University Outreach Update
Thank you for your prayers for our outreach to the A&M campus in Commerce, TX. The outreach was last night and was a lot of fun. We had about 50 to 60 college students in attendance, plus the YWAM team. In all the group was between 80 and 90.
Most of the students there were part of various campus ministries and so what we thought would be an evangelistic outreach turned into more of a teaching session about what it takes to fulfill the destiny God has created us for. I lead worship and then one of my co-laborers, got up to speak. He used C.S. Lewis as a model of what a Christian in an academic setting can accomplish when their lives are submitted to the Lord.
It was a great time of encouragement for the students and a serious call to live their lives in a way that displays the transforming work of God. We ended the evening by breaking up in small groups and praying for God’s purposes to be fulfilled on the campus.
Several of the campus ministries are coming together next week to have a week of prayer. The university is allowing them to set up a prayer tent in the same place we held the open air meeting last night. I believe that God is going to use the prayers of these college students to “water the seed” that was planted last night. God’s word never returns void. It always accomplishes what it is sent to do. Please be in prayer over this next week that God will reveal His Son to the students of A&M Commerce and that He will use this campus as a center for revival and another student volunteer missions movement.
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- YWAM team praying before event.
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- Kurt leading worship.
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- Kurt leading worship.
Evangelism on a University Campus
We have an exciting ministry outreach coming up that we would like you to be praying for.
This Thursday, March 24, a team from YWAM Tyler will be traveling to the city of Commerce, TX to minister on the A&M campus there. We will have live worship music (I have been asked to lead the worship for this portion of the event), testimonies from a few students in our current Discipleship Training School, and an evangelistic message presented to the students.
Please be in prayer for the university students we will be ministering to and for the team that will be ministering.
As we have prayed for the event and the students we have really sensed that the Lord wants to give salvation to His kids on Thursday night and that He is going to give students more understanding on how their gifts and talents are a pivotal part of His plan of building the Kingdom of God in the earth.
24/7 Prayer Update
Logan and I just recently finished facilitating our YWAM campus’ first week of 24/7 prayer for 2011. It was a great success. The staff and students of our campus covered 168 hours of prayer from Feb 11 – Feb 18. It was awesome to see so many people be involved. We had over 400 prayer slots signed up for and many more people participate who did not sign up.
We prepared daily video devotionals that were available in our prayer room and also on the 24-7 Pumphouse website. In addition to all the local people who participated, we also had people watching the devotionals on the internet from over 10 nations.
Here is a testimony from one of the YWAM staff who participated in the week of prayer:
Hey Guys,
Thanks so much for facilitating this week of prayer. I pray for about 20 people every day and often pray throughout the day so I don’t know why I struggled with signing up for an hour at the chapel. About 15 minutes before going into the chapel I began praying that God would prepare my heart to focus and direct my heart and prayer time. I had my usual prayer list and the base phone list with me as I walked in the door. As soon as I opened the door, I felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit.
A young woman was playing the guitar and worshipping while another was over by the map praying. The young lady who had been praying by the map came over and prayed for my prayer time. It was precious. As I walked over to the map and saw all the post-it on the different nations I began crying and cried almost the entire hour I was in there. I loved how each station was set up. I was there to pray for the nations and for others, but God ministered to me throughout that time as well.
I have not had a more powerful time of prayer in over a year than I had this morning in the prayer chapel. The devotion was wonderful. Kurt, please take every opportunity the Lord gives you to teach. One of the gifts He has placed within you is the gift of teaching!
Thank you again for spearheading this week of prayer. I was challenged, encouraged, and inspired by my time at the chapel and hope everyone else that goes will be ministered to as well.
Love you guys, Kathy
We will be facilitating 3 more weeks of prayer in 2011. Keep an eye out here for information on how you can be involved and how you can support us in prayer as we prepare for these weeks.
To watch the video devotionals mentioned in the update you can visit 247pumphouse.com.
In Him,
Kurt
A Snow Blanket
This morning we awoke to a fresh blanket of snow in Lindale. Much of east Texas has slowed down to a crawl. We don’t get snow here very often and we don’t have the equipment to make the roads safe for travel. This means that schools are closed and children all across the area are making snowmen and sledding down every small hill they can find. This is what Logan likes to call hot chocolate weather and I have to say that I agree with her.
Here is a picture of the view from our living room this morning.
This weekend Logan and I will probably stayed cuddled up with a good book by the fire as the snow melts away. We hope that wherever you are, wether blanketed in snow or not, that you take some time to thank God for His blessings in your life and ask Him to expand your capacity for His Presence.
The Waiting Game
The other day, Logan was sitting at her desk at work and her cell phone rang. She looked to see who was calling and noticed that it was our adoption case-worker. Instantly her heart jumped into her throat and her mind began to race, “Could this be it? Are we about to find out that a mother has selected us as her adoptive family? Are we really ready to become parents?” She answered the phone only to find out that our case-worker just needed to double check some facts as she was filling out some paper work on us. This would not be the day when we found out we were going to bring home a new baby.
She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Her emotions of excitement and wonder were soon replaced with a sigh and a hint of sadness. But then it was time to get back to work and the thoughts of this experience would have to be pushed aside for now.
The roller coaster of emotions that we find ourselves on, with it’s quick ups and downs, is an exciting ride to say the least. Everyday is a waiting game. Many days, when my eyes open and it is still dark outside, the first thought to run through my head is, “I wonder if today is the day?” I say a quick prayer for our birth mother and her baby and ask God to be with her that day. I then say a quick prayer for Logan and I and ask God to help us be ready when that phone call comes and to help us wait with hope and patience until the moment is upon us.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for us as we wait for the Lord’s timing.
- Pray for our birth-mom and her unborn child.
- Pray for provision for our adoption. We still haven’t met our adoption goal of $7700
If you would like to find out more about how we are paying for our adoption and how you can be a part of the miracle of adoption, click here.
Adoption Book Ordered
Logan and I put the finishing touches on the adoption book this afternoon and sent it off to the printers. We should have the book in hand to turn into our adoption case worker by January 4, 2011. Getting our book done was the last requirement on our part to be “adoption ready.” Once we turn the book in it is only a matter of the Lord’s timing until we have a new addition to our family.
We are really excited and are waiting with hopeful anticipation for the day when we will get the “we have a baby for you” phone call from Loving Alternatives.
We are believing God for the finances to pay for this adoption. We have yet to meet our goal of $7700. If you feel like the Lord is leading you to give, please click here for more information on how you can do this. We would also love for you to be an advocate for us in raising money for our adoption. If you know of people who you think would like to hear about our adoption journey, please direct them to our website.
If you are just now finding out about our adoption journey and would like to peruse the annuls of its history you can click here to find out more.
Year-End Giving
Thank you so much for your faithful prayer and financial support in 2010. So much ministry has been made possible by your generosity. Lives have been impacted for Jesus in India, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Eastern Europe, and Africa because of your giving.
Please prayerfully consider making a year-end donation to keep the ministry going in 2011. You may give in one of the three following options:
By check: (This option is tax-deductible)
If you would like to make a donation by check you can do so by mailing one to:
YWAM Accounting
PO Box 3000
Garden Valley, TX 75771Due to IRS restrictions, please do not put our names on the check. Include a separate piece of paper indicating the donation is for “Kurt and Logan Hurst.” This will ensure the donation is credited to our account and that you will receive a tax-deductible receipt.
By Credit Card via YWAM Tyler: (This option is tax-deductible)
You can make credit card donations through YWAM Tyler’s accounting office Monday through Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm & 1:00pm-5:00pm CST. Please call 1(903) 882-5591 and ask to speak to the accounting department.
By Credit Card via PayPal®: (This option is not tax-deductible)
You can make a credit card donation through the secure, online payment site, PayPal®. To do so please click the button below.
These donations come directly to us and are not tax-deductible.
Kurt Preaching in India
Logan in India
Teaching in School of Worship
The Last Interview
Today is the day for our last home study interview. Our adoption case worker, Doris, is coming by at 10:00am this morning to inspect our house and ask us another 2 hour round of questions.
Prayer Points:
- Pray for peace. The last few days have been pretty stressful as we have tried to get everything finished for the home inspection.
- Pray for favor. This last interview is crucial for us to be able to complete the homestudy and move forward in the adoption process.
- Pray for our “Adoption Book.” We are almost done with our book and ready to send it to the printer. We hope to send it to print by the end of the week.
- Pray for finances. Our “Adoption Fund” goal is $7700.
We appreciate your prayers. They really do make a difference. Thanks for following along in our adoption journey.
Paying for an Adoption
As most of you know, Logan and I are full-time missionaries with Youth With A Mission. This means that we do not receive a traditional salary and we are responsible for raising the money we need to live and minister. We do this through the generous gifts of friends, family, and churches we are connected to. Month by month, we trust the Lord to provide for our needs and month by month He is always faithful.
You might be asking yourself questions like:
- How are they going to pay for an adoption?
- Aren’t adoptions really expensive?
- Are they crazy that they are going to adopt a child and they don’t have normal jobs to pay for it?
These are all legitimate questions and, to be honest, they are questions that we think about a lot. Again and again, we come to the conclusion God has called us to full-time service with YWAM and that He wants us to adopt.
So the answer to the questions above become very simple.
- God is going to provide for the extra expense of an adoption and the extra expense of a child to care for.
- God knows how much adoptions cost and He is not intimidated by the huge cost of them. (Actually, the cost isn’t huge to Him.)
- And
yes, we are crazyno, we are not crazy. We are living by faith.
Here is the cool part of living by faith. You get to be involved in the miracle of provision, not just for Logan and I, but for the child that we are welcoming into our home. By your financial investment, you get to help us express God’s heart of adoption to a real human being. Isn’t that cool?
The Practical Bits
Our adoption will cost us between $3000 and $7000. The adoption agency we are working with is a faith-based adoption agency and they do what ever they can to make the adoption process as inexpensive as possible. They do this by setting up a system for a sliding fee based on the adoptive parents income. With our level of income, our adoption fees will be towards the lower end of the spectrum compared to a typical adoption, which can cost as much as $30,000 – $40,000.
Our homestudy is going to cost us $700.
If you would like to financially help us reach our adoption goal of $7700, you may do so in one of three ways.
By check: (This option is tax-deductible)
If you would like to make a donation by check you can do so by mailing one to:
YWAM Accounting
PO Box 3000
Garden Valley, TX 75771Due to IRS restrictions, please do not put our names on the check. Include a separate piece of paper indicating the donation is for “Kurt and Logan Hurst.” This will ensure the donation is credited to our account and that you will receive a tax-deductible receipt.
By Credit Card via YWAM Tyler: (This option is tax-deductible)
You can make credit card donations through YWAM Tyler’s accounting office Monday through Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm & 1:00pm-5:00pm CST. Please call 1(903) 882-5591 and ask to speak to the accounting department.
By Credit Card via PayPal®: (This option is not tax-deductible)
You can make a credit card donation through the secure, online payment site, PayPal®. To do so please click the button below.
These donations come directly to us and are not tax-deductible.
A Busy Weekend
This weekend is going to be a busy one. We are in the last stages of our road to adoption. Our final interview for our homestudy is scheduled for next Tuesday. This interview involves the adoption case worker coming to our house and interviewing us here. She will also inspect the house to make sure it is “kid-safe”. That means that we will be scurrying around this weekend getting all of our ducks in a row to make sure we pass the test.
We are getting outlet covers on all the unused wall outlets, making sure all the sleeping quarters have functioning smoke detectors, and getting a 5lb dry chemical fire extinguisher for the kitchen. We also have to map out a fire escape route for the house in the event of an emergency.
To get ready for the visit we will also be cleaning the house, which is really a normal weekend occurrence around our house. Who knew that 33 year old men still have chores. 
We are also putting the finishing touches on our “Adoption Book.”
Please pray for us this weekend that we are able to get everything done that needs to get done and that our final interview goes well.
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