Summer 2007 Prayer Letter

Los Angeles Urban Project

Summer started out with AIA's LA Urban Project (10 staff and 20 students).  We learned of a social gospel, not just telling people the good news but showing them by relocating our lives for a month and sharing daily life with people of the inner city.   I was in Compton at the Salvation Army.

I experienced the greatest worship service of my life at a church in the heart of Skid Row; praising the Lord with people who had just spent the night on the sidewalks.

We did a prayer tour of the city and at one stop in McCarthy Park, an Hispanic man saw some of our students praying.  He came over, unrolled his blanket and joined them,praising God for sending friends to pray with.  One of the students understood Spanish and could understand his praises.

All of us sat at City Hall and prayed for the city.  It felt so right to be praying for our city.

One day there was a lot of tension at one of our ministry sights in Knickerson Gardens.  We found out that a 12 year old picking up his sister from the bus stop was shot and killed.

My children saw we had peanut butter for lunch everyday.  Our director explained to them that the people we work with don't have choices in life like we do.

I had been studying habakkuk at the time and these verses resonated deep within me...

(2) "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, 'Violence!' yet You do not save. (3) Why do You make me see iniquity and cause me to look on wickedness.  Yes, destruction and violence are before me;  Strife exists and contention arises.  (4)  Therefore the law is ignored.  And justice is never upheld for the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted."

Colorado = CCC Staff Training

I now sit on the National team for our AIA campus ministries.  A question we always ask is "HOW DO WE MULTIPLY OUR EFFORTS?"  After meeting with all the Regional Directors for CCC campus ministries in February and telling them to go after athletes by utilizing our AIA resources to further what they have begun, we decided to host a lunch for them in Ft. Collins to share our heart to help them and also to make contact.

We anticipated about 25 staff and had at least twice that amount.  This is the beginning of anew momentum where we can reach many more for Christ!

As a family, we had a great time in Ft. Collins; and we were challenged personally as well.

Cairo Egypt - Wadi Sport Camp

Alison and I heard a staff son at one of our conferences say that he was thankful his dad took him with him to do ministry instead of just telling him about it. 

Chris is now 12 and loves the Lord, so we took him with us this year along with two of his baseball teammates and their fathers (who were my assistant coaches this past year).  That was my highlight of the summer.  One of the coaches just gave his life to Jesus this year.  Praise God!

We arrived at the camp and guess who was there.  The son of the AIA staff guy I was referring to earlier, Pete.  Pete is the Director of a Christian sports camp called Kanakuk.  I told him that the boys were here because of him.  Pete connected with those three boys all week long. 

The students were far difference than those from Compton we had worked with.  These kids families were the "90210" crowd.  But they all need Jesus!

Chris and I coached baseball with the Everts.  Alison coached volleyball, which was a challenge because all the kids signed up for volleyball.  But I could see she had a huge impact on many of the girls and guys during the week.

Coach Rod Smith and Darryl got up every morning and high-fived the kids as they came in for breakfast.  It was a great experience for all of us.