Life on the Home Front

I have been spending time with my newest grandchild, a granddaughter named Ashley Morgan.  Ashley was born the day before my birthday; I guess she wanted her own special day!  She joins three older siblings, so I have been spending extra time with them, as well.  Jacob is almost 11, Elise is a bouncy 6 year old, and Zach, who is 5, is smart beyond his age.  Trying to find fun things to do inside during this heat has been a challenge.  It's been a challenge to the pocketbook, also.  :)  Proverbs 17:6 says that "Grandchildren are the crown of old women."  That is truly how I feel--how I am blessed!  I now have 7 wonderful grandchildren.

Sandra Hammes

"We Are the Light" - Summer Sizzle 2012

This past week the three CFCI Summer Interns went to Storm Lake, Iowa, one of CFCI’s bases.  Storm Lake is a town of close to 11,000 people with 30 different languages spoken!

The interns went to Storm Lake to help out with a week long summer camp called Summer Sizzle. Summer Sizzle is a Christian day camp for girls entering 5th through 8th grades. During the week the girls were able to learn about God and themselves while participating in numerous activities such as Zumba, painting pottery, baking brownies in a mug, making a glow bracelet and small group time.

Below are some of our favorite memories from the week.

One of my favorite parts of Summer Sizzle was praise and worship, which occurred in the morning when the campers arrived and in the afternoon right before the campers left for the day. It was an awesome experience witnessing 90+ girls worshiping our Lord through song and dance.

--Rachel Beach

As the campers worked their way through The Beatititudes (Matthew 5:3-10) during their time at Summer Sizzle, it was Day 2 that had a personal impact on me.  At our debriefing on Monday night the camp directors asked for a group to make the actions and skit for the next day’s verse.  Without consulting the team I raised my hand and took on the responsibility, dragging the entire Yellow Team with me on this venture.  Jerica, Rachel, and Naomi accepted the choice I had made for all of us soon enough and we started our planning.

Our skit depicted Jerica, a young girl who constantly compared herself to those around her (Emily and Naomi).  Jerica would hold up signs saying, “I’m not as… as her.”  The blank was filled with popular, athletic, smart, and talented, but we all know that the enemy runs with our imagination when it comes to comparisons and there are a million other ways to fill in that blank.  As she lifted them, Jerica would hold them high above her head as Jesus (Rachel) ripped the signs in half and at the end had a sign on His own.  

Dear child of God,

I love you just as you are.

Love, Jesus

Matthew 5:5 (The Message) “You’re blessed when you are content with just who you are-- no more, no less.  That’s the moment you find yourself proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”

What a powerful verse for young women to hear as they endure their middle school years.  What a powerful verse for me to hear as a single, 22 year-old, recent college graduate. What a powerful experience to be able to portray this verse, teach it to the young women of Storm Lake, and reflect on whether I am living and feeling content in just who I am— no more, no less.

--Emily Koopmann

Last week, the other two interns and myself were given the opportunity to accompany our sister CFCI base in Storm Lake, IA during their Summer Sizzle camp for girls.  

Upon arrival, we were under the impression that we were going to be just observing the camp activities, taking some videos, getting interviews and generally filling in gaps wherever help was needed.  What was so cool for me, on a personal level, was that God clearly had bigger plans than that.  

On the first day, we were told that they were short on camp counselors;  Emily and I were able to step up and step into a more personal, interactive role as counselors for a group of eight young fifth grade girls.  I had no idea at that point that these girls would impact me the way that they did in just five short days.  

Each girl was so very different from the other, yet so vibrant in their own way.  We found, as group counselors, that it was definitely a challenge to connect Spiritually, at least on a deeper level, with a group of 10 year-old girls.  But, as I reflect back, I realize that God had put the other counselors and myself in their life for a simpler reason: to let the love of Christ pour out of us into them.    

What started as a quiet and somewhat awkward group on the first day quickly transformed into a group full of laughter and spunk.  Each day, I could noticeably see the layers of discomfort and shyness fade away from each of these girls, and that is when the animation, story-telling and just life in general started to pour out of them.  It was, understatedly, an awesome transformation to witness and be a part of.

What’s funny is my title was “counselor,” yet I found myself in the company of eight young teachers so many times throughout the week.  These girls taught me a lot about myself and were perfect little guides on where I am on my walk with Christ.

God is doing so many amazing things in Storm Lake, through CFCI and The Bridge, and I feel so grateful to be involved in such a life-changing organization.    

--Jerica Kuncl

Marcia in El Salvador

Ellen 

Marcia and Ellen in the Finance department wanted to blog today, but they're really busy. So...I said I would do it for them. Little do they know that I am blogging about them!

Do you know that Marcia (our Finance manager) is a pastor's wife? Yep - Twin Cities Christian Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her husband, Pastor Mike, is an awesome preacher. I went to a funeral he officiated and his message was amazing...I mean amazing.

Anyway, Marcia is also CFCI's official soup maker. Whenever we have potluck day, we can count on a delicious soup from her. She also sews (made the dresses for her daughter's wedding), bakes cakes, and crafts our Christmas gifts each year.

Call her sometime - 402 592 8332 - and tell her what a great job she is doing!

As for Ellen - our Finance assistant - she is a vibrant young woman with lots of energy. I think her faith comes into the room before she does! She is also the finance person for her church - Calvary Chapel in Omaha. She leads Bible studies and small groups. Ellen played soccer in college so beware of her kick!

In addition to her energy, she has brought us a lot of technical knowledge. She caught right on to our new financial software system and has been instrumental in getting us to online receipting. She also keeps us laughing. Call Ellen sometime (same number as above) and make HER laugh!

My office is next to the Finance office so I hear everything...which isn't much, let me tell you. They are very quiet - nose-to-the-grindstone workers. And they are always very busy. We appreciate them very much.

We love you, Marcia and Ellen!!!!

Everlasting Liberty

"Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, 

which will bring glory to God." - Romans 15:7 (NCV)

Jesus read, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." - Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)

Jesus was back in his hometown of Nazareth, after recently being baptized by John the Baptist.  It was Saturday, the Sabbath, so Jesus went to the synagogue, as was the Jewish custom.  There men read from the Scriptures and commented on what they'd read.  Jesus was handed the scroll of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, and he chose to read the words from Isaiah 61:1 to the crowd.  Afterward he said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  Thus was the beginning of Jesus' public outreach to the people of Israel and to the world.

About seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah recorded the future Messiah's purpose statement. Messiah means "Anointed One," or someone God has set apart for a very special purpose.  Jesus' special purpose was to extend God's freedom to those who were in captivity.  In Isaiah's time, the prophet's words comforted those who had experience literal captivity.  They had been exiled for their home and force to live under the harsh rule of the Babylonians.

In Jesus' time, Jesus did set some people free from the bondage of physical and mental ailments.  However, the liberty Jesus was destined to deliver goes much deeper than that.  He fulfilled Isaiah's words by providing freedom from spiritual blindness and the power of sin and death.  The freedom Jesus offers is permanent.  Once he breaks the invisible chains that are holding you back, you have the freedom to become who God created you to be.

Think back over your life, calling to mind what spiritual, physical, or emotional chains God has freed you from.  Thank him for the liberty he's given you in each of those areas.

____________________

* This excerpt was taken from "100 Favorite Bible verses," published by W. Publishing Group (a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Getting Out and Living the Gospel...

Isaiah 25:3-5

"Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you.  

You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a 

shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat."

When I first heard from the forty something year old School Psychologist from Indiana who had a wife and four young children in the home I must admit I had my doubts about his eventual placement on the mission field. After all why would he want to use up his summer vacation serving out in the hot hazy humid faraway land of El Salvador? Psychologist John Pence indicated on his application that he desired to:

 "get out and live the gospel by meeting physical as well as spiritual needs of those less fortunate than myself".  

Well, I thought, we DO offer opportunities such as he described with each and every one of our CFCI mission bases.  But to leave his wife and children back home while he went to serve other children and families in a foreign land?  It kinda didn't make sense to me.  But then as I communicated with John's wife Renee I heard her speak of her strong support of his going.  Renee stated time and time again how excited she was for her husband to experience the blessing of "giving of himself" to the glory of God in this way.  Ok.  On we proceeded with John's application.  John requested to serve for five weeks in our El Salvador base.  He indicated that though he would be willing to serve "where ever needed" he would most like to help with home construction if at all possible.

John was placed with our mission base in El Salvador where he is currently sliding into the homestretch of his summer mission service.  I had the inclination to check up on John and his wife Renee only to experience one of the greatest blessings I could have received.  Renee replied back to me with attached letters John had been writing to all of his financial supporters back home.  Renee described that though John is a man of few words he had been able to articulate in such an effective manner as to have brought many of his backers to tears. I read several of John's "updates" and succumbed to the same tearful conclusions.  God isn't looking for servants with ideal "season's of life" or a perfected "set of skills".  He's just looking for a willing heart that says, "Lord, hear am I...send me."  John just plainly wrote me and said, "Here am I...can you send me?"

Here is an excerpt from one of John's "updates":

     "I observed an English class sponsored by Christ for the Cities in the morning and a soccer clinic in the afternoon.  I began my own Mission work promptly the next day.  I've spent the week helping to build a home for a local family.  I've been working with a crew of five men from the church.  Despite them knowing almost no English and my knowing almost no Spanish, we have managed to erupt in gut-busting laughter at least on an hourly basis.  I've discovered a common bond between men on a construction site that seems to transcend both space and culture.  Their work ethic and ingenuity amazes me.  There's none of the time-saving tools that I'm accustomed to working with...just yesterday we were trying to level something and used a tube filled with water to do the job.  We don't even have a wheelbarrow, when pouring concrete for the floor yesterday, we mixed it all by hand and shoveled it on the road and carted it into the building with 10 gallon buckets.  We are working in a shanty town called  Soyapango.  Coming from a land of plenty like the U.S. it would be hard to truly comprehend the suffering and need that exists in places like these all over the world if one didn't actually live it or experience it first-hand.  

To be part of an effort to help just one family have a little bit of security and comfort is a heart warming experience that I think everyone should have.  I would like to thank you all from the very bottom of my soul for providing me the opportunity to actually live the Gospel."

 "get out and live the gospel by meeting physical as well as spiritual needs of those less fortunate than myself".   Mission accomplished John Pence.  Thank you for offering your time, talent and treasure so that one family may experience the loving outstretched arms of Jesus in a real and tangible way.

John shared in other pages how he was able to help in clothing those who have no clothes by participating in a t-shirt giveaway to any man that did not own a shirt.  He also shared how he had served food to some of the hungry children in the village.  What an honor and a privilege it is to know that back here in my little office sending and receiving emails all day that I too participate in "living the gospel" as we join forces to meet needs of the poor and hungry.  Here is a photo of John (on the left) along with several of our other short-term missionaries serving in with the El Salvador base missionaries.  Thank you John for all you have given.

Penny Slosson

Short-term Individual Missions Coordinator

They can't get away from us Now!

“They can’t get away from us now!”

How many of you at one time or another lived in an apartment complex?  It could have been an upscale unit with a fitness room, pool, lounge area, or the other end of the pendulum with noise, graffiti & roaches.  All of them still require people to live in confined spaces, very close to each other.  If you got along well with your neighbors, it was not so bad, BUT, live next door to the “neighbors from hell” and well, you know what I mean.   Is this where you find yourself today?

In these situations, it is understandable to grumble to God asking Him to provide relief and find you a new place to live.  You remind him that you were saved from hell and shouldn’t have to live next door to it!  But there you stay as though He never heard a word you prayed.

Acts 17: 26 says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

So?  Who put you in that place in the first place?  Why did He determine you should live there?  To punish you for some evil you did when you were 14?  Just to mess with you?  Or….

…does He have a plan to reach your neighbors and that plan also involves you?

In San Diego, one of our staff couples moved into a complex a year ago and began to pray for ways they could love their neighbors.  There were the typical domestic fights, drugs being sold around them and even a dead body that showed up in the trunk of a car.  Still, they saw them as their mission field, as sheep without a shepherd, fatherless kids desperately looking for the love of a Father, single-moms in need of a Bride-Groom and teenagers looking for a Hope and a future.

So they organized prayer walks, hung out at the pool with a guitar singing worship songs, organized Bible studies, kid’s activities throughout the week, and parking lot cookouts as the picture shows.  Results = kids getting saved, parents getting saved, violence decreasing, undesirables leaving and Christians moving in - just like God had it all planned from the beginning J

Chesty Puller is the most decorated Marine in American history.  During a deadly battle on a Pacific island, he once shouted, “They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29 to 1.  They can’t get away from us now!”

God has strategically surrounded each of us with those who are lost.  They are not placed there to overtake us, but we are there to love them to Jesus because “They can’t get away from us now!”

Randy Fontaine

US Director

"But if it is of God..."

"... you will not be able to stop or overthrow or destroy them... they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah)." ~ Acts 5:39-42

I’ll start by saying that I’m thankful that my host parents are missionaries through Christ For the City International here in Costa Rica. They have been alongside me for just about everything I have done here so far and it has put me more at ease to work with them. I think they deserve an introduction—Henry and Jahaira and their son Aaron (12) have been with CFCI for 4 years now. Both of them are also studying at Costa Rican Universities. 


They are some of the kindest, most passionate people I have met when it comes to loving people and talking about what God is doing in their lives at any given opportunity. I truly feel at home in their house and Aaron has become a little brother to me. He is teaching me to become a Saprissa fútbol fan (soccer, not American football) and I’ve watched several of the Costa Rican team’s games. 


I should also introduce Carlos Mestayer, who is the CFCI short term ministries coordinator with whom I am working  directly. He is going to be showing me how to do all the behind-the-scenes work of getting a team from the States to Costa Rica so that I can take over when he goes to the States for a couple months in September!


On my third night here, we were off to the airport to welcome my first short-term missions team to Costa Rica—(a group of 48!) from a church in Amarillo, Texas. What a lively and diverse group. I loved the idea of having a mission trip in which the whole family is invited-- there were 7 year olds to 77 year olds sharing in the experience.  


Because of its size, the group was divided between two locations. The first group worked with the sewing ministry that Christ for the City implements during the week. Anyone is welcome to come and use the sewing machines and fabric and have a time of getting to know one another and sharing while doing crafts. The other group worked with Pastor Mario Perez in his church Iglesia Biblica Jerusalen in Pavas. Pastor Mario’s goal was to expand his church, literally, to have room for growing ministries—and that we did! 


I had never really seen construction first-hand-- team members were up on the roof attaching beams to concrete walls, painting, sand blasting, etc. Mornings, we worked on the building project at the church, and in the afternoons, we had the privilege of visiting several elementary schools to do a Vacation Bible School program with the children. The most moving part for me during the week was getting the chance to visit the houses of several church members who are unable to make it to the Sunday service because of health problems or because of where they live. In these cases, we brought the team to them and surrounded them in prayer, praying for their physical weaknesses and that God’s presence would be with them, and also asking God to bless them. These people were so full of joy, despite the circumstances-- the kind of joy that only comes from being in Him.


Towards the end of the Amarillo team’s stay, Jahaira and I left to meet the second team that was on their way to Costa Rica to partner with CFCI—a youth group from Berlin, Ohio. It was an incredible ten days with this group. Being around and sharing with these youth as they were on this mission trip brought my thoughts back to my first mission trip to Mexico as a high school student. I remembered my first time seeing some very eye-opening places, meeting people who are so anxious to be loved and hear the Good News about a God who loves them, and hearing testimonies of lives changed because of a week-long interaction with people willing to share their time and lives. I know many of the youth took home similar experiences.

The team members and CFCI missionaries (including myself!) spent this week living with host families from the church we were working with. The church is called “Taller del Maestro”, taken from the title of a Christian song here in Costa Rica, and means “Workshop of the Teacher”. The stories at the end of the week from both host families and students alike were amazing. The Tico families (what Costa Rican’s call themselves) adopted these kids and reminded them many times that “mi casa es su casa” (my house is your house) and to return any time.


We spent a couple afternoons visiting several elementary and high schools. The team used sports as a way to connect with the different age groups, and then explained how a lot of the team values learned in good sportsmanship are some of the same traits that we as Christians aim to exemplify in our lives. We also were a part of four different services at Taller del Maestro. It is amazing to me how openly and un-ashamedly the Tico’s worship our God. No matter the service, people were jumping up and down, raising their hands or worshipping on their knees.

One of the Berlin youth, Cameron, told us all at the end of the time at the church, that one of the things he was praying that God would make clear to him was whether he should go to college to pursue being a teacher or a youth pastor. The week he spent in Costa Rica, he lived with the youth pastor from the church and was able to spend time talking in broken Spanish and hearing about his passion for pastoring youth. Cameron said at the end of the week that he felt a clear calling to pursue serving the Lord as a youth pastor someday.

               I am truly enjoying my experience here and loved arriving at a place where it is evident that God is at work in the lives of the people. I feel so honored to be a Christ For the City missionary and am blessed to be a short-term team receiver. I get to experience each of these trips with these American’s who have given of their time to come here to serve the Lord and bring the Good News to the ends of the earth.


Sarah White, Short-term Missionary- Costa Rica

Blessed to Be a Blessing

A co-worker, Penny, resolutely states that we are blessed to be a blessing.  I couldn't agree more.  I used to wonder why I was born into the family I was in, instead of a remote, far-off place.  Why I lived a cushy U.S. middle class life.  Sure, I've had my fair share of struggles.  As a farm family, some years my dad had a good crop, while other years it did poorly.  I remember times when the crop was so bad that we made more money off the insurance, than we did the crop itself.  But, my parents never focused on the money, or lack of it.  Whether we had a good crop or a poor one, that didn't change things.  My parent's still extended hospitality.  They still served.  They still gave financially to help others.  And I'll carry this model with me throughout the rest of my life.

As Christians, think of all the spiritual blessings we have been given:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding....  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3-8, 13b-14).

The blessings I have received in Christ make me want to, in turn, be a blessing to others.  I have a King, who died on the cross so I could have life.  I, too, want to extend life and hope to the people around me.
                                                                                                                                                              For some people, God has granted them with extra wealth and material possessions.  To coincide with this, He's gifted them with the special task of being wise stewards of their resources--of using what they've been given to better and bless someone else.  "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:).  "If it is serving, let him serve" (Rom. 12:7a).  "If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously" (Rom. 128b).  "Share with God's people who are in need.  Practice hospitality" (Rom. 12:13).  These are all practical, straightforward verses.                                                                                                                                    
I went to the National Alliance to End Homelessness website and looked at their latest stats on my city, Omaha, Nebraska.  As of early this year, there was an estimate of 1,580 homeless people in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.  I then checked out the Children's Defense Fund site and got the most current info on children.  Did you know that, as of January 2012, there were 32,591 children living in extreme poverty in Nebraska?  Without much effort, I'm sure I could easily find stats on many other things, as well.  But, that's not my point.  My point is that there are needs all around us.  It couldn't get easier to find ways to be a blessing.  All we need to do is to have our eyes and ears open.  Ask God to bring some needs to you!                                                                                                                                                           
Within CFCI, most of my time is spent with the Urban Plunge program.  Today, however, I would like to share with you two different ways that you can be a wonderful blessing to others.

• Do you love shoes?  How about helping to provide some school kids with some new shoes!  CFCI's San Diego base is collecting shoes for at-risk children.  Go to our Causes page to get the info on how you can get involved.                                                                                                                   

• One of CFCI's ministries is Renacer--a rehabilitation ministry for street girls living in Costa Rica.  Renacer is building a new dormitory to be able to help more girls get off the streets and find the love of Jesus Christ.  The facts can be found on the Causes page.

Do either of these needs excite you?  We would love to have you get involved!

Be blessed,

Julie