December 15, 2011- Christmas Reach Schedule

I'm releasing this schedule, please take this into account and let me know if any changes need be made. Thank you!

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Christmas Reach

Purpose: Providing and building relationships with needy families, knowing them by name, disregarding our fame, in Jesus name we claim, this is our desire.

Responsibility and Schedule
Each area will have a administrator, facilitator, and food coordinator. Most of the areas are already claimed by several small groups in local churches. We are surging forward to aid churches so that these families would get into churches and build their families there.
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Station 1: (The Hunters)
Leaders: Gravenors and Tedfords (Northwood Church small group)

Food coordination and gifts will all be done by this group. They have already setup everything and have all the volunteers in place. This group has claimed this family as a long-term project. Praise the Lord for their hearts and desires!

- Scheduled to start at 5:00pm and finish at 8:00pm. There will be food, a time of gift giving, and caroling.
- Joanna will be taking pictures at 6:00pm
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Station 2: (The Mindietas)
Leaders: Joey Cruse (North Fort Worth Baptist Church & Southwayside Baptist Church)

Food will be coordinated with the Marino’s who are from NFWBC. Joey Cruse will be leading this group as well as caroling and the gifts. The gifts were donated from many areas such as Hope Farms (Tami and Shawn Thrasher), Gladney Adoption Center (Sarah Lanier), and Southwestern Seminary.

Volunteers: The Bonnaci’s and Lycans will be here from SWBTS & NFWBC Crew

- Scheduled to start at 5:00pm and finish at 8:00pm. There will be food, a time of gift giving, and caroling.
- Joanna will be taking pictures at 6:45pm
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Station 3: (MHMR)
Leaders: Phillip Koo and Janice Rowlands (North Fort Worth Baptist Church)

Food will be coordinated with NFWBC and what they’re doing with Southwayside Baptist Church. Joey Cruse along with Phillip will coordinate the food efforts to be distributed at MHMR. Gifts will be donated from an undisclosed donor from NFWBC. There will also be a time of caroling, gift giving, and food.

Volunteers: undisclosed number from North Fort Worth Baptist Church

- Scheduled to start at 5:00pm and finish at 8:00pm. There will be food, a time of gift giving, and caroling.
- Joanna will be taking pictures at 5:30pm
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Hunters
1806 Ash Crescent
Fort Worth Texas 76104

Southwayside Baptist Church
301 East Thornhill Drive
Fort Worth Texas 76115

MHMR Facility
1445 West Spurgeon Street
Fort Worth Texas 76115
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We will also be working at a smaller level with FWPD, NFWBC, and Hope Farms to provide gifts to a few needy families. These families are as follows:

- Amanda and her seven children
- Emma and her two children
- Sanchez family
- Salas family
- Garza and three children
- Drake family


Till next time...

December 12, 2011- Many Blessings!

There are many things to blog about, so let me be as brief as possible, yet maximizing what needs to be said about this week and next.

We started at the Koo's place and NFWBC along with Sarah and a new family (Amanda and Nick) took off to go help these homeless up and down the street. We had a van load of clothes, coffee, soup, and sandwiches. The first stop took us to West Bolt Street with Mary and her children. We dropped off food and clothes there. Then we headed to the Texas Car Wash and served abut 7-8 homeless friends there. Our new friends were able to communicate and share some truth from Scripture to Anthony. He's since been back from Kansas City. He doesn't look like he's been in good shape. I'm glad someone was able to open the truth to them.

After that, we stopped by Suzanne's new place and the white house across from Gambrell. At Suzanne's place, we were able to bring some food and clothes. Joey dropped off ample amounts of canned food. I got to meet Greg and the neighbors. They weren't so happy, but we are hoping they would be an assistance if Suzanne were relocated again.

We then headed towards the second area near Southside Baptist Church. There we fed over 15 people and I had the opportunity to meet Carlos, a second generation Mexican. He just got out from prison from Atlanta, Georgia. He was an amazing person, with great needs. I got to pray with him and share the gospel. There was no response, but he was glad that were there to give him a hand. We also saw Betty and a few other friends. Thankfully God provided us friends to reach out to.

We are getting ready on the 18th to help three families; the Hunters, Mindietas, and MHMR. Please pray as over 50 people would be engaged by loving people and most importantly a loving church. We must go beyond meeting needs and start striving and being like Christ.

Till next time...

December 6, 2011- Christmas Reach (Tentative)

So far we have need for two homes on December 18, 2011. We are going to prepare a Christmas party for two families.

First group (Thomas Hunter and family):- They are a family of seven who are in need of many things:
1. Socks, Stove, and Clothes. They'd also prefer gift cards primarily for daily needs. Walmart and Target.

Shoes
2 year old- size 9 (toddler)- girl
3 year old- size 11(toddler)- boy

10 year old - size 7.5 (adult)- boy
11 year old- size 7.5 (adult)- boy
13 year old- size 9 (adult)- boy

2. Meal- We need a family or two to put together a family meal during this evening
3. Caroling- Probably after all the food is over, put together some Christmas music
4. Prayer- A time of prayer for the family
5. White Elephant Gift Exchange- Someone arrange this. Bring any useless gift they want to use and have fun doing it! All the gifts we bring, will be donated to them regardless.

Second group (MHMR and family):
- They are a family of 13 who are in need of a few things:
1. Socks and Toiletries.
2. Personal LARGE print Bibles
3. Ranger Tickets
4. Meal- Two families to put together a meal
5. Carol- A person to conduct some carols
6. Prayer- A time to pray for each one
7. White elephant Gift Exchance- Someone to arrange this and have fun!

December 3, 2011- MHMR meeting #5

I got to enjoy my fifth meeting with the group. Robert, Charles, Chong, and Diana sat with us. There was a tussle early on as I placed my jacket on one of their chairs. Supposedly, they didn't like change. So, I excused my jacket and then we were ready to start. We read from John 6 and got talking about Jesus and his few miracles. It was a fun time as they try to digest why Christ would call Himself the "Bread of Life".

Suprisingly, Chong and a few others got me chocolate and a few Christmas presents. It was a fun time.

There are a few things on their Christmas List:
- Aftershave, cologne, perfume, socks
- Stockings, lights, ornaments, star, tinsel, and exterior lights
- Personal large print Bibles
- Ranger tickets for all the patients

Prayer List:
- Robert's niece is sentenced to 6 years in prison for drug use. Pray for mother who is Robert's sister who's dealing with alot of pain.
- Pray for all the individual's there who don't get phone calls or visits from family. To them it feels like a hospice, where they are rotting away. The only hope they get are from outsiders like us who go there and share God's Word and love on them.

PS: I'm still looking for a male double to help me with Bible studies. Anyone interested?


Till next time...

December 1, 2011- COP Banquet

It was a fun evening as Joey and Pastor Craig took their crew to FWPD COP banquet. They enjoyed the evening as they represented NFWBC with their choir. There was also a dance troupe there that invited the audience to dance with them. Overall, the experience, fun, and light. NFWBC enjoyed their night serving FWPD.

Pictures to come!

November 24, 2011: Thanksgiving Part Deux

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Thanksgiving Day was jam packed with lots of things to do. Joey Cruse was the first one up to deliver food for 103 people. I joined up with him as well as DFW police to get the food distribution out. We arrived at Southside Church of Christ with food for 105, tracks, bulletins, and Bibles for 100. It was 7am when we arrived and quickly after setting up we headed to 7-11 for a quick jolt of coffee. I headed back home to get ready for the afternoon work.

Looking at my schedule we had Fort Worth Harvest Church, Southside Church of Christ, Mary M's place, and MHMR start at 3:00pm. We had to rush to get all the teams there on time and the food at Southside for pick up. Joey had the load dropped off at Southside and there we all met up to pick up. Pastor Barney was there ahead of us. He came with Steve to pick up food for 500. Then came Sarah and myself shortly after. We picked up enough food for Mary M's place and MHMR. Sarah also took 6 tables and 50 chairs. And I took one table and a handful of chairs.

At around 3:30p we got all our stuff and headed over to both places to set up. Unfortunately, we had no bounce house for Mary M's house, but we worked around it. Richard B, Ariel I's family joined up with Sarah. I took TJ, Jessica, and Jonathan to MHMR. While Sarah's group played football and setup for dinner we got to watch Dallas play Miami as well as converse with a few of the patients. Once again it was good to hear Robert speak of his love and care for these MH patients. It's hard to be there 24/7, and he does it with ease and compassion.

Our group faithfully served, worshipped, and read from the Bible for a good hour before we headed to Southside to help out. Southside was few in number hitting only about fifty people, but the volunteerism and serving was out of hand. There was so much help and dedication that it went wonderfully. The leftovers, which were many, were carted off to Union Gospel Mission to help those out on Lancaster.

Back at Sarah's house, Richard and Ariel started sharing the gospel with the family. Yadi, Sarah, the ladies, and the children all played with the children and fed them. The Holy Spirit showed up, because by the end of the night one whole family came to know Christ. Southwayside Baptist Church, as well as one of the families will keep tabs with them in discipleship and church. There were ten new believers.

Pastor Barney and Fort Worth Harvest Church also had a harvest of 7 people coming to know Christ. Their outreach went so well that they reached well over 100 people. Many of which came for the first time. We are very thankful for a successful operation. Dr. Babler and his family also showed up to help.

Overall we had over 120 volunteers, 450 people were fed, and 17 came to know Christ. I know this is not about statistics and so I leave it at that. My joy is made complete because God is glorified and magnified, while the 120 that served were all humbled in many ways. I will attach two testimonies. The first is from Sarah Lanier our Gladney Adoption representative and the second is Richard Bosquez a Southwestern Seminary student.

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I wasn't nervous about leading at Mary's house. I think I was just unsure how the afternoon would go. I knew we would not have the bounce house and I knew there would be many kids. I also knew that the neighborhood was a little rough and that we would be eating outside. I arrived about 2:45. I waited in my car for a while b/c I knew Mary and her daughters did not like us going into the house. While sitting in my car, one of the owners of the convenient store came out. I was parked beside the store and he could see me on the security monitor but did not know who I was. We talked for a good 20-30 min. I discovered that he was Mary's landlord. He said they had not paid rent to him in over 5 months and the only reason he had not evicted them was b/c of the kids. He thanked me several times for "what we did" to help others in need. I was able to share a bit about why we do what we do. I invited him to come over and eat with us once the food arrived.

Now on to Mary's house. I knocked and one of Mary's daughters opened the door to a bare minimum. She left to get Mary and several of the kids opened the door wide to see who I was and then to play a game of "I see you but then I don't." Mary came and I told her that food and volunteers would arrive in 30 min. I also told her I would just wait in my car until then. I barely made it to my car when all of the kids ran outside. Imagine 18 kids ages 18 months to 10 swarming a very small area. It was madness! Good madness, but madness. :):) I texted my volunteers soon after to see how soon they would arrive as I knew we would need to entertain and keep a watch on the kids. It was quite nerve racking as the house and small yard is practically located on the road. The 18 month and 3 year old seemed to think the road was part of the yard. I soon realized that everything was going to be fine. The kids were hungry and so excited to have people there to ply with them. The volunteers arrived and were amazing! They helped watch the kids, played football, soccer, etc. The stressful part was guarding your head to make sure you didn't get binged with incoming balls!

The tables, chairs and food arrived with more volunteers to help set up. B/c of all the gracious people helping, the set up, serving and tearing down went so smoothly. Everyone ate to their heart's content. Soon after the kids finished eating, they wanted to play again b/c it had become much colder outside. The men volunteers did great job of playing with them while the ladies helped clean up. I told Mary that the leftover food was hers and asked if we could take it inside. I am not sure if she gave me an answer but I went inside anyways. The house was warm and they had nice furniture. The walls, ceilings, floors and windows were not in good shape. I could not see into the kids' bedrooms but I know there was not enough room for 13 kids to sleep. As I rounded the corner to go into the kitchen, I could see a bedroom with a mattress on the floor and three+ men I assume were watching the Cowboys play. My nose and my eyes also told me that the men were enjoying Thanksgiving with Marijuana. Soon after clean up was finished, Mary wanted the kids inside b/c it had become really cold and most of the kids were in summer attire. Blankets were delivered by sweet volunteers and I had some winter coats and lollipops that had been given to me by a friend. The lollipops were a hit! The volunteers began their goodbyes so the kids could begin to move towards the house. I noticed that near the house, two of the volunteers were sharing the gospel with one of Mary's daughter, her husband and their kids. What a way to end a great day!

Back to the Marijuana thing. I know that I can say this about everyone who serves with RTH so I am going to use "we." We do not discriminate against who we help. We do not pick and choose those we think maybe more worthy than others to receive help. We help anyone who maybe in need regardless of their situation or circumstances. In this particular situation, we have only helped with food, clothing and blankets b/c we knew that giving money would not be wise. Besides, we do not just give money. We may be able to pay towards a bill but it would go directly to the company or landlord. We strive to be wise in how we use monetary support and wise about how we help. We do not want to handicap or cripple others in creating a further inability for them to help themselves. We have many resources we can use to help fill needs as we see them. We are called to love one another and in doing so, we help those in need.

I was a bit sad at knowing that bills aren't being paid but that they are buying drugs. But at the end of the day, we fed 18 kids who would not have had a Thanksgiving meal otherwise. We gave them a Thanksgiving to remember. They were loved on and the Gospel was lived out right before them. We made much of Jesus by serving this family. I am so thankful for the privilege I had to be a part of this wonderful day.Thank you to all of the volunteers who came. You guys rocked!!

Sarah Lanier

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Phil,

Thanks for allowing my family and I to serve with your ministry today. God is blessing people and is being honored through your hard work and your heart for people. Below is a recap of today.

Earlier this week, one of our neighbors mentioned to us that they would be helping out with a ministry today that meets peoples needs. They told us that there was a need for volunteers to help with a large family. He put us in contact with your ministry. You told us of the need for volunteers with this large family and the struggles their facing. We were ready and eager to help out. We contacted Sarah and we were set to volunteer.

I want to start out by giving thanks to God for this opportunity to serve in the name of Jesus. Today was awesome. We arrived at the family's home to be greeted by a lot of children. I say “a lot” because I'm not really sure how many were there, at one time I counted 24, WOW!!! My wife, daughter and myself joined right in. I even tried to learn a cheer the girls performed for us. My daughter will tell you I'm not above acting silly or even learning a cheer. This led to a little football action with the boys. The older boys enjoyed putting the moves on this old man but I held my own. At one point the little girls wanted to play so I would give them the ball, pick them up and run for a touchdown. We really had a fun time playing with all the kids.

The food arrived – turkey, dressing, green beans, mash potatoes and cookies for dessert with tea to wash it all down. It was wonderful to see how God has supplied for this family. Everyone ate and were filled with what God had provided.

We played a little more before wrapping things up and sadly had to say goodbye to this family. I was able to share the gospel with two of the older boy and they allowed me to pray for them. As I was praying with these boys, one of the other volunteers shared the gospel with one of the fathers in this family. As my family and I were saying our goodbyes, the other volunteer asked if I would share the gospel with the family of the father he was speaking with. The father wanted his family to hear the gospel and have someone explain what it means to be saved. I was very honored to do so.

I could feel God working as I shared the gospel with this family of 9. This family represented a second and third generation that was living in this household. After I had explained why we need Christ in or lives and how we are saved, I asked if anyone wanted to pray to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior – they all said “Yes”. We all prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into their life as their Lord and Savior including the grandmother. Its was overwhelming and exciting to see how God has touched and constructed this divine appointment for this three generation family today. God has drawn this family nearer to Him in this very hard time in this family's life.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31


In Christ,
Richard, Lisa and Avery Bosquez
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Till next time...