UPDATES!

It is the brand new start of a brand new year, yet we have experienced so much! It is always amazing to think how much we get to do and how fast the time flies.  This morning in church our pastor was talking about living a risk full life and living life to its fullest.  We are so tremendously blessed to have these opportunities that open our eyes to the world and give us a glimpse of who God is.  He truly has us in a marvelous place.  ANYWAY! On to the month...

On January 1, we started the year off right with a one day missions trip to Mexico.  A small group of us headed to an Orphanage called Estado 29.  Check it out at www.friendsoftheorphanages.org!  We played with the kids and delivered a car load of softball equipment that was donated from a university softball team.  The orphanage is using softball as a platform to reach their community for Christ.  They were excited to receive all the helmets, catcher gear, uniforms, new cleats and other miscellaneous stuff.  What a blessing to be a part of Gods movement beyond our borders.  We also had a chance to visit our homeless friends in Ensenada and eat tacos at our favorite taco stand.  God paved the way there and back.  We have a new record for crossing the border; the normal wait time to cross back to the U.S. is 1.5-3 hours.  We crossed the border in 10 MINUTES!!!!! Thank you Jesus! Note to self- visit Mexico on Jan. 1, NO LINES and NO WAITING!

This year our semi-annual leader retreat was in Lake Arrowhead.  We are blessed to have parents with hearts of service to our Lord as they opened their home for us to retreat.  Thank you for all your prayers, they were definitely felt and answered.  Our hearts were united and the spirit of wisdom and revelation was there.  Our planning time was a success and we left the weekend EXCITED to be a part of all God is doing around us and through us.  

The following is a brief summary from one of our seniors and her thoughts about the weekend.  Be blessed and encouraged.  

"This past weekend was one of the most inspiring weekends I've had in quite a while.  My planning team from Friends Church went up to Lake Arrowhead and spend three days planning out our years event, and had quite a bit of fun in the process.  One reason I really thought the weekend was so wonderful was the addition of four new students to our planning team.  It was refreshing to see them so full of excitement and love for God to truly just want to give up their time to serve him whole-heartedly.

The weekend included hours of planning, and hours of fun!  We spent around six or so hours detailing all of our plans for the rest of the school year.  It was nice to have some new minds put to work in our planning.  For the remainder of our time, we had devotionals, quiet times, games, talent shows and skits! I surely will be a weekend to remember!"-Kaysie Hughey

I was not able to attend due to a music gig with my rock star rock band (i wish:)) and am so sad I missed out!

So at the beginning of the month, Letty and I were approached by a grant writer who was offering his services to us.  He has a ton of contacts with donors to charitable organizations who are willing to give and serve.  We had the opportunity to sit down with him and write out all of our hopes and dreams for this organization and every venture we set out on.  This encompassed Cypress St., Cuba, Savvy Travels (a travel company Letty and I are starting which plans vacations with service opportunities), educational scholarships, and we're still dreaming...

We are excited for 2009 and all that God has in store for us.  This year started with great hopes and support for all that God has called us to.  Our eyes have been opened to new vision (literally new vision- after many years of contacts and glasses I can finally see on my own! Thank you Excel laser eye surgery and mom and dad! Best Christmas present ever!)  Thank you for continuing on in this exciting journey.  Life is good.  No risk-free life for us.

January Prayers and Events!

Thank you for Praying! This is what is goin' on!

• Mexico Day Trip- Please pray for our safety as we travel in and out of Mexico. Our purpose is to bring donated softball equipment to an orphanage that is starting a softball team. The orphanage will focus on sharing Christ through the sport of Softball.
• Leader Retreat- Please pray for unity among the planning team, unity of the team among itself, the transition of the new members, and of course for our unity with God. Unity is an element that we need quite readily at the moment. Honestly, our cohesiveness has begun to lessen. Pray that we can reconnect, make strong new connections, and do it all for God's glory. We will be discussing the second half our the year, and would love for prayer that we may have a spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17) through our planning times. Please also pray that He will move our hearts during our quiet times, that we may feel the direction in which the Lord would like us to proceed.
• Missions Trip to Mexican Orphanage- Please pray for safety and unity in our travels. Our HS ministry will be traveling to another orphanage for a weekend Serve Day. Our purpose is to provide our students an opportunity to serve outside their comfort zone. We will play with the kids and do various work projects. It is our desire for our students to capture God's heart as we serve those around us.
• Serve Day- Please pray for our Friends denomination's annual Serve Day. All the Friend's churches in Southern California will participate in serving their communities. Pray that the love of Christ will be revealed as we serve our cities and neighbors. Our purpose is to be intentional in building relationships with our communities through our random acts of service.
• Grant Writers- Sometimes God is funny. Honestly, sometimes His plan is so crazy that only He could imagine it happening. On the last day of 2008, our very own Letty Gali, was told a retired grant writer wanted to meet with her. Now I should say that this is more of a praise than a prayer request, however, please prayer over this meeting. That we may gain a permanent friend in the ministry, and that we may have a grant written to fund more events on Cypress St. and help expand Hill of Hope as an organization.
• Tutoring on Cypress St.-Exciting news! More chances for ministry down on Cypress St.! We are beginning our after-school tutoring program on January 26th. Please pray for the tutors and students during the week. This is a tangible way that we can help the students from the neighborhood to further succeed. Pray that we will always have the man power to help all the students who desire aid during these times, and that whomever may come will create and build relationships that last.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

2008: The Year That Was Great!

As I took some time away to regroup this Christmas season, I was reminded of ALL the good Lord allowed us to do.  Reflect and be blessed...

January '08

• Service Team New Years Party- Fellowship and fun as we brought in the New Year together.
• Service Team Planners Retreat-Bonding and planning as we prepared service opportunities for our church.
• Cuba Vision Trip- Took a pre-trip to Cuba to visit, pray, and plan with the local churches.  I met with the local pastor and planned a future trip with students to assist in Vacation Bible School.

February '08

• High School Winter Camp- took 6 kids from Cypress St. for a weekend in the mountains for Spiritual Awakening and renewal.  Lives were changed for all eternity.
• Letty's mom came to visit and cooked an AMAZING and delicious Cuban meal for 50 high school students.

March '08

• Fashion Show Fundraiser- Raised over $5000 to support our Cypress St. ministry and help the community host events and provide funds for students to attend church functions.
• Hosted the University of Louisiana Softball team while in California playing at a Cal State Fullerton.  Praise the Lord! 7 softball players joined us for church while in Cali.
• Spring Break Junior High Mystery Missions Trip- The students from Yorba Linda Friends Church ran a Vacation Bible School at Calicento Ranch.  This ranch provides a safe place for kids whose parents are incarcerated, and are growing up in an unsafe environment.

April '08

• Yorba Linda Friends Church high school ministry worked at another ranch for kids whose parents were incarcerated.  
• Prepared for our annual Memorial day Soccer Tournament on Cypress St. 

May '08

• Held our 4th annual Service Team Family Picnic.  Had a chance to meet and connect with the parents of the students that serve.  Created great memories!!!!
• Held our 2nd annual Memorial Day Soccer Tournament on Cypress St.  Over 150 participants and 300 spectators joined us.  We were able to use this tournament as a tool to build relationships and to challenge people with their walk with Christ.

June '08

• Letty visited supporters in Missouri.
• YLFC High School Waterski Trip- took 300 kids (10 from Cypress st.) for a weekend on Lake Don Pedro.  It was a weekend filled with new beginnings.
• Annual Service Team Beach Camping- Great time for rest and renewal in Santa Barbara.  After serving hard, we had a chance to play hard and relax!!!
• Movie nights on Cypress St.-Uniting the community with a free outdoor movie, popcorn and drinks.

July '08

• Summer fun on Cypress St.- movie nights, barbecues, slip n' slides, water balloon fights, and beach days.
• Missions trip to Cuba- took a DREAM TEAM to Cuba and assisted with Vacation Bible School.  200 kids were impacted with the love of Christ and a community was changed forever.  The church, pastor and youth leaders were encouraged with all that the Lord accomplished.  

August '08

• Missions Trip to Mexico-partnered with an orphanage in Mexico and built a home in 3 days for a family in need.  We also held a festival for the community and ended our time with a community BBQ.
• Headed to Lake Havasu for our student planning retreat.  We used this time to bond, grow spiritually, and plan community service projects for the school year with our church and high school ministry.  
• Visited supporters in Texas.  We used this time for rest and renewal after such a busy summer.
• Helped YLFC with their annual Car Show.  This was a community outreach event.
• Held our final movie night on Cypress St.

September '08

• Took 60 kids from Cypress St. Back to School shopping for clothing and uniforms for school.  The partnership with a local church made this possible.
• Held a neighborhood Labor Day BBQ on Cypress St.  We also handed out 80 backpacks filled with school supplies to the students from the community.
• YLFC High School group went to a ranch to help with maintenance.  We helped paint the main building in the ranch.
• Started adult Bible studies on Cypress St.  This is led by our Hispanic church, "Amigos de Christo," bringing the community together through the love of Jesus Christ and His promises from the Bible.  

October '08

• Took over 80 people from the Placentia community to our church's fall Halloween festival.  Lots of games, rides, food,  and candy.  After, we took the students Cosmic bowling.  What a fun night!
• Served at Long Beach Friends Church and fed 200 homeless people.  Afterwards, we held a worship service filled with songs of praise and a message from the Bible. 

November '08

• Visited supporters in Tennessee and Louisiana.
• Hosted a community Thanksgiving feast on Cypress St.  Over 700 meals and 100 boxes of love were distributed.
• Held our annual Flag Football tournament with the High School small groups.  Great time of fellowship and so much fun.
• Averaging 20-25 adults attending our weekly Bible study on Cypress St.  Also began a kids Bible study so the parents can focus on the lesson and the kids can learn about Jesus as well.  

December '08

• All 114 members of the Cypress community got sponsored for Christmas gifts this Holiday season.
• Our HS ministry helped prepare the floats for the Pasadena Rose Parade.
• Letty's time back East was time well spent.  Had a chance to visit family and friends.  The trip to Pennsylvania was very encouraging as she visited a supporting church.  And finally the bonus of a snow-filled white Christmas.

Be blessed and encouraged that God is moving all around us and is pleased when we join Him in His work.  Thank you for an incredible 2008!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS! 

How exciting is it that 2008 is officially over.  I have to admit, the new year brings a weird feeling.  Who knows what is going to come our way over the course of this year!  The start of new beginnings always brings excitement and anticipation as to where our paths will be directed.  I want to begin 2009 with a massive THANK YOU to everyone that believes in the mission of Hill of Hope and supports everything we are being called to do.  I hope that you find joy and passion in the new year and always remember that love is the greatest commandment and gift.  AMA DIOS AMA OTROS.  Love God Love others.  Life gets no better that.