An quote from a recent letter from a Malachi Intern
WHAT HAS GOD DONE?
This Last weekend was our Jr.Higher winter retreat. “What has God done?” He has brought me back alive:-) Any retreat that involves Jr.High boys is always a trial and a blessing. My biggest trial was that of authority. Because of a great lack of consistency in many of these kid’s lives it is very hard for them to recognize and respect authority. Think about it…they are moved at least every 2 to 3 years and their father is usually gone for 1 1/2 of those years. That, my friends, is a recipe for rebellion.
Than comes Matt. A 20 year old intern with one year of Bible School under His belt, and a wicked naive perspective of the military…what does that spell to Jr.High boys…Fresh Meat:-) I have come to find out that there is something worse than chinese water torture…girl crazy, sugar loaded, Jr.High boys:-) I was strangled with a curtain, nearly drowned in a whirl pool, and in all ways verbally abused…but you know what; it was all worth it.
“Why?”, you ask. Because in spite of my frustration and their disobedience God decided to Bless eternally. The Spirit moved in a mighty way this last Sunday. After the Gospel presentation that night I felt lead to slide a seat forward and talk to Joey. I asked where He thought He was going?…just in the next year. Being a military kid that was very hard for him to answer, because frankly, in the military you never really know. I know that exact feeling (I was in his shoes once before), and the spirit gave me the exact solution. The Idea of having a home that you can always call home is a very surreal thing for a military kid. It can almost become a fantasy. That dream became a reality for Joey that night.
I told him how God was offering him an eternal home in heaven. I told him how Jesus wanted to be His forever friend. I told him what Jesus did in order to make all of that possible. It was truly amazing to experience what happened next. The Holy Spirit pricked Joey’s soul, drained out the sin, and the Lord flooded in. PRAISE GOD!
It is so awesome to see immediate fruit. His immediate reaction was a victorious fist pump and a Napoleon Dynamite “yesssssss”:-) This was fallowed by immediate understanding of the scriptures and spiritual things. Stories and illustrations that the speaker had given earlier suddenly became clear. The theme verse of the week end finally made sense. “Walk the plank to save your life” Lk 9:24 (We had a pirate theme 
Funny thing about that verse is God made me practice what He preached. I was already spent a half hour into that trip. It took me about a day of being pushed to my wits end, but I finally realized I couldn’t do anything and I had to hand over everything. What a blessing it was to walk that plank and take that step of surrender and faith into the sea of blessing the Lord had waiting beneath. God is always good.
My new nephew David John Kolarik is a picture of what I yearn for: peace, rest, and total trust in my eternal, loving Father. To God be the Glory. -MAN
Praise: Loving Family, Faithful God, Awesome Opportunity, Joey
Prayer: Rest, Wisdom, Faith
MAN MINISTRY
WHO: MATTHEW A NORTON
WHERE: ARMY BASE BAUMHOLDER, GERMANY
WHAT: I AM WORKING WITH THE JR. AND SR. HIGH YOUTH GROUP
WHY: I AM CONSIDERING A MILITARY CAREER. (AS A YOUTH WORKER?
CHAPLAIN? TEACHER? COACH? I’M HERE TO SEE WHERE THE LORD LEADS
