My name is Dave Huizing, Word of Life Local Church Missionary to New York City and Northern New Jersey.
My passion is to reach today's youth through evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training. Our goal is to help local churches develop vibrant youth ministries.
Cell Phone: (631)807-0308
401 N Howell Ave., Riverhead, NY, 11901
Alexis Pilkington was West Islip High School's shining star on their soccer team. She was looking forward to going to college on a soccer scholarship. Everything in her young life seemed to be going well.
Last Sunday morning, March 21, 2010, Alexis Pilkington took her life, leaving her family and friends devastated by the loss. Why would this young girl with a such a promising future determine that life wasn't worth living anymore? The answer, it seems, was on her computer. Alexis was a member of a new social networking site called Formspring.me. The site is similar to other social networking sites in that people can post comments and leave messages for you and you can respond. the huge difference is that every message is anonymous, giving the writer the freedom to write anything without fear of being found out by the recipient. In this case, many of the comments left for Alexis were threatening and downright mean-spirited, full of personal and slanderous attacks on her character. Alexis was a victim of cyberbullying.
It used to be that bullying was left to school playgrounds and locker rooms by thugs who wanted to hustle you out of your lunch money or make fun of you because you got better grades than them. Everyone knew who the bullies were and stayed away from them. Your parents and other adults told you to ignore them and they would leave you alone. Of course if the bullies learned you snitched on them, life as you knew it would be over. With cyberbullying the dynamics are similar, with one major exception: many times you don't know who is bullying you. This was the case for Alexis. She was confronted daily with taunts from faceless, nameless bullies, whose only purpose it seems, was to make her life miserable. they didn't use fists to beat her down; they used words, that cut deep into her heart and broke her spirit. Desperate and feeling alone, instead of turning to her parents for help, she took the ultimate escape.
I am once again reminded of the power of words. As the title of this blog indicates, words do sometimes kill. Alexis Pilkington is a sad example of that. God's Word, in Proverbs 18:21, says," Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And those who love it will eat its fruit." What we say and how we say it influences and impacts our hearers, either edifying ot destroying them. How much more so the words we write?
As parents and youth leaders we must carefully weigh our words before we speak and challenge our students to do the same. They need to udnerstand that what they say-and write-can literally be the difference between life and death, as was the case with Alexis. The saddest part about her case is that even afte news of her suicide and what drove her to it, the cyberbullying continues, even today, on a Facebook page created as a memorial to her.
I am not sure where Alexis stood spiritually. I pray she had opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. I know there are hundreds of students like Alexis Pilkingtons all around me and infront of me whenever I log on to Facebook; many of them are dealing with challenges much like hers. If you're in youth ministry, they are all around you too. I end with this prayer for all of us, written by Christian musician Brandon Heath:
"Give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see, everything that I keep missing, give me your love for humanity, give me your arms for the broken hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach, give me your heart for the ones forgotten, give me your eyes so I can see" Lord, give us your eyes to see and the words of life to this generation.
What God is Doing...
 |
"When my daughter, Katelyn, was in Kindergarten there was a little boy in the same class that wasn't very nice to her. He always picked on her. Around the same time, she received her very first WOL quiet time journal. Whenever she came to a question where she would have to write down someone's name to pray for, she'd always write down this boy's name. It took a couple of years, but he started coming to [Olympians] Club. That first year he really worked hard, and he received a bronze medal. He was so proud of his accomplishment, that he wore it to the Spring program at school that night. There he stood...standing a little taller and beaming from ear-to-ear. I will never forget how God worked in this boy's heart." |
Here’s What We Are Praising God For:
- Our daughter Jillian graduated with honors from Baptist Bible College on May 7th. We had a great time celebrating with her and most of the family. PRAY she can find a job as a music teacher.
- On May 8th, we hosted a TEAM Kenya Yard Sale with proceeds going into the accounts of all the students who still are lacking sufficient funding for the trip on July 19-August 3rd. Thanks to the many donations of items and a great response, we raised close to $1500. It’s amazing how those quarters add up!
- I stopped to visit with a pastor here on the Island. His church recently bought property and relocated. Being in a new neighborhood, they are looking for ways to reach the community. I shared briefly about Gopher Buddies and the Olympian programs. I have a meeting this Thursday (May 20th) with him for a presentation.
- Another church on the Island contacted me to share they are seriously considering partnering in ministry with us. Pray for wisdom as we move forward.
- At a local Pastor’s Fellowship last week, I was asked to consider coordinating an evangelistic outreach similar to 4EVEReady for them. We will be discussing this further at next month’s meeting-Pray for wisdom!
- Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to meet with a pastor about the possibility of partnering in ministry at his church in NJ this fall. I also met with a youth pastor at one of our current Club churches to catch up on what’s happening in his ministry.
- Last Friday, the Word of Life Bible Institute Drama Team met me in NJ for a weekend of ministry. It began at Paramus Bible Church with an great Coffeehouse. Mark Strout, the Dean of the Bible Institute4 students who responded to the invitation! shared the Gospel and there were at least
- Saturday was a day only God could have orchestrated! It began with the Drama Team traveling to a church here on the Island where weekly soccer leagues meet to play. The team was able to minister 5 times to various age groups and Mark also presented the Gospel too. In the afternoon, the team traveled to another church to help do some evangelism and promotion of a STORM event, which typically involves students rounding up their friends for food, fun and evangelism. This one was unique in that Pastor Chris from Calvary Baptist, Medford brought the team to a homeless shelter to invite entire families to attend. There were children of all ages as well as their parents in attendance. Six people responded to the Gospel invitation, including Eric, a young father (age 21) who has spent time in jail, in gangs, and selling drugs. He shared later how he felt “brand new!” He is hungry for God’s Word and is determined to live for the Lord!
Here’s What We Are Praying For:
- TEAM Kenya-there are still 2 students who need to meet the halfway mark before the plane tickets are purchased. They are each about $800 short at this point. Pray also that the rest of the needed funds for everyone will be supplied-$13025.00 total. Those who might be interested in donating to TEAM Kenya's support, here is some great news: You can donate directly through Word of Life's Website now~ log onto im.wol.org, select Word of Life Fellowship to donate to. One of the next options is putting in the code of the individual (contact me for the code) That will designate the gift to that person's trip.
- The ministry presentation meeting I have this week with the pastor from up the Island. Pray for wisdom and clear communication.
- Pray for those who trusted Christ this past weekend that they will be discipled and connected with a local church.
- Pray for my back. I recently was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and have a orthopedic doctor on Wednesday morning. Praise God the Dr. Scholl’s arch inserts help relieve the pain!
- This week, I will be working on my 2010-2011 ministry calendar plan as well as my fiscal budget. Pray for wisdom. Pray also for our support need which still is about $1900/month.
- Kate will be traveling to PA this Thursday night to attend a ladies conference. Pray she will be refreshed spiritually. Pray for safety as she travels there and then to NJ to meet me on Saturday night.
- On Friday night, I’ll be giving a Scripture Memory Exam to 15 students and a leader from Grace Church, as part of our Cre8ive Discipleship Program. These students have worked hard-pray they do well!
- On Saturday, I may be meeting to do an orientation with new Gopher Buddy leaders in Brooklyn and then traveling on to NJ to speak at New Durham Chapel on Sunday. I will also be giving a verse test to a young man who is completing six years of Olympians! Praise God for his faithfulness and for godly parents who encouraged him.
Thank you for taking the time to read and pray for us! Please let us know how we may pray for you.
 |
|||||
"I believe it is the responsibility of every generation to reach their generation for Christ" - Jack Wyrtzen
Copyright ©2010 Word of Life Fellowship, Inc. All rights reserved.