Fruit Lips

We did not know how people felt about us. Or even realize how much God has been doing in the individuals of our church plant. We had two big events this last month where we were able to give thanks to God and show appreciation to one another. It has grown us all closer to God and one another.

We hope you realize how important you are to us. We have been charged with the task of evangelizing the lost, equipping future leaders and planting churches yet we do this work as a team. We really are surviving on God’s grace and the prayers and encouragement you send our way. Physically we are able to dedicate ourselves to the urban poor and society’s shunned because we have people willing to support us financially.

Through Jesus then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15 ~ Thank you!

Updates

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011
Above & Below: Giving thanks together as a church. What a blessed night! We had a fantastic meal that everyone contributed to make maybe not your traditional American meal, but the tamales, mole, flan and chilies tasted amazing and went well with some of the traditional elements. Our youth helped create and organize a game time for the children (below).

Everyone got up and shared a few minutes about what they are thankful for – giving a testimony and praise to how God has done so much for us this year (below). See some excerpts of those comments in the section called “Giving Thanks 2011”. We were amazed and honored at how many people included us in their thanks.

We also had a super fun time praising the Lord! We opened up the microphones and had adults and children alike come up and sing their favorite praise and worship songs with the music (below).

Giving Thanks 2011
“I thank God because he took me out of the garbage. I have never really thanked God for the patience of my wife – the little faith she had – to hold on and trust in me when I was going through my hard times and walking far away from Him. God knows me and that is the most marvelous thing. I know that I don’t deserve the great things that come to me, but God knows. He has been patient with me – life hasn’t been easy, but I see that they are tests and trials of our faith. We need to just keep doing what we know to do – follow God.”

“There is so much to give thanks to God for…this year God has been so generous to me….Sunday we went with the church and helped bring food to the people on the street. It is a privilege to be able to give. People of all ages were trying to stay warm and dry after the big storm and it was amazing to be able to serve them. I was also surprised because the person that donated the food had two small babies in the car. We come up with excuses all the time for why we can’t do things, but we need to give thanks for what God has done through these people.”

“I’m thankful for Fabiola and for this church and for Chad because this is where I was able to meet and know God.”

“I give thanks to God and also for my mom for doing so much for me. Thanks to Chad and Fabiola for having this church. Thanks for this day that we’re all together and enjoying the food and thanks for each one of you.” (14 year old)

“Thanks for my children. I left the way of the Lord because everything was going well and I took my eyes of the Lord and began following man. But thanks to God for bringing us back to Him when we wandered away. I see my children worshiping and serving God and it brings so much joy to my life. The tests have been hard, but thanks to Chad and Fabiola because they have helped us. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to move. I’m thankful for all this food that we have to share with one another. I’m going through a hard time, but God pulls me through. Don’t put your eyes on man – they will let you down, but God will never let you down. Man isn’t perfect; God is! Thank God for life every morning. Things don’t get easier just because we come to church or walk with the Lord, but it will be better.”

“I give thanks to God for everything. The thing I most want to give thanks to God is I always feel like God is with me. I didn’t always feel that. But I know how much He loves me. I was the first in my family to move towards God – and now most of us in my extended family are coming closer to God. Thanks to God for my family, and for my health. I want to encourage those that are just starting to come out and just starting to know Jesus that you may feel discouraged, but that is normal – we’ve all felt that. Don’t give up – stick it out – God is the one that will change us and help us and He will be with you and will bring you through it all.”

“I’m thankful that I can call this church my ‘family’. It has been hard for me to not have any of my family with me since they are all in Mexico, but God has been good to me in bringing me you guys.”

“First I want to thank God for my children, for their health and my health also for being able to know this church. This wasn’t in my plans, but God knows and I know it happened for a reason. God put this church in my path. God picked me up from my hurting place. I wasn’t homeless or anything, but I was on a path of bitterness and had no direction. This hasn’t been easy and I don’t always have the patience that I need with my children [as a single parent of three children under the age of 5]. But God and this church have helped me organize my life a little bit and I’m in school now [to learn English]– and so are all my kids. And there is so much to thank God for and I’m trying to pray like you’ve all taught me to do. I’ve learned a lot of things here – thank you for everything.”

“I’m giving thanks for God’s mercy and love and that we can all be together. It was just two years ago that I was very preoccupied. I was raised in a family that talked about Jesus and my biggest worry was that my two daughters wouldn’t know about Him because my wife didn’t want to know the Good News. I prayed for my family, but she was closed and not interested. First thanks to God and then to Chad and Fabiola for helping bring my wife into the Kingdom of God. I hope that more people can come to the knowledge of our God.”



Javier Preaching
Thank you for praying for Javier. He did a good job preaching. The church was really blessed. We continue to pour into him and others to develop their gifts and their skills in leadership.

Christmas at the OAKS

A group from our church headed up to the OAKS campground for special all day time together. It was cold (for Southern California) and the bus broke down, but thankfully we were able to pull together a few vehicles and get to camp. Unlike previous years where families go off and do their own thing, this year we all stayed together like one HUGE family.

We started off at the fire circle sharing words of encouragement and affirmation to one another (see picture above). Then we went on a hike together. The rest of the day we spent doing eating and doing Christmas crafts.

Please Pray With Us About…..

Christmas Program & Dinner – Friday, December 16
Our church really wanted the opportunity to spend quality fun time and fellowship for Christmas. We had such an amazing Thanksgiving together (see above for more details) and this provides an easy place for everyone to invite friends and family to a church event.

Serving our Neighbors – Thursday & Friday, December 29-30
During these two days of vacation our church will be providing some child care for women in our neighborhood for two hours. Pray that this will be an effective bridge into sharing the Gospel and building relationships.

Fuente para las Naciones hosts dinner for visiting church
Want some authentic Mexican, Guatemalan and Salvadorian food? You should come and visit us sometime when we are organizing an event like this one! Our church will be putting on a feast for a visiting youth group that is helping with some of these evangelistic outreaches.

End of the Year Fair (at South Park) – Friday, December 30
We are hoping for at least 100 children – and great conversations with the parents and grandparents. This will be our third year doing this carnival type event in the park – but this time our church will be out in full force to serve in every area possible. See our cool shirts (pictured in the Christmas at the Oaks group picture).

HELP! Fair (at South Park) – Saturday, December 31
We have been pooling resources and unifying with other ministries and organizations all year to be able to help the community from just about every angle. We will cover their spiritual needs through testimonies, preaching, music – rap and worship, dramas and dance. We will have food, clothes, hygiene packs and other resources (like counseling, medical, shelter or rehab programs, etc.) all on hand as well to cover their physical and emotional needs.

Family Teaching Series
Starting in January we will be studying God’s design for the family – including everything from dating to marriage and family dynamics including child rearing. This is one of the biggest real and felt needs in the community. Pray we’d be able to attract and reach a new group of people. We will be advertizing this series at all of the above events.
Our sacrifice of praise to God is to let the fruit of our lips overflow with thanksgiving to Him and we thank Him dearly for your life and partnership with us here in the city.

God's Not a Fairy Tale

We invest in training our children as well as our adults – igniting them to be lovers and worshippers of God and to walk out their destiny in Christ Jesus.  This is not easy work, but I think about Mara who I met at a special Bible Club we held almost a year ago.  After sharing the Gospel I got to pray with her to accept Jesus.  She has been coming to our weekly Bible Club ever since and has really been growing in her knowledge of God even though she has no parental support. 

Unlike like Mara there are others who have been coming out to our church regularly with their parents.  And there are several children in our church who are praying with fervor for their unsaved friends and family.  Their prayers go beyond cute prayers into the realm of fiery faith-filled intercession and followed up by action.  Bethany’s mother – a new believer that came to know Jesus through our ministry – was so excited when she told us about her daughter. 

First, one of Bethany’s classmates came up to her and said that God did not exist – that God is just a fairy tale – and she boldly responded, “He exists! I know Him and talk to Him every day.” A few days later a different classmate was crying because she got into trouble and had a very real fear of the harsh, abusive out lash she would receive when she got home with the bad news.  Bethany reached out to this classmate urging her to pray to God for help.  The girl prayed.  She came back the following day stunned and excited telling Bethany that, “it really worked!”  She then asked Bethany if she prayed and Bethany responded, “Yeah, all the time.”  The first classmate later came back to Bethany and asked her to tell her more about this God that really does exist.

Please lift up Mara and Bethany and the many other children and parents we minister to every day.  They thrive on our prayers and need God’s protection in this hostile environment.  Also continue to pray peace over our neighborhood.  Two Sundays in a row now there has been major crime activity – first a massive rival gang standoff and shooting at the park and then arson to the park building where we were ministering drawing eight fire trucks, but fortunately not doing any major permanent damage.  Then a few days later there was a homicide a block from our home.  This isn’t uncommon, but it does feel like something is stirring and we want to bring all wickedness to a halt and declare peace and protection over the many people living in this community – including our own family. 

Lastly, during this Christmas season if you would like to give a special gift to one of the men, women or children that we are pouring into, here are some practical ways you can do that: 

Craft and snack for Bible Clubs (for 1 week/30 children) for our weekly outreach           $25
Discipleship packet (1 discipleship book) for spiritual growth                                             $15
Discipleship outings (A meal/coffee for a one-on-one mentor meeting)                               $10
Groceries for Christmas dinner for families in need                                                           $50
A beginner’s guitar and classes to train up worshippers (class is $25)                               $100

If you desire to give to any of these areas please send your gift to World Impact and mark it “ATR 8329 Fuente”

Thank you so much for your love and support! 

Merry Christmas,

 
Chad & Fabiola

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

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

Words to Guide

God just moves and does what He wants….and it is always good. We are so glad to be a part of what He is doing here in the inner city – touching the nations for Jesus.

Through time in the Word and prayer our team feels that God has given us the following words to guide this next season of church planting as we minister here in the inner city: breakthrough, encouragement, empowerment, multiplication and miracles.
Please pray with us through each of those words.

Quick Updates
-We started a new weekly study on doctrine taking the church deeper into what we believe. Great questions have arisen as we have given them a safe place to be addressed.

-Our congregational leader’s meeting was great! We are planning on doing this every month. It has allowed a lot of ownership and empowerment of the congregation to really be the church and not just come to church. Immediate action items that resulted were holding a yard sale to raise more funds (quite successful) and forming a group from the church to work on creating a Christmas program.

-A group of us were able to go to another church and sit in on their worship practice. This is a part of our continued effort to inspire and train worshippers and musicians. -Our son, Justice, turned 4 years old this month.

-We have a heart for prisoners and are ministering to several families that have loved ones behind bars. Recently we attended an event with one of the new believers from our church to hear more about how our mission organization, World Impact, has teamed up with Prison Fellowship to teach, train and empower prisoners to prepare to be pastors. It was exciting to share our passion and see how she saw not only the need, but caught the heart of compassion and the desire to give and serve the modern day orphans and widows of society as well as the prisoners. She is currently studying at Cal State L.A. to be a social worker or worker in the correction field.

Please Pray With Us

-Money Seminar Sunday, Oct. 23 / 9am-4pm
This is going to be an amazing seminar – many are looking forward to it. Please pray for a great turnout, lives to be changed and grace on Fabiola and Norma as they watch, play and teach the children for the seven hours.

-Potential Building
We have recently found a building that is potentially the space we have been praying about to relieve the pressure of space limitations and restrictions on our family/living space at our home. It is an African-American church located just three blocks from our home. We connected with the pastor’s there really well and even if we don’t share that space with them we have met some like minded co-laborers and made some new friends in the community. Pray for God’s will - is it a green light? (See picture below.) Also pray for growth in numbers and a deepening of commitment to Christ and the church in our congregation regardless if we move or decide to stay. -Meeting Weekly
For the last year we have met once a month (or twice on special occasions) on Sundays. This month we begin meeting every week for our celebration services. Depending on whether we move into the other church building will determine the time and day of these meetings based on the availability. Please pray for grace and increased leadership/serving as the pace is going to pick up from once a month to once a week.

-Touch of Jesus Crusade Sunday, Oct. 30 / 2pm-4:30pm
Chad has been invited to preach as part of a joint effort to reach the South Park community of South Central Los Angeles. This area is known for heavy drug use along with homelessness, alcohol, assault, abuse and gang activity. We so love to work in unison with other churches and ministries to see Jesus lifted up. Believe with us for people to do more than hear the Gospel, but respond in faith and get a “touch from Jesus” and be healed and saved.

-Leaders
A running theme over the last months has been calling people to walk into their God-given roles to serve the body of Christ and then equipping and empowering them. Though we wish the maturity and growth could be faster we sense God’s divine touch on what is taking place in our midst. Please continue to pray for more leaders and those that are serving and leading to continue to mature and develop in God’s time and God’s way.

-Leo and Eduardo & Bianca (names were changed).
Recently Leo has returned to drinking heavily. He was doing so well, but has fallen again and you can see how it is eating deep at his wife and three kids. Let’s pray deliverance and freedom over him. Eduardo and Bianca need a lot of prayer too – years of poor choices has tangled them in a web that has been difficult for them to walk out of. They need to give themselves fully to Christ, but discouragement and life’s cares and worries have really held them back lately. Pray that they would make the correct choices (they have four children) and be faithful to God.

Thank you for believing in us and knowing that God can accomplish anything He wants through us or despite of us. It is an honor being in partnership with you.

May Christ be lifted up and be made known to all nations!

Chad & Fabiola

Exposing Our Heart

It is hard to have your heart exposed to misery again and again. Not everyone wants to hear the Good News. We have asked God to break our hearts for the things that break His, but that breaking is not comfortable. It is out of this brokenness though that we have seen God really minister through us in this hardened and fragmented community of Los Angeles allowing glimmers of light to breakthrough. The joy that comes after the mourning is so sweet!

There is an amazing awe that comes over me every time we see another person commit to serving Jesus. Grace is one of those ladies that is really catching the vision to serve others in Jesus’ name. She came over early one morning to help pass out fliers and get the word out for a school supply ‘store’ we were holding to bless our community. She stuck around until the very end making sure that every family got just what they needed. She was very concerned about finding the correct materials and the right color backpacks, but she was also concerned – deeply concerned – about their spiritual needs and pulled them aside to pray with them. Grace and Fabiola boldly prayed for one of our neighbors that is going through a very difficult time and our neighbor had a breakthrough – a real connection with Jesus like she has never experienced before. All thanks to Grace’s newly activated faith and service.

This month we also wanted to thank you for praying with us for Family Camp. We more than doubled the amount of people attending from a year ago (nearly 80 of us). This year we integrated more of a teaching and ministry time where God really showed up and talked to us about forgiveness and walking with Him. Many from our congregation have been abandoned in one way or another and thus this time provided the needed truth and time with Jesus for breakthrough and healing.

At family camp we also had powerful church-led worship times and morning prayer and devotional times. One of the primary goals of this camp is to allow families to get away and enjoy one another and have fun – quality time that families rarely, if ever, get in the stresses and pressures of the city. We also were able to watch the children so that couples could get away. Fabiola got to know some of the ladies better in the afternoons and Chad got to bond with some of the men – several who have not yet come out regularly to the church meetings. God is so good to us to allow us these retreats with these people we love so dearly. The last evening we had a special time of sharing testimonies of what God had been doing that weekend. Please pray that the good work that has been begun will continue – even increasing and deepening.

We are longing for a deeper breakthrough in our community. Several of us from our church have been praying and fasting for more salvations and a deeper hunger for God and His Kingdom in our congregation. Please join us this month in prayer as we press in to see His Kingdom come here in Los Angeles as it is in Heaven.

May the joy of the Lord be your strength,

Chad & Fabiola Wolyn

Back To School

Updates

School Supplies Outreach

Gabriela has a burden for her community. We met her a year ago at a sport’s outreach at the park and soon after she became an active part of our church. She has a lot of great ideas and has been really stirred up to pray and fast for the community lately.

During our school supply outreach this year Gabriela was outside of our home when a neighbor passed by. Gabriela invited our neighbor and her three kids to come in and get some school supplies. Before this family left – not only were their hands full of school supplies – but their mother who has been battling some serious (potentially life threatening) health conditions had been prayed for and ministered to in a way that deeply touched her. That is the reason we do these outreaches, to give our congregation the opportunity to reach out to their own community and meet the many very real physical and spiritual needs.

Family Camp
God is so good! What an amazing time we had this year at family camp. Families came away strengthened and our church has been united as a family deeper than before.

Flying through the air on the zip line.

Families enjoying fellowship and family devotional times outside of the dining hall.

Father and son time. We had 5 times together as a church to study the Bible, worship, pray and share testimonies of what God is doing in our lives. Everyone woke up early before breakfast to seek God and we had communion together on Sunday morning. Chad taught on forgiveness, judging, sowing & reaping along with some other powerful topics leading to some good prayer ministry time.

Worship time was so much fun! The children were up front dancing. Family camp is a great time to deepen friendships for the children and for the adults. These girls all got their faces painted at the big carnival on the last day.
We brought a lot of kids! Fabiola and Norma and some of the youth helped teach the children’s class while the adults were in the sessions with Chad. Crafts are always a big hit for families (along with the pool, crafts are the most popular activities during free time). Here two families sit and enjoy some time painting pottery – making memories. Two more families work with their children to build and paint some wood toys.

The men and boys take a break after an exciting game of soccer.

Mara shares with the group during our testimony time on the last night. There were many powerful testimonies during this time about how God had used the message on forgiveness to help them release unforgiveness that had been bottled up in their hearts for years. Mara is a single mother; her husband is in jail. She never knew anything about God before, but publically thanked God and us for “that day you came and spoke to me at the park”. Mara also shared how she is now living the life that “she always wanted for her and her kids, but didn’t know really existed.” Mara and her children take a family picture.Valentino gets ready to go for a train ride with his two youngest sons. Valentino use to be a drug addict and alcoholic that carried a weapon. His addiction nearly destroyed him and his entire family. Instead of spending money on taking care of his family he would buy drugs. He regrets the lost time and the scars he left, but is now focused on seeking God and rebuilding. This family camp was an important time for him and his family. He not only is seeing his relationship with his wife and two older boys grow, but now he is starting fresh with his baby son.

Maricela and her baby also prepare for the train ride.

Filipino Missionaries Stir Up Our FaithDerek & Rose Cardwell poured out their lives during a week-long visit ministering three times to the church. Derek taught on the Holy Spirit and the Church. There was a deepening and maturing of what God is doing in our midst. God used these visiting ministers to impart deeper faith and a hunger to fulfill the vision God has given us as a “Fountain to the Nations” – to allow Jesus to fill us up so much that we are overflowing and a powerful witness and blessing to our community and the entire world. Derek, Rose and their two children will soon be moving to Thailand to minister there. It was great practice for Chad to translate the different messages into Spanish as well as great heart-to-heart fellowship time for both of our families.

Teacher Training Meeting
Our rotation of volunteer Sunday school teachers is going well. We had a special meeting to share appreciation, stir up vision and equip the new volunteers. We challenged everyone to look out 10 years and imagine the transformation in the children and the church. With strong Biblical training and time living in a strong community of believers we will have built strong foundations for the next generation. This time served to equip them for the work in the church, but also provided practical tools to be better shepherds for their children in the home.


Family Stuff: Back to School, For the First Time

Our son, Justice, insisted on taking his Bible to the first day of preschool. Rebecca came back the second day of school interceding for her friends and a lady that doesn’t have a house. She wants to raise money to help this lady. She has been interceding for the salvation of her friend, Bianca, a good friend from the school she attended last year. Would you continue lifting up our children, our marriage and even join Rebecca in her burden to see Bianca come to know Jesus personally?

Thank you to everyone who also prayed for our vacation time – it was what we needed to come back strong for another season.


Please Pray With Us

Congregational Leader’s Meeting – September, 18th
Pray for good communication and focus. One of our primary purposes for being here is to train up others for the ministry. We hope these times will be filled with practical training along with an opportunity for our church to grow in ownership and responsibility of this ministry.

Money Seminar – Mid-October
We are planning an all day seminar on finances for our church plant. Unlike my experience growing up, most of these youth and adults have never been taught on how to use or manage money. We will be looking at what the Bible teaches us so that we can be better stewards of what we have. We are considering opening the meeting up to other area churches. We will need some extra hands to help provide childcare and a meal for the event.

“…do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer as we share God’s wonder with those in Los Angeles and continue to preach and teach so that these relationships with Jesus will grow and multiple for generations yet to come.

Chad & Fabiola