Cheyenne Koch

#LifeStory [ 13 ]  August 24-31, 2013 On our 11th anniversary Elyssa and I went on our first BMDMI mission trip to Nicaragua.  Our team went to the village of Los Zarzales, where we saw about 3000 people in the village and surrounding area.  The people in that area were not as poor as others, but they were hungry for God's Word.  I helped with the youth service all week, while Elyssa served in the pharmacy.  I was amazed at how the teens would just sit and absorb God's Word. The first night there, Frank Kirby (Chico), asked me if I wanted to preach at any of the adult services.  I said no because I was unfamiliar with how BMDMI did things and because I didn't know the people.  Chico asked me again the next day, but I turned down the opportunity again because I had no idea what to say.  What could I say to connect with the people?  What did they need to hear? As the first two days went by, I had an opportunity or two to share the Goo...

Not too long after Adalynn trusted in Jesus as her Lord and Savior, Kinley started talking about wanting to get saved.  She was five years old, but didn't seem to understand everything, so we told her to be patient and God would help her understand as she got older.  Every night we would pray with her and when she asked about it, we would explain it to her and prayed with her that God would reveal Himself to her.  Kinley has always loved babies, and she has a big heart for orphans.  One night, while praying for the orphans, Kinley added to her prayer, "Jesus, please come into my heart."  Elyssa and I looked at each other, but didn't follow-up on it because we didn't think she was ready.  As time went on, Kinley turned 6 and was promoted to the Kidz Worship age group at church.  In Kidz Worship they give the kids an opportunity every Sunday to pray at the altar during the offering, and encourage them to talk to a leader if they want to know more...

What we experienced at Youth Camp in 2012 left us all speechless and in awe of God's love and grace!  In the Spring of 2012, the church where Elyssa and I attended, the same church in which she had grown up her whole life, was starting to think about youth camp for the summer.  For the past 20 years the church had planned and organized it's own camp each summer, but as the previous amazing leaders stepped down or were called to serve elsewhere, the youth ministry needed new leadership to make it happen. Bryan Freeman boldly volunteered to take on the responsibility of organizing and directing the plans for Youth Camp.  After weeks and weeks of planning, the time had finally arrived.  On July 22, the Sunday morning before we left, we had almost 70 teens signed-up to go, but when we left the next day, only 55 actually showed up to go.  We weren't sure why, but we took the 55, knowing God had brought the ones He wanted. On that same Sunday night of July 2...

#LifeStory [ 11 ] In July of 2012, I went with several others from our church on my first "mission trip" to Lake Providence, Louisiana.  Our team of four adults and nine students partnered with many others through Mission Serve to paint and put shingles on the roofs of 7 homes in this very poor community. Before we left, I encouraged the adults and students to write out their personal testimonies and learn the "Romans Road" verses that are often used to lead someone to Christ -- Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23; 10:9-13.  Our goal was to serve the residents of Lake Providence by fixing up their homes and thus try to meet their physical needs as we show them the love of Christ.  I challenged our group to share the gospel, and if necessary, use words. After we arrived, our group was divided in to separate teams to work on the various homes.  Only a few from my church worked on the same house as I, but we met and worked with a lot of other great people.  Living in the...

Adalynn Brooke, my oldest daughter, has always been a deep thinker with a vivid imagination.  For about a year she has been asking a lot of questions about God, Jesus, and salvation.  I love to pray with my girls as I tuck them into bed, and on this night of her momma's birthday, Adalynn ended her prayer by asking Jesus to come into her heart.   The next morning, September 13, 2011, as Elyssa and Adalynn were pulling into Sharpe Elementary's parking lot before school, Adalynn was talking to her momma about how the devil will try to trick you.  Elyssa explained to her that though he might try to trick you, he can never have your heart if your heart belongs to Jesus.  Adalynn then told her mommy that she had asked Jesus to come into her heart last night.  So Elyssa talked to Adalynn for a minute to make sure she understood what it meant to be saved, and then they prayed together, right there in the car.  Elyssa said Adalynn was beaming as they ...