Appalachian Trail Servants

Please pray for us! Here are some specific needs: *********** As A.T. Servants grows, there is a greater need for Suzy to be full-time in ministry (she is currently working at Regions Bank). Please pray that God provides our full-time financial support. ********* Pray that thru- hikers will connect the beauty of the creation around them with the one true Creator. ********* Please pray for volunteers to commit to Trail Angeling. ********* Pray that the deeds of Trail Angels will be seen by thru-hikers as the good deeds of the church and Christians and not the individual Trail Angel. *********** Praise God that partnership contacts have opened in North Carolina. *********** Pray for Trail Angel leaders to be developed in each state. *********** Since Craig and Suzy will be traveling to the 14 states that host the A.T. (to train volunteers), please pray that God will provide a R.V. for them to live in. *********** Would you like to know how to better pray for the hikers? Would you like to pray for them by name? Please visit our prayforhikers page**	A.T. Servants' Trail Chaplain is on the Mission Field!
	On Saturday, March 12, A.T. Servants was happy to commission our first Trail Chaplain, Jonathan, and prayerfully send him off on his thru-hike. On the trail, Jonathan is known as "Vapor". His name corresponds to James 4:14. This verse says, "You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Many times on the trail, hikers will ask Vapor where he received his name. He is then able to point hikers back to the Bible. Thus far, Vapor has walked over 200 miles and he talks about Christ wherever he goes. Please continue to pray for him as he hikes. Here are some ideas for prayer: -Pray that God emboldens Jonathan to speak the Word of Christ as God beckons. -Pray that God opens opportunities for Jonathan to speak to hikers. -Often times, hikers have closed their hearts to the Gospel and are angered at the mere mention of Christ. Many of these hikers believe that the 'smart' thing to do is to discount anything Christian. Pray that the hikers hearts will be softened to Christ and that they will be willing to listen to God's call. -Pray for Jonathan's physical safety and stamina. -Pray for Jonathan to be encouraged each day as he hikes. -Pray that God will provide a Christian hiking partner for Jonathan. If you would like to know more about Jonathan's hike, check out his daily journals. Are you interested in hiking as a Trail Chaplain? It is not too late to begin planning for Spring 2006! Check out our Trail Chaplain information pages for information on how to apply.
	Trail Angel Season Kicks Into High Gear: Volunteers Answer God's Call to Serve
	March 1 marked the beginning of A.T. Servants' second Trail Angel Season. Armed with the love of Christ, and tons of food, Craig and 68 volunteers hit the trail crossings excited to show hikers how much the Church and Christ cares for them. During the month of March, about 197 hikers walked by A.T. Servants volunteers knowing that the Church cares for them! A.T. Servants would like to thank Calebs Trail Blazers, Truett McConnell Baptist Student Union, Helen First Baptist Church, McConnell Memorial Baptist Church, Mt. Yonah Baptist Church, Macedonia Baptist Church, West Georgia College Baptist Student Union, Mountain East Community Church, and New Day Worship Center for being willing to make themselves servants so that hikers may see the love of Christ. Here's where we truly need your help. The Appalachian Trail is a mission field. Please continue to pray for the hikers and the volunteers that are working so diligently to make themselves servants for the benefit of Christ. For a list of hikers to pray for and tips to help you pray, please click here. Would you like to know how you can join the volunteers in serving on the A.T.? Please check out our Trail Angel page and contact Craig and Suzy at 706-482-8537.
	Bud's Best Cookies Donates 16 Cases of Cookies
	Even two years into ministry, we are still amazed at how God takes care of us and this ministry. During a question and answer session at Liberty Park Baptist Church, someone suggested that we call Bud's Best Cookies, in Birmingham, Alabama, to determine whether they would be willing to donate some cookies to A.T. Servants. The very next day, Craig wrote an e-mail to Bud's Best Cookies, explaining our ministry and hikers' needs. Within 24 hours, the company replied to Craig's email saying that they would love to donate 16 cases of cookies! A week later, hikers were happily munching on Butterfinger cookies, happy about the help and care that the church had given them. We are so thankful to Bud's Best and we praise God for their willingness to serve God and support A.T. Servants.
	How to Talk to a Thru-Hiker about the Bible
	When speaking to churches, we often are asked how do we speak to hikers about the Bible. Simply, we show hikers how the Bible pertains to ideas that most hikers already adhere to. For example, many hikers rightly believe in the "Leave No Trace" principle ("LNT" hereafter). This principle, simply stated, means that we make sure to leave the woods exactly as it was found. So, if you bring something in the woods (e.g. trash), make sure to take it back out. Conversely, if you find something of interest in the woods (e.g. wildflowers, arrowheads, etc.), leave it in the woods and don't take it out of the woods . Another LNT principle is about using the bathroom. According to LNT, when you go to the bathroom in the woods, you are to dig a hole for your waste and make sure to cover it back up when you are done. What most hikers don't know is that this idea is not new. God was "leave no trace" before the organization, Leave No Trace, was around. Look at what God instructed the Israelites to do in Deuteronomy 23:12-14: 12. Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14. For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. Recently, while on the trail, Craig was able to talk to some environmental activists from the Sierra Club about these particular verses. They were amazed that the Bible was so relevant to their cause! Craig was able to share how the God of the Bible was "pro earth" as they are. After all, He created it! This concept made sense to them. Another way that we share God's word is through talking about the weather. As you can imagine, hikers are very concerned about the weather. Since they don't have immediate access to the weather channel, one of the first questions that they ask us is what we have heard about the weather forecast. As we are telling them what the weatherman has forecasted for the next couple of days, we also are able to show them what God says about the weather in Matthew 16:2-3: 2. He replied, [a] “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3. and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Hikers are fascinated that this helpful verse comes from the Bible. Not only are they amazed by the pertinence of the verse but they are genuinely interested that this is not merely a mariners rhyme (i.e. 'Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morn, sailors be warned.). With these two verses, we can show hikers that the God of the Universe that made all of creation, cares about the same things that the hikers care about.
	Technology News: Fax and Copy Machines Donated to A.T. Servants
	As you probably know, A.T. Servants has to do much more than hand out food to hikers in order to keep the ministry running. Certainly, this is a very important aspect of this ministry. However, like other ministries, administration is another side to this ministry. We are always looking for ways to be more efficient in the administrative aspects of ministry. Two churches have helped us to be much more proficient in the office. Recently, First Baptist Church of Cleveland, GA donated a fax machine and Mountain East Community Church in GA donated a copy machine to A.T. Servants. These two devices are great time savers (we used to have to find a church that had these devices) and they allow us to be more efficient.
	God's Gracious Answers to Prayer
	For a number of months, we have listed our prayer requests on the left-hand column of our newsletters. We would like to update you on the wondrous ways that God has answered just a few of these requests. Please know that every day, we witness His answers to prayers. There is no room here to expound on each. First, we have been asking you to pray that volunteers to be willing to give up there time and serve alongside A.T. Servants. God has answered in a mighty way--as David said in Psalm 23, "our cup runneth over". This year, we actually had to turn away groups who were wanting to serve in the month of March! Each weekend we have one or two different groups serving the various gaps! Most weekdays, we also have a group serving! This is vast improvement over last year! Second, on Sunday, March 30, Craig and Suzy spoke at First Baptist Church of Highlands, NC about opportunities for them to serve. Highlands is excited to answer this cry for assistance and is planning to Trail Angel in North Carolina soon! Please continue to pray as more Christians near the A.T. in North Carolina become excited to join Gods' work on the A.T. As you can see, your prayers do make a difference! Thank you for your obedience as you pray for us and for A.T. Servants!

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A.T. Servants' Trail Chaplain is on the Mission Field	A.T. Servant's 2nd Trail Angel Season Kicks into High Gear	Bud's Best Cookies Donates 16 Cases of Cookies	How to Talk to a Thru-hiker about the Bible	Technology News: Fax and Copy Machines Donated to ATS	God's Gracious Answer to Prayer