Loving what I do - my most recent newsletter

Right now I am sitting here, waiting for the other members of God Behind Bars to arrive to the meeting. I thought you might want to ‘meet’ them: 

John, Dave, Jake, Don, Bob and Me! (left to right)

We will have a ‘same page meeting’. We started these a couple months ago once we realized that sometimes there’s so much going on that nobody knows anymore what’s going on, except for Jake (CEO, founder and my boss).

So now we come together twice a month and get to hear what the others have been up to.

There’s John who’s working on creating jobs for released inmates, starting with a recycled dry-clean hanger scheme. But of course there’s more to that. We are also starting a thrift store (to employ inmates) which will have more the look and feel of a target.

Dave gives us updates on what’s happening in the area of resource development (read: fundraising to start more campuses)

Don is an amazing man who’s been in prison ministry for over 30 years. He helps us in any way imaginable, but especially dealing with the Department of Correction (which can be a challenge)

Bob has his finger on various grant applications that are in to get our Media Arts Studio INSIDE the prison some new equipment. (We are teaching inmates graphic art, video editing, life skills etc)

I will talk about stuff that’s going on with the youth, how I am going once a week into the jail and hang out with ‘my’ juvies. How we need funds to start another campus at ‘Caliente’. And how we are starting to really be ready to help youth that gets released on the outside.

And then Jake will talk about everything else. And there’s still a lot. The After Care facility that’s about to open on the church property. The classes we will teach there (parenting, finances and career development to start with—I’m helping write the content).

The set free campaign that’s running right now (more info at Godbehindbars.com) and the push to reunite inmates with families by inviting the family to watch the same service online at churchwithinmates.com.

So there you go! You just met just a few of the awesome people I get to work with. And heard a few of the things we are working on. At the moment I still get to be involved in many other areas of God Behind Bars, until the youth program will take off like CRAZY! :)

It’s frustrating at times that I can’t take pictures anymore of the people I minister to. (Big No No to bring a camera or cell phone into the prison! :) )

 

I wish I could show you ALL the things I get to do. But instead all I can do for now is just to say ‘Thanks Heaps!’. I am so blessed to be serving God in this area, so blessed to have you as friend and supporter of what I do. Thanks for making it possible for me to get up in the morning pumped and excited for what’s going to happen during the day.

You rock my life!

Oh, and that’s a picture of one of the prisons :)

Oh, and read some of these stories from some of 'our' inmates and the impact God Behind Bars has had on their lives:

Just a couple stories from inmates: One inmate, recently arrested and had lost everything, planned to commit suicide the day that her bunk mate invited her to a God Behind Bars service. She went, met God, felt loved and is ALIVE today, sharing her love of Christ with others around her.
 One inmate, that had gone through Celebrate Recovery (faith based recovery from hurts habits and hang-ups) and we had worked with in the Media Art Studio was able to land a job once she was released with the STATE! She helps others find work now! Loves God, is part of a church and reunited with her family!
 God Behind Bars was instrumental in changing another inmate’s life who was in and out of jail, but finally realized that there are people who love her and want to help her. She also is doing well on the outside.
 You can go to GodBehindBars.com to watch a video or two where they tell their own story.
 Tweets: Going to Germany for 10 days to attend my nieces confirmation and birthday! So excited.
 Prayer for ‘my’ juvies is appreciated as they’re starting to grasp the concept of God and His love for them. If you’re in Vegas, want to give me any of your dry clean hangers? :)
 Don’t forget to check out GodBehindBars.com 

Happenings over the past few months

RUSH—

 Rewriting Ur Story Here:

RUSH is the youth version of God Behind Bars and what I’ve worked on for the past few months.

It’s about introducing youth to Jesus through a weekend worship experience on the inside; helping them deal with life’s issues through Freedom (Celebrate Recovery for students) and then disciple them when they get out through our mentorship program (Project 22)

We provide mentors who walk with them, check up on them, do stuff together and care. The mentorship program includes things like sports camps, rap/dance studio and more. It’s amazing!

We are getting ready!!!

Twelve volunteers came and got trained (a full day operation) and we were able to video the training to be shown in Vegas, as the center we are working with is 3 hours away.

Needs to be able to launch (please pray)

· Equipment such as projector, screen, sound system etc.

· Games such as Basketball hoop, balls etc

· About 20 more volunteers

My Day with God

At one point I realized I was quite worried about a number of things and to get some perspective I was able to take a day and spend it with God at Mt Charleston. (I’m really blessed that I can even do that kind of thing)

It was a great day filled with good talks with Jesus, new ideas, sorting out my head and gaining new insights and perspective.

Things I learned:

· Psalm 91 still blows my mind

· Things are not as bad as I sometimes think they are

· I came out of the day with a renewed passion for God and going deeper with Him.

Random exciting stuff in short:

· We just recently trained 30 volunteers (getting ready to reach more inmates)

· We also partnered up to put on a huge sports day for kids and youth

· We’re close to launching another adult campus in Colorado

· RUSH launched in the youth unit at the jail 3 weeks ago!!

Random stuff I do and love

· My church small group rocks

· My Junior High Small group has been challenging, but it’s been good. I get to hang out with JH girls… How much better can it get?

· Love going to Midnight Hockey games (game starts at midnight. Oh and I LOVE the mascot!)

· I’m part of the medical team at church again. Because I can and I love it

Random stuff I need or want:

· German Bread (it’s just THAT good)

· Learn Spanish for real

· $$$ for my flight to Germany ($1,500!!! Yikes!)

· Be more positive (that’s a need AND a want)

Website you should check out sometime:

www.godbehindbars.com and www.churchwithinmates.com

Cyber hang outs: 

twitter.com/jackie/doyle and facebook.com/jackie.doyle and jackieinvegas.tumblr.com 

________________________________________________

Yes, you can support me:

For  online giving go to: www.godbehindbars.com and find the ‘donate now’ button on the bottom.
 Make sure you put my name in the comments and questions box to ensure it goes towards me. You can set it up to be automatic and it sends you an email every time it gets taken out of your account.

For 'old school' giving send checks to:

God Behind Bars

c/o Jackie's support

129 W Lake Mead Parkway

Suite 22

Henderson NV 89015

USA

If sending a check please  make it out to God Behind Bars and  attach a note stating: For Jackie

If you have any questions about why, how or how much you can send an email to jackiegotmail (at) gmail (dot) com

Take a quick drive with me from the store

Merry Christmas to you! I hope you're having a good Christmas season.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on what's been going on with me...

We finish up this year with some great reports:

• grocery assistance is going strong, serving up to 120 individuals a week with various groceries such as meats, eggs, veggies and juice.
• one of my clients gave me a little Christmas present which blew me away. This is huge for this neighborhood and I was so blessed by her.
• we have been able to give away about 200 pounds of new and gently used clothes over the past 4 weeks to families in need. Some walked away with one bag, others with a trunkful of clothes! All according to their need.
• my time at the boys and girls club in our neighborhood is getting to be more and more fun and I'm starting to learn more names. The kids like to hang out with me and we play loads of games in the gym.

Some exciting changes for the next year:

• I will be working with Mission Adventures again, at least for the Spring. I am very excited about this opportunity, as this means I will have more contact with young people, get to challenge them to step out of their comfort zone and share the Gospel with people in Las Vegas and the world. It's one of those amazing programs that God uses to bring people closer to Him and I'm so glad to work with MA again this year.
• I will still be overseeing parts of the Pier ministry such as grocery assistance, clothing and the general running of the Pier. There will be new staff coming on to Pier staff and I'm sure we will come up with some exciting ministry opportunities for this neighborhood together. Our desire is still to see our neighborhood (the 8th worst neighborhood in the US) transformed and changed for God.
• I've got my OWN car!! Since December 17th, I am the proud owner of a 1998 Mazda 626 (in gold). So thankful to God for His provision and faithfulness.

Prayer Points:

• I was praying about New Years Resolutions and if I should do one again this year. (this past year I spent an extended time with God every 2nd Sunday of the month). So it's still fairly nebulous, but would you please pray that I would be able to be the closest I've ever been with God in 2011. I'm excited.
• Pray for Mission Adventures: The students that will be coming between February and April. The people we will talk to and share with. For impacted lives.
• We need new and strategic ideas for this neighborhood. Please pray with us to strategically impact our neighborhood.
• I've got a few financial prayer points:
  

I still owe $400 for the car. Thankfully the guy who helped me get the car is nice enough and I can pay it off over the next few weeks. It was too good of a deal to let it go.. (I got a $4000 car for $2200). I will also need to pay registration and license plates very soon.

I need to see financial provision and breakthrough for me personally. Like a lot of people I've had a decrease in income (support) over this past year. I need to see $200 more a month come in to be able to cover all my bills. On top of that comes, that my laptop is starting to really pass out on me on a regular basis... Something I really don't need! Please pray for me!

Thank you so much for being part of my team. I love serving Jesus and I love doing it in Las Vegas. But without you, I wouldn't be able to. So thank you.

I pray you have a very merry Christmas.


Frauke


PS:
If you want to follow my life, there are a couple different ways:
Facebook.com/jackie.doyle
twitter.com/jackie_doyle
jackieinvegas.tumblr.com
frauked.blogspot.com

or email/call me
frauked@ywamlasvegas.org
702 273 7166

Huge Praise:
My car fund grew from $500 to $1400 in just 2 month. Pray for the remaining $600+ to come in soon, so I can get a car with air con soon!

110 degrees (or 43 Celsius) is just about normal for summer in Las Vegas and insanely hot! The fact that it is a dry heat doesn’t matter when you burn yourself with the seatbelt!

212 (or 100 Celsius) is the temperature that water boils at and changes from water to gas. During Junior High Camp we talked about living your life in pursuit of 212—having a relationship with God that’s boiling hot and at that level you have the ability together with God to start changing the world.
The 5 day camp with 300+ Junior High Students was up in the mountains in Arizona with lots of trees and rocks—beautiful, but I was glad for the 5 day limit.




My girls (a group of 9 students) were amazing. Throughout the week we had lots of time to talk about what it means to live a life in pursuit of 212—even though you’re pretty much going through hell at home. These girls want to live their lives for God and have so many ideas on how to make that a reality.
It was a huge blessing and privilege to be their leader and I can’t wait to see what God has for them.


In the beginning of the summer I had a chance to ‘go back to my roots’ and lead the Mission Adventures Summer staff in an afternoon of team building activities.
This is something that goes back to my days in Darwin eons ago! :)
I hadn’t had the chance to lead anything in terms of team building for ages, but it felt like ‘home’.
Since I get to hang out with youth at the Boys and Girls Club in our neighborhood, I will try and do some team building activities with them once summer is over.

Boys and Girls Club has been going good, with me hanging out and playing Basketball with the teens.
Most of them come from broken homes and want nothing more than someone who cares about what they do. This makes for interesting conversations at times.

Please pray that I will be able to share the love of Christ with them and the hope He brings for their lives.

The Pier is continuing to grow in several areas. We now offer Basic English Classes 3 times a week with an average of 6 students each time; Tutoring, and the Job Readiness Classes are starting at the end of this month.
Of course we are still serving over 800 people with food each month.

By the way….
Germany got third in the world cup!! Just in case you missed some awesome games!

My friends and me hung out at the Las Vegas Hofbrauhaus every now and then to watch the games! Go Germany! :)

Tweets

* YWAM’s Mission Adventures Training had a great summer, seeing people saved,
healed and delivered.
* In January 2011 YWAM Las Vegas will run it’s first Abolitionists DTS, fighting Human Trafficking in the world
* The August DTS has just started this week with 6 students from 3 different nations!
* I have a car fund of $1400+ !!!!

Thanks for all your friendships, prayers and support. I couldn’t do this without you!


frauke