I am pleased to report that I had a very blessed trip to Port Au Prince, Haiti in March. You can read all about it and see photos on my Haiti Ministry Page (click here to see it!).
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” ~ Proverbs 16:9
Happy Spring, everyone!
As the buds open and new life appears all around us from the frozen death-grip of winter, I am celebrating the joy of knowing I have a risen, living Savior who guides all my steps! Hallelujah! There is nothing better this side of Heaven, so everyday I will gladly take up my cross, and follow His faithful footsteps all the way home. What a privilege!
I went to Haiti in March to work with the Haitian children’s choir. Lord-willing, they will come to Maine in August to tour. We worked on new songs, learning English, and choreography (Barb did that part!). The energy and enthusiasm of the children, paired with their love of the Lord, was completely contagious, and I found myself laughing often. We even wrote a new song while we were there, which the choir is going to sing! They are amazing!
Prison ministry continues strong. My weekly Bible study with the women at the local jail has been fruitful – praise God! I have recently made new contacts to go in to minister to the men and women in the Kennebec correctional facility. God did that. I continue to go in to the other correctional facilities on a regular basis (Windham, Supermax, Bolduc, Long Creek, 2 Bridges) as I join with pastors and other prison ministry workers to sing, encourage, and evangelize. I recently ministered up at The Mansion ministry in Bangor, to released prisoners and homeless people who come for church services and a meal. What a blessing! God encouraged me so much through the people I met there. I’ve also been invited to come to sing and give my testimony at a Bangor ‘Celebrate Recovery’ meeting.
I will be leading worship music at the upcoming Maine Prison Ministries Summit 2013 conference (an informational prison worker/prison ministry gathering for training, encouraging, and networking) in April. I have also recently had the privilege to lead worship music and speak at the Sugarloaf Chapel. And I had a well-attended music concert (and a dinner) at the Boothbay Baptist Church for “Missions Week”.
I have been very encouraged and humbled by the response to my prayer letter to raise support for my full-time ministry. The need is 100 people to give $20 a month, if they feel led by the Lord to serve with me by prayerfully giving. I have reached almost 30% of my goal so far – thank you to all who continue to pray for me, and to give as you feel led. May God get all the glory. I thank you for all your prayers and may God guide your steps as you serve Him!
Prayer Requests:
- for my family and children – salvation
- for protection as I travel and go into prisons
- for more opportunities to speak and sing at churches
- for wisdom and the future vision for TTF Ministries (recording, radio, etc)
- for effective ministry as I sing, witness, and counsel
- for Godly and faithful “technical” help for TTF Ministries
- for my son’s upcoming wedding and marriage
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.” ~Psalm 92:1-4
Happy and Blessed New Year! As winter settles in on theMainecoast, the snow falls, Christmas is over, and God’s new year begins – it is a good time for quiet reflection in God’s Word, and prayerful listening for His guidance for 2013. What a wonderful Savior! He is so willing to help us – all we have to do is ask Him!
Adjustments to this new life are coming with rapid fire. Everything is new, but God never changes. My anchor holds behind the veil. Jesus is a sure foundation – faithful and true, through all the storms of life. Through the kindness of many prison-ministry friends, I am able to keep on with my prison ministry in every facility as before – singing, proclaiming God’s Word, and giving my testimony. And not only that, but God has allowed me to start a weekly women’s Bible study at the local county jail as well! (Something I had prayed for this past year). The women are amazed at God’s Word!
I continue to play music at the local nursing homes, assisted living and Alzheimer’s facilities. I continue on with the music worship team at my church, and working with the youth groups each week. I continue to pursue my Biblical Counseling degree as well.
My new music CD “Song of the Dance” (www.faychristy.com) is out, and has received great reviews. One elderly lady told me she even used it to witness to her older brother – praise God!
I have slowly begun to write songs again, and Lord-willing, have distant plans to record again. I am looking forward to helping with the Haitian children’s choir (Hope Haitian Choir) again this summer. They perform many of my songs. I am also praying about going back to Ugandalater in the year to work with pastor’s wives.
After much prayer, and meeting with the TTF Board, plans continue to raise support for going into full time ministry (which I am doing anyway). We have also added a “donate” button (PayPal) on the TTF website for online giving. Thank you if you’ve donated!
The greatest blessing of the New Year is that our oldest twin is getting married in the spring to a sweet and wonderful young lady! God be praised!
Prayer requests:
- Safety, and effective witnessing in the prisons and county jail Bible study.
- Salvation for our children and family; healing for Ray being gone.
- Our son’s upcoming marriage to his beloved fiancée.
- Future songwriting and recording to be glorifying to God.
- Trips to Haiti, and Hope Haitian Children’s Choir ministry.
- Uganda missions trip to be fruitful for God’s kingdom work.
- To take the exam and finish up the requirements for my Biblical Counseling degree.
- Raising support for full time ministry.
Thank you for your faithful prayers! I depend on them! Happy New Year!
~Fay
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
As Fay and her family grieve the passing of her beloved husband, Ray, there have also been many blessings through the intense sorrow. God is good. God is faithful. He is close to the broken-hearted.
One of the beautiful Scriptures that keeps coming back is Romans 8:28 – We know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, and are the called according to His purpose. Sometimes these “all things” can be sickness, persecution, or even the death of a loved one. We don’t always ask for, or necessarily want, these “all things”, yet God knows best what will focus our hearts and minds on Him, to the end that He will be glorified.
God has been opening doors again for TTF prison ministry, and Fay has been able to go back in with different prison ministry workers to every place where she and Ray had ministered. What a blessing. She has also been singing at several weddings and funerals over the summer.
Fay’s new music CD “Song of the Dance” is being mastered and soon duplicated to be coming out in a month or two, Lord-willing. Praise God – that He will glorify Himself through the songs.
Ray’s passing has brought home the urgency of spreading the Gospel (Good News of Christ’s salvation) message out as much as possible. Time is very short. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. People need to hear that there is a God who loves, and saves us. We need to be about our heavenly Father’s business. Today.
To that end, and since going to Haiti in May, Fay has been working with and helping to organize a Haitian children’s choir, “Hope Haitian Choir”, who are touring the northeast for the month of August. The children are singing many of Fay’s songs to bring the hope of Christ to everyone who hears. They are such a beautiful blessing.
Fay and the TTF ministry board want to thank everyone who prays for us, sent cards and support during this especially difficult time of losing Ray. By God’s great grace, TTF ministry will carry on in prisons, women’s conferences, Christian radio, different churches, in music and song to God’s glory, and sharing God’s Word to a dying world.
It is wonderful to know that God will never leave us or forsake us, and that nothing can ever separate us from His love – not even death. We don’t mourn as others who have no hope. We know that one day we will see Ray again, and not only that but we will spend all eternity with him and Jesus – by the grace of our Lord Jesus, if we know Christ, and believe Him. Ask Him into your heart today, if you haven’t already. Settle it forever, today.
Prayer Requests:
- The Christy family as they mourn the loss of Ray.
- Salvation for our children.
- God’s plans for continuing TTF to be clearly understood by Fay and the board.
- Fay’s new music CD to open many hearts and voices for Christ.
- The Hope Haitian children’s choir to be able to come back and tour every year – to God’s glory.
Sad News
By Fay | July 1, 2012
It brings me great sorrow to report that my beloved husband, Ray, went to be with the Lord on June 25, 2012. More about his life and his full obituary can be read on this page.
Despite Ray’s passing, I am still called to do the work of the Lord. I will be continuing Through The Fire Ministries, bringing music and testimony to the lives of those whom God is drawing.
Your support and prayers are greatly appreciated during this time of sorrow and transition for the ministry. Please keep TTF in your thoughts and prayers, and stay tuned for the next chapter.
In May, friends Fay Christy and Barb House went to the island nation of Haiti to organize a Haitian Christian Children’s Choir to come to Maine in August, to perform and tour in the New England area.
The children’s choir, called the Hope Haitian Choir, is composed of 16 Haitian children, ages 7-20 yrs (along with 5 adult chaperones), who will be singing joyful songs of hope for Haiti, and praising God. The group was formed to focus attention on the plight of Haiti, and the hope of the Haitian Christians – despite the terrible devastation from the 2010 earthquake, Haiti’s extreme poverty, the oppressive heat and lack of sanitation, the frailty of Haiti’s infrastructure and security – that Haiti is not forgotten in the eyes of God. The children will also be telling their own unique stories of survival in the days after the earthquake and their life stories, throughout the concerts.
Donations taken at the performances will go the Heartline Ministries and Compassion Haiti (International) – two dedicated organizations that help orphans, and abused women and children to be able to support themselves.
As we transition into a new and beautiful, warm season here at Through the Fire Ministries, we are reminded of God’s words in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven”. Our lives certainly are lived out in seasons of time.
In Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11, it says “Also He has put eternity in their hearts”. Perhaps that is the pull we feel that there is something more to life, something better, that we can’t always put into words. Which begs the question – why are we here?
For those of us who have been born-again into the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our main goal is to glorify God in any way we can, and share the “good news” that Jesus brings, whenever we can. Every opportunity of living can be an opportunity to share Christ’s good news with someone, wherever you are, whatever you do.
Do you know the Good News of Christ? (His Gospel?) Do you know that we are all born with a sin nature? God’s Word says there is no one righteous, not one person – no one (Psalm 53:3). According to God’s standard, by which He will judge us for what we have done in our lives and for this gift of life He has given us, we will fall far short of His perfect standard, and not pass the test (Romans 3:23). That means death and hell for us (Romans 6:23). BUT God has given us a way out! Jesus came! To live the perfect life that we couldn’t live! To pass the test for us that we couldn’t pass! To shed His blood, and give His life on the cross, so that we could be saved from sin and spiritual death. Reconciled to God! Peace with God! And the amazing thing is that we just have to believe it. Believe that Jesus is who He said He is (Romans 10:13). Believe Him. What if the Bible is true? What if Jesus really is God? Then everything changes. We can never be the same if we believe Jesus, by faith in Him. It’s a free gift.
Here at Through the Fire Ministries, we are committed to sharing this news as much as possible. We continue our ministry work in the prisons and churches, and Ray has been guest-preaching in different churches. Fay continues with her music, and has a new opportunity to share her music with hospice patients. We are finishing up our training in Biblical counseling this spring, and there are a couple of short-term mission opportunities this year that we are praying about.
We are looking to go into full-time ministry (not that we’re not full-time already, but to make it official), and are praying for more churches to visit, more conferences to sing at, more financial support, and more people to pray for us. We need your prayers.
God bless you in this spring season!
Greetings from the balmy Maine coast! We have had a little snow with some passing storms, but we are hoping this ‘warmer’ weather trend will continue through April, at least here by the ocean!
We have been blessed with being able to minister in several different churches – Ray “guest preaching” for pulpit-supply, and Fay ministering in music. Fay has also been doing a lot of music at adult/senior living facilities – they love music and the old hymns! Ray has been attending several monthly Pastors’ fellowship meetings, and has also been taking a Christian Leaders course (along with Pastor Steve Nash), for training Christian leaders within the church, and for applied practical Christianity.
Prison ministry finds us traveling a lot, to more and more of the different correctional facilities, including a youth (high school age – girls and boys) facility. This youth group was skeptical at first, what with us older people going in to play music and talk to them. However, they have since come to accept the ‘old people’ – they like Fay’s songs, and they like to listen to what Ray has to say about his life, and Jesus. Fay is hoping to share her testimony soon as well. We love to see Jesus making a difference in their lives, as only He can, and does.
We are excited to have the opportunity to be “spotlighted” on Life Changing Christian radio station WBCI (105.9 FM). They are airing short segments (Ray sharing devotionals, and snippets of Fay’s songs) to highlight our “Through the Fire Ministries” during the second week of February. We hope you can listen in!
We will also be taking a Biblical Counseling Training course (Fay has already gone through some training already) for the next few months. We are finding the need for this more and more in our ministry, and we look forward to seeing what God is going to do through this course.
Fay’s new music CD is coming along nicely.
Prayer requests:
- our children and family for salvation
- safety as we travel on the winter roads
- we will be effective for Christ as we minister
- God will open doors for continued ministry opportunities
We thank you for all your encouragement, prayers, support, and friendship. God bless you.
“Do not be afraid; only believe.” ~Mark 5:36
Jesus’ beautiful words ring out to us across two centuries as we venture into 2012 and into the new unknown. It is our faith that carries us up onto the firm unseen bridges of life, as we go from strength to strength in the new year. Christ is our strength. Faith is our victory.
But it is not a faith built on “pie-in-the-sky” fantasy, or hopeful wishing that it might be true. Oh no. These are the solid facts: Jesus came here. He walked here. He died here, for us. He resurrected here. He clearly showed that He has power over everything, including sin, death, and the grave. Our sin, our death, our grave. He ascended to heaven to make a way for us to follow Him. He is the Living Proof for our faith. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. If Jesus isn’t true then nothing else matters, but if Jesus is true, then everything matters.
Here at Through the Fire Ministries, we have an exciting new opportunity to be on Christian radio. Life Changing Radio – WBCI – 105.9 FM will be “spotlighting” our ministry for a month. (Pastor Frank Tamilio’s radio broadcast “Selah” – same station at 10pm – already features some of Fay’s songs). We continue with prison ministry, preaching (Ray) and singing (Fay) in different churches, counseling, mentoring, and finishing up Fay’s latest music CD (coming soon!).
Prayer requests:
For our family, for salvation and safety.
For God’s guidance with overseas missions in the coming year.
For God to be glorified in our Christian radio opportunity.
For an effective prison ministry that ‘bears fruit’ behind the walls.
For Fay’s new music CD to be a blessing that God uses.
For work, and financial wisdom in these bleak economic times.
For safety on the roads as we travel so much.
We thank God for all of you, our faithful friends, encouragers, and prayer partners. Thank you for being part of our ministry. God bless you in 2012!
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” - Isaiah 9:6
What an indescribable gift! May you ponder the wonder of it all this Christmas!
We are busier than ever at TTF. We continue our ongoing ministry at the Maine state prisons and local county jail, sharing the Gospel of Christ, preaching and singing. We are also active in our own local church, where Ray is an Elder, and Fay is on the worship team. Ray is mentoring several young men, and being an accountability partner with them. Fay is leading a ladies’ Bible study on the book of Revelation. We have seen the Lord do amazing things recently, where several people came to know Him – at a service in Bangor for addiction recovery, at a local music gathering with some teens, at a medical facility Christmas concert….we have been so blessed to see with what power God works! and we are privileged to be part of His ministry to lost and hurting souls.
Prayer requests:
- for our children and family
- for protection as we travel day and night this winter, and minister in some tough places
- for God to continue to use us, and open doors for more ministry opportunities
- for employment through the winter
- for the completion of Fay’s 5th music CD
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!
He who is the Bread of Life began His ministry hungering.
He who is the Water of Life ended His ministry thirsty.
Christ hungered as man, yet fed the multitudes as God.
He was weary, yet He is our rest.
He prayed, yet He hears prayers.
He was sold for 30 pieces of silver, yet He redeems sinners.
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.
He died, and by dying, destroyed death forever.
~Unknown
May the God of all comfort strengthen your faith this Christmas season, and give you His peace. May you know the Christ of Christmas.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
~Ray and Fay