Navajo Article and Pictures Posted

For those of you interested in my recent Navajo Mission Trip, I've been able to get Skip, our Webmaster, to post the short article and photos about the trip. The webpage can be found on our website or by going directly to the webpage: http://www.newleafministries.org/navframe.html

A truly remarkable experience, a team of nine people built a hogan (the traditional Navajo octagonal house). The Team members from His Calling Christian Mission were as follows: Michael Stevenson, the director of His Calling Christian Missions and coordinator of the trip (and my brother-in-law), my brother Dave Hurst from Johnstown, PA., and Jerry, Rodney and Martin from Jacksonville, Fl. and myself. Steve Thompson from Spur Ministries (based out of Show Low, Arizona) joined us in the construction process. If you are interested in learning more about Steve's Ministry go to http://www.spurministries.com/ Marty, a Navajo Pastor, was a tremendous help as was Delbert who was one of the family members of the family we were building the hogan for. I hope you enjoy the article and the photos of this great opportunity.

Several people have asked me if I would go back, including Mike, the director. The answer, of course, is yes.

Blessings on you this Day.

Mark Hurst

Returned from a Remarkable Trip

Wow!!! What an experience. For those of you who haven't been kept up to date on my latest ventures, I had a unique opportunity to travel to the Navajo Reservation as a part of a team of about 8 people to build a hogan (a Navajo term for their octagonal shaped house). It truly was an experience of a lifetime, blessing me with the privilege of meeting several of the Navajo people and seeing God work in His marvelous ways. My appreciation for these people and their culture are forever changed. The conditions they endure, the fortitude they possess as well as the kindness they showed us has made an indelible impression in my mind.

For those of you who helped with donations for the trip and cost of the materials I am truly grateful and thank my God in heaven for His blessings. Though I went to help improve the lifestyle of one Navajo family and came back feeling as if I was the one most blessed by the experience.

Pictures and more details are to follow as soon as I can get Skip (our web-designer) to get things posted on our website.

God's blessings on you this day,


Mark

A Photo Contest?

An idea has surfaced in recent weeks about having a Photo Contest to help raise much needed funds for New Leaf Ministries. This would be an amateur photo contest that people would send in their entries, either by snail mail or electronic format, along with a small fee to participate. The thought here is to make the deadline December 31st for all entries and make the announcement on or before January 15th, 2009.

It has been suggested that we do a winter theme and have a few categories for honorable mentions. The prize money has been suggested at $100 for first place $50 for second and $10 for honorable mentions. Your input would be very beneficial at this point, so you if you would like to drop an email to jmhurst@kinzua.net to let me know what you think, I'd greatly appreciate it.

God bless you all this day.

Mark

A Recent Change of Events

Postponing the New Beginnings Divorce Recovery Workshop has been kind of a set back for us. We had high anticipation that there would be a good response. We know there are lots of hurting people in our community who would benefit from such a workshop, so we are anticipating good things believing the timing was right. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be right for this past weekend. There were a lot of details to work out and whether it was the length of time it took to work out those details or the lack of early advertising or just bad timing, we're not sure, but it became evident at the tail end of things that we needed to postpone the event and regroup.

The blessing of this is that all of the leg-work is done. We need to set a new date (probably this spring in April) and begin advertising early. Maybe this time we will be able to meet our goals and get things off the ground for an exciting program to help people struggling with this difficult time in their lives.

Blessings to all of you as we look forward to the coming holiday season.

Mark Hurst

The "Cobwebby" Blog

I was informed recently that my blog had gotten a little "cobwebby". Though I certainly am apologetic about the fact I haven't entered a blog here lately, I am thrilled it is being read. Some of lack of motivation for keeping the blog up to date was the feeling that no one was reading it, since I received very little feedback from the blog itself. We will endeavor to change that.

A special thank-you to all who take the time to read about our ministry and keep us in your prayers. We have had tremendous blessings over the past few months and continue to believe that God will use these things for His glory.

Praise God!

J. Mark Hurst

Praising God

Praise God! The New Leaf Cafe' ended up being a tremendous success. Although the attendance was not as high as some of the other Cafes we've had in the past, the spirit was tremendous. The baked good were yummy and the fellowship was terrific. Everyone seemed pleased with the evening and really seemed to enjoy Aspire.

Also, I want to thank everyone who worked to make things possible. Several board members were very helpful to even get the thing off the ground in the first place. Months of planning and working on details. Also, Aspire for their willingness to be our featured group this time. Last time, they sang only a couple of songs and several people had said they had come especially to hear them. This time, I had specifically asked them to be the feature group, not knowing at the time of course that I would end up being the "fill-in" for rest of the evening. I pulled several songs out of the hopper that I enjoy singing and I think others enjoyed the time as well. A special thank you to Brian, the sound man. He faithfully does this time after time and he is appreciated so much for what he does. A special thanks for Betty and Kathleen who baked goodies for the evening. Apple pies, no-bakes, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, Boston cream pie, along with other goodies, made up the menu for the baked goods.

Lastly, a very big thank you for all of you who were so generous when the basket was passed. New Leaf Cafe' is one of our main fundraisers during the year. A total of $238 was donated on Saturday evening. Praise God, and thank you all for your generosity

Twists and Turns

Just when I thought everything was all set for the New Leaf Cafe', I get a telephone call from Brian, the man who's leading up the sound for tonight, telling me that Dan, the trumpeter for the first part of this evening's time of entertainment and worship, is not going to be able to make it. Later that same day, I found out that Liz, our soloist is going to be working and not able to make the evening either. I thought I was going to be playing a bit part in this evening's event. I was planning on introducing Dan, setting back watching a few moments then filling it for a little while giving Dan's lip a chance to rest then he and Liz were going to be filling out the rest of the time until Aspire begins their performance. Now, however, it looks like I'm going from "Fill-in" to "Fill-up". I've been practicing various songs both praise songs and many I've written, pretty much material that is already in my head, just needing a bit of spit and polish... and all the time doing a lot of praying.

I know the evening is going to be fun. I know God will be glorified through this time, but it's turning out very different than what was planned or anticipated. My prayer is that those who come will find it enjoyable. My prayer is that the changes will not hamper, but enhance the evening, making it fun yet worshipful and ulitimately giving praise, honor and glory to Almighty God. I don't know how many people will read this before this evening's Praise Concert/Cafe' but if you happen to, I also covet your prayers. God be glorified.

Mark

Working Out the Details

Well, it's all set, at least as far as what I can do. New Leaf Cafe' is coming on Saturday, September 27th. The flyers are in place. Churches have been informed. It's been on the website for months. The night is organized, people have been contacted for baked-good items and everything should be in place. Now, with the exception getting some soda and a few things to have on hand incase there's people who don't want coffee, tea or water, we're all ready to go. The rest pretty much is left up to the Lord. He will move and motivate those who are to come. I have a struggle with this time though. Is it a trust thing? Is it because I lack confidence in the abilities of myself and others? What is it? Part of me struggles with whether I've done enough and if there's going to be anybody that shows up. I find at times it plays heavy on my heart. Am I afraid people won't like what we're doing or that people won't want to come? Am I afraid of failure?

And yet, these are all wrong fears. Who is to be glorified in all of this? Almighty God. We are coming together to worship Him, to glorify Him. Ultimately, this isn't for New Leaf Ministries, or anything or anyone else. It's just for God. Pray that God will be glorified in our time together. He is almighty. He is amazing and worthy of our praise. Let this be our prayer and our focus.

Amen and amen.

Mark Hurst

New Location for New Leaf Cafe'

Praise God for the Lander United Methodist Church. We were in a huge bind. Because of delays in construction at the Wiltsee Community Church, where we were originally set up to have the New Leaf Cafe', it was necessary to scramble around and look for a new location for a church to host the event coming on Saturday, September 27th. There was some thoughts of cancelling the event but I hated to do that, since this is one of our main opportunities for worship and fellowship in the community and because it should also prove to be a good opportunity to help spread the news about the upcoming Divorce Recovery Workshop.

Once again, I ask for your prayers. We seem to be hitting snags along the way this summer and we believe God is going to reward us for our diligence and faith. We covet your prayers as we continue to press forward. Our God is awesome.

Mark Hurst

Mixed Blessings

Praise God! We've had a bit of relief from the "lean times". Though we certainly are not out of the woods, so to speak, we are definitely getting a little bit of reprieve. We continue to struggle with the finances since we are far below budget, but oftentimes, the summer brings lean months. Pray that things will pick up and we will be able to move forward in the direction we believe God has called us.

There's a bit of a snag in our plans as well. I was informed that Wiltsee Community Church is behind schedule with the new building. We were going to have the privilege of being one of the first events in the new building, but there have been delays in the construction. This morning, we find ourselves scrambling to find a new place to have our New Leaf Cafe. Once again, I call upon you to pray for God's answer to this "glitch". Wiltsee Church still wants to host the Cafe, but it looks like now we are talking about the spring. I'll keep you posted.

Sincerely,

Mark

These Lean Times

Wow. We are certainly seeing some lean times in these days. I'm sure many other non-profit organizations are struggling as well, but it seems that even though we're making every effort to try and alleviate this little problem very little has seems to be making much of an impact in putting a dent in the decline of donations to the ministry. God is faithful, however and we are called to trust Him in the trials of life as well as the triumphs and it is the intention of New Leaf Ministries to "stay the course". We are called to provide quality Christian counseling at an affordable price. This will not change. And because of efforts to strive to remain faithful, we have seen an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit these past few months. People's lives are being forever touched by the matchless grace of God. Praise God! And isn't this what it's all about? We have projects coming up in September (Caring for People God's Way and New Leaf Cafe) and October (New Beginnings Divorce Recovery Workshop) to look forward to and help us keep focused on the reason we are here.

Keep New Leaf Ministries in your prayers. Pray for us to keep focused on what is most important here and staying on track for the calling He has placed on us. Pray for the upcoming Divorce Recovery Workshop. It is embarking on new territory and I'm praying that it will prove to be a huge blessing for many hurting people. Also, our New Leaf Cafe is geared to be an evening of praise and worship. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit was we take this time to just enjoy God's awesome presence.

Blessings upon you this day.
Mark

Paypal Donations Finally Working

We've gone "Techno"! Finally all of the details have been worked out and we are up and flying with Paypal donations. Unaware that Paypal had such a valuable program, I have been looking for a way to utilize the technology we have at our fingertips today, utilizing emails and the internet for keeping our ministry growing. There have been a few glitches along the way. With increased security and the red-tape we have to deal with because of the government, it took a few days to accomplish our goal.

Paypal is easy to use. I had the privilege to being the first to donate this morning as I got the bugs worked out to make it all possible. If you use the "Donate" button in our website or blog, it will enable you to include a short note to us to tell us where you would like your donation to be designated; our Assistance fund, the new display board being developed now or to the general fund. Once you have donated, you will get a confirmation number and an option to print the transaction off for tax purposes. Mine's in my tax file already. It was that easy.

We are hoping that this is going to make a huge difference in our current financial struggle, but more importantly, we are praying this will help us to focus on Phase II which is having our own office space and ultimately to Phase III which is the development of a facility of our own complete with a retreat center, counseling offices and classrooms. Praise God for all the opportunities He's given us through New Leaf. May God be truly glorified as we press forward in this direction.

God bless you,

Mark Hurst

Praise God for His Marvelous Works

Recently, I answered the telephone and a woman with a great deal of heaviness in her heart spoke to me concerning a situation in her family. She had informed me that she had read about New Leaf Ministries in one of the posts I had placed in the Classified ads. I had originally posted the ad because we are struggling with income right now, or at least I thought that was the reason for the post. It is quite obvious now that God had other plans in store. Although we need income to be able to continue grow this ministry, God continually reminds me (and amazes me in the process), "Do the ministry, Mark, and I'll take care of the finances."

Having grown up as a "P.K." (Preacher's Kid), I grew up being somewhat of a miser. I recalled in a recent premarital counseling session of a story where I used to hoard the lunch money my mother gave me then eat like a "little pig" when I got home from school. Athough I remembered that I saved the money to buy my family Christmas presents, it became a pattern that in some ways follows me to this day. It's a "control thing", and I have a tendency to think I should be the one in control. Old habits die hard.

This ministry has taught me a great deal about finances on a whole different level. God is in control (and needs to be in control) of the finances. Trust becomes a huge factor in this. God has plans, according to His will and purpose for this ministry. In many ways, I need to do my job and allow God to do His. I've learned that lesson in a much more direct way than as a pastor serving the local church. Teaching and preaching about trusting in the Lord is very different than actually doing it. Praise God for His marvelous works.

Excellent Story on Faith

I happen to stumble on a story this past week that became an illustration for my sermon this morning. I thought in many ways, it is probably one of the best illustrations on faith I've ever seen. I thought I'd share it with you today.

An old pump offered the only hope of drinking water for a very long and seldom-used path across the Amargosa Desert. Attached to this old pump was a little baking soda can wired to the handle with a note in the can that read this: "This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There's enough water in it to prime the pump, but not enough if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth of the bottle and let her soak to we the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You'll git water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. when you git watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller. (signed) Desert Pete. P.S. Don't go drinking the water first. Prime the pump with t and you'll git all you can hold.

Source: Internet - Edge of Adventure, by Keith Miller and Bruce Larson, www. sermonillustrations.com

How many of us would be tempted to drink the water instead.

But, what a powerful illustration this is of what faith is all about. God has promised us Living water, all the living water we'd ever want to drink, but it's a matter of having the faith to draw upon the source, Jesus Christ. Too many of us are too interested in drinking the piddly offerings of this world and not trusting in the one who created it all. Perhaps this little story can help us get a better handle on what God is offering to us all, if we but only have the faith to trust him.

Good night and may God bless you,

J. Mark Hurst

Changes: We Hope They Make a Huge Difference

If you read the first entry in our Blog, you already know that we've implemented some changes here on the Internet. Challenges have been rather big this year as we have struggled financially in rather sizable ways. The gas crunch and struggling economy has hit New Leaf Ministries like many other non-profit organizations are doing right now. The New Leaf Ministries board met on Tuesday evening and we have been searching for ways to generate much needed revenue. We are going to be setting a new Paypal account that will enable us to receive donations via Paypal Donations. This very well may be the avenue we are looking for. We have never been able to rise above the $27,000 plateau annually for total income. And since our total budget comes in somewhere around $52,000, it has hampered us greately over the past six years. We've survived on that amount, thanks to some very generous people who have donated their time to help stretch that income for us and a God who works miracles, but we've never have we been able to truly pursue the vision we believe God has in store for us. We ask you to please keep this matter in your prayers. We are stepping out, believe God is going to supply all of our needs.

In Him,

Mark

Leaflets: The Official New Leaf Blog

A New Beginning

Today we start a point in history. To you it may not seem like much. You most likely got up this morning, got dressed as you always do and went to work or got busy working around the house. Whatever you were busy doing, you didn't even know that there was change in the air. To the people who make up the board and friends of New Leaf Ministries, Inc., it is a great day.

Almost seven years to the day, New Leaf Ministries became a passion of mine. In a gathering of clergy in the Russell area, I requested prayer for an idea I had to start a counseling ministry in our area, to minister to the Warren and Jamestown areas. I had no idea at that moment what that would encompass, but I could feel a tugging on my heart to do something about it. I wanted the decision to be fully motivated by God, not Mark Hurst. That really marks the beginning of New Leaf Ministries, although the name never materialized until some seven or eight months later.

Since that day, I have been amazed, though I probably really shouldn't be because our God is an awesome God, how many opportunities have materialized since then, and how far reaching this ministry has become. In six short years, speaking opportunities have taken us as far away as Venice Florida and back and ministry to hurting people as far away as Bemus Point in New York and Erie, Kane and Marienville in Pennsylvania.

Today however, New Leaf starts a whole new oppportunity. We introduce this Blog as a whole new avenue to helping people in the Jamestown/Warren area. Please enjoy this, but more importantly, please use this as a way of seeking God's truth and direction for your life. Though I can see this as a potential overwhelming part of the ministry, my committment is to use this as a way to minister to even more people in more ways than I could ever imagine possible without the internet.

God's richest blessings on you this day,

J. Mark Hurst
Executive Director