Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Miracle Freestone Update

The following is an update from Scott Sheppard on the Miracle Freestone Project:

Greetings!

God has been so good, working out the details and saving us money so we can do more!

In chance meeting at lunch, when we were just about at the end of our Heat and Air rope, Gary Phillips and I ran into a member who is in that business commercially who said he’d like to help!
Low and behold, where we thought we were going to spend $4500, we received a totally new Heat and Air System, all new ducts, removed, and replaced for $1100!

That’s God for you…in His timing.

Our Tape Bed and Texture bids were all in the $2500-$3000, and we found a contractor who is starting today, for $1400. Wow! That’s $4500 to $5000 in savings right there that will allow us to do additional projects with the City of Euless.

Here are the next two steps:

Paint:
We are scheduling a painting party for Saturday, May 31st. 9 AM.
Our Tape Bed and Texture work should be finished by mid week, with enough drying time to begin painting the walls, ceiling and trim next weekend.
If you are interested, available, and pretty handy with a roller or brush, please contact Beth Harris or Scott Sheppard so we can schedule the work, and have enough tools/supplies.


Siding:
We need a couple of things to happen this week, and we may start our siding project next Saturday as well. We are waiting for a crew that will come in and grind down the stumps that are against the foundation and have grown up over the siding. Ff you are interested in helping with the vinyl siding, please contact the church as well.

“Lederrick”

Reaching Out Ministries sent the following Miracle Story:

Lederrick came to the DFW area as a teenager to visit a sick relative. He got involved with the wrong group of people and ended up running away, living on the streets. His aunt left message after message on the streets for him to come home but he did not return. His mother died when he was a toddler and nobody knew for sure who his father might be. His grandmother had been raising him, but still without that parental involvement, he felt unloved and unwanted.

Lederrick heard on the streets that the “Star house”, a house of God, could help, so he came by just asking for prayer. He was searching for safety and guidance as he attempted to get home. He received a meal, clean clothing and a bus ticket home to Texarkana.

Lederrick’s grandmother had been praying for two years for his safe return and freedom from drugs. Lederrick had been dabbling in soft drugs in Texarkana, and got involved with much worse in the DFW area. He returned drug free.

Another miracle is the impact this story has had on another person. Floyd was asked to encourage and support Lederrick during his 5 hour wait at the Dallas bus station before his bus would leave. The bus station is a very bad area and the station itself is filled with drug dealers who are on the prowl. Lederrick would have been a target. Floyd became personally involved in this boy’s welfare and trials. Floyd is the person who received the phone call from his grandmother and heard her tears of graditude and joy in response to her answered prayers with the return of her child.

Although Floyd is a believer, it is not always easy to see the Lord’s work in your own life. It is so much easier to take the credit for yourself. To see answered prayer in the lives of two other persons has radically affected Floyd’s life and his perspective on the mercy of God and personal prayer life. Sometimes the answer is immediate, other times we must wait and be patient.

"Shorty"

Reaching Out Ministries sent the following Miracle story about a man who attended their recent Hootenanny in the Hood:

A gentleman named Shorty came to give his testimony May 5th, 2008 at the annual Reaching Out Hootenanny.

He knew about Reaching Out Ministries through the “girls” he had working the streets. Shorty was a pimp, drug dealer and “ran” a group of under aged boys to deliver his drugs and steal computer equipment and automobliue equipment.

Shorty attended a “Hootenanny” in 2003. A couple of months later he came to the house in the early morning/late night hours, depending on your perspective, and asked for help to get off the streets. He was placed in a rehab center and went through their program.

He was angry with Orlin for preaching to him as he had grown up in the church and believed he knew all there was to know about Jesus. After his anger cooled a little bit he admitted he did smoke crack, snort cocaine, and shoot heroin at every opportunity. Orlin’s pill was bitter to swallow.

Shorty said it was the first time he could see the plank in his own eye instead of the splinter in others.

He was use to being able to look down upon the people he used. He didn’t like seeing himself as others saw him.

Shorty has now been “clean” for four years and has an active, healthy life in society. He is also part of the leadership in the church he regularly attends. He just wanted to say “Thank You”. The “seeds” planted with the prostitutes and teens that came to Reaching Out Ministries were spread to Shorty. Shorty is now bearing fruit and spreading seeds of his own.

God is good. All the time.

Hays Community Church Update

Josh Proctor, Pastor of Hays Community Church, sent us this follw up to his last update:
Thank you so much for praying for Heather's parents. They came to church this past weekend. Praise the Lord!!! Also, this past weekend the Lord allowed us to baptize six people. We thought you would enjoy the pics.

Thanks for partnering with us.

-Josh and Kelly Proctor and family

Friday, May 23, 2008

Pregnancy Center Update


Most of the clients we see at Mid Cities Pregnancy Center are single. Not often do we see married clients in crisis, but when we do, we admire their courage. That is the case with this client. She already had two children and she and her husband felt like they couldn’t afford another baby. They felt like abortion was their only choice, so she scheduled an appointment. We did a sonogram for her and after seeing her baby, she cancelled her abortion appointment. She and her husband decided to choose life and place the baby for adoption. To say it was a difficult decision would hardly touch the meaning of the words. She recently delivered and placed her baby with a lovely Christian couple. Please pray for her as she continues to heal from this decision.

The Texas Department of Health Services reports that 79,041 women obtained abortions in Texas in 2006. Of those abortions, 11,479 were performed in Dallas County, of which Irving is a major city. Statistics indicate that having a life affirming Christ-centered ministry outreach to Irving could help to significantly reduce those numbers. We are excited that we are getting closer and closer!


Please pray for the family of Steven Curtis Chapman and the loss of their adopted daughter, Maria. Maria was one of Steven and Mary Beth’s six children, and the youngest of the three that were adopted from China. They are strong advocates for adoption and established a ministry called Shaohannah’s Hope that provides information and financial grants to families who adopt. Steven Curtis Chapman is scheduled to come to First Euless on July 18th for a benefit concert for the pregnancy center.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hays Community Church

Josh Proctor, pastor of Hays Community Church in Kyle, TX, sent us this update:

I wanted to share a cool story with you. Scott and Heather prayed to receive Christ in December and were baptized in January. Scott had to go on temporary disability this spring due to some health problems. This has been very hard on he and his wife. We have been trying to teach them to trust the Lord and just surrender this whole thing to Jesus. Scott had surgery last week, and it seems that it was successful. We challenged Scott and Heather to fast before the surgery as an act of dependence on the Lord. They both did a one day fast. This is way cool. Here is the really cool thing though. Heather told one of her coworkers about the fast, and this coworker and her husband know the Lord and decided to fast with Scott and Heather. Check this out. Heather told her mom and dad, who don't know the Lord, about this fast, and her parents fasted with them and prayed. Heather's parents have indicated that they would be there this Sunday for church. God is good. Praise be to His name. Pray that Scott and Heather would continue to grow in being dependent on the Lord, and pray that Heather's parents would come this weekend.

Hope and Help International








Hope and Help International sent us this update about their latest leadership conference:

The Timothy Leadership Institute in Assam, a northeastern state of India, is at the halfway point, so we wanted to give you an update. Avinash just sent us photos and we will share those with you.

The teachers in this TLI are Trevor Overcash and Carl Forney and it is coordinated by HHI partner, Avinash Sarki. This is the second year of a three-year program. The TLI began last Monday, May 5 and will conclude on Thursday, May 15. The classes begin at about 8:30 each morning and end at about 4:30 in the afternoon with a lunch break and, of course, tea breaks.
The classes have gone well. The students are willing to share and ask questions and participate when they are asked to do so. Many have stated that the training they received last year has had a big impact on their ministries and that they are much bolder to share the Gospel since they are bet-ter able to explain and defend it. They were excited to get started with this year’s courses. Trevor and Carl speak at church Traditional welcome ceremony Trevor teaching; Avinash translating Each session begins with worship Carl gets the students involved Trevor emphasizes a point.

The big challenge is the heat. The lecture hall where the classes are held has fans, and the hotel room where Trevor and Carl are staying has air conditioning, but the power is off much of the time. Trevor and Carl are both trying to include inter-active assignments in their lessons, just so the students can move around a bit and stay alert.

One evening Avinash showed the movie “The End of the Spear” which is about the 5 missionaries who were martyred in Ecuador in 1956. As Trevor and Avinash were walking back to the hotel afterward, a guy on a motorcycle drove past them and shouted something; then he turned around and drove by shouting again. This happened a few times and Avinash simply commented that the guy must be drunk. The next day, Avinash said that the man said “White man, why don’t you take your religion and leave us alone!” This was just a reminder that not everyone is happy with the message that we bring and that we must be vigilant and wise.

This weekend, Carl and Trevor will be able to visit some of the villages where the TLI students minster. They will have Sunday services in a village church. Then on Monday, it’s back to the TLI. Before returning home, they will spend Thursday in a village conducting a Gospel Crusade.
Join us in thanking God for the great experiences so far and asking Him to bless the rest of the trip.

Friday, May 9, 2008

John and Rebekah Miller

Here is an update for John and Rebekah Miller, who are working with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea.





Dear friends and family,


We just got back to Ukarumpa from our first 8 weeks in the village, Kakimar. It was kinda like camping with a bunch of people who have huge gardens nearby. So we ate lots of soup full of "bush food." It is usually some combination of cabbage (or other greens), kaukau or taro (like potatoes), and onions. We usually supplied some type of tinned meat (tuna or chicken-unless someone had butchered a pig nearby, then we had pork) salt and pepper and any seasonings. This is all cooked in coconut milk and often served with rice. It is good and filling; however due to the heat and lots of walking, John lost 37 lbs. (We're not sure how that compares to the Subway diet.) However after 8 weeks of bush food at least 5 times a week, we are looking forward to western style meals.

We had a great time and are so excited that our first village stay as a family in our program was a success. In the middle of our stay there were some issues that surfaced that we thought might lead to us having to leave, but thanks to God and your prayers everything became peaceful again. We went through some times of sickness, and a bit of "unrest" in the village that lead to someone almost being arrested (but that's another story.) Through the few struggles we faced, we sincerely believe there to be spiritual opposition to our presence. Also we became convinced that the people we lived amongst need an understanding of the Gospel, and THEY NEED THE BIBLE in their heart language. With God's help we will help them get it.

We learned a little of the local language, and recorded some language data that will hopefully be helpful while we are in school back in the States. Abi can say a ton of things in the local language (Gora) but she doesn't always know what she is saying. Talitha will jump in her Johnny Jump up when we say "Solak, solak, yawa" (which means "jump").

Anyways, I (Rebekah) guess that I'm getting ready mentally for furlough. Almost every night in the village I "spent time" with friends from back home in my dreams. It was a nice treat. It was weird waking up in the village and thinking, "OK where am I? Oh yea, PNG in a house made of bamboo, in the village."

The best part about being back into "Western-style living" (besides hot showers) is having light at all hours of the day or night!!!

Thanks for praying for us!!


Blessings,


Rebekah (for John, Abi and Talitha)

Thursday, May 8, 2008

A Place for You


Since her beginning, The Church at Sun Valley has had the privilege of serving Festival Ranch with positive results. In November of 2007, we hosted our first block party with a tremendous response of 90% of the neighborhood in attendance. On New Years Day, again, most of the families in Foothills attended our BBQ and family activities. Then, in January, Saturday morning Basketball began.
February was the advent of the ever popular Family Movie Night at the park as well as the Thursday play group for kids and moms.

March proved to be a busy and productive time with our Spring Break Sports Camp followed by the great Easter Egg hunt at Foothills Park. Our Easter service also formally launched our new church with a Grand Opening of 175 people in attendance! All the excitement continues through April with the newest activity for the community: 4-4 Flag Football. Each Sunday evening, many families come and play with their neighbors in this well organized league. It continues to prove to be a good time for visiting old friends and making new ones.

The Church at Sun Valley is a church Family doing our part to love God and love our neighbor. The fruit of our love is remarkable and compelling. Smiles and kindness continue to be our billboard. Because of this, it is not surprising when new families and neighbors, many who have not been to church in a while, make the decision to come to our church. It's good to know that we have never asked for money for any activity or event and people notice that. Rather, we consider ourselves part of a larger family, your other family, and we are here for you. May the Lord continue to grant us favor as we serve Him and each other.

Angela Baker Update

Hello Everyone,I hope this email finds you all well. I am doing well. Freezing at the moment, but well. Spring came to Moscow and decided to leave again- it is supposed to get down to 34'F tonight and has been windy and cold all day. This weekend will be the big holiday for May 9th. I will write more about it and post pictures on my site this weekend if you are interested.

It is unbelievable how time flies. I have been in Russia six months as of the end of April and it has just flown by. Things have really begun to pick up here and I have been busy with a several different areas of ministry.For one- I am now working with a ministry to street children called Metro. We go out on "patrols" weekly to meet with kids, build relationship, give them food and any assistance possible and to share Christ with them. With the Spring and Summer months arriving it is harder to find the kids.

Tonight we went out and were successful in being able to meet with Olessia- who has lived on at the train station with her mom since she was a little girl. Olessia agreed to meet us on the 11th to go into a city government shelter. She told us she is expecting her second child. We were unable to find some of the other kids we were looking for, but we did have a great success when we found Zhenya. We found Zhenya squatting down next to a trash can near a little store outside of the metro station. She seemed so tiny sitting there it was hard to believe she was 22. We sat and talked with her for a while. It was really pretty cold outside- about 45'F and windy. We were finally able to convince Zhenya that going to the shelter was better than staying the night out on the street and she agreed to go. Zhenya was in need of medical attention- which she will get at the shelter in addition to hopefully- the extra help she needs to move towards life off of the street. We will maintain contact with Zhenya, but as Metro does not have it's own facilities- getting kids to a city center is the best we can hope for at this time.

I have also been very excited about a new possibility we have learned to work in city day centers for children at risk. The government has many centers throughout the city which are to serve the needs of children at risk. The problem is that they have no one to actually work with the children. We have learned that certain centers are open to Christian groups coming in and working with the children if they are able to present a quality program. I have been talking with the mission Youth for Christ, who is already working in one center, about getting churches involved in other centers throughout the city. This is a wonderful opportunity for churches not only to minister to children at risk, but to their families as well. The children at these centers will be from very poor families, multi-children families, families where their is alcohol or drug addiction or where one parent or the child himself suffers from a disability.

I have also been talking with several other people about the problem of human trafficking in Russia. I have pulled together several key individuals and this month we will have our first meeting to begin to talk and pray through what God would have us do concerning this area. It is exciting to see God bringing His people together to share their hearts and burdens for this area of need that is still virtually unknown to the vast majority of Christians. I look forward to sharing with you what God will bring out of this meeting.

One of the exciting things that has been happening too is the CoMission newsletter. I know, it may sound strange to say that working on a newsletter has some exciting elements, but it does. I put together and send out the CoMission newsletter twice a month and send it to over 700 partners. It is really exciting when we get response from people that were able to find a book or resource they had been looking for or found out about a training or conference through the newsletter. We are helping people get the training and materials they need to better serve children at risk and that is exciting!

We are also busy planning conferences and seminars for the Fall. We are hoping to have one in St. Petersburg which will focus on Foster Care and Adoption by Russian Christian families. We are also hoping to have an "Encouragement Conference" this Fall for those ministering to children at risk in Moscow. In talking with people from various missions and churches- I realized that they were often struggling with the problem of burnout and discouragement. We are hoping that through the encouragement conference we will be able to bring people together to encourage one another.

I am also working on a video presentation to be used as an element in our Children at Risk Awareness campaign for churches. We are hoping to be able to share the needs of children at risk, challenge the church to act, and provide tangible ways to do so. I recently was able to speak at the Russian American Christian University in Moscow about orphans and street children in Russia. These Russians students were completely unaware of the degree of the problem in Russia. It was exciting to be able to share the need, help them realize that we- the church, are supposed to be acting and then challenge them to act.

One young man came up to me afterwards with ideas of how to use his musical ability to help orphans. That was wonderfully fulfilling and I look forward to be able to have have a full presentation available to be used in churches soon.

So as you can see- there are a lot of exciting things going on right now! I would appreciate your prayers in all of these areas. They are greatly needed. There is one additional prayer request I'd like to share before I go. The visa situation in Russia is still unclear. It is now looking as though the government is indeed going to be applying the 90 day out of 180 days restriction to religious affairs visas after saying they would not. Campus Crusade for Christ was granted permission to issue worker's visas (the only visas not affected by this restriction) but the Baptist Union was denied permission. Ultimately, I will need to obtain a worker's visa. Please pray for wisdom and understanding as far as the best option for me to pursue in terms of visas.

I hope you all have a blessed day. Thank you again so much for your support- without your financial and prayer support none of this would be possible. Together, God is using us to make a difference!

Serving Christ,

Angela

How God Builds a Great Church

Last Sunday was amazing! Nearly 100% of those who attended our service signed up to be a part of at least one ministry! I have never heard of such a high degree of participation in any church...ever! I am absolutly convinced that the Lord has placed a desire in each of our hearts to work together as a family to help grow our great church and wonderful community. The fact that God is enlarging the foundation of our church with so many doing their part can only mean one thing...He is about to enlarge our church family! Just as a family prepares room for a new family member, we too are preparing room for our growing church family. In the mean time, keep praying for the family members to come!