Pastoral Team

As I’m sure most of you are aware, we’re going to be continuing our 1 service @ 10am through January. I’ve had a lot of questions about what that means for our kids, so I thought it would be best to just drop a post about how that effects us as parents with kids:

Nursery - Pre-K

If you have kids in the nursery, PLEASE drop you children off over the door to one of our volunteers and smile as you go to service. We ask that no parents come into the nursery unless it’s for scheduled volunteering purposes, your kids will be loved on and taken care of, we promise:) When you come to pick-up, the same rule applies; please wait at the door and we’ll return your child when you show the proper pick-up tag. Please label all diaper bags with your child’s name so we can keep it organized, and we ask that you only give your child Cheerio’s as a snack. We have numerous allergies in our nursery and want to keep it safe. If you have any questions or would like to help in our nursery, you can email April Petersen at April@LHCnj.net and she’ll be able to get you plugged in.

Not a lot has changed for our Pre-K kids except a new curriculum. April has been helping me organize & restructure our program to better meet the needs of our kids and where they are. The new curriculum we’ve chosen will have all of our kids learning the same thing & a simple handout for parents keying you in on what they’ve learned. We’re praying and hoping that a more structured time for our kids will help them to understand the truth of God’s Word even better! Please do all you can to make sure you are dropping your kids off on-time as late arrivers can disrupt our classes a decent amount.  We’ll have a 2/3’s class across from the nursery, and 4/5’s in room 102. If you’d like to help out in any of our Pre-K classes, please email me:)

To speed up check-in on Sunday, please take the time to fill out our online registration form for your whole family: https://www.formstack.com/forms/lhc-childrens

K-5th

For most the summer, we’ve dismissed our older kids (K-5th) from service into our abbreviated children’s service. Starting this week, we’ll be dropping them off again at the gym for Powerhouse. Powerhouse has been redeveloped and structured to really keep all of out kids on the same page from class to class. So if you have kids in different grades, they’ll all be leaning the same story, verse, and virtue! What excites me most about this is it should help foster great discussions for your family. We’ll be having a “parent cue” sheet each week for you…it’ll simply give you quick questions to ask your kids while you’re driving (which we all do a TON), hanging out, eating dinner, and my favorite…questions for me as a parent to process when my kids finally go to bed. The hope is that what we do with your kids on a Sunday morning would translate home easily. Would you believe that there’s even an “app for that” in the iTunes store:) it’s called “Parent Cue” and will give you TONS of quick resources for conversations with your kids.

With the new structure of Powerhouse, every minute we have with the kids counts! So please do all you can to get your kids there a little early to check-in and give you time to get to service without feeling rushed. We are also looking for a couple more people to help our facilitating some of our classes, if you are interested, please let me know asap:)  I’m greatly looking forward t a GREAT year ministering alongside you and your families.

To speed up check-in on Sunday, please take the time to fill out our online registration form for your whole family: https://www.formstack.com/forms/lhc-childrens

I am sat here contemplating our final day building.  This is the day where like all the building shows on TV we start trying to do everything at the same time to finish the projects!  Everyone is very tired, long days working, late nights talking but it is a good tired.  The excitement is evident across each team, they want to get their project finished because it really matters to the receiving family / church.  Without question each team loves and will never forget the family they are serving.

Last night a group of us were joking about our ancestry and it was suggested that Jesus looked Norwegian (at least in some of the movies!).  I was shocked, I was sure He was English because of course Robert Powell was the best Jesus.  Joking apart I know that Jesus would not have looked or felt out of place here in Mexico.  You only have to climb the hills around here to experience a landscape that resonates with some of the images of Israel.  His words also would not have been out of place, stood on a hill with hundreds of people around Him as He uttered the timeless words of the Sermon on the Mount:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Read those words again … allow them to sit in your heart.

This is our prayer for the people of Mexico.  This is what we see in the lives of our Mexican brothers and sisters.  There is a quiet joy, a strong spirit and a deep connection with Jesus.  Lives de-cluttered of the world can be full of His Spirit, you cannot hide it.

This is my prayer for all of us in the USA and beyond.  Walk the hills, sit quietly and dwell on the words of Jesus.  What is He saying to you?

It has been my privilege this week to share my heart for what I am hearing as I walk, work and live in the dust and beauty of Mexico.  I have written of the blessing of the freedom that Jesus brings, of the potential that Jesus sees in us, that Jesus ushers in the Kingdom of Heaven, and finally of His desire to spend time with us to be our friend.  Jesus is worthy of our time, our attention, our lives and our all.  You don’t have to walk the hills of Mexico to get that but it helps.

I have concluded that Mexican dust gets everywhere, and I mean everywhere.  I am sure that it gets into our blood and into our heart because it changes you forever … and in God’s hands that is a good thing.

Our team is rebuilding the church and Pastor Faustino and his wife Tomasa have been so kind to us.  Yesterday they invited us all in to share a meal with them, that they had prepared.  Today they are doing the same, and likewise on Friday.  What a treat and a privilege to be invited into someones home to share a meal with them, a wonderful sign of friendship.  Revelation 3:20 echoes the warmth of that invitation but this time it is from Jesus who said:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Jesus longs to spend time with us, to be in our lives, to share a meal with us - true friendship.  I am left wondering why all to often I don’t truly let him in to the heart of my life.  All too easily nudging him to the side.  Why do I do that?

Taking a week here in Ensenada provides an excellent canvas on which to examine that question.  To ask what matters, what are my priorities, goals and motivations?  Does my life matter, am I making a difference, am I doing the best that I can?  How much more can be realized in my life because of Christ?

While at school in 1938, John Stott heard a sermon entitled “What Then Shall I Do with Jesus, Who Is Called the Christ?”  At the heart of the sermon was that very same verse from Revelation which impacted Stott profoundly and changed the course of his life.  Stott said this:

“Here, then, is the crucial question which we have been leading up to. Have we ever opened our door to Christ? Have we ever invited him in? This was exactly the question which I needed to have put to me. For, intellectually speaking, I had believed in Jesus all my life, on the other side of the door. I had regularly struggled to say my prayers through the key-hole. I had even pushed pennies under the door in a vain attempt to pacify him. I had been baptized, yes and confirmed as well. I went to church, read my Bible, had high ideals, and tried to be good and do good. But all the time, often without realizing it, I was holding Christ at arm’s length, and keeping him outside. I knew that to open the door might have momentous consequences. I am profoundly grateful to him for enabling me to open the door. Looking back now over more than fifty years, I realize that that simple step has changed the entire direction, course and quality of my life

Yesterday John Stott was embraced into the arms of God after spending 90 years here on this earth living a life that put Christ at the heart of all that he did.  His influence for Christ through his life, teaching and writing were profound.  I remember as a college student attending a conference where he taught for five days taking us through the Bible front to back.  It was profound teaching.  Yet what I will remember most was his humility.  He happened to sit next to me for five minutes before a session started and talked to me with such interest in my life.  I felt that I really mattered to him, there was no sense that he was incredibly busy, or about to get up and speak to thousands of students!

That is the attitude of Christ.  He wants to spend time with us, to let us know we really matter and to be embraced into the heart of our lives, not held at arms length.  Here in Mexico the things of this world are stripped away, and I love it because you see what really matters.   I don’t have time this morning to upload pictures but wanted to include this one.  Because to me it demonstrates the point so powerfully.  The photo captures the smile of this boy, surrounded by a barren landscape as Jamie on our team shows him that he matters.  That is the attitude of Christ!

Last night we gathered around the fire to reflect on God’s Word together, to pray, to worship and to reflect.  Brian (the missionary who is based here), spoke on the subject of the Kingdom of God.  He used Matthew as his text, but in fact you will see the phrase the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven used 82 times in scripture.  Indeed the first words of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel are, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The Kingdom of God means not only that immediate idea that we have of a political or geographical realm but it carries with it the notion of activity of ruling and reigning.  Thus when Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God He is speaking to the rule and reign of God.   While the Kingdom is not yet fully here, it broke through with Jesus, we see glimpses today, and we see glimpses here in Mexico.

One of the things that is hard to miss about this part of the world is its beauty and its ugliness all in such great proximity.  Geographically there are impressive hills surrounding us, leading down to the sea.  This is a place of stunning and stark beauty, a location of such potential.  Yet it is blighted by what man has done to it, the ramshackle housing, the sewage running down the streets and just the genuine lack of care for the environment.  The contrast is also there in the people.  For the majority these are beautiful, wonderful people with great hearts who do all they can to live honorable lives despite their conditions.  Yet there is a minority that have let Mexico down.

I think it is too easy to think that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven is something that we will taste at the end of our lives.  That is not consistent with the call of God upon our lives, nor the call of Jesus through scripture.  We should see it, desire it and pursue it wherever we are.  Despite all of the ugliness and depravation that we see and witness here in Mexico, we know that the Kingdom of God is near.

We also see it in the community that we have become here in Ensenada.  The living and working conditions throws you all together, and it has just been a lot of fun.  We have an awesome group of people who are loving getting to know each other.  The sense of unity across the teams has been tangible.  Everyone is working so hard, and playing hard as well.  There is a lot of laughing, talking and joking, evidence of trust, respect and love.

What has been achieved so far on the building front is impressive, with houses taking shape and the shell of a new roof now installed on the church.  But for me what is far more impressive is what is being achieved in terms of the building of community, of family.  It is always amazing to see how God weaves together such a variety of people into a loving family.  The Kingdom of God is truly breaking through!

Pray for us today as we have elected to forgo our morning off and instead work a full day, which says a lot about the commitment of this group to get the job done.  Pray that aching limbs will feel loose and that the energy levels will continue to be high!  Thank you for praying, feel free to comment on the blog or send emails, it is great to hear from you all.

Pictures from Day Three

Potential

One of the great pleasures that I shared with my Dad growing up was a love of soccer.  As much as we loved watching the games together, we really enjoyed talking about the game, and the players, and do so even to this day.  Every now and again we talk about the potential of a player, and sometimes the wasted potential of a player, players who never used their God given talent to the full because they got distracted by their fame, by the money and all the vices that became open to them.

Reflecting on our second day here I love seeing people tackle activities that they have never taken on before and in doing so discovering skills that they never knew existed.  In life we all too easily assume that we are not good enough to do “X” or “Y” and so we never try to move forward.  Secondly I love to see great teachers who gently nudge and coach people to “try”, who create an environment where the pupil sees that they can take that step forward.

Yesterday it was so fun to see people “try”, seeing their faces light up as they discovered something new like the power of the chop saw to cut through the toughest of wood!  It was fun to see very able craftsman gently teach the novices.  It was fun to see people take on VBS for their first time and discover a new passion.  It was fun to see people simply declare I am here to serve God in what ever way He can use me, and really mean it as they stepped forward in faith.  We all have so much potential and it seems to me that on the dust covered hills of Mexico we let go enough of ourselves to be willing to explore what God has for us that little bit more.

Jesus saw potential in everyone.  Just consider His conversation with the woman at the well.  He wanted them to explore their potential, to experience life as it was really meant to me.  He was clearly a great teacher but also a remarkable coach.  He put people into action, getting them to do things that they might normally believe was beyond them.  We often reflect on the twelve disciples, that hand picked “elite” group of followers personally trained, and how Jesus sent them out but what about the sending out of the seventy-two?  I love the excitement that they return with “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”” (Luke 10:17)

Day Two Photos

Day Three is just beginning and I am eager to see more potential being discovered in the lives of our teams, just as God intended.

We arrived safely in Ensenada Saturday night, it was a long day of travel involving two flights (via Phoenix).  Upon arrival in San Diego we stopped by “In and Out Burger” to meet up with members of the Ensenada Team who would guide us across the border.  It was fun to be met by our own David Dew who has been serving in Ensenada for several weeks.   More »

I can’t believe we’ve only got one day left… VBS is going way too fast!

Today had such an amazing feel to it, from check-in all the way through to pick-up…everything was just awesome. Today’s word on the street was GRACE & I love how it was communicated across all fronts today.

At our sidewalk celebration we saw Chef Pierre prepping a party for old business partner Franco (who we find out stole all Chef Pierre’s recipes and moved to the big city!). Not only does he throw a party, but it’s in HIS HONOR & he invites Franco back, after he lost his big city job, as a partner! He show’s GRACE…

And in our parable Production today, we saw one of my favorite stories in all of the Bible acted out. The story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15… a boy who takes 1/2 his dad’s estate and blows it all on nothing, and when he realizes he’s got nothing left he returns home looking for a job. His dad see’s him in the distance and RUNS to hug him and accept him back, just the way God does with us. He’s full of GRACE.

Our missions ave had special visitors from New York City Relief, and our Fun Factory sent their time today making welcome home & thank you cards for our men and women in the armed forces…so awesome:) Couple this with fun (and hot!) games, cool and healthy snacks… you can see why this was such an amazing day:)

I mentioned the Missions Project yesterday and how all we raise will be matched. Not sure what happened, but our kids today responded by bringing over $650 today, lead by our Kindergarten crew! I keep hearing stories of kids going into their piggy banks to help their crews…love their attitude of giving:) We’ll have a special prize for our winning crew tomorrow…and every penny counts (TWICE!). All our kids will receive a special gift tomorrow night at our closing session too…a little thank you from our missions team:)

As for tomorrow, don’t forget about our special parents seminar in Fellowship Hall. We’ve got Kathleen McClay (certified Positive Discipline Educator) giving us a quick peak at what Positive Discipline looks like in our homes…and that’s something I think we could use after a CRAZY week of VBS:)

Praying for you and your families:) See you in the morning!

Can you believe that VBS is 1/2 way through?! I can’t believe how amazing today was. We continued running all over and focused on our “Word on the Street”…FORGIVENESS!

So cool to see how from Pre-K through our 5th grade they are all getting it.  Love how this is all so practical for all our kids (and for us as adults:)). I find my own kids teaching me what they learned and challenging me, it’s wonderful.

Couple things to take note of:

-We have FREE CD’s of all the music we are singing at VBS so please feel free to take them from our registration tables, we’d love for you to have the same songs stuck in your heads that are stuck in ours:)

-Same with Iron-on’s if you messed up on your 1st one:)

-OFFERING UPDATE: We are taking an offering each day for a special project happening in Senegal, West Africa. We are hoping to help raise part of the $50,000 needed to build a home for orphaned boys…and our kids have responded by helping to raise almost $450. Today I found out that everything we give this week will be matched (up to $50,000!) dollar for dollar! So please continue to encourage your kids to “buy bricks” for $5 a brick…and the winning crews will receive a special prize on Saturday!

-PLEASE make sure your kids have sunscreen on tomorrow and remind them to drink lots! we’ll have coolers out for the kids to keep them hydrated in the 97 degree heat~

-Our Closing Celebration will be happening Friday @ 6pm & will be about an hour…it’s a great chance to see you kids singing all the songs we’ve learned with motions, meet the cast of our sidewalk celebration and hear the final number for our missions project!

See you all in the morning…stay cool!

Another GREAT day “Upside Down & Inside Out on Main St” today. The word on the St. was “Compassion” and we learned that through so many different ways today. With all the energy we showed at our Sidewalk Celebrations, I think Heidi, Chef, and Justin knew what was going on!

Then we moved from site to site…where the real meat of the day begins! We explored what our missions team will be doing in Mexico at Missions Ave, wrote get well cards for people at the Fun Factory, ran out of energy at Firehouse Fitness, played with our snacks at the Brown Bag Bistro, and learned about the Good Samaritan at Parable Productions…

Pre-K parents, remember to read your Family Page and work on your 1st Aid kits for the car. It’s a GREAT project for the whole family!

What in the world do you think Heidi Claire will super sleuth tomorrow on Main St?!