Malorie's Adventure

Wings Return

maloriekuypers — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:08:08 +0000

I apologize for taking so long to update. One month ago the team returned to Woodstock, GA and dove into learning new music for our recording. It was the first time that our entire group was together: all vocalists and instrumentalists- how awesome! The Lord answered our prayers for a Tenor (I had mentioned previously that one of our tenors had to drop out), we searched until the last possible minute when God proved faithful and placed Jason Nichols on the team! We are SO thankful for the way it all worked out!

Our first week back we were so busy working- hours upon hours of rehearsal. We had 7 brand new songs to learn and perfect for our recording, along with polishing up the remaining 5 songs we already knew that were going to be on the recording. We journeyed up to Ohio and began the week-long process of recording. It was exhausting, but at the end of our time there, we had 2 CDs recorded: 1 of Wings music and 1 of Christmas music. Also while we were there in Ohio, we squeezed in performances at 2 different churches. We travelled back down to Georgia feeling accomplished and ready for the next phase of Wings: the real ministry.

-A little recording-

-Wings at Pennyroyal Baptist Church-

We were only in Georgia for a short time, mainly focusing on learning background vocals for Derwin Anderson, a Wings staff member, who put out a CD; Wings worked with him to debut it. After that we were back on the bus, this time headed further down south to Tampa, Florida where we worked with Citrus Park Christian School to put on a Spiritual Emphasis Week. Wings lead the the chapels, went into classrooms to speak to the students on our testimonies/what God is doing in our lives, joined the students for meals, and lead small group discussions on issues teens deal with. It was amazing how God used our team to really get to know these kids and minister to them on their level! I made relationships with some awesome teens that I won’t soon forget. Also, I can’t forget to mention the host family I stayed with: the Blairs. They were amazing and took SUCH good care of me and Madison. We had a lot of fun, and it felt so good to be part of a family again! While we were there Wings sang at 2 different churches for their worship services, and we also debuted Derwin’s CD at Idlewild Baptist Church. It was a busy, but very fulfilling week!

-Our host sister, Lis. We LOVE her!!-

-Derwin Anderson with Wings at Idlewild Baptist Church-

We were supposed to go back to Woodstock for a day to do laundry/prep for the new trip, but on our way back, the bus decided to start leaking power steering fluid. Basically, this meant that the team stayed overnight on the bus in a Zaxby’s parking lot. 11 bodies, no AC, and 12 hours later we were feeling pretty gross, and were so ready for the bus to be fixed. We grabbed some quick showers in a nearby hotel, and spent the rest of the day between WalMart and Starbucks while waiting for the bus to be finished. Finally, at 7pm, we were back on the road, but instead of going home, we pushed off for the next location:Danville, VA. This meant another night of sleeping on the bus. It was definitely an adventure. Call me crazy, but I love it when things like that happen, it adds and element of excitement!

-The team and the bus after a night in the Zaxby’s lot-

Our next location was Westover Christian Academy in VA where we put on another Spiritual Emphasis Week. It looks similar to the previous one. Wings lead chapels, ate with the students, went into classrooms, but at this stop we got to spend a lot of time with the Junior Highers. We did Bible study with them, and shared our testimonies. It was another awesome week! Once again, I built relationships with some great teens and enjoyed getting to share my passion for the Lord with them! We only had a short 3 and a half days with them, but I think they were impactful. All of us girls stayed together in a host home which was a lot of fun! Our host family, the Lyons, were super sweet. They have 6 daughters, so the 4 of us girls fit right in there- let’s just say our evenings were spent drinking tea and watching chick flicks!

-Some of my Westover Girls-

Here we are, back in Woodstock for a short 2 days, and then we’ll be off to South Carolina. Keep Wings in your prayers! Pray for continued health and unity on our team. Pray that we will, with the power of the Lord, continue to have a great impact in the places we minister.

Nicaragua

maloriekuypers — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:44:26 +0000

Wow, Nicaragua was unbelieveable! While there we partnered with an organization called Project H.O.P.E. The main purpose of the trip was to put on a soccer tournament. There were 237 teams participating in this 2 day tournament, it was unbelieveable! Wings had been working on learning more new music to bring over, this time it was all in Spanish! We also learned 2 dramas, both sharing the Gospel and the power of Christ working in the life of a believer. Before the games began on both tournament days, we had the opportunity to sing our Spanish songs, and present our dramas with all of the men there watching. Also, the gospel was told to the crowd using a soccer ball that had the gospel colors. After the presentation, there was an invitation for people who accepted Christ to come forward. Hundreds of people came forward both days! It was amazing!! While the tournamant went on, we walked through the games and with the help of our translators, got to talk to the men about Jesus!

Although the ministry at the tournament was our main purpose or the trip, it wasn’t our only focus. We held concerts up to 3 times daily all over the city of Managua. We were both in churches and on the dirt roads of villages. Before each presentation we had time to walk around to the different homes in the village and personally invite each person to come to the concert. We loved interacting with the kids: taking their pictures, hugging on them, giving them bracelets with the gospel colors and explaining it. We presented the same program as we did for the tournament: 6 Spanish songs, 2 dramas, and the gospel message. We had people come forward after each presentation and accept the Lord!

The last day of the trip we got to do a bit of sight-seeing. We went to the mouth of a volcano in Managua which was unbelieveable! It was steaming and hot, but we got to take some neat pictures! We also went into the marketplace and did a bit of souvenier shopping- always a must! Even though it was just a day on the town, the ministry didn’t stop. We still got to share the Gospel with people along the way!

It was an unforgettable trip! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us!

I got back into Indiana on Monday, and I’ll be home until August 18th. My main focus in this time home is to meet with all of you who would like to hear more about the group, and to hopefully solidify my supporters. I am half way to the amount of needed support, if you are interested in financially supporting me in this new ministry the Lord has placed me in, take a look at the page entitled “Give.” You can find it at the top of this page you’re now viewing. Or you can shoot me an email: mallodenae333@yahoo.com.

When I return back to my new home in Georgia next month, we will be recording an album, then hitting the road. Check out the tour schedule, and hopefully I’ll be able to see some of your faces at our concerts!!!

Kids Camp

maloriekuypers — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:52:59 +0000

It has been too long since I’ve updated, I apologize!

I’ll start with the youth camp we lead in New Mexico. How fun!! There were kids ranging from second grade to sixth grade. Wings’ responsibility was to lead the worship and to lead activities; we had such a great time! We learned a whole new set of choreographed songs for this camp that we taught the kids. It was fast-paced, high-energy, and God-honoring, what more could you ask for at a kids camp?

My responsibility in the activity time was to teach the kids about the gospel colors: black is sin that separates us from God, red is the blood of Jesus shed for us, yellow is heaven, white is the purity that comes when we are washed in the blood of Christ, blue is baptism, and green is the growth that we experience after accepting Christ. I had the kids work as a team to cut out of colored felt different things that symbolized each color, then to glue it to a white cardboard cross. I thought it was an awesome way for the kids to really get an understanding of the Gospel.

I built relationships with a number of the girls there. By the end of the week they felt comfortable talking with me about some of the hard things going on in their lives, and I was able to encourage them and pray with them. I will never forget some of these precious kids!

18 kids accepted Christ that week! How awesome!!

At Home in Atlanta

maloriekuypers — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:21:23 +0000

Well, last Thursday we made the 8 hour drive from Mason, Ohio down to Woodstock, Georgia. I am currently living at our directors’ home until they find housing for me. It’s going great here so far! Atlanta is hot and sticky, but absolutely beautiful! We have been practicing non-stop on the songs we’ll be leading next week for a youth camp in New Mexico that we will be doing. Not only do we have to learn these songs, but we have to learn choreography for them all. It’s definitely going to be a high energy week, but we’re looking forward to it! The drive out to New Mexico will take about 24 hours there and back, so we will get to experience what a long road trip looks like really early in the game.

Pray for us that we will have an impactful time with the kids! Camp will run from next Monday-Friday.

I know this is a short one, but I’ll give you the full scoop after we return from New Mexico.

Before leaving Mason we had a group photo shoot, here’s one of our favorites

God is Good!

maloriekuypers — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:09:11 +0000

Wow, God is so good! In my last post I felt like my world was crashing down, everything was going wrong! God has provided in ways I never could have imagined. We found a subleaser for our apartment at the last second which was so perfect! My support level raised from about 10% to 50% within a couple days. And the icing on the cake was that my parents received flight vouchers through American Airlines that should last for all of my flights through Thanksgiving. What a blessing, right? I don’t know why I always get so worked up when things start to go wrong, because I know that God has never failed me yet, and he will continue to be faithful.

My parents brought me out to Ohio last Sunday, and after a very eventful drive I met up with the team: Wings of Morning. This group is amazing! We have bonded so much throughout training camp this last week- it’s going to be a great year! We have been working so hard on learning our music.. about 7 hours of rehearsal a day. All of our voices are starting to get really tired, and we’re beginning to feel worn down, so pray that we can be restored back to our normal selves soon. The music selection is upbeat and worshipful, we love it! 5 more days of training camp here in Ohio, then it’s off to my new home, Atlanta.

Fun fact of the day: Our tour bus is MC Hammer’s old tour bus. If you could see the shiny and purple decor on the inside you wouldn’t be surprised! So funny!

Here’s a breakdown of the team:
Directors: Dave and Jackie Edwards
Administrator: Derwin Anderson
Ministry Coordinators: Ryan & Katharine Hurlburt
Vocalists: Jessica Musselman, Madison Johnson,Lindsey Smith, Caleb Wood, Ron Baker, and myself
Instrumentalists: Nathan Fulkes, Josh Wilson, Ron Baker, & Caleb Wilson
Techie: Chris Porter
Dave’s Assistant & Video Tech: Brittany Boston

Stay tuned for more pictures and some recordings!

5 More Days!

maloriekuypers — Tue, 25 May 2010 22:59:39 +0000

Well, preparation for the beginning of my trip has been going well until today- I hit a wall! The couple who was going to sublease my apartment backed out last minute, so now I have 36 hours to find a subleaser, pack/deep clean my apartment, and move out. Hopefully it’ll be doable.. I also got an update on my support. It’s been moving very slowly, I need $2100 in the next couple day. If you feel led to give, I will be so grateful.

I haven’t been doing too much singing since graduating last May, so this last month I started brushing off my vocal chords, and going at it full speed. I’ve been working on a few Spanish pieces for our trip to Nicaragua in July- I don’t know a lick of Spanish, so this has been quite the task for me. I’m so very excited to begin training camp on Sunday, and to meet my band members! 5 more days!! In the meantime, I’m just praying that that more support comes in, and that I find a subleaser for my apartment!! Will you pray with me about that?

I’ll update in a week, after I begin!

And so it begins…

maloriekuypers — Thu, 06 May 2010 08:06:44 +0000

I’m starting a new adventure with Wings Global Outreach. As of May 30th, I will be relocating to Woodstock, GA, and shortly thereafter, I will begin touring with a contemporary Christian band called Wings of Morning. Our main focus is the evangelization and spiritual development of teens through music and discipleship training conferences. We will be touring around the States, and holding these conferences/concerts in churches and Christian schools. We will also be taking 3 overseas trips in the year where our main focus will be encouragement and outreach to the nationals. I have committed to at least a year with WingsGO, and I am very excited about it!

Here’s a glimpse of what these next few weeks will look like for me:
Now – May 29: Support Raise like crazy!!
May 30 – June 10: Training camp in Mason, OH
June 10 – June 12: Settle into my new home in Georgia
June 13 – 18: Continue training, specifically for a children’s camp we will be doing
June 19 – 27: Children’s Camp in New Mexico
June 28 – July 6: Return to Georgia and continue training, specifically for Nicaragua
July 7 – 13: Nicaragua Mission Project
July 14 – August 15: Return home to finalize support
August 16: Begin the tour!

Wings is a financially faith based ministry, and each team member is responsible to raise $1300/month in order to keep the ministry running. Since I will be moving at the end of this month, I don’t have much time to prepare. Right now I’m feeling nervous about raising the support in such a short amount of time, so your prayers are coveted! If you would like to partner with me, send an email to mallodenae333@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to provide you with a response card.