June 2014

 Lee and Dana Trotter

  Prescott Community Outreach

  Kansas City, Kansas

  June 2014

We just returned from a wedding in Colorado Springs.  It was kind of a 3-day mini vacation blitz.  Dana and I definitely needed a break after this hectic spring.  The mountains, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs and the whole area is breath-taking.  I admit being a little envious of my friends who live there.  With my mountain bike and motorcycle, I'd be in heaven, at least when it wasn't snowing.

Ten hours later when we pulled in our little crumbling driveway in urban Kansas City, it was not nearly as exotic as where we spent the last 3 days.  We were greeted by Christopher and Amaris, 2 of the neighbor kids.  Amaris gave me a hug and said she missed me.  It was good to be home.

La Paz House is over for the summer.  The kids already tell me they miss it and ask me regularly when it opens up again. The building becomes the sleeping area for the La Paz Kids Summer program the 8 groups that will be doing their mission trip in our neighborhood and area.  We will be leading devotions, a worship service, a discussion on immigration, and trying to foster relationships with our neighbors. 

Dana is hosting a summer book club for  some of the kids.

Summer is busy but Dana and I hope to regroup and plan for the fall to improve our outreach.  It seems that to be effective, we continually need to be mixing up our programs. We are hoping to recruit some volunteers to help with La Paz House or lead a class or activity from 6:00 – 7:00 every week or month.  These could be Bible studies, art class, bike repair, book club, math club, science club, kids exercise, computer club, music lessons, or whatever God brings our way.  We already have a leadership class and guitar lessons lined up.  We also will be setting up a computer café this summer.

I also hope to get the bike shop re-stocked with bikes and parts.  Everyday so far this summer, I have repaired 2-4 bikes a day on my front porch.  Can your church,  neighborhood, social group, or business host a bike drive for us?

I say “thank you” every month in our newsletter.  I hope you realize that we are really thankful to you and blessed and honored by your prayers and donations that allow us to do this ministry. 

We love you all.

La Paz de Dios,

Lee & Dana

“Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging

love and helping out,” Hebrews 10:24

_______________________________________________________________

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and are fully tax deductible. We receive 99% of the funds you donate. Please designate
“Prescott Community Outreach Fund #935502” on the memo line.
Use the enclosed envelope or send to:

Prescott Community Outreach Fund #935502

c/o National Christian Foundation
706 North Lindenwood Drive
Olathe, KS 66062

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home..."

We just returned from Kolten Craft's wedding in Colorado Springs.  It was kind of a 3 day mini vacation blitz.  Dana and I definitely needed a break after this hectic spring.  The wedding was beautiful; mostly because it was filled with people we love very much.  The mountains, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs and the whole area is breath-taking.  I admit being a little envious of my friends who live there.  With my mountain bike and motorcycle, I'd be in heaven; at least when it wasn't snowing.

Ten hours later when we pulled in our little crumbling driveway in urban Kansas City, it was not nearly as exotic as where we spent the last 3 days.  We were greeted by Christopher and Amaris, 2 of the neighbor kids.  Amaris gave me a hug and said she missed me.  My daughter Joyanna took over as neighborhood bike mechanic while I was gone.  I got a big hug from her.

Driving home across Kansas, you pass the Wizard of Oz Museum.  I couldn't help but think about how Dorthy goes on this amazing adventure only to realized that the place she belonged was at home in boring, uneventful, black and white , tornado filled Kansas.

God lives here in urban Kansas City just as He does in Colorado Springs.

There's no place like home.

Anniversary thoughts

Today, Dana and I are celebrating our 33rd anniversary.  5 kids, 2 grandkids, over 60 vehicles, 8 houses, and a bajillion bicycles and skateboards later, I couldn't think of a better place to be.  We had no idea that we would end up living where we live and doing what we do.

We have been going through a study on Matt 5 which includes the beatitudes.  You know the ones; Blessed are you when this or that...  Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are those that mourn; bless are the persecuted; blessed are the insulted.  Doesn't sound quite right to me.  Juxtaposition for sure.  Some interpret "blessed" to mean happy.  To me, this doesn't seem to fit.  Be happy when you are persecuted sounds insensitive at best. When I say, "God bless you," I am not saying, "God, make you happy."

I wonder if we struggle to understand words like this (even when we go back to original languages) because it is so hard to describe God with language whether it is english or hebrew.

So Lee, how would you describe "blessed?"  I think it means to be in the place where God wants us.  In any situation, we need to realize that we are where God has placed us.

God blessed our marriage.  It didn't always make us happy.  When we gathered on a cold Saturday afternoon in the cold of Michigan in a small church, we had no idea what we were getting into, but God blessed us. He had us right where he wanted us.  I am so glad God is bigger than my understanding.

God bless you.

2014 Advent

I'm working on cleaning my desk, getting ready for this next year. As we all get ready for 2014,  I want to share what I preached yesterday at church as a New Year's devotion:

I love advent.  For 4 weeks we dwell on Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love.  These are the 4 things that make our relationship with God and our lives complete.  Christmas comes and goes and our reflection is over and we move on to New Years.  Happy New Year!  During New Years, we reflect more on making resolutions and how we are going to improve this next year.  Lose Weight. Exercise more.  Get out of Debt.  Spend more time with family. Drink less Pepsi.

As we all make this transition from remembering Jesus to how we are going to live in 2014,

I was thinking of a passage that encourages us to get back to what is important, back to advent.

After reminding the Christ followers of Jesus’ great sacrifice for us, we are reminded in Heb 10:22-25 to get back to the things that will help us live this God-Life.  I have preached on this before, but as I looked at it this time, I noticed an obvious connection to advent.

Hope, Joy, Peace, Love.

Heb 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

This is our Joy.  We can draw near to God!  Jesus takes away our guilt!  Our bodies are cleansed!  Our faith should bring us Joy!  When you think of how God has restored our relationship with Him through Jesus, it should bring joy to your heart and life.  It should bring a smile to your face!

Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

This is our Hope.  Hope is not just a wish.  “I hope you have a good day.”  “I hope my car keeps running.”  Hope actually means anticipation or expecting good.  If we say we believe God will save us, that God will forgive us, that God will use us, we should also expect God to be faithful.  Our hope is more than a wish. We have to believe with everything we have.  That is hope.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

This is our Love.  The great command is to love God and then love others.  The best way to love God is to love others and the best way to love others is to show them God.  We need to be creative and inventive in looking for ways to help each other be better, helping each other grow, helping each other see God working in our lives.

Heb 10:25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Here is our Peace.  There is safety in numbers.  When we are together in Jesus name, He is with us.  Too often, this verse is used to somehow guilt us into coming to church more.  I believe when we get together for any reason, we can have church!  Sure, we are encouraged when we worship and study together.  We need to look to ways to encourage each other when we work together, when we play together, when we struggle together, when we eat together, and on and on.

How will you apply advent to 2014?

How will you write this into your New Years’ resolutions?

May we draw near to God so much that it brings Joy.

May we believe God’s Word and promises that it brings us Hope.

May we love each other and our neighbors that we experience real Love.

May we live together each day to bring about real Peace in our lives and in our world.

May God use you greatly in 2014!

            

Join us in our neighborhood Thanksgiving Feast!