T.E.A.M. Newsletter

Dear Readers, For this article I thought I would give a short bio : My name, as you probably know, is Sabine G. Anderson.  I am a Christian or the term I prefer, Christ-Follower. For that is what I am. :) I also am an MK (Missionary Kid) currently living in the semi tropics of Mexico. My dad is a pilot and flies for the native people here.    I moved from the USA when I was around 6 or 7 years old, and I have lived in Mexico for around 10 years, which means I have lived in a different country than I have in my home country. I am proud to call myself American, but I have also grown to love the people and culture of Mexico.  I love to listen to music, paint, draw, write, crochet, read work with animals, and work in the yard. I would say that music, drawing, writing, reading, and animals are the top hobbies of mine.  Plenty of music has impacted my life and is just great to listen to. Drawing is just plain fun. Writing is also a great past tim...

Dear Readers,  The Gospel is what Christ-followers around the world stand on in their beliefs. While some may think that it is complicated, I find that you can understand the Gospel through what is called The Romans' Road.  All are sinners:  Romans 3:23 says this, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." No one is perfect and everyone is a sinner. God created a world that was perfect, but because Adam and Eve sinned the world was cursed.  Consequences of sin: Romans 6:23 says this, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Because we are sinners we are separated from God, but there is hope!  Christ died for us, and He demonstrates His love toward us: Romans 5:8 says this, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. He was sinless and perfect, an...

Katie: Hi! My name is Katie & I’m fifteen. Recently, God made a way for something I deemed impossible to be possible. One thing about me is that I have a hard time talking and getting to know new people. This causes me to be suspicious of easy opportunities. Lately, my mother has been insistent about me joining the worship team at our church. I tend to be very shy when I sing in front of people, and so I avoided hearing why I should join whenever the subject came up. Over time, however, I warmed up slightly to my mom’s words. So, I decided to seek others’ opinions on whether I should, in fact, join or not. I was still hoping that I could find a reason not to do it, but everywhere I turned, people were saying that I should try it out. Let me tell you, it was kinda unnerving. Finally, one Wednesday, my mother and I were talking to one of the ladies who sing for the worship team. My mother told her how she thought I should join the worship team, and just like that, almost every ...

Mandy:  Throughout my whole life, I have struggled to read my Bible. Either I don’t have time or I chose not to. I know that reading the Bible is one of the most important things a Christian can do in their walk with the LORD. Reading the Bible is the same is having a conversation with a friend. It is how God communicates with us. Recently, I have felt the need and want to read my Bible, but I still struggle making time to. Please pray that I read my Bible often and grow in my walk with the LORD. Mary:  One summer, as I was visiting a church that I had grown up in for some time, the High School Sunday School class was diving into the Word, using a unique studying method. I used it that week and LOVED it, but I had not gotten to take the chance to use it until recently. I still love it now that I am using it again. This is how it works: Skim for repeating words/phrases, Skim for key points, Skim for symbolism, then Analyze the observations you made. Please note, this i...

Cai: L ast year, in the summer, I had witnessed to a couple of people online. Some of them thought I was pushing my religion onto them (Even though I was not), and got annoyed with me. I remember one time I came across someone who didn’t believe God was there. They thought if God really did exist, He wouldn’t let there be so much pain. Lots of people think that. He also thought that God couldn’t forgive him. I told him about Paul, and all the evil things he did, and how he changed because of God. He thought he was worse than Paul… Somehow. He was really mad for about twenty minutes. But at some point, I made him realize God will forgive anyone, even him. I told him how to ask for forgiveness, and to mean it. And I hope he still loves God today. Mary:  I do not know what my favorite verse is, but my favorite book is Romans. I think my favorite chapter is Romans 8. If I had to pick a specific verse is Romans, I would pick Romans 8: 28. "For God works all things out for the...

Sabine:  Lamentations 3:22-23 “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." It would be a strange thing if I went write all my entries as if my entire life was flawless and I am this “perfect” Christian. Sometimes people can make their life seem great on the outside, while on the outside they are being crushed by the weight of everyday situations. Work, school, relationships, and even family. I am going to be honest with you. I have had problems in all of those categories. I’ve gotten mad during my “job”. I’ve been discouraged with school (especially in math and English class). I can testify to having stressful times in relationships with friends, and there are always things for me to work out with my loved ones. It’s what we do with those hard times that really matters. Many times, I have given up and called it quits, but as I have grown stronger in my faith I have begun to r...

Mandy: Matthew 6:27 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” NIV version of the Bible.    I am the type of person who is always worrying about every little thing. This verse is my favorite verse; it reminds me that I shouldn’t worry because worrying is not going to make me live any longer. One time I was taking a trip with my family in our van from Arizona to Iowa. We decided not to stop in a hotel for the night and drive straight through the night. About an hour after dinner, it started to rain so hard and forcefully that we all thought that we were going to hydroplane. Mom (the driver) could barely see 2 feet in front of her. It turns out we were in the middle of a tornado storm, though the tornado was not that close. I was so worried we were all going to die. I prayed like I had never prayed before. After what seemed like eternity (though it was more like ½ and hour, we came to a town where we decided to stay for the night until the storm passe...

Hi, Mary here!  I am here to talk about something that has helped me get through my teen years. When my mom was a teen, she got Brio magazines. A few years ago, as she was sorting through her things she found them- she kept most of them. This is a Christian magazine that has a monthly subscription. The content applies to Christian female teens and is fun while being encouraging as well. I searched a few months ago- Brio actually stopped making magazines in like 2005, but they started them again. So, last Christmas I decided to pay for a year of new magazines and I am so glad I did! They have facebook if you want to check it out:  https://www.facebook.com/briomagazine/ . If you want to order your own copy, you can get it here:  https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/brio-magazine/ . The content contains things such as: -monthly calendars with important holidays -bible journaling tips and devotions -full page encouraging quotes and verses -...

Again, I apologize for the late-night posts. I guess my brain works well now, or this is the one time I am free to write on the blog. I am here to share what God has been telling me in my life recently. If you read the title of this blog, you would know what this is mostly about. Romans 12:2 says " Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, perfect, and pleasing will." This verse talks about not following what the world wants us to do. We need to stand out from the crowd. Sometimes it can be hard, but it is what God wants us to do. The second part was explained really well to me a few days ago, though. To renew our mind, there are two steps we should take : 1. Put your nose in the Bible (Read it!) 2. Listen to the Holy Spirit The teacher also gave three verses that corresponded with her message and I recommend you look them up...

Hi, my name is Mary Beau. I am a born-again believer in the Creator who is my Lord and Savior. I live in the USA and I love to write, and sing, among many other things. I am a social butterfly who hates to initiate conversations. I am afraid that people will not like me or want to talk to me. I am a mix of an introvert and an extrovert- I am an ominvert. I spend most of my time inside when I am not hanging out with friends. But when I am with close friends, I am super loud and I bother people who are not in my friend group with my outgoing-ness (if that is even a word). I feel like I have my whole life planned out, but I know that anything could happen that could change that. God is really in control of my life. My family was missionaries overseas for a few years, so I have experienced many cultures. I know a little Spanish, Pidgin English, and (of course) English. In fact, I want to teach English. I thrive on music, social life (in person, but emails and texts are nice too)...

-All members of our Skype group (TEAM) has a special job. You can thank Cai for picking out the monthly verse and song. Mary does the editing, and Sabine helps write articles. Mary and Sabine take turns leading groups, while many of our newer members have not received jobs yet.  -Many of our new members will likely start writing articles for the blog, including Jake Williams. Look for his work coming up!  - In our weekly meetings, we have groups of two that take turns opening and closing in prayer.  - Cai, Mary, Sabine, Calroy, and others in the group are writers! You may find one of their books on a bookstore shelf someday soon! 

As I was beginning to mention in my previous article, I believe that God is in control of everything- so everything happens for a purpose. Everyone says "Why did God have to let that person die?" and "They were too young to die!" In our mind, God is in control of everything, but we don't like it when he does not do things our way, and we think there is an age limit to when someone is 'ready to die'. God, on the other hand, has other plans. A common verse that I have memorized (on accident, but I always have to look up the reference) is "We may make plans, but the Lord directs our steps. Proverbs 16:9" Whenever people cast lots in the bible, God was controlling what happened. God does not take anyone unless it is their time. We may not ever know in this earth what God had in store for that individual, or what their life and death produced, but we do know that it was for God's glory. For example, if a best friend of yours dies, how do yo...

I know this post will be irrelevant to most of you, but I think that you can learn from this even if you are not involved in AWANA. My church decided to take some of its leaders and LIT's (Leaders in Training- teens like me who are not old enough or have enough experience to be leaders yet) to an AMC (Awana Ministry Conference). This was really beneficial for me- I learned more about how to teach in AWANA (as I have taken that position on), how to witness to children better (which can be applied to teens as well- let me know if you want an article on that), and how to work better in Sparks (my specific group). What did stand out the most to me was the conclusion, though. Throughout the day we save the staff and volunteers wearing a light blue shirt that said "1 of 6" on the back. It made me curious, but I did not say anything. Evidentally, that was the purpose of them- to make you curious. They showed a video of a woman- a mom- in her late 20's or early 30...