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Monday, December 15, 2014

Blessed....to be a Blessing

  Wouldn’t you agree that one of the best experiences in life is being able to hand off a blessing?  Share a meal with somebody.  Hand off a new  favorite book before you are even done reading it. Giving away a new worship CD. Give away some time or share your talent so that somebody else is blessed and not charge them a penny.  This is one of the benefits of being a full-time missionary family – we get these experiences all the time.  It is also special because we get to partner with you and give you these opportunities too.  This joy that we feel in giving ourselves, giving our time, giving our money and possessions to bless others is something the disciples that we are raising-up in South Central Los Angeles are beginning to experience more and more too.  What a blessing! 

Thanksgiving Outreach
This Thanksgiving we were able to hand out over 30 food boxes brimming with needed staples and some extra goodies.  Although the families in our church have their own needs we decided it would be more powerful to have them hand the boxes off to neighbors, co-workers and other people that they have been praying for and wanting to share Jesus with.   This was a good exercise in faith for many, but did open some doors.  The great thing is we received some extra food donations soon afterwards and were able to hand out more boxes this time to bless the families that had so faithfully and sacrificially given previously.  
Our son, Beniah, helping us pack food boxes.  
We also had a special Sunday outreach where the youth lead us in worship and then a group from our church performed a powerful drama.  This drama retold Fabiola’s testimony – of the hardships in her earlier years and how her family came to know Jesus.  Nobody, even the actors, knew that this was a true story until the end when she shared with all the guests – around 100 people – the good news of salvation that came to her house through the faithful witness of a friend who cared.  It set up our conversations and celebration wonderfully as we then transitioned into a feast of many great foods.  
 


After the drama we had everyone write a note stating what they were thankful for….they then placed it in a box wrapped as a gift as an act of gratitude to God.  Here are some excerpts from these cards:  
  • Having a mom.
  • That God has not forgotten me.  He hears me when I cry.  For my family and everything He gives me day by day.  Thank you Father!
  • My family and wonderful husband and for my pastors who You put in my path. 
  • This church, this space, these people.  The pastor and his family.  My life and health.  My family, job, parents.  For the ministry and His mercies.
  • The life of my husband and that he has come to know Jesus. 
  • My McQueen and Planes toys.  My food and the earth and my toys. 
  • My family and because God has changed me.  I’m not the same person I was when Christ rescued me.  

  


Christmas Banquet and Toy Store


As you can see from all the pictures above we had a great time at our Christmas banquet.  The photo booth is always so much fun.  We had 6 new families join us this year.  One we met at our church’s yard sale the day before.  Another was handed a flier and invitation the weekend prior by somebody from the church.  The other four families were friends or family brought by people from our church.  It was so fun to be able to pour the blessings on people and rejoice in Christ coming to be with us.
There were numerous different crafts and games for the children.  We wanted to create a place for the children to sit down with their parents and create a Christmas memory – and we succeeded in this.  
Our church is taking more and more ownership and responsibility for each outreach and event that we do.  Our church understands the vision of what we do and why we do it more and more each time.  We could not have done the Christmas or the Thanksgiving outreach without a ton of help from special donations and volunteers though – so thank you to everyone that donated toys, time, food or an offering to make these moments possible.  
 
We served hot chocolate and one of the families from our church catered the event with a great traditional meal.  Families were able to sit at tables and share life and the Christmas message with people they invited or that came for the first time.                   
Our goal was to get 200 toys donated to be sure that every one of the children from our church, tutoring program and all the people we were inviting had at least one toy.  We were blown away to see toys pour in at the last minute totaling double that – yes, 400 toys!  We were able to sell these gifts at 75% off – it was great to see so many huge smiles and hear the testimonies of what a blessing this event is for the parents.  
[The concept of our toy store is to bless parents with deep discounts so that they feel empowered in choosing and purchasing their own gifts and not just hand them a toy.  The money we do raise is then re-invested into the programs and ministries that benefit them.  In some cases we did give gifts away because even $5 for a $20 gift isn’t attainable for everyone during this time of the year.] 
 
 
 
Once gifts were selected and bought we had another room (all of this was in our new space upstairs!) where the gifts were gift wrapped and then concealed in a black bag.  
 
 


Upstairs – Before and After (painting)
Here is a before and after of one of the rooms that we painted upstairs.  It looks so much bigger and brighter with a new fresh coat of paint. 
A lot of time, love and work have gone into getting things ready – this space is designated as the game room.
 
 

Youth Christmas Outing

Our youth group took a special outing to see a Christmas presentation at a nearby church with a “Frozen” theme. 
The youth group has also put on two fund-raisers this month in preparation for their winter camp in January.  

If you are interested in providing a full ($95) or partial scholarship for the youth winter camp please let us know.  We anticipate this to be one of those life-changing events for the group and want to be able to bring as many of them along as possible. 

Would you also lift up our leaders Joshua and Rocio in prayer – they are working so hard to bless and train-up these youth.  They need our extra prayers for strength, vision, wisdom and endurance as they invest into this generation. 


Family News – Blessed, Rest, Crash
What abundant blessings we have in our life!  We count you as a huge blessing – thank you for your prayers and love and support.  We love being a family that ministers together.  It isn’t always easy.  This month we have definitely felt tired.  We are taking the last week of the year off to recharge and celebrate as a family.  

Pray that this time would be special family time and effective in getting us the needed rest so that we can launch back onto the mission field for 2015.

We are also thankful that nobody was hurt when we were smashed from behind on the freeway last month.  All three children were freaking out and yet thankfully nobody was seriously hurt.  The van was pretty smashed.  We were not at fault and so we were able to have some of it fixed (as much as possible, so at least now we can use the back door again), but it will never be quite the same.  Please continue to keep us covered in prayer for safety and for God’s provision.
Here is Beniah (9 months) as a tough pirate and as a cute shepherd boy.  
 


Please Pray with Us…
Pray for our upcoming events that will strengthen our church family as well as give us opportunity to reach more people for Jesus Christ:

 · Wolyn’s rest, recuperate and celebrate for Christmas – December 22-26
· Movie night – December 28
· Street evangelism – January 2
· Building projects day (refinishing hardwood floors in youth room) – January 2
· New Year’s outreach (carnival & hot dog feed at park) – January 3
· Week of prayer and fasting – January 4-11
· New small group Bible study begins – January 15
· Finance Conference – January 17
· Winter Youth Camp – January 17-19


Thank you for being a blessing to us.  This year we have been blessed beyond our ability to comprehend.  We thank you for celebrating the victories with us and for praying us through the hard times.  Jesus is King and worthy of all that we have.  It is with that attitude and heart that we serve along side of you in this ministry. 

Merry Christmas – may your celebration be Christ-centered, memorable and filled with love.
From our home to yours,

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and Beniah

Monday, December 1, 2014

More Than A Better Life

Raphael approached me after one of our mid-week Bible studies and shared how various people he was connected to were trying to pull him back into his old sinful lifestyle. “But I just don’t listen to them,” he said. “This is my church. I want to follow God.”

He continued, “I want my family to know God. My children come home and worship Jesus now. My youngest will turn the trash bin over and sit on it like the [cajon] drum we have at church. We have also removed all alcohol from our house and life. I haven’t had a headache or felt sick in a long time. My friends still invite me to come over and have a few beers (which always turns into a lot more), but I see things so differently now. Before I thought it was cool and fun, but now I understand how foolish it is. I would rather worship God – and I don’t spend the night throwing up and wake up with those horrible headaches. My friends seem so blind, yet I was there with them just a year ago.”

Raphael then concluded, “Thank you for being patient with me and my family and helping us out. I appreciate all that you do and how hard you work. I want to keep learning more and help my family and others have a better life and be involved always in the church.”

The next week Raphael opened his home up inviting his neighbors and the whole church to have a ‘party’….really it was a celebration service. He put together a time of prayer and fellowship – it wasn’t a birthday party and there was no real reason apart from having us come together in a time of thanksgiving and praise to God. A place where people could come over and see what Raphael has seen and find what he has found in Jesus Christ – life and a reason to celebrate. We had a powerful time praying for and encouraging one lady whose husband is still very stuck in a life of drugs and alcohol. 

One way you can celebrate with us this Christmas season is thank God for the favor, blessing, guidance and fruit he has given us this year. Please continue to lift Raphael and his family before the Lord. We can see how God desires to use their family to bring many more people to know Him.  One of Raphael’s children recently shared in Sunday school that his dream was to be a pastor when he grows up. Let’s pray guidance and protection over the whole family!

This Christmas season we also wanted to give you an opportunity to help this ministry end the year strong by giving a gift (financial or actual item). We have dipped about 10% below our needed support level in the last quarter so support for our family would be appreciated. There are also some great ways to get involved with specific items that will help us as we evangelize the lost, train-up emerging indigenous leaders and plant churches that reproduce. 

Here is a list of a few ideas of how you can help: 
  • Scholarship for youth winter camp ($95/person). The camp takes place in January 2015.
  • Scholarship for leadership interns ($15/month or $180/year)
  • Craft Supplies for our children’s ministry (construction paper, beads, foam shapes, pipe cleaners, etc.)
  • DVDs (appropriate for children or toddlers in English or Christian movies with Spanish dub.)
  • Music (Christian music English or Spanish)
  • Wireless microphone system


May God be your reason for celebration this month! Merry Christmas and God’s greatest gift of love to you,


Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and Beniah