las Vegas. It’s not at all something that I would have expected to do, and I never thought I would live in Las Vegas!! But God is bigger than my conventions and my thoughts. As I’ve surrendered to Him, this way has become something that I want to do and feel I should do.
I will be helping Sam (who’s leading MA next year) plan and re-vamp the program a bit. I’ll be helping teams that want to come next year and keeping in contact with them. Also, I’ve been approached about being the administrator or the accountant for the Las Vegas YWAM base. Please pray for me about this!! I’m nervous about such a big responsibility, but I know that God has given me talents that I need to use.
So right now, I’m in the application process. I will know if I’m officially accepted in the next few weeks! My plan is to stay here for about another year- until MA is over next summer at least.
So much is happening, and I know that your prayers are what have kept me sane! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! There’s one more important number of the summer, and that’s one you’re a part of… the hundreds of people praying for me and others here. You have been a big part of what happened here this summer. Thank you for partnering with me!

Prayer Points:
- Wisdom for the base leadership team on my application
- Rest after an exhausting summer
- God would fill my loneliness after missing my family, friends, and will soon become the only girl living on base.
- Self-discipline in so many areas.
- Finances. Being base staff means that I will need monthly supporters- something that honestly scares the dickens out of me right now! :)
- Peace for my family. It’s hard for them to think of me being gone longer.

Thank you so much~ God bless you with his joy and peace!
~LeAnna Rae

Update the first few weeks~

Hey Everyone!
It’s been awhile since my last update, so I thought I’d write and tell y’all what’s up (that’s a bit of the Texan accent I picked up from the last team!)
So far, we’ve had two weeks full of teenagers! The first week, there were three churches- Idaho, Wyoming, and California. We started the second week with lots of good memories of the last week- including crazy stunt-performing kids and people putting their faith into practice. I was stretched in HUGE ways… God really blessed us with an easy starter team, and I’m so thankful because not only did I get over my apprehensions about the summer, but I was able to deal with so many other things happening inside of me.
The second week started out a bit rough. My first impression of the team and it’s leaders scared me… I didn’t want to have to use the confrontation knowledge I gained over my DTS, but I gave it to God that first night. It was difficult, and the group wasn’t as “polished” as the first, but these kids and adults (from Arizona, Texas, and Oregon) came away changed and impacted. On the last night, we have a commitment service, where we give a challenge to the kids, and then just tell them to go pray on their own and turn on music. It’s mind-blowing how God uses that time!! When we first did it, I was thinking, “shouldn’t we be doing or saying something more?! These kids aren’t going to get anything out of this time…” But how wrong I was! God spoke powerfully to so many of them. He even used us leaders to speak into their lives through prayer and prophetic words. One girl came running up to me and Sam (fellow MA staff) saying, “Guys, you’ll never believe what God just said to me!!” Then she went on to tell how God was calling her into dance ministry and how God wanted to use her passion to glorify Him! I was beaming- so filled with thankfulness and in awe of the power of God. She was buzzing and couldn’t stand still she was so excited, so our conversation ended in me praying for her and then her running off to go dance :)
There were two girls who met there, from two of the different churches. During the commitment service, they came up to Sam and I crying and laughing at the same time. God had told them both individually at the same time that they would be doing missions together. They were overwhelmed with God and what he’d told them. Sam and I were completely ecstatic too, I really felt this wasn’t just a fluke thing, but could see that it was definitely God that was speaking to them!
So many stories come to mind of what God has accomplished in our first two weeks of Mission Adventures. I’ve learned and grown a lot. God’s really been affirming many things He did in me and taught me on DTS, and I’m becoming more aware of what I need to do and where I need more growth. Praise God for His great Grace!!!!
Over the past week, we’ve been on break from MA. I had the amazing opportunity to go to Minnesota with Kevin (MA leader), Kati (from Finland), and Richard (from Great Britain). For those that don’t know, I was born in Minnesota and lived there for about eight years… so I kept having flash backs there! :) It was a good rejuvenating time. Admittedly, I didn’t get too much sleep, but we spent many hours just relaxing and many more hours at a Christian retreat camp listening to teaching and worshipping. I had lots of fun and my relationships with the three who also went were strengthened.
So, in a few days the next batch of kids comes. Kati leaves to go home to Finland today. I already miss her… and one of our team has yet to rejoin us here in Vegas. But I am gearing up for the next crew with great expectation of what God will do!!