Hamburger Helper

Jesus is calling people to Himself.  Every time we pray we are amazed at how He answers.  His desire is to be with us and that we learn to be fulfilled and find rest in Him.  Real rest only comes through Him….something so many people we bump into weekly are looking for desperately, but in the wrong places.

Updates…

Hamburger Helper 

Many of our pre-teens and teens come home to empty homes.  Some don’t see their parents until the following morning because of work schedules.  After a very rich time of Bible study and prayer one of our youth, who normally doesn't feel comfortable eating alone and often skips meals if his parents aren’t home announced that he was going to take God out on a date to eat a hamburger.  God was so powerfully “with him” that he gained a confidence and strength and was able to rest in the company of His maker and Lord.  We had read about the Holy Spirit being our Helper and also how Jesus wanted to come in and eat with us.  What a great application of what we were learning!

Jesus Calls Families To Himself

Andrea grew up in the church in her home country, but drifted away as a teen and then immigrated to the U.S. as a young adult.  She was recently invited to our church by her neighbor and immediately felt God calling her back to Himself. 

Her husband is not a Christian, but she has been praying for him.  He recently came to church, but promised to do so only if she promised that they leave immediately after the service was over.  Andrea tried to gather the family together and leave, but he no longer wanted to leave…he ended up staying another hour enjoying the fellowship. 

Also surprising to Andrea was how her husband reviewed all the key points of the message with her later that day.  He then said to her, “One day I just know I am going to be a preacher of the Word.”  Obviously this surprised Andrea because he has not yet confessed to follow Jesus, but he is feeling the tug of what is about to happen. 

Later he asked Andrea, “What are you going to donate to the church?”  Looked at him perplexed, she said, “What do you mean?”  He explained how we had talked about an upcoming yard sale we will have at the church that had been announced and offered to donate all of his old construction tools. 

We also stand in awe as we watch God restore Andrea’s daughter after some really bad choices have changed the course of her life.  She is now rapidly making new friends and learning about God’s love for her through our re-vamped youth group. 

Andrea has asked for prayer that she would whole-heartedly follow Jesus and that He would draw her family to Himself.  Soon, we believe, the whole family will be serving Jesus together in the church and living the Christian life in their home and throughout the week.

Weddings

Jose nervously reads the vows he wrote Maricela.

Taking communion after exchanging vows.

Fabiola, Maricela and baby Josue.

Throwing the bouquet.

Wonder if there is another wedding coming????

Friends and family gather to celebrate!

Praying for Jose after he shared his testimony and confession of faith in Jesus...right before his baptism.

The baptism of Maricela.

We celebrated our first wedding at our church with Jose and Maricela. It was a very special and beautiful day.  As you can see they were also both baptized!  What an exciting day.  If you would like to see a 2-minute video of the wedding (compiled of time-lapsed shots) click here: “Jose and Maricela Wedding”

The following weekend one of the leader’s we trained-up was also married.  She will be joining her husband’s church so that they can minister together there.  They will not be too far from us – so we will be able to join our churches together from time to time.  Chad gave the opening word and prayer at their wedding – another joyous occasion.  

Family/Baby Update

This Friday! We are scheduled to go into the hospital for a C-section at 11:00 am on March 21^st.  Please continue to lift us all up in prayer. (See below for some specific bullet points.)

Can You Help?

We have a few needs/wants that we wanted to share with you regarding our ministry so that you can be praying with us or giving towards meeting these helpful tools.

We Need Couches:  Our tutoring ministry and youth ministry use the room pictured below (this is also where we have team meetings, prayer meetings, counseling sessions and hold other ministries). We have 15-25 adults in this room for 2 hours every Sunday afternoon.  Currently we have 2.5 couches (none of which are comfortable) and folding chairs.  Lately some parents have asked permission to wait in their car, which is counter-productive for us because we want to bless them with a comfortable space and use that 2 hour block to be able to build relationships and share about Jesus.  

 

Television:  In our children’s classroom we have a very small TV screen, which is used for some lesson videos, worship videos, watching DVDs and playing the XBox.  With 10-20 kids it is hard for everyone to see the screen, so we would love to mount a large screen TV on the wall (like where the bulletin board is currently). 

Yard Sale: We will be having a yard sale to raise funds and awareness for our church on Saturday, April 5^th.  If you live in the LA area and want to donate something for us to sell please let us know.  

Mural Art: We would love to decorate our toddler’s classroom (and maybe other parts of the church building) with some fun mural art.  If you are talented in that area (and are able to come to Los Angeles) please let us know! We’d love to add some color and fun to the space.    

Fabiola and Maricela leading a group of children in the toddler’s room (where we would like to paint a mural).

Please Pray with Us…

Birth of our son:

o   Safe, healthy delivery

o   A healthy baby!

o   Rebecca (8) and Justice (6) would do well through the transition and many changes. 

o   Rest for all.

o   Quick recovery for Fabiola.

Growth opportunities for the church:

o   Fabiola is handing everything off for the next month, giving a lot of people the opportunity to put into practice what they have been learning.

o   Chad is handing off most things for a week and then will continue to train-up and give others the opportunity to discover their gifts and minister using those gifts. 

Easter

o   At our church a big focus of the next month will be in preparing our service and outreach for the Easter week.

o   Pray that we may effectively reach youth, children and families as they are on vacation and more aware of spiritual things during the Easter season.

§  MANY SALVATIONS!

o   Pray that we may effectively engage, equip and empower our church while we do outreach and ministry in the park, community and during special/regular services. 

§  MORE LEADER’S TRAINED-UP and MORE CHRISTIANS ENGAGED and MATURED in their LOVE & FAITH.

“So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper.” Hebrews 13:6a (Amplified Bible)

Thank you for standing with us in the comfort, encouragement and confidence of the Lord our Helper. He is truly the one who does all great things…and yet He chooses to use you and me to accomplish them.  Glory to God!

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and baby boy