HS Serve At Camp Lutherhaven

Here are two updates of what happened when the HS youth group went to help out at CampLutherhaven in Northern Indiana

By Jackie Booher

My week at Camp Lutherhaven was incredible!! It was slightly different than most of everyone’s, but it was still amazing.  Most of the youth group kept the same group of kids all week long and most of their children spoke English and came from Christian families. I, however, did not have the same child twice. and all of my children were either Muslim or could not speak English or both. The week went well, but the most memorable moment was on the last day with the kids.
On that day, I happened to have 3 little girls. (I would tell you their names, but I couldn’t pronounce their names let alone spell them). Three hours before they all left I noticed that during the prayer before lunch the youngest girl tried to pray, but the other two quickly slapped her hands away. Then once I noticed they would not eat meat, I realized that they were Muslim. So I asked them if they were Christians and if they loved Jesus. One girl tried to tell me yes, but the other two immediately scolded her. I explained that I loved Jesus and the He loves me. He loves me so much that he died on the cross so that I could go to heaven! I told them that he loved each one of them too. However, the eldest looked straight at me and said “No, not Jesus. Jesus doesn’t love the Burmese.”
No matter how much I tried to convince them, that Jesus loves them and Jesus loves the Burmese and He loves the whole world, she would shake he head and ask why he let them suffer. This little girl, only 9 years old, could not understand a God who loved them and at the same time allowed them to become refugees and be forced to flee their home. All I could do, was love them. I played with them, hugged them and drew pictures with them. I’ll never forget chasing their bus, hoping and praying that they will remember the love I tired to show them that day. I cried a lot that night, because I felt like I wasn’t enough.
It took me a while to understand why God didn’t let me have more time with them. I still don’t completely understand. One day just doesn’t seem long enough. I can not imagine being unlovable because of where I was from. But I have to believe that my short time spent with those little girls was enough to plant a seed in their hearts. I have to believe that they saw Jesus’ love through me. Maybe I will never ever see them again, but they will always be in my prayers.
But I’ll never forget my Burmese sisters.
No matter what little deed we conquer, it will always be something, always be a seed, always be enough. So I encourage anyone reading this, that you will always be enough! You just gotta try and keep up the good work!!

By Kayla Annarino

OK, well at the beginning of the week, before we left I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. These 3 little girls were soon to be under my guidance, they would look up to me as a big sister. I knew it, and I wanted to be the strongest person I could be for them. Though in my heart that week and also a couple weeks before then and even now I have been struggling with things that have happened awhile back. I knew I had to be strong for these girls, to be an example of true love and happiness…though I was broken I still managed to show them the love!
After seeing their faces for the first time, not knowing anything about them besides the fact that these girls are precious to God. They mean so very much to him, my Daddy. And all I wanted for them was for them to see his love and to be happy, strong young women!
I have never grown so attached to any little kid, (besides family) in just 4 days! it happened so fast, and I knew it was a God thing. God had made me strong for them throughout the days while they were there to just focus on them, their safety, their happiness, their well being, their future!
We would go out every morning to greet them at about 10AM when their bus arrived. The first day, they nor I knew what to expect. The second day they ran to me with smiling faces arms open ready to jump to me and give me a hug once more. They latched on to me every morning in the same way. One holding my right hand, one holding my left, and one under my left arm with their hand around my back. One time, two of my girls started fighting on who would get to hold my hand. I grew such a bond with them. They called me Mom…they called me Teacher…and they called me Kayla I really fell in love with these girls, who wouldn’t?
Every morning I would wake up wondering what God had in store for us. One day as we sat and colored I had the opportunity to tell them that God was my best friend, that he was always there for me no matter what and that he loved all of us, they looked at me, each one and smiled and said…”He is mine too” one right after the other it made me smile. I have a feeling this will not be the last time i see them
There is one girl i did not mention because she was only with me for a little on the first day. Her name was Ester. She loved me…i could see it in her eyes but she got switched to another girl in our group. but every morning…it never failed, she would come up and hug me say hello and she would go on with her leader. She would come up to me throughout the day and sit on my lap.
These girls no doubt looked up to me, just like i thought they would. on the last day, it was so hard walking up that hill like we did every morning, empty handed…with no little girls tugging at me asking me when we would do this and that (THEY LOVED SWIMMING IN THE LAKE!!) but walking up with no girls…knowing i wouldn’t be doing that again…possibly ever was heart breaking :/ Chasing after that bus when they left…i almost started full out crying! Every day we would stand there as the bus left…waving till we could not see the bus anymore. The very first day they had no idea what we were doing. they probably thought in their little heads that we were crazy haha. but it was so cool to see them wave until they could not see us as well on the second day. How they caught on they knew we were not gonna stop.
This camp was a great experience. I would do it all over again. I met some great friends. I showed these girls i loved, how much God loved them and cared for them. that was my mission there…and it was accomplished MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I only hope the best for them…and pray for them, that in the future they shine so bright, in the darkest places!

Camp Lutherhaven is in Northern Indiana and is a camp for immigrant children.  The CCF high schoolers went up there during the week of July 25th-31st 2010.

Mexico Pics!

Praise God the house is complete!

Please continue for the team in dealing with the heat and also they will be putting up the Centro De Vida sign on the building today.  This is 35 feet off of the ground and not an easy task.

God has been blessing the team with a beautiful unity.  Please continue to pray for the team as the heat is taking it’s toll and everyone is beat.

It is truly amazing how God can use our little gathering in a borrowed gymnasium in Indiana to touch people’s lives in another country and to proclaim the Love of God to people who do not even know our language!

To God be the glory! God is good!

Morrison’s In Ukraine

Check out Ben’s blog and let’s keep them in our prayers.

For Ben’s Blog Click Here

Sunday

HOLA!
It was AWESOME to see everyone this morning!  How amazing technology can be!  It was such a blessing.  We pray we can see everyone again on Wednesday.

Church at Centro de Vida was AWESOME!  The worship was in Spanish, but two of the songs were songs that we all know well, so it was amazing to be able to sing along and worship our God.  Toby taught and Javier translated for him.  It was an amazing experience to watch the two of them share their passion for Jesus in both languages!

After church and lunch we went back to Javier’s church to fix some electrical problems and give it a good deep cleaning.  Some of the  guys also went to Javier’s surf shop and hung a huge sign for him.   We were back at the base for dinner then had some free time to go to a local Juice Shop for some yummy Jugo (juice smoothies) and see a beautiful sunset!

Tomorrow is our first day at the work sight.  Please pray for our safety and that we all are able to handle the heat.  It was really hot today and we were working inside, tomorrow we will be out in the direct sun light.

Thank you for praying for the few illnesses, everyone is feeling much better and no one is having any stomach issues any longer!

THANK YOU for your prayers!  Love and miss you all!

CCF Mission Team Prepares To Serve Mexico

Only two weeks away until the mission team boards a plane for Mexico!

This year we will once again be following their experiences right here on the CCF Web site through a blog that they will be updating daily from Mexico. This is a great chance to follow in real time what God is doing through our church Body thousands of miles away as well as allowing us to support them in prayer with specific and timely prayer requests.  And if you have not signed up yet to comment on posts here at the CCF website make sure to so you can participate in encouraging the team by commenting on their blog while while they are down there.  For a step by step tutorial of this process complete with pictures just click here.

If you have lost your password from before, no problem.  Just scroll down the bottom right hand side of any page and click on “Sign In”.  When the login screen comes up click the link for forgot password and it will be emailed to you.

This year we will have yet another way for us here in Indiana to be the home base element of the mission team for this week of service and witness in Mexico.

On July 25th during our worship together at the Family Fun and Fitness facility, we will be joining our mission team live via a Skype video call.  We will get the latest news and prayer requests and also be able to encourage them face to face while they are in Mexico!

Then on Wednesday evening July 28th at 7:00 pm we will have a worship and prayer time together in the conference room of the new office and we will also, at that time, have a live Skype session as well.

This will be a great opportunity for us to rejoice in the ways God has worked as we minister to each other in  testimonies and encouragements!

It is getting closer and the team is busy in preparations, prayer and probably some anxieties as well.  Each one of the mission team will be challenged in ways they have never been challenged before.  They will be dedicating every minute of every day for a week to be looking  for God’s opportunities in every conversation, in every situation, in every chance encounter with team members or total strangers.  They may find themselves standing in  front of an anxious crowd of people on the street with a chance to talk about what God has done for them or maybe they will be carefully watched as they are completely exhausted in the hot summer sun and struggling with some stubborn rebar as they build a home for someone in need.  And it is also at this time that the devil typically is coming at the team’s personal lives with everything that he has got because he knows that God has big things for his Kingdom planned for the week of July 24th - 31st.  Schedule problems, work issues, travel problems, nervousness, etc.  So it is also now the time for us, as the CCF body to begin to come along side of the team with focused prayers and personal encouragements.

Tomorrow during church we will have an opportunity to partner with those on the mission team to support them with encouragement and prayer during the coming three weeks.

There will be prayer cards for every person involved in the mission trip available during our meeting time and everyone will be given the opportunity to come forward and pick one up committing to be an individual’s personal prayer warrior for the next three weeks.

This is a very important responsibility and we ask that everyone prayerfully consider this opportunity to serve God and others in our Body in this way.  We also ask that everyone that makes this commitment also be responsible to keep it.  If you feel called to make this commitment as a family, that is great!  You can pray together daily and each one personally encourage your person according to their own gifting.

And no, this does not mean you have to spend two hours a day in prayer.  It is simple, anyone can do this.  All you need is a heart to serve and the willingness to make this commitment. 

By picking up a prayer card tomorrow as a prayer supporter you are committing to just 3 simple things:

1. Send at least one email or give a call of encouragement before the trip.  Introduce yourself if necessary.  Ask for prayer concerns/praises, and let them know that you will be praying for them on a daily basis.  We are doing this two weeks ahead so you will have plenty of time to make contact in this way at least once if not more.  Doing it as a family?  Have the kids make a batch of cookies to give to them with a card.
2. Make a point to pray with them personally one-on-one in person or at least via telephone before the trip.  This will be a tremendous encouragement to not only know someone is praying for them but to also HEAR it.  If you are doing this as a family, make sure all of you pray together with them.
3. During the week they are in Mexico July 24th-31st pray daily for them and the team.  Check the blog on the website daily as a reminder and to get up-to-date prayer requests and praises.

Also, if you have not already signed up for the email feed for the CCF website do so now!

It is simple, at the right hand top of any page you will see “enews and updates”.  Below that just type in your email address and click the subscribe button.  You will recieve a confirmation email to respond to and that is it!  Then whenever there is an update to the website, you will recieve that night in your email box an email letting you know.  You don’t have to remember to to check the site, it will come right to you!  That  way you will recieve the team’s blog in your email box every night.  (it is delivered around 11:30 pm so if you want a quicker view then visit the the website.)

So just because you are not physically going to Mexico does not mean that you are not also an important part of the mission trip.  There are plenty of ways to be involved.  So get ready!  The Lord is about to move!

Serve God, Serve Others!

It is time again to make up a new schedule for the Worship Ministry for first quarter 2010.

Please see Ed Brown or Charlie Vetters asap to find out how you can serve.  We need help with worship, greeters, sound, visuals and Sunday morning set-up for worship.

This is a great opportunity to get involved and get to know people by serving God and serving the Body!  Please consider getting involved in some way this year.  It can be a simple as once every two months and as  simple as just coming twenty minutes early one Sunday to stand at the door and greet others as they come in!

Don’t wait!  Do it now!

Ed Brown at                          ed@calvarychristianindy.org     (317) 523-4204

or

Charlie Vetters at            mtcomfort@aol.com         (317)407-3753

Click here for more details on the Worship Ministry.

Prayer request for Ball State ministry.

From Brandon Shrock at ball State:

Dear co-laborers,

Today is the first day of classes.  So far, things are going better than I could have imagined.  At the Activity Fair we and our tables last week we collected 189 names of students.  The fabulous messy part comes tonight.  All of those students and more have been invited to our kick off event tonight at 7 in Pruis Lobby on campus.  We will be having free pizza and meeting those we have invited and those they invite.  Please pray God would give our students the energy and the desire to connect with those who are new.  As I present the Gospel pray that the Holy Spirit would move and open student’s hearts and minds to hear and respond.  Finally pray for spiritual protection.  We have two students who will be sharing their testimonies about how God has met them through IV.  One is already being bombarded by doubt.  Pray that she will stand strong.

Thank you for praying!

Yours in Jesus,

Brandon

Pratt’s Blog from Ukraine

This is our blog for the work God has called us to in Ukraine.

Click to see our blog.

Worship Ministry Now Includes Greeters!

What a great way that any of us can serve the Lord and all who come to worship with us on Sunday mornings!

No special skills required, just a commitment to be there twenty minutes early and to love on everyone that comes through the door!  This is a great thing to do as a couple or even as a family.

Schedules are very flexible.  Let us know in what capacity you want to be involved.  Once a month, Every six weeks, eight, when home from college, etc.

This is a fantastic way to get plugged into Calvary Christian Fellowship and get to know people while serving God and the CCF Body! Don’t really know how to get involved?  This is the perfect opportunity for you!

This is a new part of the Sunday worship ministry that we are going to be scheduling so we are in need of quite a few people to help with this important ministry to fill up all the dates.  Please carefully and prayerfully consider serving as a greeter even if it is only once every two or three months. If we have just twelve people, couples or families volunteer once every three months then we are good to go!  It is that simple and any frequency you can do it will help us get this started out on the right foot!

Also, if interested, there are plenty of opportunities to serve in other areas of the worship ministry as well.

Music, Sound, Set-up and visuals.  Click here for more details on the rest of the worship ministry.

Please contact any of those listed below and we will be happy to answer any questions or to get you signed up!

Head of worship ministry: Ed Brown 523-4204   ed@calvarychristianindy.org

Set-Up Leader: Brent Hopping  694-8434  brent@calvarychristianindy.org

Sound, Worship Leader: Ed Brown  523-4204  ed@calvarychristianindy.org

Visuals Leader: Charlie Vetters  407-3753  mtcomfort@aol.com

(note: Ed does not have consistent access to  a computer to his email so it would be best to just call him)

Update from Dori and Ikaika in Mazatlan

Ministry News The latest news from YWAM Mazatlan

New friends in Chametla. Us, pastor Leobardo and his family and Brenda Not just another summer month in Mazatlan Well, another month goes by at YWAM Mazatlan and there is yet again much to be thankful for and lot to talk about. From building homes to our summer internship, there have been many things to celebrate. In July we hosted a few different visiting teams who were involved in things like building homes, street evangelism, working at feeding centers and so forth.  We also ran our summer internship program called Verano de Fuego or Summer of Fire. We had 17 students from Mazatlan, Tepic, Guadalajara & Monterrey, Mexico. This year for the first time ever, Verano de Fuego spent two weeks in Mexico City working with the local churches and ministering in a wide variety of ways. From running kids programs to hitting the streets right in the heart of the down town district of Mexico City, the team was on fire for God, sharing His love in incredible ways. It was an amazing month for the students and hearing their testimonies sure did reveal all that God did in them and through them during this time. The summer season at YWAM Mazatlan can be one of the hardest of the year.  It’s already a tough schedule, but add to that a limited amount of staff and 100+ degree weather we’re talking missions at it’s finest.  When the dust settles and we can look back at the amazing things God did during the time, the lives that were changed and the relationships that were made, it’s definitely worth it. Callie and a little girl at one of the evening evangelism times Calvary Christian Indy in Mazatlan Another exciting thing this past month was being able to share an incredible 9 days with the youth group from our home church Calvary Christian Indy. This year the team joined forces with a youth group from Tennessee, together making the team 30 people in total. We had the privilege of working with them throughout the week in a number of different ministries. We also were able to head to a nearby village called Chametla, which is about 2 hours from Mazatlan. There we worked with a local church ministering to the local community through street evangelism, work projects and serving in the church. It was a stretching time, but full of God’s many blessings. It is always such a blessing to have family from home here working together in this city and nation. It truly brings into perspective the joy and power of coming together for one purpose. Thank you to the Calvary & Tennessee team! We sure do miss you guys and thank you for allowing God to use you here in this city and country!!!

Our ohana On a more personal note…

Dori and Ikaika. After dinner at Pancho's. Dori is 30 weeks pregnant this week and Mazatlan is the hottest it’s been all summer… praise God for A/C! It certainly is a journey each new day here Mazatlan. From sweating & swollen feet to people constantly rubbing Dori’s stomach, it sure is an adventure being pregnant in a foreign country. There has been so much support from our family here at the base as well as our friends in the community. We are looking forward to the weeks to come and all that God is doing in our lives.

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