Monday, March 31, 2008

Urgent Prayer Request

I just received word that one of our volunteers is undergoing an unexpected surgery tomorrow. Please pray for her and her family. Pray that the Lord will give the doctors wisdom, and pray that the Lord's healing hand will be at work.

One more week!

The funds, the items, the prizes, the prayers keep on rolling in! Our God is THE provider.

To date, we have raised a whopping $1,340 for next week's events. WoW! It's amazing to me how God can combine all of our small acts of service for something bigger than we could have ever imagined. Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially. The bulk of this money will be used for the spa night--for hotel fees, parking costs, spa items, thank you gifts,etc. In addition, I have been specifically praying that the Lord would provide us with enough money to buy books for each girl who comes to the Heather Paulsen event next week. I am happy to say that with the extra money, we will be able to give a copy of the book "Emotional Purity" to most, if not all, of the ladies in attendance. WoW! And finally, some of you may know that my desire is to make WoW an official organization with tax-exempt status, and this can be a VERY expensive process. If we have money left over from the spa night and speaker, we will then use this money towards becoming a full-fledged organization. Again...WoW!

I wish I had taken pictures of my dining room before coming back to school. It was literally a sea of pink. With your generous prize donations, we were able to put together over 50 prize packages for the ladies in attendance, and by next week, we'll probably be closer to 75! WoW! I had so much fun assembling the prizes for these ladies, and I'm sure they will greatly appreciate them.

We are almost set as far as items go. We have received almost every item on the list. So many people have generously donated items, and a nail salon even donated 30 bottles of OPI nailpolish and a brand new paraffin bath. WoW! We are still in need of a few things, so if you know of anyone who would still like to help out, please pass this list along:

1) Vanilla scented paraffin wax
2) Disposable mascara wands
3) High quality makeup brush cleaner
4) Disinfectant for combs/nail clippers
5) Mirrors for makeup application table

In the service department, we currently have an eyemakeup specialist, a waxing specialist, and two massage specialists. We possibly have a nail specialist as well. This is always the hardest task, so if you know of anyone who would be willing to offer their services, please have them email wownorthwestern@gmail.com or call me (you should have that number from the emails I have sent out). We also have a dozen or so women who are going to serve as "spa assistants," and I'm very excited about that!

People have been asking me what they can pray for, and I have a few prayer requests that you can pass on:

1) Praise God for his provision!
2) Continue to pray for the women in attendance
3) Continue to pray for the women NOT in attendance
4) Continue to pray for Heather as she prepares to speak with these women
5) Continue to pray for the future of WoW
6) Please pray for the safety of the spa specialists and assistants as they travel to Northwestern
7) Please pray for me and the other students who are involved in the planning process
8) Please pray that God will make his name known and that these women will realize that they are precious in his sight
9) Please pray that the weather will let up so that we can go out and publicize!
10) Please pray for the Northwestern campus

I think that's about it for now. Thanks for your support and for your prayers. If you think about it, listen in to the Sandy Rios Show WYLL1160 on Friday between 3:00 and 5:00. I'll be on the air with Sandy discussing the "hook-up" culture on college campuses.

Embracing and Preserving Our Womanhood,

Chelsea

Monday, March 24, 2008

WoW Update

I continue to be amazed by the generosity of God's people. We are two and a half weeks away from Spa Night, and God has provided for almost every need.

Here's what we have:

Approximately $950 in monetary donations--WoW!

Two (2) massage therapists, a makeup design specialist, a waxing specialist, and a photographer--WoW!

A dozen spa assistants, or what I like to call WoW Warriors--WoW!

A basement full of prizes and spa items--WoW!

A grand ballroom for one fourth of the actual price--WoW!

I could keep "WoW"ing all day, but this should give you a good idea of what's been going on. If you still would like to help and pray, here are some more of our needs:

PEOPLE:
If you know of any spa specialists, please pass on the information. Services we would like to offer include waxing, hairstyling, manicures, pedicures, and facials. We have five (5) specialists as of now, but we would like to add a few more.

ITEMS:
Vanilla-scented paraffin wax (5-6 blocks)
Pink Decks of Cards (5-6 decks)
Fingernail clippers and nail files
1 gallon plastic bags (twist-tie)
Makeup brushes (for eyeshadow)

PRIZES:
A gift certificate for our grand prize package
Any other items you can think of that might make cute raffle prizes

BOOKS:
Christian author, Heather Paulsen, will be speaking on Monday, April 7th. She wrote the book "Emotional Purity," and we would like to hand out a free copy to every woman at the workshop. If you are interested in designating funds for this purpose, please email wownorthwestern@gmail.com.

OTHER:
We would like to have 4-5 paraffin baths this year. If you have one that we can borrow, please let us know!

PRAYER:
Continue to pray for the ladies in attendance and those not in attendance
Continue to pray that God will provide our every need
Continue to praise God for already providing us with so much
Continue to pray for the women who are offering their time and services
Continue to pray for Heather Paulsen who will speak on her book "Emotional Purity" on April 7th
Continue to pray for the future of WoW and for God to provide us with the people and means to make this an official non-profit organization

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

Embracing and Preserving Our Womanhood,

Chelsea

Friday, March 21, 2008

Spa Night






















Dear friends,

In the 139th psalm, David writes, “I will praise you Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” As you may know, last year, I founded a student group at Northwestern University called Women of Worth (WoW) which is dedicated to helping young college women embrace this biblical truth and biblical femininity. WoW works to promote a type of feminism in which biblical femininity is embraced and values are upheld by serving as a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resource for young women on college campuses.

In the spring of 2007, the Northwestern University College Feminists sponsored the first-ever Sex Week at Northwestern University. When I heard about this event, my heart broke for the women at Northwestern, and I felt as though the Lord was leading me to offer an alternative for these young women. With no money and little time, I decided that I would try to plan a small-scale spa night as an alternative to the Sex Week events. In just under three (3) weeks, I was able to raise over $5,000 in donations, spa services, and prizes. Through the generous donations of Christians all over the nation, I was able to rent out a banquet room at the Hotel Orrington in Evanston and purchase items for the spa night. God also opened doors for me to appear on The Sandy Rios Show on WYLL 1160, and several individuals and organizations donated prizes for the women in attendance as well.

On the night of the event, I prayed that God would bring at least 25 women, and the Lord multiplied my request by bringing over 100 women to the event, including the entire women’s softball team! The ladies were extremely appreciative of the alternative that we had offered to them, and again and again women were shocked when I told them that everything had been donated by Christians who wanted them to know that they were truly women of value and worth.
This year, I am planning another spa night for Thursday, April 10th, and Christian author Heather (Paulsen) Patenaude has also agreed to speak on her book “Emotional Purity” on April 7th. WoW is in need of several resources, and I would be extremely grateful if you would be willing to help with this year's needs. I have compiled a list of all the needs varying from prayer to manpower to financial contributions to item donations. If you are interested in helping, please choose an area or areas in which you would like to assist and let me know as soon as possible. You can contact me via email at
wownorthwestern@gmail.com. If you would like to make a financial contribution to this ministry, please make your check out to Lakeview Church with a memo that reads Women of Worth (WoW). Thank you for your time, and please prayerfully consider helping with this project. Your support is vital to Women of Worth’s success.


In Christ,

Chelsea Thompson
--

PRAY

Before you consider helping with your time or money, please take a minute to commit yourself in prayer. Specifically, please pray for:

The women in attendance
The women not in attendance
That God will provide us with the necessary funds, resources, and people for the evening
The future of Women of Worth
Heather and her talk on emotional purity
Opportunities to share the gospel

___ I am committed in prayer.

___ I am committed to praying with a group (or by myself) from 8-11 PM on Thursday, April 10th.

GIVE

There are so many ways for you to contribute financially to the WoW ministry. Some of our expenses include parking for our helpers, a small token of appreciation for each of the spa specialists, advertising, prizes, decorations, and, most importantly, spa supplies! If you would like to help cover these expenses, you can 1) either write a check to Lakeview Church with a memo that reads Women of Worth (WoW) 2) volunteer to donate a spa item or items listed or 3) volunteer to donate a prize or prizes for the women in attendance.

___ I would like to financially contribute to the Women of Worth Spa Night. I will send a check to:

Lakeview Church
1821 Sheridan Rd.
Zion, IL
60099

___ I would like to donate an item or items listed below:

Spa Items:
Cotton Balls
Nail Polish (spa quality)
Nail Polish Remover
Bobby Pins
Plastic hair rubber bands
Q-tips
Bath and Body Works Lotions
Vanilla paraffin wax (5-10 packages needed)
Plastic bags for hand treatments (1 gallon)
Pink playing cards (5 decks)
Hershey’s Kisses (3-4 bags)
Women’s Magazines (Used or New)
Prize Ideas:
Hair products
Lotions
Cosmetics
Cosmetic bags
Gift certificates
CDs
Books
Coffee mug
Tea
Note cards
Picture frames
Chocolate

___ I would like to buy ____ books for the “Emotional Purity” talk on Monday, April 7th.

SERVE

We would love to have able-bodied women help us out on April 10th. If you’re a spa specialist, please consider offering your services for the evening. If you’re not a spa specialist, we’d still love to have you! It’s always great to have extra people to greet and assist. Some of the services (hand treatments) don’t require any experience, just a willing and cheerful spirit. The more people we have, the more these women see God’s love. This night is full of opportunities to share the gospel, so please consider serving in this capacity.

___ I am a spa specialist (hair, makeup, nails, massages, waxing) and would like to provide a spa service.

___ I am not a spa specialist, but put me to work! I am willing to serve as a greeter, floater, or “spa assistant.”