CSM - Mabry House Project

Christian Service Mission May 2012 In This Issue Summer 2012 I Remember Mom Recap Kids Across America Looking Ahead Summer 2012 In preparation for the over 500 volunteers we will be mobilizing this summer, we are asking for the following list of supplies: -        Bottled Water -        Gatorade -        Lawn Mowers -        Yard Equipment I Remember Mom Recap 1450 Mom's received gift bags 17 Nursing Homes were visited 16 Churches participated 320 Volunteers 17 Organizations at the luncheon $4,900 donated through luncheon $19,500 cost of gift bags Thank you for your support of I Remember Mom. We look forward to seeing what we can do in 2013! MABRY HOUSE PROJECT      Jaymel Mabry, a Barber's delivery driver was following his normal routine on April 27th, 2011. After work, while playing with his children at his Pratt City home, he heard the wind pick up, but was not too concerned by it. Ten minutes later, the sky got dark and the family heard extremely intense wind outside their house. They went to take cover in a small hallway and a few seconds later a huge tree from their front yard fell on the front section of the house.      Then, Jaymel said the house felt like it was being sucked up into the tornado. His family was crying and screaming, but as Jaymel recounted the events he said, "I didn't worry about my soul, because I knew I was taken care of in that area." Jaymel was torn out of the hallway where he was seeking shelter and the door slammed behind him with a boom as the ceiling fell into the place he was seeking refuge. He describes the feeling of the tornado, "It was like being in a dark hole and you're just falling and falling and falling." Just like that the tornado had passed on.      Fearing the worst, Jaymel began to look for his family. They were behind that door and there had been no sound after the crash of the ceiling falling. Turning around and looking through what should be the front of the house, he described the scene as "looking like a bomb dropped", there were ashes everywhere and pieces of the community flung around. Then, he heard something behind him. Kenyardia and his children were coming out from the hallway. "I knew God had a plan. With that much destruction, we should have been gone." Not knowing what to do, they began walking though the debris towards his parent's house, hoping to find shelter for the night. They were left with nothing but the clothes on their back.      Now, over one year later, the Mabry family is living in an apartment complex in Inverness. They have two children, and a baby on the way. Not knowing whom to turn to for help in rebuilding their home, Kenyardia continued to contact organizations who helped rebuild homes. Through God's provision Kenyardia and Mary Grace began to converse about the possibility of Christian Service Mission building the Mabry family a new house. Through divine interventions and prayer, this family will be moving back into the Pratt City neighborhood. The Mabry's new home will be complete in early August, the same month their new baby boy is due. Through the support of Mountain Brook Community Church (MBCC) the Mabry family's prayers are now being answered. MBCC has partnered with Christian Service Mission to provide financial and physical support to this project.      We need YOUR help to complete this home! There will be many upcoming service days posted on our Facebook page. "Like" our page so you can learn more about volunteer opportunities. Kids Across America June 2-9 There have been 73 kids registered for KAA and Tracy Hipps is preparing for his 21st year of leading students to attend Kids Across America Camp! This is a life changing opportunity for students.  For more information about the camp, visit their website. The cost to attend is $250 and we are still seeking help for five students. If you happen to be driving to our warehouse on June 2nd and see a bus full of happy campers, know that you helped to put them there! Looking Ahead Charles Parker's home dedication is scheduled for June 10th in Pratt City. We have started construction on two new homes scheduled to be completed in early August. If you see some new faces around the office, we hired three interns for the summer. www.csmission.org    (205) 252-9906

The Taylors

Hope For Japan News April 2012 From Recent Headlines in Japan: • One-third of Japanese married woman are victims of domestic abuse • Over 20% of 50-year old Japanese men are never-marrieds (2.6% in 1980). • Number of children under age 15 lowest ever (since records began in 1950). • Gov’t Survey: 1 in 4 Japanese have considered suicide in the past year. This week, our TMMI team is meeting for a two-day “prayer and planning” retreat. We see around us a very troubled society with extremely little gospel witness. We also see tremendous, multiple barriers that block or hinder the spread of the Good News. Our team of six missionaries are evaluating our approaches, and proposing new outreach to meet the need. Please continue to pray for us, and for the Japanese people. Outreach Through Art In April, our team hosted world-class sculptor Douwe (Dow) Blumberg and his wife, Marci. Among his many other works, Douwe created a 16-foot bronze statue featured in the 2011 Veteran’s Day Parade in New York City. Douwe is a commited Christian, and came to Japan to help us make new contacts with our community through his incredible art. Over the course of a week, he worked on a new (portable) sculpture in various locations around Tokyo. The theme was “Hope Coming From God for Japan.”  Everywhere we went, Douwe’s “art in progress” was a people-magnet and conversation starter. He worked in popular Yoyogi Park and in the shadow of Ikebukuro, world’s 2nd busiest train station. He spoke to student gatherings at Rikkyo University and Christian Academy of Japan. He taught sculpture classes at SonRise Cafe, and at a nearby orphanage. In all of this, he sought to share Christ and the hope He gives. We made many, many new contacts...pray that they will lead to more opportunities to share the gospel. (Please see more of Douwe’s wonderful art at www.douwestudios.com.) Prayer Points 1) Pray for SonRise Cafe, a great ministry that currently needs more financial supporters.  2) Pray for new outreach “doors” to open for SonRise Church. How can we connect with more Japanese? 3) Continue to pray for the three non-Christian guys who meet with me every week to study English through Bible.  4) Pray for our ministry to Rikkyo Uni. students. Every Friday, I go as an English helper. Pray for relationships that will extend from there. Recently had a great lunch at cafe with the student president of the English club...pray for R-san! Japan transformed by Christ, Steven & Kyehee Photos below:  Left: Hope Comes From God...Douwe’s finished sculpture at the cafe. Center: Four of my Rikkyo English students. Pray for God to open their hearts to His truth.  Right: Curious in the heart of Tokyo...Yoyogi Park girls check out Douwe’s work in progress.

Graves Update

Dear praying friends and family,

I wanted to send all of you a quick update to let you know we arrived back in the States on Friday. We are currently staying with Lorraine's parents in North Georgia. Tomorrow we drive down to Longview, TX for Josiah's graduation. When we get back we will be staying in a house our church provided for us for the duration of our furlough. I've already begun the process of mapping out by region our travels. We are going to do our very best to see all of our supporting churches and individual supporters. 

We were very thankful to be able to leave our ministries in Albania in capable hands while we are here. Along with our Eagles of Peace staff and an American couple, everything will be covered, including our neighborhood fellowship and the Eagles of Peace foundation.

It seems like every time we leave for furlough, things really begin to happen ministry wise. For a number of years, Lorraine has only had boys (and one girl) come to her English classes. At our Easter event, however, nine girls from our neighborhood came. Many of them will probably be in the next class begins once we return to Albania.

I'm sure you remember Gerti and Eri whom I've discipling for the past six years. They have grown into wonderful young men and surrendered servants of Christ. Two weeks before our departure, they brought one of their best friends over to me so he could hear the gospel more clearly. They had been witnessing to Klejdi (19) and he's now at the point in his life where he is seriously seeking God. I met him twice. The last time, just a day before our departure, Klejdi said he's 80% ready to accept Christ, but needs to think more about his decision. Please pray for Klejdi's salvation. Also pray for Gerti and Eri as they continue to share Christ with him.

At Eagles of Peace, we have begun a new ministry called the Issachar Project for missionary interns. Our new intern begins next week for six months, and, afterward will be moving to Macedonia to serve in a church plant there. You can read more about the Issachar Project at http://www.eopeace.org/#/issachar-project/4563645918.

If you need to contact us, our current cell number is 423-488-9346.

Because of Christ,

Nathan   

Hoskins

Phelan Update

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Male Stripper Update: Thanks for praying for my time with Jack the Stripper.  I asked him to share his story with me and, well, let’s just say it is an interesting one.  His “spirit-guide” is Michael Jackson and he connects with Michael Jackson to help him manipulate the matrix of life, so I shared with him that I connect with Jesus and we had a fascinating discussion.  We’re now working out (no, not on a pole, but in a gym) and reading through Mark together, so keep praying that Jack will trust Jesus and experience how much more real and powerful and gracious Jesus is than a dead Michael Jackson. Curious Discussion Forum:  We began a Curious Discussion Forum in our home last week and we had an amazing group of non-believers.  One Mormon woman who is a lawyer, one man that hasn’t been to church since his Lutheran confirmation at age 10, a biochemist, a syncretistic woman who grew up in the Middle East and has created her own religion from what she considers to be the greatest hits of all the major religions, and my next door neighbor who has her law degree and her PH.D. in evolutionary biology.  I asked them all why they are here and my neighbor (the lawyer/evolutionary biologist) said, “Because my worldview, that this world is all there is, that tooth and claw reign supreme, will no longer explain the date and circumstances of my life.  It seems like there might be something more behind it all, despite what my professors and friends insist, and so I am taking this first step to start exploring.”  Please pray I Thes 1:5 for this group, that the gospel would come to them “not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”  Please pray that God would draw Tyler, an atheist, to the group as well. Curious Discussion Forum Group meeting in my living room Our Adoption Journey:   My last request is a personal one.  Our adoption of Ford has been one of the most beautiful experiences of our life and we would love for you to pray for his tender heart as he processes his own adoption.  Our adoption is an open adoption and we’ve visited Ford’s birthparents 5 or 6 times with Ford, but recently a number of questions have been stirred up in his heart after a girl in his class was taken out of school and moved states due to a fostering change.   So not too long ago I was putting Ford to bed and he asked,  "Daddy, whose tummy were you in when you were a baby?"  "Cici's tummy, Buddy."  And then Ford so honestly said, "I wish I had been in Mommy's tummy."  I immediately responded, "Buddy, if you had been born in Mama's tummy, then we would have never had one of the very BEST days of our lives -the day we adopted YOU!!!!!! We love adoption and we love you, and we pray that one day, you too will adopt a baby."  Ford looked me square in the eyes and said with a big smile on his face, "Oh, I will adopt one day, Daddy!"  Glory be!      Now, I will allow Bradford to tell you about her recent experience with Ford: About 6 weeks ago, as I was tucking in to bed, he asked if we could look at his baby book again, which has a picture of us holding him for the first time in the hospital room, with Rachel and Michael, his courageous birthparents, standing beside us.  When we got to that picture, Ford said (with tears in his eyes), "I was scared that Rachel would want to keep me."  Wow!  His precious heart is thinking BIG thoughts.  I asked him, "Did you know that you will never ever go back to Rachel?  You are our son FOREVER!"  He was quiet for a while, and I asked him again.  He answered, "No." I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to tell him, “Ford you will NEVER EVER leave us.  You are always our son!  You will never go back to Rachel. You are ours and will always be a Phelan!"  I asked him if he had any more questions, and he said, "Yes. One more.  Why did you and dad choose me?"  Wow! again.  What an amazing opportunity for an adoptive parent. " We chose you because we loved you from the moment we knew about you and we just think you are amazing."  As he was drifting off to sleep, he whispered, "Mama, you are beautiful."  Another Wow! Melt. Melt. What a gift Ford gave to me - sharing his beautiful heart and encouraging me with his tender words. Ford continues to bring up deep, heart-wrenching yet healthy questions about his adoption and why Rachel gave him to us.  We are so thankful that he is opening his heart and sharing his questions and tears with us.  Pray that Ford will celebrate his adoption and that he will feel totally secure in our love for him and in God’s love for him.       Ford and me spending some quality time together

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The Lukasse's

The Boyds

Off the Beaten Trek News & Notes from the Boyds  March & April 2012 Greetings Friends, We got to see the beautiful Texas Bluebonnets before heading Down Under  It has been a while since we last wrote and I (Tony) am  sorry for that as we have been "flat out'" (Aussie-slang for "really busy!") since early March when we purchased our tickets to return to Australia. Tracy and I have come to the realization that it is a bit more challenging to move a family of 5 than a family of 3 to another country--understatement :-).  We are so THANKFUL to the many people in Birmingham who helped us in such practical ways to get ready to leave; from organizing to packing to cleaning, we couldn't have done it without the generous hands and hearts of friends who served us so much in those last weeks. We departed Birmingham on the 25th of March and spent a week with Tracy's family (including visits from her brother, sister, and nephew) in Dallas, Texas before departing on the 31st for AUSTRALIA!   We were able to secure (Thank You, LORD!!!) a 16 hour DIRECT flight to Brisbane from Dallas.  This was one of the easiest Pacific crossings we have yet experienced (the kids were champions!) and we highly recommend it for anyone who wants to come visit...Hint, Hint!!   We arrived early morning on April 2nd to the welcoming arms of dear friends at the airport and have not stopped moving and meeting with people ever since.  We learned in those first days to be "presentable" to meet people at our door by 9:00 a.m. every day as we've had a steady stream of friends coming and going through our home on a daily basis--and this hasn't stopped. Bringing us meals, hugs, helping hands, and lots of expressions of love...we feel like we've returned HOME to a warm welcome from Aussie mates and a life and ministry we love. Speaking of home, you may recall that in January 2011 Brisbane experienced a major flood.  We knew that our home was one of the ONLY homes in the area not completely flooded, but we didn't realize how CLOSE the waters got to the base of our home (where all of our storage boxes are)....perhaps a foot away max!  As a result of so much moisture as well as more rain and humidity than normal, we've had to discard a lot of our personal possessions which were in storage due to BLACK MOLD.  We are slowly making our way through boxes, and though it's sad to see a lot of things go, we're thankful we didn't lose everything like many around us here. So, we've made a few trips to IKEA already and have been busy cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and trying to make the space in our home to "fit" our growing family.  We are thankful to be back in the same house as its location is perfect for our ministry (promoting daily "drop-ins," impromptu visits and shared meals with friends at our table) and it is HOME for our kids. Clockwise from Bottom Left Corner: Boyd kids with youngest cousin, Luke Rossman in Texas; Goodbyes in Texas with Grandma & Grandpa Smith; Goodbyes in Alabama with Papa & Meemoo Boyd; "Official" Aussie Schoolkids now--Kathryn in Grade 1 & Aidan in "Kindy", Levi excited about spending alone-time with Mom; Kathryn ran her first 500 meter race at school; She placed 18th out of around 60 girls! This past week we've also gotten Kathryn and Aidan settled in their respective educational endeavors.  After a semester of homeschooling Kathryn "on the road" through Kindergarten, we have prayerfully enrolled Kathryn in a nearby school.  She entered "Grade 1" here and has LOVED every minute of it.  She tested into the highest reading group and her teacher has really encouraged us with how well prepared she is.  Aidan started the "Kindy" (pre-K) that Kathryn previously attended and gleefully jumped straight-away into the "sand pit" and hasn't looked back.  As for homeschooling, it has been a good learning experience for us, particularly Tracy, and we are committed to continuing the readings and using parts of the curriculum as a family at home.  One of our favorite spots in the Glasshouse Mountains north of Brisbane  Levi has finally started walking at 16 months and has loved the extra time with Mom and all the cuddles from new "Aunties and Uncles" here.  Tracy is doing fairly well in her pregnancy and due around August 1st.  Her sleep has improved dramatically over the last month, but we ask your continued prayers for that--particularly in the 3rd trimester.  Overall, we are well, so happy to be back and so excited to plug into all the work God has for us here.  THANK YOU AGAIN to the many of you who have made it possible for us to have the privilege of serving here...from generous financial partnership, to faithful prayers, to practical helps...ALL of these are such a blessing and contribute to the whole picture of seeing God build His kingdom in this world--particularly here in Brisbane and Australia. With grateful hearts, Tony (for Tracy, Kathryn, Aidan, Levi, and Baby #4)    PS. You can still Check Out our Video  (by clicking the underlined link) to give you a great "visual picture" of our ministry in Australia! Type in password: Australia for access!

Prayer Points  For patience and wisdom as we continue to get re-settled...from dealing with telephone companies and delayed internet access to all the other "details" of re-establishing your life in another country. For the Lord to direct us to the "obvious choice" for an economical and practical 2nd car. Our 2nd car died this past week and we need to find another vehicle soon to enable Tony to get around the city and Tracy to get around with the kids. For wisdom in making commitments with our time, talents, and resources.  We already see opportunities abounding before us in ministry and in relationships at every turn. We truly need God to show us what to say "yes" and "no" to, while keeping our priorities in check. For Kathryn, Aidan, and Levi to continue adjusting well to school and life here. For Tracy to have a smooth 3rd trimester--particularly that she would sleep well and not have issues with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). For GRACE to give one another as a family as we continue to "transition" from our time in the States to a very different "rhythm" of life here. Address for Financial Support Mission to the World PO Box 116284 Atlanta, GA  30368-6284 Tony and Tracy Boyd--Acct #10560 678-823-0030    Now Available:  Click Here for On Line Giving Please put "Tony & Tracy Boyd #10560" in designation line   Contact Information Tony & Tracy Boyd 69 Wharf St Chelmer, QLD 4068 AUSTRALIA email: tonyandtracyboyd@gmail.com phone: 205-316-9399 (US Number reaches us in Australia) skype: tonyandtracyboyd website:  www.offthebeatentrek.com (sign in with your email address through which you received this email and create your own password)   You can also follow us on Facebook!  We try to keep these updated with bits and pieces of our lives throughout our week; however, due to having many International Facebook friends who don't yet know Christ, we are cautious about what we write regarding ministry. Tony Boyd                      Tracy Boyd