Obedience and Humility

This is not easy for me to write. It is humbling to the point of embarrassment, and in part because I realize that I should not have waited to the point of desperation to swallow my pride and admit this to myself.

We need your help.

Well, let me put it a slightly different way. We need GOD's help, and we believe God is calling us to open the doorway for Him to channel that help through you.

Mairwen attended her first "in person" AMTC training this past weekend and it was a wonderful experience. However, the travel and lodging expenses were eye-opening. God blessed us with a tax return sufficient to pay Mairwen's entire tuition, and we glorify Him for that.  After this weekend, we now realize that our remaining "collateral expenses" may easily equal that amount.

In the past two years, the Lord has brought our family up out of a severe financial crisis through His faithfulness and our obedience. We are still on the road to recovery. We do not believe that God would bring us as far as He has, only to take us back down into financial peril. We trust that He will provide, if only we will continue to obey His leading.

And we believe that He is leading us to reach out to our family, friends, and community to support Mairwen in her calling to SHINE for Him with the talents He has given her. For equipping and outreach is not just our family's responsibility, but the responsibility of all Believers. It was both selfish and foolish of us to think that God would expect or even allow us to travel this journey on our own.

Won't you please join us in being part of the marvelous plan He has to use Mairwen's gifts to bless the entertainment industry and spread His Word in a dark world??

Please visit http://www.gofundme.com/aka4go

The First One About Mairwen & AMTC

Mairwen is a ten year old girl whom God has gifted with talents in acting and modeling. She has been called to use those talents to spread God's love in and through the entertainment industry!

To that end, Mairwen has entered The Bridge training program with Actors, Models and Talent for Christ. This program endeavors to equip Christians in media to be missionaries in their areas of gifting, while developing their talents, and imparting the professional skills they will need to survive and thrive (with God's blessing!) in their crafts.

The Bridge culminates with an event called SHINE! It is part conference, part performance, part networking. It is attended by highly influential VIPs of both mainstream AND Christian media, and many performers have jump started their careers there. Friends of ours attended several years ago and it was a life changing experience for them on multiple levels!

How Can I Help?

1. Pray for us. The pastors at our church frequently remind us that, "Everything begins with, ends with, and depends on God." Here are a few specific prayer points:
-For God to be glorified through Mairwen.
-For Mairwen's spiritual strength and growth.
-For family cohesion and strong relationships.
-For the growing and molding of Mairwen's talents.
-For financial and logistical provisions.
-For the doors and opportunities to open according to God's plan.

2. Logistics and networking. These are going to be vital for us! Here are a few ways to help us "get connected"
-Spread the word! Share this post with your friends!
-Do you live in the NYC area or know someone who does? We'll be making three or four trips to the city before SHINE and it would be great to have a friendly place to stay. And any tips on getting around would be great too... It's been a while since any of us have been there!!
-Do you have access to discounted air or train fare? We'll be doing quite a bit of traveling!
-Do you know anyone (Christian or not) in the media/entertainment industry who would be willing to be a resource for us? AMTC's resources are considerable, but we're of the opinion that more resources are better than less.

3. Contribute Financially
STOP! Before choosing to assist us financially, we want you to be aware that, because of the unique combination of spirituality and show business, there are many claims that AMTC is a scam or otherwise illegitimate. We have done our research and prayed a LOT and come to our own conclusions. We encourage you to determine for yourself, so that if and when you give, you can do so with confidence.

Obviously, our conclusion is that this program is legitimate and that God is working through it. Once you've talked with many of the people involved, it's difficult to be convinced otherwise! We see the majority of negative reviews come from those without accurate facts, disgruntled individuals, and some may even be outright attacks by the enemy.

There have been already many indications of God's Hand in our journey. We will continue to move forward in this faith unless or until He makes it abundantly clear to us that He has removed His blessing. That is all we have to say about that. =)

Disclaimer over. Moving on!
AMTC is an entirely unique program of tremendous value for the cost, but the cost is still... costly. And in addition to tuition there are travel and hotel costs, and occasional miscellaneous expenses as well. We are in the process of investigating online donation options. In the mean time, if you feel that God is leading you to assist us financially, please contact us directly. Any and all funds received will be used to pay Mairwen's tuition and cover other expenses directly relating to her participation in The Bridge and SHINE (lodging, travel, incidentals). Any unrelated or family activities that occur on any trips will be paid out of our family finances. Now you know =)

About Conduct
We ask that all comments made on this page be kept positive! Mairwen WILL be reading them (and she reads and approves my posts). If you have CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms, you may send them here.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this! We pray that Mairwen's journey will be an encouragement to you, and that her talents will be a lamp on a lampstand in a darkened world!