Bible Study Update

Bible Studies in the community are going strong. It’s nice to finally have warmer weather. There is a sense of community and fellowship. The community is sharing deeper thoughts and hurts as a result lives are experiencing freedom in Christ. They are looking out for each other and praying for one another. It is also exciting to see people from other neighborhoods driving on to Cypress St to join the Bible Study. Guillermo, the neighborhood pastor from Amigos church (Yorba Linda Friends Church Spanish ministry), is doing a great job in challenging the group in seeking God and His kingdom right where they are. We even have high school students from the community joining the studies. While the adults are growing in Christ on one side of the streets, on the other side the kids are learning about Jesus as well. Thank God for all the volunteers serving and pouring into the kids and adults every week.

Please continue to pray for these studies that take place every Tuesday night. We realize the importance of prayer and ask that you lift us up every Tuesday as we share Jesus in a very REAL way. If you are ever in the area…please join us!! COME AND SEE!

2nd Annual Fashion Show Fund Raiser

Our 2nd annual Fashion Show to raise money for LOT318 and to bring awareness to Cypress St. and the ministry that is currently taking place was a huge success. We thank God for $4000 that was raised!!

This event was put on by Yorba Linda Friends Church (YLFC) High School Ministry. Each high school ministry team collaborated to make this a Top Quality event. We had teams working on advertisements, Fashion Show set-up, photographers, after party set-up, clothing sponsors and many other responsibilities. It was amazing to watch these students shine for Jesus as they went outside themselves and served the Cypress community.

On a personal note….We were blessed to see 6 models from Cypress St represent their community and strut their stuff ☺ Daisy who lives on Cypress St was bragging on how she was the first plus size model. The Cypress Models truly felt special, valued and proud to be a part of this event.

Here is what one of the models and student leader had to say about the event:

Romans 12:4-8 “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

In Romans 12:4-8, the apostle Paul writes about the body of Christ and how each of us are given different gifts, yet we all are needed to work together as one body.
Just recently, the high school service team (or “Impact team”) from Yorba Linda Friends Church put on a Charity Fashion Show. All of the proceeds went to the “at risk kids” from the Cypress St. community in Placentia. The show was created and headed by Katelyn Brown, a freshman in high school and a natural leader with a true heart. This year, Katelyn asked for our help with the show and we were able to take on the challenge, along side our fellow student leaders and those involved in high school ministries. Each ministry team was given a task to help put the show together based on their talents and gifts. For example, the connection team was in-charge of selling tickets and advertising; while the design team worked on the stage and runway. As a student planner and model in the show, I was able to watch the creativity, triumphs, and struggles we all experienced in preparing for the show. Now, looking back, I realize how well we worked along side each other and depended on each other. Furthermore, I believe the ideas expressed in Romans 12:4-8 were beautifully played out as we planned for the fashion show.
Personally, the most fun part of the event was getting to model in the show alongside some of the kids from Cypress St. Since the show I have heard that whether you were in the show or just watching, it was an exciting, memorable night.
Although there were obstacles along the way, our church, along with God’s help, were able to raise about $4,000 with the Fashion Show. This success has brought me close to tears as I anticipate how it will bless the kids from Cypress St. Over the past few years I have been able to work with these kids and build relationships in this community. I’ve gotten a taste of their struggles and seen how lives can change with Christ’s love. I feel truly blessed to be a part of the “impact movement” and the change taking place in a community I have fallen in love with. Looking forward, I cannot wait to see how God will continue to use each of us and how He will use the success from the fashion show to further His kingdom on Cypress St.
-Written by Alexandra Hunt, “Impact Movement” Student Leader


Here is what our high school Pastor, Jay, had to say about the event:

As a high school pastor I feel so blessed to get to work with our friends from Cypress Street. God has opened a door for us to share Christ's love through serving the families in the Cypress neighborhood. But I did not realize that God has also opened a door for our new friends to impact our lives as well at Friends Church. As we continue to do service events like the Fashion Show I have seen our students at Friends Church be transformed in a variety of ways. First, the opportunity for them to get outside of themselves and serve others has helped develop a Kingdom perspective and confirm that this life is not "all about me." Second, being able to interact with people who they may not normally interact with has helped Friends students to develop a more complete worldview. I am thankful for the opportunity to minister to the families from Cypress Street and so grateful for the ministry they provide in our lives.
YLFC HS Pastor Jay

Thank you for your constant love and support to this community that has become our family. Praise God for stirring the hearts of YLFC HS ministry.

Tutoring Update

Thank you for your continued prayer for our after school tutoring program on Cypress St. Our partnership with Biola University has been incredible, relationships are being built and our Cypress students are taking ownership of their school work. The kids will be getting their quarterly grades this week and we will evaluate their progress and how to meet specific needs.

Our goal of having one to one student teacher ratio is more and more becoming a reality. This month we had Biola students as well as adults from Friends church volunteering their time. One big “Thanks” to Friends Children’s ministry, Cal and Tony B; your hearts of service blesses us and the kids very much.

Let us share a precious story that took place this month:

Lluvia, first grader, while being tutored by a Biola student asked “Who is God?” The volunteer was not expecting that question and she said “God is the owner of the world”. After a few moments Lluvia was thinking and said “Oh….so God is your Father and my Father and that makes us sisters” The Biola Students was smiling from ear to ear and responded “That’s right and that’s why I keep coming back - to hang out with my sister.” It was a precious moment and a conversation that that volunteer will never forget.


Here is what another Biola volunteer has to say about his experience:

I started participating in Cypress Street Ministries on March 4, 2009. At first, it was only for an assignment for one of my classes. I didn’t really want to be there, and I resented the fact that I was being forced to participate in a ministry. I was also very hesitant because I don’t really like meeting new people and I have a small fear that I wouldn’t be able to relate or interact with the kids very easily. Everything changed after I got there. From the first day, helping Esther do her homework, to the multiple Tuesday night Bible studies I’ve been able to help out with, I’m glad I came. I’ve enjoyed interacting with the kids, getting to know them, and making friends with them. All my initial hesitations evaporated as the kids were open and welcoming. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to help out with Cypress, and I hope that I’m able to bless others at least half as much as God has blessed me through this ministry.
~Chris Matsuoka

It is stories like these that confirm Gods calling on our lives. God is moving and we are soo excited to be on this journey pouring Jesus into the lives of so many. To God be all Glory and Praise!!

Needs for this program
• 18-20 bean bag chairs for a fun reading environment
• more volunteers

Team Cuba

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers as we prepared to travel and minister to Cuba. Unfortunately, our trip has been cancelled. Part of our process of preparation was to apply for a religious Visa. This is what allows us to minister in the name of Christ to the people of the country. We have never had a problem receiving these Visa's. The Cuban government decided to close all religious visa's and travel from the U.S. into the country for the month of April. We were given the option to travel through Mexico to Cuba, but we would only be recognized as tourists and would not be able to work with the church or do anything "religious." The other factor in cancelling our trip was that our financial support did not come in in full. We are feeling blessed and assured at this time. We know that as doors are opening and great things are happening on Cypress St., we need to be here for them. We are confident that the Lord has great plans for us and that He had this planned for us all along.
As with any missions trips, there are expenses necessary in the preparation of the trip. For those that have mailed us financial support, there are four options in how to handle your giving:
1. We can return your check to you.
2. We can apply it to the pre-trip expenses: domestic airline tickets, passport processing fees, support letters/stamps and other minor team expenses.
3. Apply your donation to a future Cuba trip.
4. Apply your donation to the Cypress St. ministry

We will be in contact with you individually to see how you would like to apply your donation.

Again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT! We will keep you posted with future Cuba missions trips.

ULL Visits SoCal

Thank you for your prayers of safety as the University of Louisiana women’s softball team flew to California to participate in a softball tournament hosted at Cal State Fullerton University. It is always special to Letty when she gets the opportunity to serve the team when they are in our neck of the woods.

Letty spent the weekend providing help as the coach needed…from picking them up at the airport to making reservations for 40 people at various restaurants. The best she can do for them while in CA was to serve them. Letty’s blessing for the weekend was going to church with 10 players and their parents to worship our Lord. She was so encouraged to see the spiritual awakening and spiritual growth in the team. For those wondering how they ended the weekend tournament…..2 wins and 3 loses. We challenge you to see a ULL game if you get the opportunity…the fans are loyal and fun to be with not to mention the games are exciting.

Nina's ULL Update

Where do I start? How can I possibly sum up this amazing ministry trip? When I first embarked on this journey, I really had no idea what to expect. I wanted to be totally open to do the work that the Lord wanted done…in and through me. So, packed with clothes, bible study material, and a desire to be open and obedient to serving the Lord (and a love for the girls and for softball!)…and with the blessing of my boss (who let me work remotely for a month…praise God!)…off to Lafayette, Louisiana I went.

After getting settled in and connected with the right people, with the help of my roomie Letty (thank God for her wisdom and understanding!), a typical day would look something like this…I would start off with a couple of hours of working my day job (through the wonders of modern technology, I was able to practice law from another state without anyone noticing!), then go for a run…time to reflect and refresh. After the run (and a shower of course), I would continue working until it was either time to go to the team’s practice or game. Then, depending on the night, there would be a social for the team (organized by yours truly), dinner at my host home…Ms. Jessie and Mr. David were so gracious, bible study at Chi Alpha (on-campus Christian organization), bible study lead by myself, or just hang out time after a game. God really filled up the days and I soaked in every bit of it.

In the time spent with the team and the community (Ragin Cajun fans are die hard! I loved it!), there were many God stories that happened along the way. Here were a few highlights…some sharing of God’s word and prayer…a few opportunities to see the fruit from those times when the girls applied the lessons learned during bible study about focus and attitude…seeing the girls make themselves available and open to allow the Holy Spirit to work inside of them. One of the players was inspired to go out and buy a bible of her own. I am so excited for her to pour into God’s word and for it to breathe life into her. I also had the privilege of praying with one of the players right outside her locker room before a game. That same player blessed me so much when she shared how she applied one of our bible study talks during a stressful point in the game. I pray she realizes through this just how strong and confident she can be through Christ. Also, there were some precious times of just deep conversation and sharing over dinner with some others. Praise God for those moments!

There were also some fun, goofy times that were spent laughing, relaxing, and just hanging out. A few more of the players turned out for the socials, and it was nice to see the girls interact and connect as teammates off the field. Awesome skits girls! You were great sports…and so creative! God was also so faithful to provide me some one-on-one time with about 7 of the girls throughout the 3½ weeks I spent in Lafayette. During those times, it was amazing to experience God just filling me with words of encouragement and love for these girls. I have never really been what you would call a “bible warrior” as far as quoting scripture…but God was at work…so of course I was able to quote and apply scripture like never before! One particular moment stood out when I was in my car going through a bible study from my own women’s group back home…and then…not even 20 minutes later, I was encouraging one of the girls with that same scripture I was studying! The Lord was in every detail…from start to finish.

I am just so thankful for this trip…the time spent with my host family (as many little moments as I could squeeze in…thanks to them for being so understanding and flexible!)…the connections and friends made in the stands…thanks to all who fed me and gifted me with beautiful mardi gras beads and coins…thanks to all who prayed for me while I was there…and finally I pray for many blessings on the team, coaches and staff who were so open and let me hang with them during their crazy busy schedules.

I may never truly realize the impact of this ministry trip, but I trust the Lord has purposed it for the greater good of His kingdom. As I told the girls, as long as we are striving to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives, we are successful. Overall, I really learned to trust and lean on the Lord so much more and just to have a peace in knowing that He is in control…“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” – Phil 3:12

Cuba Support Letter

March Prayer Requests and Events!

Thank you for your continued Prayer and support….Please join with us as we ask God to lead and provide for our Ministry…..

Update from Louisiana- Pray for safety as Letty and her roommate Nina return from Louisiana. As you know Nina was working with the University of Louisiana Softball Team during the month of February doing various team bonding activities and, most importantly, having weekly Bible Studies with the team. We hope to hear a few God stories from Nina this month.

Fashion Show- Pray for our 2nd annual Fashion Show (March 7th) to raise money for Hill of Hope and bring awareness to Cypress St. and the ministry that is taking place. Please pray for our high school ministry as each ministry team collaborates to help make this event a huge success. Please visit http://www.ylfc.com/cgi-bin/NewsList.cgi?section=highschool&cat=Happenings&rec=662 for all detail information. Feel free to support this Amazing event and cause.

ULL Softball Comes to California- Pray for safety as the University of Louisiana girls softball team flies to California to participate in a softball tournament hosted at Cal State Fullerton University. Pray for ministry to continue with the coaches and team. Also pray that the teams needs will be met while in California. And for all you UL softball fans pray for safety and great success on the softball field.

Tutoring- Please continue to pray for our after school tutoring program. Our partnership with Biola University has been incredible, relationships are being built and our Cypress students are taking ownership of their school work. This is a huge answer to prayer. Our goal is still to have a one to one student teacher ratio. We also have some needs for this program
• 20 18 bean bag chairs for a reading environment
• more volunteers

Bible Study- Please continue to pray for the members of the community that attend and the direction of the study. Lives are being changed and a community is being established for Christ. Remember you are always welcomed to “Come and SEE” and “Join Him”

Cuban Team – April ‘09- Pray for our team as we prepare for our 4th missionary journey to Cuba. Pray for each member’s Spiritual walk and that the spirit of God surrounds our thoughts and speech. Also pray that each member’s financial support would come in before we leave on April 2, 2009. Please see attached support letter.

Time with Supporters-Hilton Head Island

This year marks 15 years of full-time ministry for me. And one of the things I enjoy most is spending time with supporters. In 15 yrs I have met some amazing people with huge hearts to share God’s Amazing Love. The reality is that without a support team (Prayer & Financial) I would not be able to do what God has called me to do.

That is why my time in Hilton Head Island was another reminder of God’s love toward me. I spent a week with dear friends that have prayed over me and loved me while on my missionary journey. The beginning of our trip was asking the Lord to provide opportunities to serve those around us. Our week was spent sightseeing, riding bikes on the island, playing tennis as a family, flying kites, feeding sea gulls, spending time reading, kayaking on the ocean in search of dolphins and just relaxing. One day the Lord answered our prayers and we did a drama in front of a crowd of tourist. They were enjoying the sun’s heat and we asked them if we could entertain them and they said yes. So…there we were sharing Christ through mimes and skits. It was amazing and I was so blessed to do ministry as a family. But the highlights were the sunrise and sunsets the Lord gave us.

Here is what Ahna (oldest child) had to say about our week:

This week has been such a blessing. Letty has always been an important part of our family, but spending time with her at Hilton Head Island has solidified our relationship. She encouraged us all to find ways to minister to others while here. My first thought was that I might not want to spend my vacation working like I was on a mission trip, but after watching her willing heart at work my attitude completely changed. I feel that this week was not solely focused on relaxing, but on spending time enjoying God. My favorite part by far was kayaking during sunset. Everything looked gorgeous, even under water! After leaning out too far, I tipped the kayak then came to the surface to hear Letty shouting “did anyone get a picture of that?!” God has been at work here even as we enjoyed some down time.

Now…Here is a word from mama Wilseck:

Wow, what a week! Having Letty in my life has been one of my top ten blessings from God. We never get enough time to be in her presence and to have a vacation with her like this is fantastic! The thing that she always does is to draw us all closer to Christ. Her encouragement to us to service for His kingdom is always a welcome thing. Probably the best part of this week, for me, has been being able to get away and enjoy God’s creation. Water is calming to my soul and having an ocean beside me, has done wonders! During one of my quiet times God showed me, as I prayed, love. He showed me to love is to be God like - for God is love. He directed me back to 1 Corinthians 13 and showed me how all the “loves” can be changed to “God” and how through Christ we strive to be this love to a watching world. To God be all the glory for His creation and all the praise for His people and our relationship and all the honor for His great love for us, AMEN!

The Wilsecks have become my family away from home. And I am blessed every time we are together. Thank you Lord for providing great friends and support!! Phil 1:3 “I thank my God every time I remember you”

Valentines Day Outreach

As February rolled around love was in the air! We sure were feeling the love from our ministry and everyone involved. Our kids cannot help but show love to us and each other and it sure is a blessing. We try to have events every month and every holiday with the Cypress Team. We are always looking for new ways to reach out to our community and give the kids and students an outlet to serve others and gain new cultural and life experiences. For Valentines Day this year, we decided to make holiday cards for the resident at a retirement and hospice facility. We took a Saturday and led the kids in making hand-made cards for the center. It was a fabulous time. On Valentines Day, we took a shuttle load of kids and bussed them and their cards to a facility in Yorba Linda. The kids delivered all of their cards to the residents and gave lots of hugs and kisses! It was a beautiful sight seeing these kids interact with the elderly and conduct themselves in such a loving manner, in this new environment. The looks on the residents faces were priceless when they got a card and a hug from these cute kids. Our friend Katy wanted to share about the experience:

"The Valentines Day event was a smashing success! We had tons of helpers whose hearts were touched by God and the children. The kids enjoyed making the cards so much! They had fun stamping and used lots of stickers.
Decorating the cookies was hilarious because of all the sprinkling and icing going on. 150 cookies were decorated, eaten and given in an hours time! Marco and his buddies helped set up the tables and the EZ-up. God was smiling as He gave us the only dry and sunny patch in North Orange County!
It was touching as we closed in prayer, seeing a couple kids and even parents join in our circle.
Faith+Work= Genuine Faith

God is good and I rejoice in His faithfulness!"