Can you believe these guys have been their 8 days now? They’ve had their ups and downs but God has definitely been working in their midst. So far they have:
had adult medical clinic and saw over 175 people
traveled to Mindoro and completed the mission of gifting a well
found out that Mike Brown and Big Mike (Thompson) are karaoke kings (who knew?)
they were even homeless - but don’t worry their view was amazing (check it out!)
Our team left for the Philippines on January 25. The group this year is, from left to right: (top row) Mike Brown, Mike Thompson, Kimberly MacNeill, Mike Epps & Lisa Epps, (bottom row) Stefanie McDowell & Terry Maldonado.
First order of business was a Pastors Conference to equip leaders - over 150 were in attendance to hear Pastor Kimberly teach on 360 Degree Leadership! They also put on a dental clinic that day and Kimberly says, “You ought to see Stefani pull out teeth! We all agree she is a dental rock star! We are happy to say that Big Mike (Thompson) and “Pastor” Mike (Epps) as they like to call him here, worked with Florante and some locals to have the roof in Mamatid repaired for the money allotted for the task. Praise the Lord!”
And that’s just the first day! To sign up to receive updates from the team, send me an email here. God Bless!
This post is written by the Clovis Hills Missions Assistant, Thilani Rodrigo.
Weren’t around for Missions weekend and missed the message? I highly encourage you to listen to the message here. Last month we talked about Missions: what Clovis Hills is doing to make a difference in our community and the world. And how you can get involved. During the Authentic Compassion series, Pastor Kimberly told us how areas of Fresno are being called the Appalachia of the West.
One of those areas is a neighborhood in SE Fresno that we are serving. Gilbert Salcedo, a youth pastor at El Encino Baptist Church was invited to share his story and how we can make an impact in SE Fresno. The most incredible part of this service for me was Gilbert’s testimony. How God used one woman to demonstrate that following Jesus would change Gilbert’s life for eternity. Can I get an amen? That definitely deserves an amen! Gilbert also shared how his hours had recently been cut back at the church and how it was affecting his family. Now prepare yourself for this, are you sitting down? I hope you’re sitting down…
After hearing his testimony, members of the our church felt led to help the Salcedo family financially. Altogether, the difference in his salary is paid through December! What an awesome way to serve our family in Christ!
After service the Courtyard was turned into Serve Central - each and every one of our ongoing missions partners were represented. Everyone took Pastor Kimberly’s advice and checked out the tables and signed up where they felt led - over 250 people signed up to become a friend of a mission! Can’t wait to see how God uses the connections made here to change lives for the Kingdom!
This post is written by the Clovis Hills Missions Assistant, Thilani Rodrigo.
Terry is still gone (that little slacker! just kidding Terry!) but I wanted to talk about this past message series, Authentic Compassion. Pastor Kimberly, Pastor Jon and Pastor Paul delved into what it means to see the less fortunate as God does.
We asked quite a lot of our church this past month. We wanted you to help feed our community, bring some nourishment to our friends in the Philippines - we even asked you to give up the shoes off your feet! With each opportunity the Church stepped up in big ways! Here are some stats:
Over 2400 pounds of food were donated to the Community Food Bank
5 full boxes of powdered drinks sent to the Philippines (the boxes are 24×24x36 - you could potentially put a body in there - or a bunch of powdered drinks!)
1000 pairs of shoes donated to the Fresno Rescue Mission & The Craycroft Center
Way to go Clovis Hills! Let’s keep showing our community and the world the love of our Savior through service. If you want to get involved, head to the Serve area in the Courtyard on weekends.
Subscribe to the RSS feed to receive automatic blog updates, next up: Missions Weekend recap and the return of our fearless leader! God Bless!
In case you haven’t noticed…I’ve not been around Clovis Hills for a couple of weeks now. I’m 2 weeks into my extended leave of absence which started July 4th and will last up until I return on September 2nd. The purpose of this time is for rest, relaxation and renewal of my body, mind and spirit. The past 2-3 years have been very tough and the most recent year has been especially trying for me and my family. Allow me to update you on the happenings in my world.
This past May marked 9 years in ministry at Clovis Hills. Wow, time moves along quickly! Also, on May 17th I graduated from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary earning a Master of Arts degree in Intercultural Mission. It only took me 6 years to complete…didn’t want to rush anything! Also during the last 3 years both my parents started to decline in health. My father had Alzheimer’s disease and we had to put him in a nursing home about 2 years ago. Then on December 11th, 2008 he went to be with Jesus as a result of complications from surgery. My mother had Pulmonary Fibrosis which was worsening over the last couple of years. She lived with me, my sister and niece and just last month on June 16th she went home to rest with Jesus. So, we lost both our parents within a 6 month period of time. Yes, it’s been an adjustment and there are times that we miss them terribly yet we know they are at peace now in heaven. It’s also been during this time that a verse has been re-affirmed for me as one that I hold very dear:
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.Romans 8:28 NLT
As you can see, I’m in need of some time to recover and recharge so that I may minister effectively and diligently. During this time the ministry and missions efforts are in capable hands of faithful servants. I am excited about the current series called Authentic Compassion which I believe will be powerful for Clovis Hills. In fact, the last couple of weeks have been intense and Spirit led at least that’s what I’ve heard!
In the age of twitter and facebook…I’m wondering about the value of a blog. Case in point: I have not posted here in almost 6 months. However, if you were one of my twitter friends then you would have read up-to-date tweets by me. And if you are a facebook addict then you would not know what’s happening with me since I don’t have a facebook. That’s right, no fb for me…at least not yet. Let’s test this “blog value” theory of mine…wanna play along?!? I will join facebook if I get 50 comments on this post by Saturday, June 6th. The comments have to be posted on my blog. Game on!
Next week on January 12th Clovis Hills has the priviledge of hosting Perspectives.
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is a dynamic course where you’ll discover what God is doing around the world and consider your part in His purposes.
Imagine the difference it would make in your life if God Himself would reveal to you the world as He sees it from His perspective. You would witness once again God’s great compassion for the lost. He would proclaim how well His servants are doing to reach each one. You would see first hand the importance prayer has in releasing His power. You would be moved by the testimonies of peoples from the world’s unreached locations. God would reveal to you the areas of the world where the need is greatest. You might even grasp the vision of how God will use you and your talents to share in the task of taking the Gospel to the lost. In short, God would show you His heart. How could you ever be the same again?
Hope you can visit a class to get a glimpse of what this class is all about! The first class is FREE!
2008 was an amazing year as Clovis Hills served the church, community and world. This happens because there is an amazing group of leaders that I get to serve alongside as we partner together to expand God’s kingdom. I couldn’t do it without them so if you get the opportunity to watch them in action or serve on a mission they lead…tell them how much you appreciate their leadership…I certainly do!
January launches SERVE 2009 with a variety of ways to serve in ministry and on mission. Check out the following…
This weekend begins the series “My Life Mission” and the Personal Development Plan (PDP) – it was a great service so you’ll want to listen online if you missed it! Also, this weekend we begin offering “Spiritual Gifts Discovery Sessions”. This is for anyone not sure about what and/or how to serve using their God given gifts. Various dates are noted in the PDP or on MyClovisHills ‘SERVE Central’ calendar.
Next Sunday, January 11th from 1-3 pm we will have the opportunity to share and hear stories of how lives were impacted in 2008 through the many ways Clovis Hills served in our church, community and the world…you’ll want to check it out!
Beginning Mondays, January 12th – May 4th from 6:30-9:30 pm we will be hosting “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” class. This is a college/seminary level course that is more than worth the money when it comes to missions education. Pastor Steve and I attended a few years ago and we both came away very impressed. Hope you can check it out by attending the first class and then decide if you want to register…you won’t be dissappointed! You can also register online.
Next, the weekend of January 24th/25th completes the “My Life Mission” series with a SERVE emphasis weekend! The weekend message will included stories and teaching about serving in ministry and on mission.
Finally, we end the month with a one session class called “My Life Mission” – offered on 4 different evenings. On January 25th, 26th, 27th OR 28th from 6:30-9:00 pm Pastor Kimberly and myself will be teaching on how to explore and discover one’s purpose in life. Should be a fun class so choose a night and join us!
SERVE 2009 is off to a great start! My prayer is that all of us at Clovis Hills will fully realize and live our Life Mission through the ministries at Clovis Hills, in our community and throughout the world. So, go ahead…engage the world…Go local. Go Global. Just Go!
I spent Thanksgiving in India along with 4 others from Clovis Hills and about 30 others from the states. Yes, we were there when the tradegies occurred in Mumbai yet we were in New Delhi which is quite some distance from the attacks. So, we are thankful that we are safe and at the same time are saddened by the suffering resulting from the terrorist attacks. Certainly there is a heightened sense of awareness for us as we served the people of India which led us to pray for them. It also affirmed for us the reason for being there in the first place…because Jesus went to the cross is why we choose to serve in India.
Now we are back along with “delhi belly”, colds and jetlag. It’s all part of the deal and worth it when one realizes we are a part of something that God is doing and it’s amazing! There is so much that happened on this journey but suffice it to say that we witnessed what we believe to be the beginning of a civil rights movement in India. And, interestingly enough I realized that today was the anniversary of the infamous Rosa Parks story that was instrumental in our own civil rights movement. Hmm, interesting timing…don’t you think?
In January we’ll have a time to share many of the stories of what happened so look for details in the program at Clovis Hills or visit us at the missions cart in the courtyard on the weekends.
As you can see…it’s been a while since I last posted. Life has been pretty hectic and finding time to blog is a challenging thing to do. However, I’ll be brief because I’ve got lots to do before I leave for the mission to India. That’s right, 5 of us from Clovis Hills will be meeting about 30 others in India to “demonstrate compassion through action” for the Dalits otherwise known as the “untouchables”. We will be there over Thanksgiving so keep us in prayer when you think of us!
So, I’ll leave you with a video of one of my favorite songs Mighty to Save …afterall isn’t this what Christianity is all about?? Check it out…
Ain’t that a great song?!? I’ll try to blog while in India but no guarantee however, I will definitely post some highlights when I return in December!
Our team left for the Philippines on January 25. The group this year is, from left to right: (top row) Mike Brown, Mike Thompson, Kimberly MacNeill, Mike Epps & Lisa Epps, (bottom row) Stefanie McDowell & Terry Maldonado.
And if you are a facebook addict then you would not know what’s happening with me since I don’t have a facebook. That’s right, no fb for me…at least not yet. Let’s test this “blog value” theory of mine…wanna play along?!? I will join facebook if I get 50 comments on this post by Saturday, June 6th. The comments have to be posted on my blog. Game on!
