It's been a few months since my last update, so you'll find a few various updates in this email...should be exciting! 2017/2018 School Year Wrap Up This past year was a great year for GoCorps! We had a strong staff of 11 spread out from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. We were able to share about GoCorps to over 10,000 college students! At the end of May we held GoWeek in Minneapolis and had 19 new Goers and 1 new GoCorps staff begin the training for their support raising (they have already had over $500,000 committed for their various ministries they'll be joining this fall!). Summer 2018 This summer I, along with most of the GoCorps staff, will be spending time connecting with our current supporters and looking to invite more people to join our prayer and support teams. I have already been able to meet with a number of family and friends and have been blessed and encouraged by all of them! I'm looking forward to meeting with more of you and also new friends in the coming weeks. On July 22, I will be heading down to Mexico for 5 days to help out with a high school camp with an intern our church had last summer. I will be sharing about Feed my Starving Children, a ministry our church supports. I'm excited for the opportunity to serve in this way and extremely blessed that GoCorps gives me time to be involved with missions through our church! In just over a month GoCorps will be having a 2 day GoSummit with our partnering organizations. This is always a great time to get together to celebrate what God has done and also to plan on how to be more effective in reaching those in their 20s. Fall 2018 This coming fall for GoWeek 2 we will be meeting at a new location at Camp Victory in Minnesota. We're excited to be at a new location in such a beautiful setting! The camp setting will be quite different than our GoWeek 1 location in downtown Minneapolis! We currently have 14 who have committed to joining us, along with 4 others who have completed the process and are waiting to hear back from their sending organization. Some things you can definitely be praying about are:
It has been a busy summer so far, but the warm weather and the opportunities to visit family and friends make all of the hours in the minivan worth it! We're looking forward to seeing more of you in the coming weeks. If you haven't heard from me about getting together please feel free to call (712.308.1303) or email me; I'd love to get together with you! Thanks again for all of your prayers and support! Mike & Jackie Olivia, Eden, & Brielle Dear Valley Christian Church,
GoWeek 1 finished three weeks ago and it was a great week together. 19 Goers and 1 new staff member all participated in our newly revamped GoCorps Face to Face Crowdfunding Training. All of our Goes spend the 12 weeks after GoWeek enlisting a team of friends and family to partner with them financially and in prayer for their two year placement. They will set-up 10 meetings each week and share a compelling presentation with their prospective partners. GoCorps staff Julia and Katy led the new and improved training and it was the best one yet! In fact, this class of Goers is off to the fastest pace ever in their number of meetings and in receiving commitments toward their fundraising goals! Here’s two observations from GoWeek 1:
What's next? For our Goers… They are 3 weeks into their summer campaign to raise up a team of people who will partner with them financially and in prayer. They have 9 more weeks to complete their funding and partnership needs. For our Staff… For the next month or so, much of our staff are focused on connecting with our supporters to give ministry updates and express our appreciation for our partners. For GoCorps… We are in the process of creating a specific effort to do much more of our recruiting in the digital landscape, putting things in place to connect our vision with students and young adults through social media channels and other online venues. Please pray for each of these next steps! For our Goers, staff and for the mission of the organization, each of these are super crucial to going after the vision God has given us! Together for God’s global work, Paul Van Der Werf Founder and Executive Director GOCORPS Dear Christian Friends, On June 6, 2018 we hosted an event on our campus with the Governor of the State of Mexico. He signed a bill into law for the state of Mexico that will help speed up the process of placing children with families in adoption and will also speed up the time that decisions are made to place children in our care. Niños was selected to host the event because of our pattern of helping children in family units. We feel very privileged to have received this "nod" from the government concerning how we care for the children that God has placed in our homes. Continue to pray with us for God's direction and wisdom as we accept kids and attempt to raise them to be productive citizens here in Mexico and to love the Lord! Sincerely, Steve Ross Executive Director Niños de Mexico Greetings! Thank you for your continued interest in HopeKids Minnesota. Take a minute to look at our new HopeNotes magazine which features a few of our favorite events from each chapter as well as videos and stories highlighting the impact you have made on families who have a child with a life-threatening medical condition. Last weekend, HopeKids held its 10th annual 5k/10k run + walk. The newly-branded Hope K conveys the importance of hope in helping us go the distance. Special thanks to Tradition Companies and its trade partners who always go the distance to provide hope to Minnesota families. This is the 10th year this event has been sponsored by Tradition and held at the beautiful Spirit of Brandtjen Farm in Lakeville. Through their support and the amazing support of families, friends and neighbors, HopeKids surpassed its goal of $70,000! With Hope, Brian Anderson, Executive Director HopeKids Minnesota June 4, 2018
Good Afternoon! Thank you, Dewey Roth, for serving as a Walk for Life team captain at your church. What an awesome day we had to celebrate Amnion’s ministry - to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to those impacted by an unplanned pregnancy! Valley Christian Church raised $1,845. So far, the total raised for the event is over $44,000. We are less than $4,000 from our $48,000 goal. Praise the Lord! For the next two weeks, you can still raise funds on your FundEasy page or on a paper pledge form. A special thank you to all those team members who donated client supplies at the Walk. We are still in need of diapers sizes 5 to 6. These items can be dropped off at Amnion anytime during business hours. Deliveries should be dropped off at the employee entrance on McAndrews. Please send me any comments on ways to improve the Walk. Your feedback will help us to make any needed changes and plan next year’s Walk for Life. Blessings on your day, Michele Hartshorn Hello Valley Christian Church, I hope that you have enjoyed a great memorial day weekend and got some extra time with your family, friends and community! GoWeek1 This week is an exciting week for the GoCorps staff team because it's GoWeek1! Yesterday, 19 Goers and 1 new GoCorps staff arrived into Minneapolis. They are coming from 14 different universities and are headed to 11 different tracks in 14 countries! All this week, we’ll be learning about fundraising, praying and playing, learning and prepping for the next two years. Please pray for a great week together! On-Site Goer Visits in Africa and Middle East - See pics below I recently had a chance to visit 10 of our Goers on the field - 3 of them in East Africa and 7 in the Middle East. They’re all recent grads, on the front lines of the global refugee crisis, interacting daily with people displaced from Yemen, Syria, Iraq and many other places. They’re teaching English, doing advocacy work and sharing the good news! It was an encouraging trip for me as I heard the reports of what they’re learning, how they’re growing and changing, and how they’ve seen God at work in the lives of those that they are building relationships with and ministering to. Some highlights:
A key reflection as I consider the Goers I got to visit: These Goers are not extraordinary people. They’re very ordinary in their backgrounds and abilities. But they are among the finest young men and women in their generation. They’ve chosen to get uncomfortable, to take a leap of faith and to work hard to love others. They’ve chosen to go beyond ordinary expectations and career path options. They’ve chosen a path less traveled, and they’re being stretched, and they’re experiencing some the best and some of the hardest that life in Christ promises us. I hope you’re encouraged as you read this update! Together, we’re helping students in this generation find their place in God’s global work. All majors to all nations, Paul Van Der Werf The strength of our community is remarkable. In the face of significant financial restraints and a tough restructuring entering 2018, our volunteers, staff, and supporters have rallied to help us fill the gaps and find a way to serve even more people. While we are not entirely out of the woods financially, the response from our supporters and partners has been encouraging and affirming. I have no doubt that together, with your help, we will continue to be the innovative leader in providing fresh and healthy food. The stories you’ll read inside highlight the resilience of The Open Door and the determination of our volunteers and staff to continue to find ways to make healthy food more accessible to those in our community who need it most. With summer quickly approaching, we are ready for some of TOD’s most innovative programs, including Garden To Table, Mobile Lunch Box, and a second season of Pop-Up Produce Stands. If you are looking for an opportunity to engage, learn more, or just get your hands dirty, we have multiple opportunities for you to help us assist the people who look to us for support each month. Thank you for taking the time to read about our work, and thank you for making all of it possible. With Gratitude, Jason Viana, Executive Director
Dear Friends of HopeKids, Recently, we united strong men and women with stronger children during the 5th annual Relentless Powerlifting kick-off event. This event is a highlight for many HopeKids and their families including Ryan - an imaginative, 5-year-old leukemia warrior who loves Legos and dinosaurs. "Ryan had SO much fun at the Relentless kickoff event! The whole way home he kept saying, 'I'm a strong man too!' Everyone was so amazing with him and made him feel special. He's been telling everyone at the clinic that he played tug of war against Superman and Aquaman and he WON! Each one of these events helps our family create memories that we otherwise wouldn't be able to experience." – Kelly, Ryan's mom Thank you for restoring hope to Minnesota families, like Ryan's. If you are interested in attending the 2018 Relentless Powerlifting competition presented by TSR Injury Law in July, please visit www.relentlesspowerlifting.com. With Hope, Brian Anderson Executive Director HopeKids Minnesota MOMENTS OF GRACE Mid sixties, single parent, mechanic and the most important part of Jerry's life, he believes in Jesus Christ. Now a baptized believer he witnesses to his family, friends and just about anyone he can find. Recently at church he told me "I have such a bad past, I don't deserve to be forgiven." I told him, let me see what we can do to help you understand about forgiveness and grace. So that's where "Grace for the Moment" came into play. It is a daily devotional from Max Lucado. Each morning I share with Jerry via Whatsapp from this devotional book. Last week he wrote that he was so overwhelmed with joy that his adult daughter has accepted Christ and wants to be baptized. At first Jerry's daughter said “I'll go to church with you dad, but only at an English speaking church”. No English speaking church on either side of the border here, but I said "No problem, we will just have to start an English service somewhere”. Problem solved! Daughter saved! I encouraged a local church in Eagle Pass to begin an English service in the evening and now their first believer is Jerry’s daughter. None of us are worthy of the gift of salvation. We are all sinners, plain and simple; saved by grace. Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God." "Grace" by Max Lucado, another book specifically written for us to understand the magnitutde of God's love for us. Max writes, "More than we Deserve - Greater than we Imagine." Another sentence from Max Lucado, "Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off." Jerry works for a mechanic shop on the Kickapoo Indian Reservation near Eagle Pass, Texas. He is a powerful witness to these native people and especially his family. He loves to come to the college and share his story about God's powerful love and grace to the students. Each Sunday, Jerry crosses over the Rio Grande and comes ready to worship at a Spanish church in Piedras Negras where we attend. Plain and simple, Jerry loves Jesus and each day he is learning more and more about the love and forgiveness of God both in Spanish and now English. Daily encounters with God, prayer, reading the Word, finding a friend to encourage, inspirational thoughts to help with the burdens of life, most importantly meditating on the overwhelming thought of Grace. “Grace for the Moment" That moment is not a fleeting passing of time each day, but an eternal life with the Father. Emanuel - "God With Us" Mexico Mission allows us to share Jesus with a number of people not just college students. From a small inner city church some 10 hours away in the heart of Mexico, to an Indian Reservation in Texas. I've been invited to the reservation, now just to take time to do it. God is working through us each day to meet the spiritual needs of so many people like Jerry. May 11, is graduation day for the students. That means summer travel will begin for us soon. Trips to San Luis Potosi and the United States, takes money. Jose will be joining us by taking over the ministry in San Luis Potosi which also will require more funds. Any extra or new support will be greatly appreciated. If you want us to visit your family, Sunday School Class or Church, we will be in Indiana and the Cincinnati area May 23 - June 18. Then comes more travels to camps in Mexico, church work and so much more. Thank you for praying, giving and allowing us to simply help people experience "Moments of Grace". David and Sheri DeBolt Emanuel Mexico Mission Hello from your missionary friends in Mexico.
Just wanted to update you on José and his graduation plans. Today is his last day of classes and exams. Friday, May 11, at 7:00 p.m., is the graduation for Colegio Biblico. He did it! Thanks to our Valley family and the World Outreach team, José has been able to cover all of his graduation costs. Valley truly made an impact in his life last summer and all the other visits the boys made to Minnesota; as well as the many visits Valley made to Mexico. José has a busy summer ahead of him as he will be relocating to San Luis Potosi and begin his ministry with the Ontañon Church of Christ. He has the month of July busy with one week of camp and a trip to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National Hispanic Convention. In November, we plan on sending José to the International Conference on Missions in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has attended several times with me & this will be his first time alone representing our mission and ministry in Mexico. The ICOM is Nov. 15 - 18. Everyone at Valley really touched this young man's heart for Christian service. Camp is just around the corner and things are all in place to receive FMSC and Michael Nelson. Love seeing how Valley continues to grow and reach out to the world with the love of Christ. God bless. David DeBolt Emanuel Mexico Mission |
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