Cypress Tutoring Update

 After a year of prayer and God’s vision of a tutoring program on Cypress street, He answered this dream on January 26^th! We began our after school Homework/Tutoring Club.  I love it when you are obedient to God’s leading.  One thing that Savana and I love about serving and being on Cypress is the simplicity of life.  As you notice in the pictures…tutoring is taking place in the open air, on the sidewalk with just a few tables, chairs and heating lamps.  No one complains that there is no shelter or that it is cold.  The kids are very appreciative that someone cares enough about them to come and help them with their homework.

 

Savana and I want the kids to understand that they are loved and that education is a very important part of life.  One of my highlights for this week was having Omar, 4th grader, come up to me with a huge smile and show me his math test – 100% plus the extra bonus point.  It was a priceless moment!!  Just another confirmation from God that Cypress is where He wants us. 

 

This week we also had 16 volunteers from Biola University (Local Christian University) come out and tutor our kids.  It was awesome watching them work with the kids.  They displayed the fruits of the spirit: patience, kindness, self-control and love as they helped the kids in math, writing and reading.

 

God has us on an amazing journey and we love the simplicity of “Loving God – Loving Others”

 

 

Cypress Bible Study

 

Please continue to pray for our Cypress families.  Life hurts, but God heals!!  This month we have had 2 unexpected deaths and one of our special friends is spending some time in prison.  Families are hurting emotionally and struggling financially.  Some lost their jobs while others are having trouble paying their rent.  But praise be to our Father in Heaven….He brings healings, stability and peace in the midst of adversities. 

 

Every Tuesday evening 20-25 adults are eager to grow in their knowledge of God.  They are learning to rely in Him in everything.  This month 10 adults surrendered their lives to Christ.  We are becoming one big family that truly cares for one another.  I forgot to mention that while the adults are meeting for Bible study, Jesus is also getting poured into their kids’ hearts.  We have 20-25 kids coming each week with their Bibles to learn about God.  What a beautiful scene and a wonderful blessing to be a part of God’s movement here in Cypress.

 

If you are ever in town….Come and See!!  

Cuban Dinner

 

Thank you for your prayers!!  My visit with mom was amazing.  Every time I spend time with my mom it is a gift from God.  You see 7 yrs ago my mom had 3 brain surgeries – two from the main artery and then finally open brain surgery.  My mom was suffering from major headaches and the doctors determined that she had a leaky value in her brain stem; hence the 3 surgeries. Now, seven years later the Good Lord is still using her.  

 

I grew up with parents living the true meaning of a servant.  My parents would see a need and would do there best to meet that need.  This year mom saw the need to serve the students that meet in my house for a weekly Bible study.  No doubt mom has the gift of hospitality and some amazing Cuban cooking skills. J    This year she cooked and served about 50 people in one week.  I love spending time with mom…..she is my hero!!  We had sweet fellowship and great memories were created…..THANKS MOM!!  Enjoy the pictures….Maybe next year you can join in the celebration.

 

Moms are special….go and hug your mom, a mom or someone that’s like your mom today!!

University of Louisiana Softball Feb. '09

WOW!!! What an amazing trip!! Nina and I headed on our drive to Louisiana early Thursday morning (3:30am). The first day we drove 22 hrs…we started in Orange County and ended our day just east of San Antonio. Our goal was to make it to Louisiana in time for the first game of the UL Softball season on Friday. And you know it….missions accomplished…we made it!!

As you know our purpose for this trip was to connect Nina with the team and to empower her to continue building relationships with a community that has become my family. Nina’s primary job is to pour Jesus into the team through team Bible Studies, meeting one on one with the gals and hosting team bonding events. A blessing for Nina and the team will be their partnership with my very near and dear mentors. MD & MJ have been a key part of my life and this ministry since its birth 9 yrs ago. Thanks MD & MJ for your hearts of service….and for your friendship.

Here is what my weekend looked like….Friday & Sat were spent on the softball field and showing Nina how to get around Lafayette. Sunday we went to church with a few of the players and then headed to the softball field. Sunday afternoon was “Game Time” for Nina and me. We had our first Bible Study / get together. We shared ice cream sundaes while sharing with the gals what our purpose was for our trip. We even challenged the six gals who attended to be our voices as we serve the team. They took the challenge and Nina is well on her way. (Please keep Nina and the team in your prayers….when she returns in March you will hear about her experience and some amazing God stories). On Monday we had lunch with a few players and I also had a chance to visit with a family friend. It’s always good to reconnect with friends who have been a part of Gods movement. Then Tuesday….Nina and I met with the UL coach for breakfast to let her know Nina’s intention for being there. The coach received Nina with open arms and now Nina can serve with freedom and understanding from the coach.

On a side note….When you are serving God in His right place at His right time….He shows up. In the midst of getting Nina acclimated with this new chapter in ministry for her I was able to spend time with Summar and meet the Missions pastor from the local church. Summar was a UL Softball player when I lived in LA. Summar is a transformed life for Jesus. The yr I lived in LA Summar gave her heart and life to Jesus. Since then she has grown in her spiritual walk like no one I’ve seen before. She has been on numerous missions’ trips over seas and state-side. She is discipling others and leading Bible Studies on Campus. She is a walking testimony of what God can do it we just believe and surrender to Him. What a blessing for me to spend time with Summar and to pray for her and her ministry. I also met with the mission’s pastor from the church I went to while in LA (East Bayou Baptist Church). I wanted to let them know what God was doing within Lafayette and I also offered my help on any mission’s trips they have where they may need an interpreter. I love to network and meet people who have a passion for the lost and a love for JESUS!!! This was a God ordained trip. Thanks for your prayers. Hope you enjoy the pictures……..

To God Be ALL Glory Honor and Praise!!

Fashion for Jesus!

FRIENDS!
I am sorry it has been a while since I have updated. I am in school full time and working a ton so I am definitely learning time management. Wednesdays I have a combination of class and rehearsal from 7am until midnight. I do not take phone calls or emails on Wednesdays:). I wanted to let you know about a fabulous event coming up. First a little background. Last year, one of my junior highers in my small group wanted to put on a fashion show to raise money for Hill of Hope, specifically for Cypress St. She worked with different clothing stores, boutiques and other sponsors to donate clothes and items for a silent auction. The junior high students, including kids that live on Cypress St., modeled the clothes down the runway. We raised 3500 bucks and the kids from the community got to keep some of the donated clothes! It was chaotic but so fun and powerful. SOOOOOO this year we are at it again! Our fabulous student has even bigger dreams for this year's show. The high school youth group from Friends has gotten involved and expanded the event further than we could have ourselves. It is going to be a super outreach event for the community. The ministry teams have all taken charge of a part that needs to be done. We are going to have a silent auction, live bands and music and a super cool and fancy after party. We are hoping to raise 20,000 bucks this year. Our dreams and goals have expanded because God has truly opened up amazing doors for us. The event will take place March 7 at Yorba Linda Friends Church in Room 7, the after party immediately following. We hope this event raises awareness of Gods power as well as raising awareness for the forgotten areas of Orange County such as Cypress St. Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $20.00 at the door. PLEASE COME! We would love for you to see what we and this ministry are all about, as well as support our students. http://ylfc.org/cgi-bin/NewsList.cgi?section=highschool&cat=Happenings&rec=662

February '09 Prayers and Events

This month is taking Letty and this ministry on many adventures. Please pray accordingly.

Trip to Louisiana- Pray for safety as Letty and her roommate Nina drive to LA to support the Univeristy of Louisiana Softball Team. The purpose behind this trip is to empower Nina to continue the ministry that began seven years ago. Letty will help build the bridge between Nina and the team. Nina will work with the team for the month of February doing various team bonding activities and, most importantly, she will be having weekly Bible Studies with the team. Pray for open hearts to receive all that God will do in and through Nina.

Cuban Meal- Pray for safety as Letty's mom comes to visit from New York. Letty gets to visit with her mother twice a year and this is one of those times. Pray for sweet fellowship and great memories while her mom is in CA. The extra blessing will be the Cuban meal that Letty's mom will cook for forty students.

Time with Supporters- Pray for safety as Letty travels to Hilton Head South Carolina as she visits with her supporters there. This family she is going to visit are very special to her. They have four kids that are home-schooled and have been involved in ministry for the last ten years. Pleasle pray for safe travels and a blessed time together.

Tutoring- Please continue to pray for our after school tutoring program. We are partnering with an Urban Ministries class at Biola University, who is providing tutors as part of their course study. This is a huge answer to prayer. We also have some adults from various communities coming to help with this program. Our goal is to have a one to one student teacher ratio. We also have some needs for this program

• 20 bean bag chairs for a reading environment
• more volunteers

Bible Study- Last week we had 5 adults dedicate their lives to the Lord! This study is making a huge difference in the community. 11-13 adults are now attending the Spanish service every Sunday morning at our church. Please continue to pray for the members of the community that attend and the direction of the study.

Valentines Day Event- Our partners at Richfield Community Church are facilitating a Valentines Day Event with the kids on Cypress St. We are going to be making Valentines Day cards for the residents at a local convalescent home. We will then take the kids to deliver the cards to the people.

Fashion Show- One of our high school students from YLFC is putting on the 2nd annual Fashion Show to raise money for Hill of Hope and bring awareness to Cypress St. and the ministry that is taking place. We are in the planning process and things are coming along very nicely! Please pray for the process and that we keep our sanity as the planning continues.

Finally We Tutor!

So this past week we FINALLY started our afterschool homework help/tutoring program on Cypress St. After many many months of planning and preparation, we were able to get this dream of ours up and running. The first Monday, we had 10 students come for help! We had 3 tutors the first day. By the end of the week we had two tables full of students ready to learn. We are still lacking on tutors, only about three a day. We are so grateful for the students who want help, but we cannot do it alone. Three tutors per 12 kids is just not enough! We are looking forward to more participation and are open as to what this program holds or us. It is a dream of Letty and mine to have a tutoring program and instill self worth and value through education in these kids. It is easy to think of school and homework as a tedious tasks, but our education is so valuable. As a college student I understand how trying school and homework can be. I wish I had a program that came to my house in junior high and high school that would help me out! It is also nice to get homework done with friends and support all around. We truly value our education and have seen how doors open when you do complete school. Please pray for and with us as we go blindly down this road the Lord has taken us down. To be honest, we really don't know what we're doing but we're doing it as God calls us. We can use all the help we can get, so if you have any desire or interest in helping students with their homework please holler at us!

Door of Faith

On January 16, 2009, 24 high schoolers and 12 adult leaders from Yorba Linda Friends Church headed across the border to serve at an orphanage in Mexico. It was an AMAZING weekend. Our first morning, we started our day with a 5:30 am sunrise devotional. We hiked up to this cross on the top of a hill, where we were challenged to serve our hearts out! We were blessed to serve the orphanage in various work projects such as: our men cutting down a very large tree that was blocking construction, as well as installing a large marble counter top. Our very strong and capable :) women painted a gazebo and helped facilitate a vacation bible school for the kids. Our final service to the community was a cultural one. We all helped to set up and serve at a Quinceañera Party (sweet fifteenth birthday). This is a very special time when a Latin girl celebrates this milestone in becoming a young lady. It was educational watching and hearing the different meanings for the different gifts she received. Our evening ended with a time of reflection on our day and praised God through a time of worship and a camp fire. We were especially blessed to see students lives on fire to serve the "least of these." Here is what one student had to say about our weekend:

"On January 16, 2009, 24 students went down to La Mision, Mexico to Door of Faith Orphanage. Going down, we didn’t know what to expect, but we all knew we were going to serve our hearts out. On Friday night, we made it there safely with God’s protection and were greeted with about 100 beautiful happy faces. We hung out with the kids and had a great time. The next day, we woke up and started working at sun rise. Some painted for a Quinceañera, some demolished a unused drinking fountain, some put on a VBS, some made lunch for the whole orphanage, some got to hang out with the kids, and some did all of these. Once we all completed our jobs, we took down a huge tree that was old and not needed. Once it was put down with the help of a chain saw and a truck, we all picked it up and rolled it into a ditch. It was amazing seeing the use of a whole team together. We worked our hearts out that day and had a great time doing it. After all the jobs were complete, it was time for the Quinceañera. We all packed in the vans and headed to the church. We sat in the beautiful ceremony and then came back to the orphanage to party! We served dinners and hung out with the kids more. Then the 5 piñatas came out and we all got in the fun. After the Quinceañera, we were so tired, until we looked at the time and it was 7:30. We cleaned up after the Quinceañera and headed back to our camp site. We all sat by the fire and just hung out. We had a great time and laughed so hard. This trip was so amazing and God was with us the whole time. Through every moment, God was changing our hearts and the hearts around us. It just showed us that through our Lord, we can accomplish anything. He is so amazing and we need to live our lives for Him and Him only!"

Tori Thayer

It was truly a fantastic time and we CANNOT WAIT to go back and serve some more!