Keeping up with the ministry of Lee & Dana Trotter in the Prescott neighborhood in urban Kansas City, Kansas.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas Break.

Executive decision: I need a Christmas break.  My tendencies usually are to work almost all of the time and contemplate all I have to do when I'm not working.  I know, I know.  It will probably give me grey hair.  There is so much to do here.  I have until April to get this house done and have 3 cars that have engine problems.  Plus there are a million things I want and need to do in our ministry. . . .


We are taking next week to be with family for Christmas.  I am purposely slowing down to not just enjoy our time, but to refresh myself mentally and spiritually.  I need a clear head and heart to start the new year.


The rest of this month, I am putting together a scope, strategy, and game plan to get this house done.  Starting Jan 3rd, the blitz is on!  That week, I hope to have a huge Lowe's delivery truck drop off everything I need and then it's on!  


Join me in slowing down for Christmas and then join me in January.  I could use some help on this house. Experience not necessary (but helpful).


"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."           Philippians 4:6

Friday, December 10, 2010

The trouble with cars

I just checked the oil in our car to find anti-freeze on the dip stick.  Not cool.  That means that I have a blown head gasket.  I guess we are not driving that to Florida for Christmas.  Our other car has the wrong title and the people in Paola who we bought it from won't give me the right one.  Not sure why.  They gave me the wrong title in the first place and say they will get me the right one, but after 4 months...

This doesn't fit in my schedule for the next 3 months, so I'm asking Santa for a new car.

Today the weather will be over 50, so I will be outside putting a head gasket on my little pick-up.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Here is our December Newsletter

Here is our December Newsletter. 
 We hope you have a great Christmas!
 


click to view

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Slowing down?

This time of year, I feel like I'm driving around with the parking brake on. It seems like things don't go as fast as I want them too.

Things like:
-It being more difficult to be working outside when it's cold.
-Me getting a metal shaving in my eye and it taking a while to heal.
-Not getting the right title for Jesse's car.
-Blowing a head gasket on my truck.
-People getting busy with their own holiday activities.

I guess I should just make the best of it. This Saturday, I have half a dozen college students coming to help me on the house. I am hoping to major on getting the house done these next several months so I can spend spring and summer working on my mission.  Got any spare time?

Thanks for your prayers. Nothing good comes easy, right?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Latest Update

Here is my new front door. Notice that now I have 3 front doors. The new one is back in the original location. The other 2 will come out this next week (hopefully). We got this door off of craigslist for less than 10% of the cost new.



Grandview Park Church is meeting today to confirm that I can use the church for the bicycle club and to get permission to put together a team to develop an outreach strategy for youth.  I am pretty excited about the potential to reach unchurched youth.

I am still looking for donated bicycles.  Thanks for your prayers.

Monday, November 8, 2010

November Newletter

Here is our November Newsletter.  
Also check out the new bicycle club I am starting: 

 
Click to enlarge

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Here's the plan

Wow!  It seems like things are moving slow but there are a lot of things in the works.  We have all the basics on our house now; water, electricity, and heat.  Now back to the remodeling project.  We are anxious to get it finished so we can start some bible study and community gathering stuff here. We are working on developing our partnership with Hillcrest's Youth Homeless program.  We will be mentoring some students, tutoring and helping to develop some activities and ministry opportunities with them.  We are helping out with the Grandview Park youth group and getting to know some of the youth.  Dana is tutoring one middle school student from the neighborhood and it looks like she may be helping a lot more in the future.  I am starting to develop a network of youth and community developers in our area.  

I am also developing a bicycle ministry program.  I am currently trying to figure out what this will look like and have got some interest from a few of the church leaders in the area.  There is nothing like it in the area.  There is not even a bicycle shop anywhere close. The concept for this will be training youth to repair bikes and sell them in the neighborhood while developing bike rides and events and possibly work with the city to create some safe spaces for kids to ride.  My plan is to get some of the ground work done this winter and launch the program in the spring.  
Here is where you can help -> Over the next 3 months or so, I hope to get a number of youth bicycles donated so I have some available when I kick the program off.  If you (or friends or neighbors or churches) have any old bikes you are will to donate,  let me know.  I can pick them up.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Blessed

Today is my 51st birthday.  Birthdays are reminders to me that God loves me enough to give me another year on earth to love Him and love others.  That's again what my agenda is for this year.   I can't help being a little overwhelmed by all that God has done in my 51 years.  Friends, family, church, ministry;  I've got it all!

Yesterday, the day before my birthday, was my grandson's birthday.  The kids want to call me "Gramps" after my grandfather.  He missed being born on my birthday by only a few hours.  Good for him; he has his own day.  This dude came out at 10 pounds!  Couldn't be prouder of Josh and Stephanie!
 Jadon Benaiah Trotter


Dana and I are truly blessed.  'Nuff said.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A few pics of the house

Most of the demo is done.  Now to start rebuilding.
Foyer (That's french for bienvenidos)

Living area; complete with old furnace and bicycle

Looking into the new kitchen

Foyer (used to be a kitchen!)

We love our front porch

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Livin large...

Finally, we got our gas lines inspected and a gas meter put in.  Now we have hot water and don't have to go down the block to shower.  Now the only big thing needing attention is the furnace and we have no idea if it works or not.  I suppose I need to get that working this next month as well as insulate this old house.   I will continue to plug away on getting this house put together over the next several months.  We have decided that we should really get this place done so that we can have people over, start bible studies, etc.

I'm putting together a plan to get some youth to rebuild bicycles and sell them before Christmas this year.  collecting input and old bikes will be the first step.

Today we are going to visit Grandview Park Church.  It is their anniversary celebration.  I think it is their 121st year.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Ok,  take 2.  Here is our October newsletter.  
Thanks to our awesome prayer and support team.

                                                                    




Click on them to enlarge.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Home, Sweet Home


We finally got move in to our house. We still don't have gas service. That just means we don't have hot water or heat. We might need that soon. Looks like we need a licensed plumber to pull yet another permit and inspect the gas lines. We can still walk down the street to

 use the shower. I hope to get all of the outlets in the bedrooms working soon. Thanks to Jeff and Lisa for the fridge and Jeremy for helping hang some drywall.

Starting Monday, I hope to get into more of a routine and exploring some ministry ideas.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Moving in this week (I think)

We plan to move in to our house this Thursday.  We got our electricity on.  I still have some demons to track down and fix, but some of the lights work, the microwave and the fridge are working, and the toilets flush.  We are still waiting on the gas meter.  We have to go through the whole safety inspection and permit game like the other utilities.  Cold showers and no heat for now.  I think I will buy a few space heaters at Walmart (hey, if they weren't good enough for spacemen, they wouldn't call them space heaters and it's cold in space).

Well tomorrow I'm tracking down some knob and tube wiring that is still mysteriously energized.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Progress!

Yep,  we are actually getting something done.  We have the upgraded electric done and the "Safe To Restore" from the city.  We are just waiting on the utility company to put in the service cable and meter (C'mon, it's been 6 days already).  We got the water on.  Ended up re-plumbing the whole house.  The only thing leaking now are the faucets that were in the house and it looks like the hot water heater leaks  :(

Next is getting the gas lines inspected.  There sure is a lot of red tape junk to do here in the city.  No wonder people don't fix up their house.

Anyway, if you have time to help with a water heater or sheet rocking a ceiling, let me know.

Dana and I are off to a neighborhood meeting.....

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Well....  We are making slow progress on the house.  We have our water turned on and now I am dealing with repairing water  lines.  After installing a new electrical service drop, getting it inspected, pulling building permits, and setting up an account, we are still waiting for the power company to install a meter and get it turned on.  I will have to get the gas lines inspected before I can get them on.  It's kind of been a hassle trying to get into this old house.  We were imagining what it would be like for the many of our neighbors, who don't have the resources (money, knowledge, friends), to fix up an older home.  It seems they are stuck with run down houses or fall prey to the slum lords, who rent them sub-par homes.  Note to self: Do something about this.

Anyway, we are moving ahead.  Got the new transmission put in the truck and then Jesse's car died.  Looks like the new fuel pump had a short life!  We met with Greg from AQUI and started looking at some ideas on how to start finding ways to minister to youth in the neighborhood.  He said there is really nothing set up to help the youth.  That is why we are here.

Dana is at a women's retreat, so I guess I will get back to work.....


Monday, September 13, 2010

Things are moving along

We had a great time at the CCDA Conference.  CCDA is hard to explain.  It is an association that exists to encourage and network those who are doing ministry primarily to the poor and under-resourced in a variety of environments.  Most are ministering to the poor in urban areas of larger cities in the United States.  Some in rural areas, some in villages in Africa or Mexico.  Although diverse, CCDA seeks to alleviate some of the hardship and exploitation of the poor while loving them with the Gospel of Jesus.  We found the conference very encouraging and challenging as we sat in many seminars classes discussing ways to minister that can have lasting results.

 The church has done far too much hand-out ministry to the poor and not enough development of the poor.  Here is a simple analogy; If you give a man a fish, he eats but what does he do when the fish is gone?   That's where hand-out or relief ministry stops, although entirely appropriate in certain instances.  Development looks at going beyond and teaching him to fish, so he has the skills to get food for tomorrow and the next day.  Development is also concerned with ensuring the man has access to the pond.  What can be done to keep the pond safe and full of fish?  Are there unjust laws that might keep him from fishing? What about helping the man develop a pond in his own community where his family can have fish and use it as a source of income and then teach others to fish for themselves and so on.

We are excited to be in ministry to do this while seeking to develop people spiritually.  They are very inter-related.   It is a holistic approach that I believe is what the Bible teaches.  I plan to discuss these issues and my thoughts with you as we journey together through the next months and years to reach the young people in our neighborhood.

Looks like we could have our power on by the end of the week if all goes well.  We still need to get some inspections and pull some more permits, so who knows....  Well I'm off to look at a new transmission for my new truck......

Monday, September 6, 2010

Here is our September Newsletter

We head out tomorrow for the CCDA Conference in Chicago.  Pray we learn ways to follow God and reach our community.  We love you all!

Click to Enlarge
(you may have to zoom)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Quinceanera

Today we went to Grandview Park Presbyterian Church that is about a half a block away from our house. We could tell that a quinceanera was going on, but we weren't sure if they were having church or not. Found out that they were doing the quinceanera as a part of the service. After waiting 45 minutes for the young lady to show arrive for here own fiesta, it was a really cool service.

In Mexican families, a quinceanera is a fiesta for a girl on her 15th birthday. It is a rite of passage from a child to a woman. This one for Angeles was all that, but also like a wedding to Christ. It was a time of dedicating her life to love and serve God as a woman. Very Cool.

Also, a Burmese family joined the church. Great day at church.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Normal Day...

So, yesterday afternoon, I was out if front of my house working on a car and this man walks by and says, "Looks like a lot of work." (or something like that, I left out some adjectives) I replied and he stopped to talk. Les is homeless, looking for work. Yesterday he didn't find work, so he found a few too many beers. Anyway, we talked for about an hour. He told me about his life and struggles. He told me about growing up in church. I encouraged him to try to get into a pattern of not drinking so much, putting his faith in God, etc. Anyway, he decided he would help me work on the car. Not much help. Later, I drove him to a friend's house across town and told him I'd be praying for him to stay straight and find work. I'm sure this is only one of many interruptions in my day. Pray for Les.

Monday, August 30, 2010

One Week

It has been one week since we moved to KCK.  Not quite like we expected, but when is life ever.  We tried to get things going before we moved to get our utilities on, but found our efforts futile due to not being able to be up here much.  Anyway, we are not able to do much until we get our electricity turned on.  We need to get a new service entrance installed and inspected and...  Hopefully this week.

While we are waiting, we are getting a fence up for the dogs and doing some minor cleaning and arranging.  We have been able to meet a few of the neighbors.  We are trying to be patient.  Not easy.  We know we will be able to get settled in soon and start to figure out why God moved us to the city.

Thanks for your prayers.

LEE

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Moving Weekend!

It's great to have a lot of stuff.... until you have to move it.

We are moving some small stuff today and then blitzing the furniture and big stuff tomorrow.  Friends from Desperation Church are showing up tomorrow morning and we will go from there.  If you are dying to help, call me (816-665-1094).  If you can show up in KCK to carry boxes, that would be a big help too.

We are moving into the house but will be staying in a studio apartment a block away until we get the utilities up and running.  Should be sometime this next week thanks to Chris Brown.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

It's over!

Today is the last day of an era.  Today is the last day of camp for me.  I have been working here in some way for the past 26 years (over half of my life).  I will always have great memories and stories of what God did here in our lives and in countless teenagers lives.

I'm really not too emotional about it.  I suppose I am more excited and anxious for the new ministry God has called us into.

Time to pack the house and get things straightened out so we can move.  We will be moving most of our stuff this week and moving our furniture and stuff this coming Sunday.  If you would like to come help, let me know.

 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  Phil 3:13-14

Thursday, August 12, 2010

OK, what next?

OK, we are still trying to get our utilities turned on.  We are waiting for some bids from electricians and plumbers.  Right now the bid to fix the water line is at $3300.  Not in the budget.  We will continue to look for options.

Joyanna's car died about a month ago.  We got Katie's old car running hoping it would last until after we move.  I towed it home today.  Not cool.  We need to find another car or truck now, maybe even one with air conditioning that works.

We may have a temporary place to stay until we get our utilities straightened out.  Starting Monday, I'm in a full out blitz to make this all happen.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Please pray.

Today I am going to order a city inspection of my electrical and water.  They were converted into two meters and now they are back into one (each... the water doesn't flow through the electric).  Anyway, we can't get our utilities turned on until we get through this and any improvements they require.

Please pray that this goes well, that our utilities will pass the inspections.  We need to get our utilities on this week so we can move in the next.

Always an adventure.  Thanks.

LEE

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

August Newsletter

Here is our August newsletter.  Click on it to enlarge.  Thanks for your love and support.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sorry, wrong address. Duh.

Oops!  Not a good way to start a new ministry.  I used the wrong address on my support return envelopes. The correct address is:

Lee & Dana Trotter
Prescott Community Outreach
c/o Desperation Church
Box 259
Liberty, MO 64069

If you sent your support to the other address, it should be returned to you. You can either resend it or I will be sending out new envelopes with our August newsletter in the next week or so.

Sorry for the inconvenience.  I suspect there will be more surprises in store for us over the next few months.

Thanks,

LEE

Monday, July 26, 2010

Nostalgic

Got done with camp Saturday at noon and moved a load of stuff to the house and worked on installing a new breaker box.  Spent Sunday morning packing up some stuff and then enjoyed the Wizards vs. Manchester United game with the whole family (w/o Jeremy who was moving, bummer).

 I ran across a lot of old pictures when I was packing and had to take the time to look through them.  We've never been real good about taking pictures and not real good at organizing the ones we have.  I was overwhelmed by how blessed we have been over the years.  I am glad for every moment of my life, although some were hard as hell to get through.  God has been watching over us and I'm so thankful to Him for everything!

Now back to the task at hand.  It's week 8 at camp.  Only 3 more to go.  I suppose every spare moment in the evenings will be packing and getting all my dead vehicles running.  Then Sat and Sun will be back at the house.  My goal is to get the utilities on before we move.

Thanks for your prayers.  Stop by the house this weekend and bring your gloves and tools!  (or just stop by)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Letter From Pastor Michael.

This is an encouraging letter from Pastor Michael from Desperation Church.  His support, friendship, and passion for us and our mission is a huge encouragement to us.  Thanks Michael!



To whom it may concern:
Lee Trotter and his wife Dana have been attending Desperation Church with their children for over 5 years. They have been an invaluable asset to both this church and to me and my family, personally. I first became acquainted with Lee in the mid-90's, and got to know him very well around 2006. He has been a close partner in the Lord since that time. He and his wife are marked with a spirit of love, commitment, and integrity. Lee Trotter has a strong desire to glorify Jesus by authentically and practically living out the Gospel Message amongst those who are often overlooked.
Our church continues to greatly benefit from his ministry and involvement in multiple areas, such as our missions programs and our youth ministries. I have always found Lee to be sacrificial, loving, and an extremely relevant speaker. He has the skill of making the Message of Jesus Christ simple to understand for those of any age. Because of his deep passion for others, Lee is a very effective communicator. One cannot help but be inspired by his contagious compassion, zeal, and enthusiasm.
Lee Trotter is one of those people that make you want to be a better person, to follow harder after Jesus, and to be less selfish. His life is a message in and of itself. I can recommend him to you as deserving of your financial support or as a minister/speaker without hesitation and without reservation.
If I can be of any further assistance please don't hesitate to call my office.
Sincerely,

Michael Craft Lead Pastor

Desperation Church
940 S. Kent Street
Liberty, MO 64068
Website:
www.DesperationChurch.org
Office: (816) 792-8335
Fax: (816) 792-9815

Monday, July 19, 2010

Itinerary...

Our plan is this:

August 16-21  Get our house ready
                         -(at least the part we are moving into) 
                        Pack up our stuff here at the camp.


August 22       Moving Day (in conjunction with DC WOW)


August 23-31  Final moving and cleaning house at camp.

In order for this to happen, we need to get our water and electricity repaired so we can get them turned on, install a garage door, and hopefully get a fence built in the back yard.

If you can help with any of this,  let us know.  We would really appreciate it  :)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

And so it begins....

A group of Youthworks missionaries from Minnesota and Colorado started blitzing our house this week.  They pretty much gutted the main floor.  This is a huge blessing as we start restoring.  We are hanging out with the groups this evening and hope to help host Youthworks groups in the future.  Great things are happening and we haven't even been able to move in yet!
 before



Thursday, July 8, 2010

July Newsletter: introducing Prescott Community Outreach!

Here is our July Newsletter.  I've tried to explain all of the changes.  I will be sending these out soon to introduce our new mission and ministry.  Thanks!

Monday, July 5, 2010

I can't explain

We just got back from the Cornerstone Festival.  Awesome music, seminars, camping, weather, friends... When I'm asked about the festival, I really can't explain.  It totally wears me out, but is so spiritually refreshing at the same time.  I am hungover from the week, but am energized to live for God.  I love it.

Now to this week's tasks.  We close on our house on Wednesday morning.  Then this next week, I have a Youthworks mission group that will begin the work on the house.  They will be mostly tearing down the panelling and bad plaster on the walls.

If you'd like to see the house, we plan to be there Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Closing Date Set

Finally.  We set a closing date of July 7th; one day before we would have to file an extension.  HUD takes forever and then puts the burden on the buyer.  Anyway, everything looks good and then after July 7th, we can really start looking at all the needs to make it so we can start moving the middle of August.

Here are the projects that must be done by then:

1. The house had 3 electric meters.  They will need converted back into one before the Electric Company can hooked it back up.

2.  There are some plumbing issues that we will have to fix so that we can turn on the water.

3.  The Furnace and A/C need looked at or replaced.

4.  We need to put up a fence for our dogs.

5.  Major cleaning.

A lot to do in a short time.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

To early for this...

OK, So my phone goes off at a little past 4:00 in the morning.  Smoke alarms are going off in Cabin 16.  Why do these things only malfunction in the middle of the night.  Maybe there needs to be a "low fuel" light option or something so you can change the battery before you go to bed.  Anyway, after changing some of the batteries and getting back to bed at about 5:00, I couldn't get back to sleep.

I hate it when my body wants to sleep but my brain will have nothing to do with it.  I was thinking about our new ministry and to be quite honest, being a little anxious.

On one hand,  Dana and I could not not be any more excited about moving into this urban area and developing ministry to youth, young families, homeless youth, and anyone in the neighborhood.  I have tons of ideas flying around in my head about Bible studies, urban mission trips, study help groups, tutoring, work skill development, youth activities ....

Then I realized that this transition is only 8 weeks away!  There is a lot to do in that short time while still working over 12 hours a day trying to keep this camp running.  We have to get our house closed, repair the plumbing, electricity, and HVAC just so we can move in.  Then we will start renovating.  We have to get our financial support figured out.  We are working with Desperation Church on this, but haven't finalized it all.  We need to figure how out health insurance, taxes, and how we will get the funds we need.  We will need to raise more support.  We will need to raise the part of my support that comes from Youthfront that I will loose when I leave plus our support has fallen this summer.  This will be my 4th career change that my income will be lower.

Sorry to rant but this is going to be a wild ride.  Every day, I am more excited and think of new opportunities to share God's love to my new mission field!

In our morning Bible study, we read this verse in Galatians 2 and I was encouraged by Paul's response, "...the only additional thing that they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that."

Sunday, June 13, 2010

June 2010 Newsletter


Here is our June Newsletter.  Hard to find time to get this out between camp and the World Cup :)

Click on it to enlarge....

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Camp is off and running.

Wow.  What an absolutely crazy last couple of weeks.  12-14 hours a day, 8 days a week.  We got the dock re-floated, the new cabin finished, the new offices remodeled, and the teen staff bathroom re-done.  This week we have 150 junior high students from the area Nazarene churches.  Seeing kids challenged to follow God makes it all worth it.

We got all of our paperwork completed on the house.  Since HUD is government, the paperwork is thick.  We should be able to close in the next 2 weeks.  Then we will develop our plan.  We are pretty excited.

Grace and Peace,
LEE

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

We got the house!


We were the winning bidder on the house at 1705 Wilson!  We should be able to get this closed fairly quick.  This house was converted by the previous owner into a duplex.  It was not done well at all, so we have quite a bit of work to do on it!  Our initial plan is to move into the second floor and restore the main floor first.  This will include tearing out some walls, building a kitchen and laundry room,  reworking some walls, converting the utilities back into one, redoing the HVAC.....


We are excited about this house for a number of reasons.  First, we got it at a great price, so we have more room to renovate.  Next, it is in a place that is highly visible and inviting for any visitors or guests.  It has a double wide lot, which will be good for cookouts and soccer games.  It is close to half a block away from Grandview Park Church where a lot of the youth attend.


Every house we have looked at or considered has drawbacks, but that's part of moving into a highly populated urban area.  I'm sure we will be in for some surprises and challenges.


Pray for us as we get this house purchased and develop a plan to make this our home and ministry center.  There will be many things we will need as we start to get things ready for us to move in August. Camp starts on Monday, so we are in "Blitz" mode.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Short update...

This time of year is so crazy trying to get the camp ready.  Camp starts in one more week.  In my "spare" time, we have put a bid in on another house.  It has been hard to find a house that will work, but this one shows a lot of potential.  It will definitely need some major work.  It has large lot, plenty of space, and is in a pretty good location. It is a HUD house and the bidding is through this Sunday, so we should know by Tuesday if we get the house or not.  It is in God's hands now.  We appreciate your prayer.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

So, did you get that house?....

OK, I finally got a moment to sit down and catch up on my computer.  We still don't have internet at the house and working half days (12 hours) is making it hard to get anything else done.

After 5 months of trying to find a house in the Prescott neighborhood, we are kind of back to Square 1.  The house we had a contract on is tied up in foreclosure and the one at auction was postponed and we can't figure out what is going on.  We looked at a few more houses, but haven't found one that will work yet.  I guess the plan is just wait and keep praying.  God has a house for us.

We are hoping one of these will get back on the market soon.

Thanks for your prayers.

Lee

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Another house option.

Finding a house that meets all of our criteria has not been easy. This house has a lot of potential. It is at 16 S. 16th Street.  It is going up for auction this Friday. We plan to bid on it. Please pray that if this is the house, we will win the auction for a good price. Thanks. I will let you know what happens, but our internet at camp is down for now.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Here are some pictures from our first youth event in Prescott.  It went better than we anticipated!  Now if we can just find a house.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Our first youth Event in KCK


Prescott Youth
Summer Kick Off



Saturday,May 8.  Noon-3:00

Grandview Park Presbyterian Church
17th  Street and Wilson Blvd.
(Sponsored by AQUI, Grandview Park and Desperation Church)

This event is to showcase some summer opportunities for youth in the area.  There will be representatives that offer summer activities and jobs for youth.  Stop by and see what we are doing.  Free food, games, and crafts.





Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sharp right turn


Things were going right on track and fairly smoothly as we enter our transition to move to the Prescott neighborhood.  After looking at houses for 5 months, we found one that would work for us and made an offer, got it accepted, were assured of the progress that it looked good and that the bank should approve the short sale in 2-3 weeks.  We were going ahead and arranging our schedule and lining things up to make this work when (after 4 weeks), Bank Of America decided that they would reject the sale and foreclose on the house.  That way they could get more write-off or taxpayer money. Greedy bastards.  Anyway, that puts us in a quandary.  


Do we still try to buy this house when it is re-listed as a foreclosure?  We are not sure what they will price it at.  Or do we wait it out and see if anything better hits the market over the summer?  Most of the houses that are going on the market are foreclosures but not many in Prescott. We would like to move as soon as camp is over and camp is so busy, it is going to be hard to spend time trying to buy a house.  Our plan was to buy a house now to take advantage of the 10% tax credit, but time has expired on that.


We are not sure. Nothing good comes easy.  Please join us in prayer for this.  Thanks.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Thought for the day

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
 -Dr. MLK

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Update

We are moving ahead on everything.  Our May 8 youth event in Prescott is coming together.  It will be a lot of fun and feature a bunch of groups that provide jobs and summer activities for youth and kids.  If you want to help out with this event, let me know.

Still waiting on the seller's bank to approve the sale.  It should be this week, but....

Thanks for your prayers.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Holding pattern

We have an accepted offer on this house.  Since it is a "short sale", it goes to the seller's bank for approval.  This can take 2-3 weeks.  Waiting is so hard, but that's the way it is.  Thanks for your prayers.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Update on House

Not sure what is up on our offer on the house.  The selling realtor has not even contacted the seller (after 5 days).  Still praying it will work out.  Got a meeting on Wednesday to plan a summer kick off fiesta for youth on May 8th.  Thanks for your prayers!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Another offer

Ok, so we have been re-thinking the house offer and decided to make an offer on another smaller house for a number of reasons. Offer will go in today.  This one will need a lot of work. but has some great potential.  This block is swarming with kids! Thanks for your prayers.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Video of Lee.

Here is the video that Pastor Michael showed in church today.  Thanks to Matt, Lisa, and Michael for making this happen.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Please Pray.

We put an offer on this house.  It is a foreclosure at 17th and Central.  Our offer was on the low side. We figure if this is the house God wants us in, we will be able to buy it reasonably.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

We Are The World 25 For Haiti

I love the Olympics for the beauty of people coming together from all over the world to compete on a stage where every athlete is equal.   No religious discrimination, no bigotry, no racism, no social class hierarchy.  To me it celebrates the beautiful diversity of God's creation.

They debuted "We Are The World 25 For Haiti."  It has been 25 years since the original "We Are The World" was produced.  Why did this new one move me on a lot deeper level than the original.  First is obviously the fact of have fresh in our minds the suffering of our neighbors in Haiti.  With the help of the media, both TV and the internet, we are more aware of what is going on in our world.  Next, the diversity of the talent that was assembled to make this new video is amazing.  From Tony Bennett, Bebe Winans, and Josh Groban, to Snoop Dogg and Carlos Santana.  Unbelievable.  I was not as impressed with the amazing talent as much as I was the was the sum of it all.  All of this very different talent came together to make something that is far greater than it ever could have if one artist put out this song.

This to me was an amazing picture of how God wants to combine our talents (yes, we all have something to contribute) to make a difference in others lives. God's desire to use each one of us to reconcile every        person on this planet to health and a restored relationship with Him through Jesus.

Whether you can give to help Haiti is not the issue.  The challenge is what will each one of us do so that together, we will make our world a better place and move people to a restored, renewed relationship with   our God.

Click the pic to see the video.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

February Newsletter

Here is our February newsletter.  Click on it to get it big enough to read.  Thanks to you all!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Happy Anniversary to us!

Wow!  29 years!  Dana and I got married this day in a small church in Saline, Michigan.  We were both in college studying engineering and working for General Motors.  I never would have guessed we would be where we are now.

We lived in a small apartment half way between school and work.  There we got involved with a church youth program.  God used that to launch us into youth ministry.  In 1984, we loaded up our two boys and moved halfway across the country to Kansas City.  Here we have had so many great adventures with each other, friends, and thousands of teenagers.  Our lives have been filled with summer camp, Bible clubs, youth preaching club, rallies, high school assemblies, and mission trips while raising 5 great kids.  It's been a whirlwind, but we've enjoyed all of the good times and trusted God through all of the tough times.

We will keep on loving God and loving others and laughing a lot.  It's worked so far.

Happy Anniversary Dana.  Thanks for loving me and putting up with this crazy man.  And thank you God.  I am blessed.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Update on Feed The Hunger

Got this note from Kendon summarizing Youthfront's Feed The Hunger:

"We are 3 days into our 6 days of packaging, and the momentum is unbelievable. Our initial goal was to package 200,000 meals by the first week in February. To date we have packaged 142,560 meals to send to haiti, but our friends at Horizons Community Church in Lincoln, NE have stepped up to the plate and packaged an additional 28,000 meals to be delivered to us tomorrow. Over 1500 people and over 50 groups throughout the KC Metro have come together over the last two weeks to package meals. Together we have packaged 170,560 meals to ship to Haiti, and we still have three days of packaging left. Three days? you ask... We have decided to open up Wednesday, February 3 as a 6th and final day for groups to come and package meals to send to Haiti."

Monday, January 25, 2010

NFL Today

Are you kidding me?  I turned on the TV to watch the game yesterday.  I usually only watch the 4th quarter of a game, but thought since it was the playoffs, I'd take in a whole game.  "NFL Today" was on.  I found it humorous that it was a bunch of retired football players analyzing and predicting how the game was going to go.  Why does it matter?  Does anyone really care?  Isn't it the team who scores the most who wins?  Do I need to watch the game if they have so eloquently told me what I was about to see?

Then I thought about us and the church.  We do the same thing.  We talk about how we are going to change the world, share Jesus, feed the poor, and follow Jesus example.  Instead of "NFL Today", our gatherings are more like "Jesus Today."  It's great to talk about our strategy and game plan.  But in the end, the only thing that matters is the real game.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

YouthFront on the News

Our Feed The Hunger caught the attention of the press.  The atmosphere at Youthfront is exciting.  We will be packing meals again today, Wednesday, as well as next weekend. Here are the links to the articles and video.  Feel free to contact me on how you can get involved.





Monday, January 18, 2010

Martin Luther King Jr. Day


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing man.  Our world is a better place because of his passion and dedication.  He is known for his “I Have A Dream” speech. Here are some other great quotes:

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Thank you, Dr. King.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Waiting....

I'm not a big fan of waiting.  I suspect you are not real fond of waiting either.  It has a lot to do with our culture.  We are programmed to (and are expected to) get things done expediently.  I hate it when someone says, "I just got your email," when you know it's been read for days.  We have Instant Messenger, instant oatmeal, instant coffee (dumb idea), and a "Buy It Now" button because we can't wait for the eBay auction to end.  The TV station has "Instant Traffic."  That's quite the oxymoron. I always seem to pick the line at the store where someone has to write a check or get a price check or send the cashier to the back for a carton of cigarettes or has a pile of coupons or...


Don't get me wrong. There are times that require a quick response.  It is good to see the world's quick response to help Haiti.  I'm sitting here on a quiet Saturday morning asking for answers and directions from God.  Can I hear back soon. Let's say by noon? Please?  Then I was reminded of how often "wait" or waiting" comes up in the Bible.  Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and just about everyone else had to wait on God, wait for answers, wait for direction.


As I sit here impatiently considering things, I am reminded of God's promises for us if we wait.  God's clock is not like ours.


God, please forgive my impatience and help me to not demand instant answers, but eagerly await Your direction.

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."  Romans 8:25  




Be the Change.