Growth Praying

"The history of missions is the history of answered prayer." (Samuel Zwemer) Thank you for joining us on this mission and praying with us as we continue to empower the urban poor, raise up leaders and plant churches. We know that we are nothing without God and His people surrounding us and lifting us up in prayer.

We have been blessed with some great growth this first official month of church planting. Last week we had 6 new adults and 6 new children come out. We are meeting new people through our outreach and evangelistic efforts (mostly on Wednesday and Sunday). It was exciting; however, that 3 of the adults that came out were not invited by us but by somebody who just started coming herself. Our weekly totals are right around 30, putting us (within a month) at 25% of our year-long goal. (We believe God has called us to have 120 people under our care in the first year.)

Growing is great! It does have its challenges though. We have to continue to balance the time and energy we pour into the different areas of ministry. We desire to always be about going and reaching out to bring more desperately hungry, needy and lost into our growing family. We also want to be about building a strong foundation with each person by providing quality fellowship and study times as well as a focus on individuals in leadership training and discipleship. Clearly not everything has to happen at once, but we are seeing certain needs arise. We ask that to avoid “growth pain” you do some “growth praying” with us. We know God wants to use us and our church to do some unexpected and different things. We know that He cares way more than we do for the children and their needs, the many lost shouting silently for freedom through their desperate attempts to encounter meaning in this life. He is the one that showed us His desire for a community of people in this neighborhood that love one another and study and apply the Bible as they grow in relationship with their Savior and Lord.

We also have specific times throughout the week where we meet one-on-one with people.
Please pray for our time with Blanca, Bere, Primo, Italia, Juan Carlos and others.

Other important times: Tuesday night – we invite a family/couple/individual from the community over for dinner to get to know them. /Thursdays: 2:30-4:00 Team meeting / Mondays: Much needed day off!

Praise Reports

Blanca has been growing strong in her relationship with Jesus since she committed her life to Him December 9th) she gave her life to Jesus. She is reading big portions of the Bible and memorizing verses and challenging the group to do the same as she brings observations and questions to the meetings. Recently she was inspired by the words of 1 Peter 3:1, speaking of winning an unbelieving husband without words, but with behavior. We’ve been praying with her for her husband, Alejandro, who does not believe in God at all. He has already noticed her change and begun asking many questions about what she is learning and why she is doing what she is doing. She has also taken an interest in learning to play the guitar and so we are teaching her what we know. Please pray for her family (she is one of Primo’s sisters). Blanca and Alejandro (pictured above) have two children, Jennifer and Anthony.

Tina and Adelso –You may remember we first made contact with them one day before Rebecca’s birthday party (in November) and invited them out. They came and since we’ve been able to get to know them a lot better. They are now regularly attending our Wednesday night meeting. Adelso, whose mother back in Guatemala is a Christian, is really interested in growing in God and exposing his family to the Church. Tina has surprised him by being all changed and ready to go with their two children when he arrives from work. Tina, not having any previous exposure to studying the Word of God, has taken a Bible home and been reading portions in between each meeting.

“When I return to my land people there aren’t going to recognize me, they’ll see that I’m a better person, they’ll see something different.” - Primo (pictured above with Bere)

When asked if she had a good time at the Winter Youth Retreat Italia responded, “Yeah, but I didn’t come here for fun—I came here to get closer to God.” And did she ever! She responded for the first time ever to the Gospel call. We’ve been meeting with her for the last 6 months, studying the Bible, having her shadow us in many different ministry activities and finally she responded by giving her whole life to Jesus for eternity!! J She now attends our youth group, along with her older brother Juan Carlos, on Fridays. Tiffany, our youth worker, is continuing to follow-up with her on her decision by working one-on-one through various issues a couple times a week.
Italia and her family L to R: Maria, Ramon Jr., Maricela (mother), Joel, Juan Carlos, Olivia, Italia, Marta


Prayer Requests:

Children’s Ministry Solution — With as many as 7 children (ranging from 8 months to 10 years old) showing up at a given meeting we need help organizing activities/lessons and somebody that can be in charge of these children so their parents can focus on the study and discussion. [We have a vision of training up the parent’s to take turns providing this Biblical education to their kids, but at this time we’re still building a Biblical foundation and getting to know them so we need a solution meanwhile.]

Easter Week Outreach & Celebration Service — With the school’s on Spring Break the week before Easter we are working on a plan to provide a VBS type activity for children and their families building up to a large corporate celebration service and BBQ/potluck afterwards. Please pray for the details and finances for these events.

Rebecca’s (and her parent’s too!) transition into Pre-School — Rebecca will begin to attend preschool in the afternoons starting Monday. She is soooo excited and we are too, but we might cry!


Thank you for doing what you do so that we can do what we do…we each play a part.
Chad & Fabiola

Shalom to the Strangers Amongst Us

Here is a link to a message I gave at Living Way Community Church of Los Angeles.

It is the third from the bottom. You can listen there or download it for later.

God Bless! ~ Chad

Our Team

A few weeks ago we chartered our new church plant, Fuente para las Naciones (Fountain to the Nations). We had a productive and inspiring strategic-planning time for our church plant with our newly formed team. We would like to introduce you to two of our team members (also World Impact missionaries) and ask for your prayers for each one of us especially that God would knit us together in loving unity for His glory. It is exciting seeing how God has brought us together for this task--we all complement one another well with our different gifts, talents, interests, and personalities. Pictured L to R, The Fuente para las Naciones church plant team: Norma, Rebecca, Chad, Fabiola, Justice and Tiffany.

Norma was born in Mexico and came to the United States when she was nine years old; she is one of eight children. Norma and her whole family came to know Christ through World Impact Bible clubs. Norma has been working with World Impact for 20 years. She started her ministry at THE OAKS camp, where she worked with the youth teaching them basic work skills and cooking. She enjoyed teaching them about Christ.
Norma moved to Los Angeles six years ago and has been working as a church planter, first with a Spanish-speaking church and most recently with an English-speaking simple church (house church). Since her time in L.A., she has explored the different gifts that God has given her. She enjoys meeting people in the community when she goes out and evangelizes throughout the week. She has also been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and an aerobics class to ladies in the community. Norma enjoys discipling ladies and will be helping with the pastoral care and training of the women.

We met Tiffany in Wichita, Kansas, at a church-planting training two years ago. It was at that time we realized how well our gifts meshed but did not know what God might have in store. Tiffany, originally from Chicago, has been in Los Angeles for less than a year, but she is already discipling youth (junior high, high school, and college age) and training them to be future leaders in the city. She will help our team by focusing on some of our key youth with whom we have established relationships. Using her gifts, abilities, and passion to disciple and train up youth, she will pour into them biblical foundations, vision, and sincere relationship. She will also train others to minister to the youth and children leaving the ministry in good hands in the future.

Please join us this month by praying for:
• A male team member (Spanish speaking, faithful, available, teachable, shares the same values).

• Norma to be able to move into the neighborhood so she can be more fruitful with relationships and time (living incarnationally rather than commuting 15 minutes).

• Powerful, fruitful ministry and positive team dynamics as we work together for God’s glory.

For God’s team,
Chad and Fabiola Wolyn

What Does Love Look & Feel Like?

When you are hurting you don’t want anybody to touch you.

When you have been ignored for so long you may not know why somebody would want to genuinely know how you are doing.

Our desire is to get out into the community and serve, bless, and love our neighbors and let them know the Good News of Christ Jesus.

New Year’s Eve day we were able to put on a Carnival Family Fun Day at the park with the above desire as our goal. We estimate there were about 120 people that were able to experience the blessing and love in some tangible way. We had a lot of fun activities and games with prizes. The little girls loved the jewelry making and nail painting and one boy could barely walk after jumping in the bounce house all afternoon.

“It is so wonderful that you are doing something like this for the community. Though I know nothing about Christianity I would be very interested in learning more about your church and what you are doing.” -Nancy (Mother of 2)

It isn’t too common to have a safe, family friendly event that doesn’t cost anything in our community. We had a drama gospel presentation on the stage with a short explanation and invitation in English and Spanish. We were impressed by the responses we heard from different people about the drama. One man said, “That was a really powerful message. I’ve never thought of things that way before.” People are open…we just need to keep reaching out, sharing, loving and inviting. Please pray that we would be faithful and see much fruit in our outreach and evangelistic efforts. We need to continue to pray that people won’t just nod their heads, hear the Word and move on with their lives, but that there will be deep and lasting change – we are believing for 120 of those commitments this year.

Throughout the day we got to mingle and meet a lot of wonderful people and share more about God’s plan for their life and invite people out to our groups. We had an information and prayer table where people got the Gospel of John, other information about being a Christ follower and our ministry. We served over 200 hot dogs along with lots of cookies, punch and other goodies. Sometimes it’s hard to break into a hardened heart or a hurting community, but we feel God has allowed us to break in through genuine caring relationships that we’ve built with people day to day. Now with events like this we’ve found another way to ‘touch’ those that most need the touch, yet still hurt too much to receive it.

The following day, New Year’s Day, we partnered with Total Restoration Ministries, a Christian live-in drug & alcohol rehabilitation ministry, to put on another event. While the day before we had focused on the families this event was primarily for the homeless, addicts, prostitutes and gang members in and around South Park. We handed out hygiene packets, lots of hot food, clothes and powerful testimonies of what God has done to set others free. There were ex-prostitutes and ex-gang members that came to share and testify of what Jesus has done for them rescuing them for this very park and how He is worthy of receiving all our life. Chad translated the whole event in Spanish and was able to get to know some new people as well as build deeper relationships with others. It is a beautiful thing working together in unity for Christ—that’s what love looks like. We’ve had a burden for women in prostitution for a long time, but haven’t found a good opportunity or way to minister to them. Yet some of the ladies from Total Restoration were able to reach out to two very broken prostitutes that were weeping on a park bench in response to hearing the mercy, love and acceptance of their Father, maybe for the first time. One of these precious ladies heard the message in Spanish through the interpretation and the other in English. They’ve now experienced the beginning of what love feels like. They are finally getting to the point where they are sick and tired of being sick and tired…a beautiful place where God can really bring them close to Him and love on them. Prayer Requests:

·Winter Retreat – This weekend (January 15-17) two of our youth, Italia and Juan Carlos, will be going to a World Impact youth retreat with our church’s new youth worker, Tiffany.

·Evangelism AND Discipleship – Please pray that we would be able to continue to meet new people and balance making these new relationships with the need to pour into and help spiritually mature those that we’re already meeting with.

·Quality Family Time – Currently we are setting aside Mondays to rest and spend time as a family without attending to the business and urgent needs of the ministry. Pray that we’d be able to have quality times as a family and find refreshing in God and with one another….it’ll allow us to be more effective the rest of the week.

Thank you!

That many might know the love of our Father deeply and richly,
Chad & Fabiola

What A Year This Will Be!

“We become the voice of the voiceless, pleading their cause all the way to the throne of heaven. We demand to be heard. We insist that changes be made. Like Abraham we bargain with God over the fate of the city. Like Moses we argue with God over the fate of the people. Like Esther we plead with God over the fate of the nation.” –Richard Foster

While we fix our eyes on the individuals—men like Primo, Francisco and Miguel, women like Bere, Zaira and Soila, youth like Italia, Juan Carlos and Yesenia we pray and teach and serve them believing they will walk out their godly calling leading many others in turn. We are pouring our lives out for these individuals, but continue to be stirred with compassion for the many more that await the Good News.

A while back we took a group to a UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl. While we enjoyed the conversation, camaraderie and closeness of being with the 15-20 people sitting with us the experience would not be the same without the other 92,535 people filling the Rose Bowl. While we are excited about the few that have made the stand to turn from sin and walk with Christ, we feel the urgency to press in and see more people won for our Lord. This battle is won in prayer. We walk it out in faithful obedience, but we need your help to see these people through to experience all they were made for and for God to get the glory in their stories. We rejoice in the new year! It is a time to look back with thanksgiving and a time to look ahead with hope. We must do the work of our Father. He has been so good to us. We are compelled by His love. We must see change—lives are depending on it. God has been so merciful and gracious allowing us to know so many wonderful people. Yet we see the real battle that they are in—fighting drug and alcohol addictions, struggling with overcoming past wounds that are currently causing relational problems, and the outright poverty compounded by so many other complications leaving families without time to be a family as they struggle to eke out their survival day by day.

Looking back over our first sixth months here in South Central Los Angeles we realize we are still newbies in many regards, yet our roots have been set into the soil of our community. God has led us and not let us stumble. We are constantly in awe at how God chooses to use us and allows us to be His hands and feet, his mouthpiece and listening ear to so many. More Lord, for you glory!

Thank you for praying. Here are some answered prayers from the last few months:

·We’ve been able to enter more homes. We have been praying for the sick and down trodden and studying the Bible with individuals or groups in some of the houses in our neighborhood (and enjoying some great food too).

·We have a small team formed and will be having a strategic planning meeting this month looking ahead at the next few years and moving ever closer to an official launch for our church. (Please pray for this time.)

·Lots of new friends, most who are sincerely interested in knowing God in a real way.

Please pray with us for the precious people God has given us care of (some are listed above) as we continue to follow-up and disciple them, but also join us in prayer for the many great things that we believe God has in store for our neighborhood and our church in this coming year.

Remaining in the vine (for apart from Him we can do nothing),
Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca and Justice Wolyn

Christmas Celebrations

It was a long day, but well worth the effort. We met at our house for coffee and sweat bread and loaded up a coach bus to take the hour and a half ride out of the city to the camp. There were 20 of us that went from our group (unfortunately two families had to cancel—one due to a sickness and another due to legal problems). There were hay rides behind the tractor, numerous Christmas crafts, adventure and team sports, archery, great food, family pictures, air hockey, ping pong, foosball, special activities for the kids all rolled up into one day.

We ended the day with a special time in the Word of God. We had a great discussion about Christmas and its meaning.
Can you believe that nobody in our group knew what Christmas was all about?
They shrugged their shoulders and shared what they thought Christmas with comments like:
“It is a good way to wind down the year.”
“It is a time to get together with family and tell them that we’re thankful for them and give them gifts.”
“A time to use any extra money we have to buy things.”
WOW! There wasn’t even an, “Oh, that’s what I meant.” or “I’ve heard of that before.”, just wide eyes taking it all in when I started sharing from Luke 2, about the Savior’s birth and how significant that event is for all of us. We also reflected on how Jesus is our Emmanuel, our God with us. This event took place on December 5th so we were still early in the time of Advent. I shared how this time is meant for us to reflect and anticipate the coming King. He came as a baby and shared His life and death with us, but I also challenged each person to prepare for the second coming of the King in all of His glory. What a wonderful thing to wait expectantly and prepare for! What a great day to get the opportunity to build relationships deeper and wider and allow each one learn of the coming King. Thank you for your prayers.

As a result of prayer and this event we now have two of our youth (Italia and Juan Carlos) connected to the World Impact youth group which will allow the youth more opportunities-apart from our times with them-to grow in their forming faith as we plant and grow the church. At our regular Wednesday morning Bible study time with Primo, Bere and their family one of Primo’s sisters, Blanca, gave her life to the Lord! She was very hungry and responded with deep emotion and gratitude not based out of a sole intellectual understanding, but out of her heart and a longing for forgiveness and to know her Maker.

Adelso & Faustina (Tina) – Remember the couples that surprised us by coming to Rebecca’s birthday party after meeting them on the sidewalk the day before? We had them over for tea and coffee last Wednesday night and had a wonderful two hour discussion about God and having a living, active faith. Both of them are excited about continuing to meet with us and study the Word and pray. We feel like they are getting close to accepting the Lord and giving their life to Him, but know it is a spiritual battle with a lot of unknown factors and ask that you would pray for them and for us as we continue to reach out to them and other neighbors like them.

Upcoming Events & Prayer Needs:

December 30

– Prayer walk; canvassing the neighborhood; evangelism.
Focus: What are the real and felt needs of our community and how can we partner with God to be a part of the solution?

December 31

– Carnival Outreach at South Park (carnival games, bounce house, drama and music with gospel presentation).
Focus: Families of South Park community

January 1

– “Whatcha Gonna Do?” Gospel Outreach (free hot meal, clothing, care packages, rehab referrals, prayer tent and gospel presentation).
Focus: Homeless, Day Labors, Drug & Alcohol Addicts, Prostitutes of South Park and surroundings.

January 11-13

– Strategic Planning Time/Retreat with our team to prepare for launching the church in South Park – Los Angeles.
Focus: Laying out the vision, plans, strategies, and tasks for the coming year and beyond.

We pray you have a fantastic Christmas celebration with family and friends remembering the greatest gift any of us have ever received—Christ.

Thank you for celebrating Christmas with us through your prayers, encouraging emails and cards, and financial support.

We send our love!
Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca and Justice Wolyn

Thanksgiving Update

Thank you for your prayers for our Thanksgiving outreach. We had 18 people come to our house for a Thanksgiving dinner. Though we did hand out food baskets and boxes to some of our more needy neighbors and friends we really wanted this to be a time to come together and grown in our relationship with people and not just be “another hand out”. So Fabiola invited a handful of ladies to help cook the Thanksgiving meal with her. There were others that were unable to make the preparation time at our house so we helped gather up the needed ingredients for their dishes so that they could prepare something at home to bring to our feast. We had several families and our regular Wednesday night Bible study and prayer group in attendance. We all sat at a long table (see photo below) and had a special time in prayer and then enjoyed a great meal, laughing the night away with stories and just getting to know one another better. This was the first time three of them had ever come into our home.On Thursday, we were invited to two other Thanksgiving celebrations and were able to continue to grow relationships, express our values and the heart of thankfulness and dedication to God and get to know even more people (extended families). On Sunday, during our normal outreach/church service at South Park we were able to work with some volunteers and serve a full Thanksgiving meal. The homeless, some day laborers and others that sell concessions all greatly appreciated the meal. Afterwards we had enough food left over that we were able to call some of our other friends and neighbors and drop off plates of food and sweat bread just to bless them and share in the holiday spirit of giving.
Prayer Points

· This Saturday (Dec. 5) we take a group out on an excursion out of the city. Legal, money and health issues are pulling some people who were planning to go potentially out of the trip. Pray that everyone that should be there is able to come. Pray that they would all enjoy a refreshing time and that the Christmas message that we present at the end will be powerful and penetrate deep.

· Please pray for complete healing and restoration of one of our closer friends here who has been admitted to the psychiatric ward at the hospital. She has three young children, who are being watched by a relative.

· Pray that our relationships with people that are still on an acquaintance or friend level will develop deeper and people will radically decide to leave their old lives behind in order to follow Christ. Specifically pray for Guadalupe, who is very open, but has some concerns based on some bad past experiences with ‘religion.’

Like Anna, the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38), we are eagerly anticipating celebrating the coming of our King and Savior. We are thankful that He came and that He will come again. We are thankful for faithful friends and family that support us with their prayers and help us do what we’re doing with their own sacrificial giving. We are thankful that God has chosen to use us and we get to be “on the ground” meeting and helping these beautiful people know Jesus.

“[Anna] never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God [giving thanks], and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem [all believers]” (Luke 2:36-28, The Message, additions are mine). We are free because He came! Thanks be to God.

Breaking into an anthem of praise,
Chad & Fabiola