Hey guys,
Well, Steve and I - with God's help - have pulled off our biggest event yet this weekend.
We did nothing this week but work, eat, sleep, and CARES stuff. By the day of the event, we felt like we had already done the event!
The Back to School Bash for kids was so much fun. We made up a school themed obstacle course and handed out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. Then we did a slip n slide. I was afraid the obstacle course would be to juvenile for some if not most of them. But it was a challenge to just about all of them. It was just right. Some of them got good mini-lessons in looking up words in a dictionary, putting shapes in order for geometry, and eating fruit! Most of them were intimidated or grossed out, but they all accepted the challenge and succeeded : )
A lot of new kids showed up, which was exciting. Only a few parents, which, sadly, we expected. We did meet a few parents, though, and Steve had more of a chance to connect with them than I did. I was too surrounded by twelve roudy children.
All of the kids and their parents heard about the college event we were having at the pool an hour later and so they all waited for us. We had a total of three college-aged people show up. It would have felt more like a failure if so many others had not shown up who were not technically invited : ) I couldn't be frustrated with our uninvited guests; they were so fun and enjoyable. I decided quickly that it didn't matter who was there as long we talked with whoever was there. So I found one of the moms and we talked for a long time.
We ended a little early because only a family of three was left and we had spent an extended amount of time talking with them. We finally called it a night, cleaned up at the pool and in our apartment, and then collapsed in front of a movie.
We are encouraged because we have completed a full month now of CARES. We have planned the events and used up the budget and handed in the receipts. We are also encouraged because we have completed all the fliers for September's events, which sometimes take a considerable amount of time, causing us to get the fliers out later than they should be put out.
We have already learned some good lessons in organization and in how to read how each event goes.
Thanks everyone for your prayers and interest. We'll be back with September's update. Soon, I will begin taking pictures so you can see what is happening here. I am waiting for the comfort level of a camera to arise. I think it will be soon.
- Rebekah
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Lemonade Stand
Hey Guys,
I'm a little late, but here I am. We had a lemonade stand last Thursday night. We had four or five friends come and help, making the night very easy for me and Steve. We made strawberry lemonade as well as regular and it was a hit! Someone asked for the recipe, which was a huge compliment to me, as I have never concocted anything worth sharing in my whole life! Now that I'm a housewife, I'm working on it, though. I guess it's already paying off.
There were not more fifteen people at the pool, but a couple were at our previous event so it was fun to connect with them again. They were two ladies and one of the ladies' kids. I sat and talked with them for a while. One of them asked what religion I am and what church I go to. She said she was Christian and that she'd tried some churches and, for different reasons, never continued at any of them. I invited her to our church and she enthusiastically said she would come. We are hoping she follows through this weekend, because she didn't last weekend. Be praying for Marilynn. We discussed cooking and baking, and Marilynn bragged about her cheesecake and then last weekend she left me the recipe for it.
There are numerous little signs of relationships forming already. And people are asking what our next event is going to be. It is a lot of fun. The lemonade stand was especially fun because we could just talk to people. We discovered how helpful our volunteers are!
We are praying for volunteers tomorrow. We are having a back to school bash tomorrow and it is our biggest event so far and the last one of our first month! We are excited and pray a lot more people come to this one than the last two.
Pray with us.
More to come...
In Him,
Rebekah and Steve
I'm a little late, but here I am. We had a lemonade stand last Thursday night. We had four or five friends come and help, making the night very easy for me and Steve. We made strawberry lemonade as well as regular and it was a hit! Someone asked for the recipe, which was a huge compliment to me, as I have never concocted anything worth sharing in my whole life! Now that I'm a housewife, I'm working on it, though. I guess it's already paying off.
There were not more fifteen people at the pool, but a couple were at our previous event so it was fun to connect with them again. They were two ladies and one of the ladies' kids. I sat and talked with them for a while. One of them asked what religion I am and what church I go to. She said she was Christian and that she'd tried some churches and, for different reasons, never continued at any of them. I invited her to our church and she enthusiastically said she would come. We are hoping she follows through this weekend, because she didn't last weekend. Be praying for Marilynn. We discussed cooking and baking, and Marilynn bragged about her cheesecake and then last weekend she left me the recipe for it.
There are numerous little signs of relationships forming already. And people are asking what our next event is going to be. It is a lot of fun. The lemonade stand was especially fun because we could just talk to people. We discovered how helpful our volunteers are!
We are praying for volunteers tomorrow. We are having a back to school bash tomorrow and it is our biggest event so far and the last one of our first month! We are excited and pray a lot more people come to this one than the last two.
Pray with us.
More to come...
In Him,
Rebekah and Steve
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Mission Accomplished!
Hey Everyone,
Well last night was our first event with as a Cares team. It turned out great! Satan tried to set us back a little, but little setbacks are real puny against God, so it worked out alright. Our new printer wasn't working so we couldn't print out a game we had made up. The office couldn't even print it out without a lot of hassle because the manager was out sick. The maintainance guys had treated the pool that we had announced our event would be at, but no one told us until about 10 minutes before started setting up. So we set up on the other side of the street at the other pool. A couple of little things like that kept us on our toes, but my grandparents and a couple of our wonderful friends from church came to help set up and pray around the place and just be there for some support. It was so wonderful to have them there.
The first hour, maybe 10 people showed up and most of that was one family. About 6:00, though, a whole lot of people started showing up. We had hoped for around 50 and the final count was around 30 - not bad. People came and went, though, and they were never all there at the same time. A number of people commented, "They should do stuff like this all the time!" and then they proceeded to share suggestions for other ideas. It was great! One guy, Steve spent time talking with, said, "This is way better than hanging out at the mall."
I got to spend a lot of time coordinating some game time in the pool with the kids. They had a lot of fun. One or both of us managed to talk to everyone who came into the pool area. There was a lot of talking going on. It was actually pretty easy and a lot of fun. Everyone was so receptive to the idea and even excited. It was very encouraging. We are even more excited for our next event. Everyone knows about it and hopefully will bring more people!
Thank you all for your prayers as we kicked off. It feels so good to have one event finally under our belt. We feel properly and successfully initiated now *smile*.
Keep praying. Our lemonade stand is next Thursday. Anyone have fun ideas for a lemonade stand?
God is good, all the time!
Well last night was our first event with as a Cares team. It turned out great! Satan tried to set us back a little, but little setbacks are real puny against God, so it worked out alright. Our new printer wasn't working so we couldn't print out a game we had made up. The office couldn't even print it out without a lot of hassle because the manager was out sick. The maintainance guys had treated the pool that we had announced our event would be at, but no one told us until about 10 minutes before started setting up. So we set up on the other side of the street at the other pool. A couple of little things like that kept us on our toes, but my grandparents and a couple of our wonderful friends from church came to help set up and pray around the place and just be there for some support. It was so wonderful to have them there.
The first hour, maybe 10 people showed up and most of that was one family. About 6:00, though, a whole lot of people started showing up. We had hoped for around 50 and the final count was around 30 - not bad. People came and went, though, and they were never all there at the same time. A number of people commented, "They should do stuff like this all the time!" and then they proceeded to share suggestions for other ideas. It was great! One guy, Steve spent time talking with, said, "This is way better than hanging out at the mall."
I got to spend a lot of time coordinating some game time in the pool with the kids. They had a lot of fun. One or both of us managed to talk to everyone who came into the pool area. There was a lot of talking going on. It was actually pretty easy and a lot of fun. Everyone was so receptive to the idea and even excited. It was very encouraging. We are even more excited for our next event. Everyone knows about it and hopefully will bring more people!
Thank you all for your prayers as we kicked off. It feels so good to have one event finally under our belt. We feel properly and successfully initiated now *smile*.
Keep praying. Our lemonade stand is next Thursday. Anyone have fun ideas for a lemonade stand?
God is good, all the time!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hey Guys,
We have had an exciting and interesting couple of days. On Thursday, we had our first area-wide Cares meeting with all the teams in the valley. It was so encouraging to be around other Cares teams finally and to see all the different personalities and hear about all the different methods of putting together events. It was also encouraging because we have not met many young married couples like ourselves and Cares teams are mostly made up of young married couples, so we were surrounded by them the other night. It was refreshing.
The second exciting and interesting thing was last night(Friday). A dinner date was mis-communicated to us and we went out last night instead of tonight. We discovered our mistake and frustratingly headed home, by way of the grocery store. We were in the grocery store when we ran into one of the Cares teams that had been at the meeting the night before. We talked for a long time and connected well with them. It was a second round of refreshment and encouragement in the midst of starting up this ministry. We discovered this couple, Santi and Kayla, live very close to us and the opened their lives up to us, offering help in any way that we will need it in the next few months and just offering friendship. I cannot express how happy we were to run into them and how bewildering it is the way God orchestrates things.
The third exciting and interesting thing that happened was this morning. We have a mentor couple to get us underway. We had them over for breakfast this morning and they stayed for four hours! We had so many questions and they had a lot to offer and I think it is safe to say that we clicked pretty well. The time flew and we learned a lot and got to know each other a little.
God is blessing us with loving brothers and sisters to surround us and help us and affirm us and confirm that we are right where God wants us. There is so much joy when a believer is aware of the presence of other believers working for the same purpose. It brings such joy, peace, motivation, energy and unity. One wonderful thing about being a Christian is the feeling of family that can be found. There is nothing like it.
- Steve and Rebekah
We have had an exciting and interesting couple of days. On Thursday, we had our first area-wide Cares meeting with all the teams in the valley. It was so encouraging to be around other Cares teams finally and to see all the different personalities and hear about all the different methods of putting together events. It was also encouraging because we have not met many young married couples like ourselves and Cares teams are mostly made up of young married couples, so we were surrounded by them the other night. It was refreshing.
The second exciting and interesting thing was last night(Friday). A dinner date was mis-communicated to us and we went out last night instead of tonight. We discovered our mistake and frustratingly headed home, by way of the grocery store. We were in the grocery store when we ran into one of the Cares teams that had been at the meeting the night before. We talked for a long time and connected well with them. It was a second round of refreshment and encouragement in the midst of starting up this ministry. We discovered this couple, Santi and Kayla, live very close to us and the opened their lives up to us, offering help in any way that we will need it in the next few months and just offering friendship. I cannot express how happy we were to run into them and how bewildering it is the way God orchestrates things.
The third exciting and interesting thing that happened was this morning. We have a mentor couple to get us underway. We had them over for breakfast this morning and they stayed for four hours! We had so many questions and they had a lot to offer and I think it is safe to say that we clicked pretty well. The time flew and we learned a lot and got to know each other a little.
God is blessing us with loving brothers and sisters to surround us and help us and affirm us and confirm that we are right where God wants us. There is so much joy when a believer is aware of the presence of other believers working for the same purpose. It brings such joy, peace, motivation, energy and unity. One wonderful thing about being a Christian is the feeling of family that can be found. There is nothing like it.
- Steve and Rebekah
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Our schedule this month
Hey,
I am attempting to post our calendar for you guys to keep up with. So here we go.
Let me know if something goes wrong with viewing it, but I think you should just be able to click on it and enlarge it.
The only thing wrong with this calendar is that we will be moving the Back to School Bash back to Saturday from Sunday.
- Rebekah
Event One...Check!
Hey Everyone,
So last night was our first semi-official event. We helped the staff host a resident lease renewal evening. We gave pizza to anyone who came in to renew their lease. Steve and I were able to meet some people, introduce ourselves, and encourage people to come out to our first real event this coming Tuesday. A couple said that for sure they would be coming!
It sure is interesting interacting with so many people different people. A couple of guys just stuck around to talk to us. They didn't seem in any hurry to be back home. People do like to talk - a lot - if you give them an opportunity!
Steve and I were quite exhausted by the end of the event. Meeting so many new people is a bit tiring. We pray for growing energy as we move along into this ministry.
I'm off now to continue preparing for this coming Tuesday. Pray for us. We will let update you on that one as it comes.
So last night was our first semi-official event. We helped the staff host a resident lease renewal evening. We gave pizza to anyone who came in to renew their lease. Steve and I were able to meet some people, introduce ourselves, and encourage people to come out to our first real event this coming Tuesday. A couple said that for sure they would be coming!
It sure is interesting interacting with so many people different people. A couple of guys just stuck around to talk to us. They didn't seem in any hurry to be back home. People do like to talk - a lot - if you give them an opportunity!
Steve and I were quite exhausted by the end of the event. Meeting so many new people is a bit tiring. We pray for growing energy as we move along into this ministry.
I'm off now to continue preparing for this coming Tuesday. Pray for us. We will let update you on that one as it comes.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Hey Everyone!
Well it is August 3rd and Steve and I have been officially in the ministry for 3 days. Our friends from church have been so kind and considerate and loving in remembering when we started up and in asking how the first few days have gone.
Saturday we passed around invitations to all the residents who have leases ending soon. We invited them to the resident renewal party we are having at the office tomorrow evening. This is normally a staff member's job, but we asked if we could help out with the party and the apartment manager gave us invitations to hand out. As a result, we got to meet new people and personally introduce ourselves and the concept of a Cares team to some of the residents.
I had no idea what to expect, but everyone seemed surprisingly excited about us and our upcoming calendar events. It was a great way to start, by getting see a few faces first and getting a few reactions to us. It was an encouraging start. We keep telling each other how excited we are about our first few events. The event tomorrow is not really our event; it was already planned by the staff and we are helping out. Our first real event is on the 11th - next Tuesday.
A praise to be mentioned is that I have obtained a job that will not be requiring me to work evenings and will allow me most of the afternoons and evenings. That is greatly beneficial for our ministry and for mine and Steve's marriage as well, so praise God!
I find myself getting so caught up in the needs to be met for this ministry that I forget to recognize God and all of His provision thus far. But oh, how much He has provided - for me and Steve as we begin life together, our food, our finances, and the obvious confirmations He has offered to tell us that we are in the right place with Apartment Life. So why should I get all worked up and even forget about Him? Beats me... Oh Lord, You are so patient with me as Your child is constantly forgetting and having to turn back around and start over again.
I will be letting you all know how tomorrow evening's renewal party goes.
Well it is August 3rd and Steve and I have been officially in the ministry for 3 days. Our friends from church have been so kind and considerate and loving in remembering when we started up and in asking how the first few days have gone.
Saturday we passed around invitations to all the residents who have leases ending soon. We invited them to the resident renewal party we are having at the office tomorrow evening. This is normally a staff member's job, but we asked if we could help out with the party and the apartment manager gave us invitations to hand out. As a result, we got to meet new people and personally introduce ourselves and the concept of a Cares team to some of the residents.
I had no idea what to expect, but everyone seemed surprisingly excited about us and our upcoming calendar events. It was a great way to start, by getting see a few faces first and getting a few reactions to us. It was an encouraging start. We keep telling each other how excited we are about our first few events. The event tomorrow is not really our event; it was already planned by the staff and we are helping out. Our first real event is on the 11th - next Tuesday.
A praise to be mentioned is that I have obtained a job that will not be requiring me to work evenings and will allow me most of the afternoons and evenings. That is greatly beneficial for our ministry and for mine and Steve's marriage as well, so praise God!
I find myself getting so caught up in the needs to be met for this ministry that I forget to recognize God and all of His provision thus far. But oh, how much He has provided - for me and Steve as we begin life together, our food, our finances, and the obvious confirmations He has offered to tell us that we are in the right place with Apartment Life. So why should I get all worked up and even forget about Him? Beats me... Oh Lord, You are so patient with me as Your child is constantly forgetting and having to turn back around and start over again.
I will be letting you all know how tomorrow evening's renewal party goes.
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