Cool Down with a Missionary's (mostly godly) Top Ten+ Songs for Summer 2010!

Cool Down with a Missionary's (mostly godly) Top Ten+ Songs for Summer 2010!

You can hear most of these on YouTube, although perhaps not by the original singer:

1) “And I” Mary Mary Feat. Kirk Franklin. This is my Jam!!! Just heard it recently. Total Gospel, nice jazzy/oldschool vibe. Of course a song by Kirk Franklin will be in #1. And with Mary Mary? Ya can't lose.

2) “No Looking Back” by Damita. I have gone through a lot of pain in my past. I have come a long way, but still there is farther still to go. Do you need to chill out? This song will keep you cool!

3) “Hear my prayer” by Sandra Van Opstal. Looking at a past which is filled with sometimes so much pain and brokenness, the evil one may attempt to drag you down into depression. But pain and sorrow can be a source of strength. Whenever we face pain, we should feel an increase in our hunger for God and turn to Him. Songs from URBANA '09 are practically all solid gold. Just buy the CD!

4) It's a tie, from the same CD! Classic smooth South African medley plus a dance vibe: “Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe.” When I am down, this song never fails to encourage me: “I Have a Hope” by Tim Rathjen & Ryan Cook. From URBANA '09. Perfect song to follow #3.

5) “Take My Life/Holiness” by Micah Stampley. Reworked instant classic of one of my favorite hymns, and the only reason it's not higher is because I have heard it so many times. Live his song “War Cry” too!

6) “Sunshine Girl” by Moumoon. OK, this one only is not really gospel, it is Japanese pop (J-pop). But I like how I feel sunshine-y and bright on the inside after I listen to it, completely optimistic and hopeful.

7) “Mighty to Save” by Hillsong. One young man that I knew here in town, who played the guitar very well, died tragically in a car accident. When he led worship in his church, he loved this song. We sang it at his funeral and everybody cried buckets and buckets. This remains a very special song for me. Sometimes we forget about the wonder-working power of the Lord.

8) “From the Inside Out” by Hillsong. I want to love God more, each time I hear this song.

9) “Resurrection” by Nicol Sponberg. Ever new, ever touching. Not many songs you can listen to twenty times a day and still have a fresh experience.

10) “The Best in Me” by (Pastor) Marvin Sapp. This song is too emotional for me, that's why I can't listen to it that often. Pastor Sapp is a local gospel artist, who also makes powerful music which goes worldwide as well.

11) “Now Behold the Lamb” by Kirk Franklin. The final scene from the film entitled “The Gospel.” There is a version I have on CD without the talking on it, that's awesome. I have played it so much I feel a bit burned-out by it now, that is why it isn't a higher number.

12) “Imagine Me” by Kirk Franklin. Actually, this is probably one of the best gospel song written during my lifetime. Why #12 here? Well, again it is probably such an emotional song for me. It can bring you to tears, also make you overflow with joy when you think of how far the Lord has brought you, brought us to unbelievable victory through his undying, unbelievable, ever amazing grace.

Sadness and Surprises

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for continuing to lift me up in prayer.

July 13 is always the most sorrowful day on the calendar for me. My beloved grandmother Momma Nell died on that date 2005. Also, my cousin who died in Germany as a result of wounds he sustained in Iraq passed away on that exact date one year later.


I like to take a retreat at that time if I can. This year I went to the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell (http://www.lifeprocesscenter.org/) for one day. There is a wonderful nature trail there. I could relax while watching the butterflies, and I even got to see a mother turkey in the blackberry bushes! It was very funny, actually.


The momma turkey saw me and with a lot of noise and wing-flapping ran off into the trees. She anxiously looked back to see if I would follow. I just watched her though. Then to my surprise, her little chick came out of the bushes onto the path to stare at me. It wasn't really afraid, however it did decide it would be a good idea to hide. However, it was too young to know what it was doing.


It walked directly into the path, sat down with its backside showing, then buried its face in some leaves. Um, everybody can still see you there, silly little turkey! Hee hee.

The following day, the Japanese Ambassador visited town and I was able to give him a copy of my self-published poetry book. (Yes, I write haiku and sometimes longer poems every now and then).


On Friday, I had a college friend visit town all the way from Denver, Colorado because she was attending a family reunion. I suppose this has been a week of unexpected blessings. God has really managed to distract me from the normal sadness and stress of this time.


July 25 I am planning a visit to speak at a Detroit church. Also there is a prospective African-American recruit who I hope to meet there who may also be interested in becoming a missionary.

Well, I am continuing to do all I can to raise the needed support. My deadline to raise the support was supposed to be July 31, however I have been given a grace period to at least August. Please continue to pray for an increase in my monthly support. If you have any suggestions for me, let me know.


May everyone who reads this be greatly blessed!


God's peace,


Neesy E.

I'm an African-American Missionary, headed Overseas Y'all

Hello out there,

You can call me Neesy. I am a Christian missionary who is preparing to go overseas for the next two and a half or three years. Right now, there are several locations we are considering. I hope to go to Guinea-Bisseau in West Africa.

You may be wondering why I would want to give up years of my life to do the hard work of translating 50 to 70 Bible Stories into the language of a people group who don't have the Scriptures yet. (And to do it all for free on top of that, too!)

Well, let me tell you my story. When I was born, my mother was only 18 years old and she had just graduated from high school a few months ago! Of course, she was a bit too young to really know how to raise a child.

I'm very thankful that I grew up in the house of her mother and father, my maternal grandparents, who helped to raise me. I am also blessed because I come from a very large family. My mother is the youngest of fourteen children, and all of my aunt and uncles (except for two) live in the same town here in Michigan. My mom and I really needed a lot of help growing up, and all of these relatives pitched in to help raise me.

All of this made a big impression on me growing up. I knew from a young age that my ability to go to school, the food I ate, and the clothes of my back all existed because many other people had sacrificed for me. I had a burning desire to help other people the same way that I had been helped.

Despite many struggles with due to money problem and a difficult home environment at times due to my alcoholic father, I studied hard and was able to go to Amherst College in Massachusetts. I spent my junior year abroad studying Japanese in the AKP Program at Doshisha University in Kyoto. I enjoyed Japan and returned to Japan for the next three years to teach English in the small city of Kumano.

I was there when the tragedy of 9/11 happened. My response to that act of terrorism was to do something for world peace. Together with about twenty other colleagues who were teaching English in Japan, I went to Vietnam in 2001 and 2002 to do volunteer work. As America had gone to war with Vietnam in the past, I wanted to be a part of the healing process for that nation.

My students got involved. They made Christmas cards and donated clothes, toys, and books, pens, and paper. In Vietnam, we gave away these items at one-day clinics we set up in the countryside, orphanages, hospitals, schools, a nursing home, and even a leprosy village. To my surprise, one of the most popular things that we gave away in Vietnam were the pens!

I got involved with this work for my students, but I discovered the one who was the most changed by this experience was me. It changed my life. I truly realized how many needs there are in so-called Third World country. Still, I felt there was a great need for someone to do even more. I wanted to do more to help people not just for a short time with material things but also for eternity... only I did not know how I could do that.

In 2003, I moved back to Michigan. My grandmother began to be very sickly. I became one of her main caretakers. For the last two years of her life, I spent a lot of time caring for her.

When she passed away, I again felt the Lord was calling me to do something worldwide to help other people in the same way that she had helped me. That's when a good friend of mine from college recommended that I consider becoming a missionary.

After spending two years praying and making sure that this was truly what God wanted me to do with my life, I decided that I would become a missionary. So that is how I came to where I am today.

However, I am very much in need of prayer and monthly financial support. Can you pray for me? Please send me a message to tell me that you can do so. Are you able to send me a financial gift? Then please contact me and I can give you more information about how you can support me. My deadline to raise 100% of my monthly support is by the end of August. Please help me to go and give God's word to those who do not understand it well because they cannot hear it in their own language.

Thank you for reading this little message. I pray that you will be blessed. God's peace to you, wherever you are.

Neesy