Nancy Alcorn's Blog, page 16

Fun Times in Missouri!

Hey Guys,

Nancy’s Assistant, Reid here. While Nancy is spending time with our residents in Sacramento, I thought it’d be fun to share with you one of the many perks of working in Nancy’s office… I have the privilege of traveling with Nancy to new places and meeting new people. This past Friday, Nancy and I had the opportunity to go to CapeFirst in Cape Girardeau, MO led by Pastors Gary and Rose Brothers. They are such wonderful people and are really making a difference in their community. It never gets old seeing and experiencing firsthand what God is doing in different churches throughout the nation. I love getting to meet and connect with like-minded people who are working to accomplish the same goal – spreading the Gospel and sharing about true freedom in Christ!

Pastors Gary and Rose invited Nancy to come and share the message of freedom to more than 1000 women last Friday night. When it comes to the message of freedom, no one does it better than Nancy Alcorn. Her 30 years of experience working with girls struggling with life-controlling issues has given her greater insight than anyone I know, and I learn something new every time I hear Nancy speak. Friday night was no exception to that! Nancy shared true transformation can only come from Christ. We had a such a great time hanging out with all the women there, and it was so cool for me to see so many women respond to the altar call and give their lives to Christ. I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of pictures from our time there…

Nancy and Pastor Rose Nancy Speaking
I look forward to my next trip with Nancy coming up next week! I can’t wait to see all that God is doing in Kalamazoo, MI!

Special Guests in Nashville!

On Thursday morning the Nashville staff and residents had a very special treat… a visit from our dear friends Steve and Charlotte Gambill! Steve and Charlotte are the pastors of Abundant Life Church in Bradford and were instrumental in bringing Mercy Ministries to the UK. They have been close, personal friends of mine for years, and I love that they always make a point to stop by Mercy when they are in the Nashville area. Steve and Charlotte spent the entire morning teaching in our Nashville home and I heard it was awesome!!! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there, as I was actually visiting our Mercy home in Vancouver, Canada, but I received text messages from both Steve and Charlotte, as well as some of our Mercy staff members, letting me know how much fun everyone had and how great the teaching was. Our residents loved it too and got so much out of it!

I thought you might like to hear what some of the residents had to say and see some pictures from their visit:

 “Wow, I learned so much from Charlotte’s message alone. The thing that really caught me is that you are only supposed to change one thing at a time. I feel like as though God is clearly telling me to give up my eating disorder. I keep on telling myself that I will work on it later. But I need to do it now. I know sometimes my counselor or the nutrition manager will want me to do this or that and I ignore it. But I am over with that. I am ready to work on and change this area of my life. I want to work on it even if it is hard and I don’t think it will work. I also got a lot out of Steve’s message. But it was the praise and worship at the end that affected me the most. I just started crying. It was awesome!” – Tiffany, Current Mercy Resident

 “I greatly benefited from what I heard this morning. Having the major components of change laid out in a simplified way will assist me in knowing how to approach God and myself in this process. It came as a relief to me to know I don’t need to change everything all at once. With the concept of one thing at a time in mind, I asked God what He wanted me to focus on right now. He brought up several areas that have been a long-time struggle for me. Fear was a common root in these struggles. I realized this fear was inhibiting me from being able to reach out completely and to utilize the help that is offered to me here at Mercy Ministries. I know that with the life of God in me, I have what I need to overcome this.” – Taylor, Current Mercy Resident

“Well now… where do I even start? This was absolutely amazing! God really blessed me by speaking through Steve and Charlotte. Charlotte’s analogy of changing was absolutely amazing. It made so much sense. They really did a great job and Steve confirmed a lot of things God has been telling me! The idea of grace is something I’ve struggled with and God reminds me of daily. The fact that God’s grace is not only for me, but for every person He has created is just crazy! I am so blessed to have been transformed and am still growing every day. I loved today’s guests so, so, so much!” – Courtney, Current Mercy Residen

Steve Gambill and Jude
Charlotte and Steve Gambill with the Mercy Residents
Charlotte Teaching the Residents

Special Invitation…

Well things around here do not cease to slow down, and the same is true for this weekend. I have a very full day on Sunday speaking and wanted to invite anyone who lives in the Nashville or Memphis area to come out! On Sunday morning, I will be speaking at Christ Church in Nashville during the 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM CST services. I will then be traveling to Memphis to speak at Life Church’s “Chick Nite” that evening at 6:30 PM CST. Although it’s going to be a busy day, I’m very much looking forward to seeing all that God is going to do in the hearts and lives of those in attendance. Would so love to see you there if possible! :)

I am Designed for Life!

I am currently at the airport en-route to Springfield, MO to attend the Designed for Life Women’s Conference at James River Assembly. My dear friend, Debbie Lindell, is hosting this awesome conference and I am so excited to get there! Debbie and her team at JRA absolutely blow me away every year with all they have planned, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this weekend. In fact, this conference is so popular that they had to set up an extra room for the overflow of attendees and they are unable to accept last minute registrations. Our St. Louis residents will also be attending this conference as well as a lot of graduates – I am so pumped to spend time with all of these awesome young women and I can’t wait to tell you more about it next week!

What are you guys up to this weekend?

Nancy’s Birthday…Shhh…It’s a Surprise!!!

Hey Everyone,

Nancy’s Assistants, Katelyn and Reid here. Nancy’s not here today, so we are taking over! HA! Really though…we have a favor to ask of you…

Monday is Nancy’s birthday and we really want to bless her with LOTS of birthday wishes!!! She is such an amazing boss and person, and we want to do all we can to make her feel celebrated on her special day. If you are reading this, would you please leave a comment and wish Nancy a happy birthday and maybe even share some kind words or encouragement?! We know how much Nancy loves to hear from all of you and how much it would mean to her. We also know Nancy won’t be on the internet all weekend to see what’s been posted on her blog OR who’s commented. So help us surprise Nancy with birthday love from all over the world! We can’t wait to hear from you!!



Have a great weekend!

Katelyn and Reid

A Relaxing Labor Day Weekend

No labor on Labor Day, please!!! I have been on the road so much since the first of the year that I have made up my mind that I’m going to lay on the couch, watch football, and enjoy my time this weekend! I definitely won’t leave out reading some and spending time with God, but other than that, I plan to chill out and hang with my dog, Jude! :)

Me and my sheltie JudeMy prayer for you is that you enjoy a labor day without labor, and if you are a big college football fan like I am, I hope you have time to take that in as well. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Amazing Testimony from 1994!

Vanessa and I at the Guts Girls BrunchI want to thank each and every one of you who prayed for my time at Guts Church recently. It was a tremendous success as many lives were touched and many people came to know Christ. It was also wonderful to be reconnected to Mercy graduates from over the years who attended the event. In fact, there is one particular story I would like to share with you...

While I was at the Guts Girls Brunch with approximately 2,000 women, a beautiful young woman approached me from across the room who looked to be in her mid 30s. She knelt down at my table and asked me the question, ‘Do you remember me?’ I immediately said, ‘I know that I know you. You look so familiar to me, but I cannot tell you where I know you from.’ She proceeded to tell me that her name was Vanessa and she came to Mercy Ministries in Louisiana at age 15 (that was the only home we had open in 1994) with an unplanned pregnancy. At that point, it all came rushing back to me exactly who she was. The birthfather of her baby was a baseball player who eventually played for the San Diego Padres. The coolest part is that not only did Vanessa choose to parent her baby boy Dakota, but she and the birthfather ended up getting married, committing their lives to Christ, are now members of Guts Church, and have had three additional children!

Me with Vanessa and her family after church on Sunday
This was such a great thing that I personally experienced that I wanted to share it with you and let you see the pictures. God is so good! It is rare that one of our unwed mothers actually marries the birthfather and has other children and remain married – extremely rare. I am so grateful for God’s goodness. They are a very happy family and it was so cool to spend time with them. Vanessa was at the brunch, but brought her whole family to meet me the next day during the Sunday services. I thought you would enjoy hearing this story!

Ministry is Fun!

Last week I had the awesome privilege of speaking at Lakewood Church in Houston, pastored by Joel and Victoria Osteen. The Osteen family is very near and dear to my heart and I was excited to be asked to speak at their Wednesday night service! I have known the Osteen family for many years and consider them my “Texas family.” It was great to spend time with the entire family including Joel’s mom, Dodie, and sister, Lisa! It was also cool to have several Mercy graduates in attendance Wednesday night and know that the staff and residents from the four U.S. Mercy homes were watching online! If you want to check out the service from last Wednesday, you can watch it online here. If you want to read more about my time at Lakewood and see more pictures, check out the story posted on the Mercy Ministries website here.

Me and Pastor Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church Me with some of the Mercy graduates who came
to see me speak at Lakewood
Today I am flying to Tulsa to spend the weekend with Pastors Bill and Sandy Scheer at Guts Church. Guts is celebrating 20 years of ministry this year and I am speaking at the Guts Girls’ SOLD OUT 20th Anniversary Birthday Brunch on Saturday morning, as well as at Guts Church’s two Sunday morning services at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. If you live in or near the Tulsa area, come on out to one of the Sunday services. I hope to see you there!