POST SUMMER WRAP UP AND OTHER HUGE NEWS!
We've put on a lot of miles since we last talked! The
summer was filled to the brim with 3 FCA MX Camps, dozens of races, and
countless hours spent investing in people. We've traveled all across
Texas, to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Southern Florida, and even Northern Alberta
Canada! All for the sake of sharing the Gospel with MXers. People's lives
are being transformed by the Cross of Jesus to the glory of
God- and your prayers and financial investment have made that possible! THANK YOU!
CAMPS
Both Texas camps were amazing. There are just no other words to
describe it. With almost 100 campers between the two camps (held in Houston and
DFW), plus their families and friends attending, and our camp staff, we got to
share the Gospel with hundreds of our new friends; many of which had never
heard the Gospel before! Not only that, but we got to go deep into the Word
with them every day, in a way that was receivable and relatable to them.
We saw an amazing amount of campers, parents, and even camp
staffers come to faith in Jesus over the course of the summer! SO AWESOME! We
also got to witness God move in the Christians who attended camp; many of which
made great efforts to let us know how they were deeply encouraged and
challenged in the faith. Quite possibly one of the coolest things that
happened, was that many openly repented of living in contradiction to God's
will for their lives in response to the Gospel being clearly presented at camp,
and are now making efforts to grow in their relationships with Jesus. And still
others, were comfortable enough to admit that they still have questions, but
that they want to know more about what it means to follow Jesus. We are
praying for every one of our campers, and ask that you pray with us!
In
addition to our two Texas camps, I was also fortunate enough to be able to
serve alongside professional MX'er Trey Canard as the Chaplain for the
Oklahoma FCA MX Camp held in Northern OK. It was a great honor to be able to
serve as chaplain for a camp. I will admit though, it was a HUGE challenge for
me! I have grown so accustomed to preaching 7-12 minute chapel services at the
track, that preaching for ~45 minutes was tough! I was encouraged greatly at OK
camp, as numerous campers came to faith in Jesus there, and many Christians
were challenged in ways that they never have been before. It NEVER gets old to
see God moving!! And He is definitely moving in the MX community!
The Leadership Program Lives!
One of the most exciting highlights of the summer for us, was
the birth of our Texas FCA MX Leadership program. I have shared my heart with
many of you as to the vision God has given me to disciple young men inside of
motocross, and to be able to see that vision come together is amazing!
Motocrossers Chase Spears (21), and Grayson Gerloff (16) became the first of
hopefully many, participants in our new program. Chase and Grayson both raised
funds to come on the road with us for 3 weeks this summer (just as if they were
going on foreign missions). I know both guys would tell you, that it was a
challenge for them to not only raise money to go on missions, but to also give
up 3 weeks of their summer. But, both knew without a shadow of a doubt that God
was calling them to do so, and they did!
Chase recently told me, "I love being involved with FCA
Moto, because not only do I get to grow closer with God, but I get to watch
campers grow to know the Lord and even get to see the impact of camp
and their relationship with God has on the kids lives even after camp is
over. I learned a ton of things this summer... I can't narrow it down to
pinpoint one particular thing!" Chase, Grayson, and I began working
through a book called "Christian Beliefs" by Wayne Grudem this summer.
It is an intense study on the foundational Christian beliefs, and it has been
great for all of us! We will be continuing to meet on a weekly basis to finish
up the book and as an unofficial lifestyle continuance of the
Leadership Program.
Huge News!
In other ridiculously exciting news, we had a group of investors
purchase a "new" RV for our summer leadership program for us!
"Big Red" is an older Kenworth truck with a 33' box on it. It
was set up to haul race cars, so we have been in the process of completely
gutting it and are starting a full remodel on it. We will be able to outfit it
with a layout that works good for our program and ministry, and we are VERY
excited about that! It's pretty amazing to be able to look back and
see all of the things God has done to prepare us to be able to even know how to
remodel an RV... through remodeling and building a couple homes, to the horse
trailer conversion place I worked at during college, God prepared us for this.
It's humbling and awesome at the same time! Stay tuned for more info on the rig
as it comes together! We are working on putting a video together that
chronicles the entire process. Should be exciting!
Amateur National in Norman Oklahoma
We were
honored to be invited back as Race Chaplain/ Ministry to one of the longest
running Amateur National MX races in the country, held in Norman Oklahoma. As
much of an awesome compliment as it was to be invited back, Kasi and I were not
able to go personally this year due to our crazy summer schedule. We were
however able to do even better, and send a crew of FCA MX'ers from Houston in
our place! And as hard as it was for us to have to say "no"
personally, it was even more of an encouragement to know that a group of our
FCA MX teammates were willing to pick up our slack and wave the FCA banner at
the race! The crew functioned in the exact manor that Kasi and I did last year,
handing out water, bibles, and hosting chapel services during the week, as well
as doing an invocation each morning before racing began. They even made the
Oklahoma City News! The fact that there are people that we have become friends
with that are willing and able to serve at that level is an amazing thing to be
a part of!
10,000 Miles Later
We were sufficiently worn out after a crazy 6+ weeks that
started at the end of May until the middle of July... We have enjoyed some time
here at the house the last few weeks, and we've even been able to get to our
church for a few weeks in a row! We are finishing up a local race series over the
next couple weekends, and our travel demands will be significantly decreased
for the next couple of months... At least compared to this past summer! We
covet your prayers, and cannot thank you enough for your investment in the
Kingdom, and into this ministry. You and your family truly are what makes this
ministry possible. THANK YOU! Small Undertaking? No. Worth It? Absolutely. "the cost of discipleship is great... the cost of non-discipleship is even greater."-David Platt, Radical
Prayer Needs We can't do it without your support, and we definitely can't do it without your prayers! Please be in prayer for us, for the following:
-Team Building- our goal this fall is to officially launch our FCA MX Team here in Houston. This team will be an avenue for discipleship, service toward the MX community, and as a doorway to introduce our teammates to the local church.
- New Rig Progress- building out the new rig is a TON of work, and as important as it is, we have to balance our time spent on it wisely. In no way do we want to slack on any of the time and devotion to our relationships with our people.
- Corporate Partners- we feel that strategic businesses can play a huge part in funding/ facilitating us to do God's work here, and that we can offer a financial return for their investment (via advertising on our RV/ trailer). Please pray that God would orchestrate the necessary connections within industry to make it happen.
- Advisory Board- We currently have a group of men that offer a multitude of assistance to the ministry in the form of advice, council, prayer, financial investment, planning, etc. and it is our hope to grow our board both in size, and in efficiency. Please pray that I am able to effectively match our board members heart/ passion/ skill set with the needs of the ministry.
- Finances- As we begin our new fiscal year (beginning September 1st), our goal is to increase our monthly financial partnerships an additional $850/ mo, so that we can effectively accomplish this vision God has given us.
If you would like to give to any of these financial needs, in addition to what you have already graciously given, you can give directly online through our new, personal giving page. Just click: https://my.fca.org/2405-willingham-scott.aspx and follow the prompts.
Thank you for making life change possible. We are
so grateful for you and for your partnership in this ministry! Please let us
know how we can be praying for you guys!
In Christ,
Scott, Kasi, and Landri Jo
P.S. If you haven't already done so,
please text 'FCAMXTX' to the number '90210'. We send out periodic video
newsletters, prayer requests, and other ministry updates this way. It's totally
free, and we promise not to blow your phone up or solicit you in any way!
