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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Coffee Talks & Family Meals

Our family was sent to Los Angeles to minister to the neediest –those that still have not come to Christ and are stuck in a web of sin—which hasn’t been easy. We came because we knew God wanted us here to plant a church that will plant churches and to raise-up leaders that will train and equip others. We came to plant a daily church not just a weekly church. A community of believers committed to Christ who live, love and serve one another and their neighborhood together daily. One thing that we recently have begun again is these powerful “kitchen table” ministry times where we get to sit down in small groups with people relationally and share life together. Now that we have the Bible study, prayer meeting and worship service scheduled and set up it is important to go back and enjoy a cup of coffee or a good meal with one another and allow the Holy Spirit to really move in those relationships.

Updates

The Money Seminar was a great success and we are believing for real life change resulting from this time. Here are a few short testimonies shared about the seminar:


o “I learned that God is the owner of everything. I never knew that.”

o “I have been doing so many things wrong over such a long period of time without even knowing it. It is time to make a real change in my life.”

o “I see that the root cause of all my conflicts is money. I need to put this information into practice.”

o “God has blessed me with so much. I’m not going to complain about being poor anymore, but rejoice in what God has given me.”

o “I want to give to make a difference. I see how giving to God is investing into eternity.”


Preaching at South Park
Thank you for praying for the “Touch of Jesus Crusade” we were a part of. A lot of familiar faces came out to listen to Chad preach – homeless and addicts that we have been ministering to over the years. Because the message was given in English (not Spanish) the dynamics were different, but exciting. We were able to challenge some of the young gang members – many whom have conveniently denied the existence of God to help justify their sinful lifestyle. Two of the gang members that we spoke to after preaching (one who had recently finished 3 years in jail) looked shaken-up by the evidence of a loving, personal God.

After the event another group of gang members pushed a drunk man off the top off level of the bleachers. We were able to step in and prevent them from completely beating up and robbing him and then share the gospel to some of the onlookers.

As a result of this outreach we were stirred up to start a pastor’s prayer meeting with other area pastors to pray for this community in unity. We will meet at our home the last Saturday of the month. Pray that these will be effective times of deep, sincere unity in the body of Christ producing fruit in our individual congregations.


A taste of Mexico
Eric Jaquith from Puebla, Mexico came and spent a weekend with our church. He preached powerful messages on offenses and forgiveness, listening and obeying and the need to live holy not just outwardly, but inwardly by controlling our thoughts. His visit challenged and stirred us up. We are thankful to God for our family in Christ that can come and minister along-side of us and encourage our hearts.


Aerobics class
Fabiola and a couple other ladies have begun taking an aerobics step class at the park with the hope to continue building more relationships and opening more opportunities to share the Gospel. We have been told that this class is the largest aerobics class in the city of Los Angeles with over 300 women signed-up. Pray that many women and their families would come to know Jesus and get connected with our church.


Ministry to prisoners. Fabiola and Erika (a young lady from our church) are going into a detention facility this Saturday to minister and share a Thanksgiving meal.




Happy Birthday! Our daughter, Rebecca, turned 6 years old this month.


Please Pray With Us

Potential Building
We are still praying for a building – God’s timing and will.


Nursery Leader
Tana is taking more responsibility as the nursery lead-teacher. Tana is one of the ladies who gave her life to Jesus through our church just a year or so ago. A volunteer was doing this job, but needs to pull out to focus on her college courses. This has been a gradual process, but we believe it is a great time for this change. Pray that Tana would step into this role with the confidence of the Lord and be able to use her God-given gifts with joy for the glory of God.

Fabiola sharing with the church some of what she is teaching the children in their Sunday school class.



Thanksgiving Outreaches
-Sunday, November 20 – Thanksgiving dinner at South Park
This event is for everyone – the homeless, addicts, gang members and families.
-Thanksgiving Week – food box distribution for the community.



Thanksgiving Meal
Our church is having its Second Annual Thanksgiving Dinner together Wednesday, November 23 with a time for worship, thanksgiving and testimonies. Pray for a good turnout –including new faces—and good weather!



Christmas at the OAKS – December 3rd
Our yearly day trip up to the camp ground for a special time of Christmas fun, crafts and family time. We are planning some special all-church activities. Pray for families to be able to pull together the finances to pay ($10/person) and a powerful time of unity as we usher in the Christmas season focusing on God’s goodness and provision.



Javier preaching
One of the men Chad has been training-up as a leader will be preaching for the first time Sunday, November 27. The preparation time has been a great opportunity to talk about many aspects of ministry and our personal devotion and walk with God. Pray that he would be encouraged and effectively teach the Word of God challenging the congregation to respond.



Christmas & New Year’s Outreach Preparation
We are planning a special Christmas celebration and outreach and then two New Year’s outreaches the last two weeks of December. Please pray for the preparation, details and that our church would really take the lead on passionately reaching out to their community.


With Thanksgiving so close we want to make sure you know how THANKFUL we are of you. Every time we get an email or phone call telling us that you are thinking about us or praying we are built up. Every time somebody shares a specific Bible verse for us or tells us how they are praying we know we can run another mile. Without the financial support and the prayer we wouldn’t even be here. THANK YOU for staying up to date with us and sharing this powerful Christian love with us. We appreciate you and hope you know it.

God’s best to you!
Chad & Fabiola


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Not the Same

Thank you! Thanks for being you. Serving God with the love and support you give us is pure joy. We are grateful for every penny of support that we receive. God’s provision is amazing as he partners us together with friends and family around the world to advance His Kingdom. We are thankful – and quite frankly we are in awe of God – because of the transformation in our church. The people we meet with every week are not the same people that came to us just months ago – they have been metamorphosized into something beautiful by our awesome God!

Coming from a place of self-hate, constant nightmares, rebellion and no knowledge of God Andres is one of the younger people recently changed by God’s power and love. The strongest faith is often found in a child’s heart. Andres (pictured below) is a great example of that. He believes God can do anything and prays accordingly. He loves God and believes in the destiny and purpose God has given him. He loves to worship Jesus and learn more about Him at church. Andres was baptized this past summer, making public his faith in Jesus. Andres is a delightful boy hungry for attention and affirmation and a great helper. He has two younger siblings and an older brother. Kevin, the older brother, is really hurting and walking far away from God right now. Children may close their ears to advice, but they keep their eyes open to example. We are asking for prayer this month specifically for Andres and his family. Andres is caught between two worlds – as he grows older watching his big brother the very real and constant lure of sex, gangs and drugs grows more luminous. Believe and pray with us for victory in his and Kevin’s life!

This month we will have several Thanksgiving celebrations. Our priority is reaching out to our community, including the homeless – sharing the love of God as a church to our neighbors. We also are planning a big celebration with our growing church family. Lastly, we’ll have some time with our missionary community and own family. Again, we give thanks to God for the provision to be able to minister to all of these people and for the prayer covering for our family and church.

Please also pray for:
A larger, more permanent meeting place. Having a growing church in our home is becoming a growing challenge for our family and limiting growth in our children’s and adult’s ministry.

More Sunday school teachers and leaders. Last year we were blessed with two interns to help us with the various children’s and youth events. This year we are blessed with the challenge to continue ministering to the growing congregation without their help. We are focusing on training, equipping and empowering everyone in the church to serve in this and other capacities, but as this is a process taking time we also need other people to come volunteer or join our team. Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings are our biggest needs.

May God shower blessings upon you,

Chad & Fabiola Wolyn