What is Happening Around the Globe!

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice! ”

Paul, servant of Christ Jesus

The Kingdom of God is worldwide, and He is doing some amazing things on every continent.  We here at The Crossing are making an impact in lives of many different nations with the Love of Christ.  Through the missions ministry, we as a congregation,  partner with missionaries around the globe.  We help sustain them in work through financial giving and prayer.

Please be in prayer for all of our missionaries and their families as they continue their partnership with Christ to expand his Kingdom in the hearts of those overseas.

Matt “Bubbles” Update in India

Hey Everyone,

 So far, my time here in India has been a fun, tough, and adventurous rollercoaster ride!  As my lecture phase is coming to an end, as well as my stay in the city of Jaipur, my next journey begins with our outreach.  There will be two teams of 5, one going to Jodhpur and my team going to Jaisalmer.  I’m leaving the 3rd of December to “The Golden City”(aka Jaisalmer ).  There, my team and I will help with any needs of churches, perform skits and songs, give messages and testimonies, etc… We will be also be approaching some of the Hindu and Islamic areas.  Jaisalmer is one of the hardest places to bring the love of Christ (they oppose Christianity and Christ very much here).

Oh, here is something that’s funny.  I’m heading to the desert, ironic, and it’s the closest city in Rajashtan , India to Pakistan.  Another people group there is the Rajput.  They are the main ruling class.

Anya Leggitt’s update 11/25/09

Hey all.

I realize it’s been a while since my last update and I apologize for that.I can’t believe the day has come. I leave for Thailand tomorrow at 1 pm….Well, actually it just starts my travels to Thailand. All in all, its about 40 hours of travel. That’s going to be some crazy jet lag. After we arrive in Thailand, we’ll be staying at the YWAM base for this first 3 days…and that’s all I know. God is going to do great stuff and I’m super excited about it. Of course, there is sadness that comes with it. I’m having to say goodbye to some awesome people who are doing their outreach in Mexico. I would ask that you pray for the Mexico team–Lauren, Allysen, Martin, Kat, Sarah, and Bart–as well as keeping my Thailand team in your prayers. These past 3 weeks have been a blur. God has done some amazing work in my heart and I feel more at peace than I have in a really long time.

Last night, the staff threw us a wonderful celebration dinner. I just feel so loved here! Now, I’m off to pack and clean my room. I hope all of you are doing great. I’ll update you on Thailand adventures as often as I can. Thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts!!

Anya

P.S. On a different note, I received news that a friend from college who has been battling cancer has been told by doctors that his tumor is still growing and that he should consider hospice care. I would just ask that you keep Jimmy in your prayers for a miraculous recovery!

Edwards Family State-Side

Chad and Alicia Edwards will be at The Crossing December 13th at our Sunday morning services. Read a little about what they looked forward to during the first visit home in 3 years. To learn more about the Edwards Family look at their blog here.

Three years! Three years since we have visited most of you. Three years since I mowed grass, ate an Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich, had a Fritz’s Special, and drank from the tap. Three years without going to a Cardinals baseball game! It has been 9 years since our last family Christmas and 13 years since we shared a Thanksgiving turkey dinner with our families.

Matt “Bubbles” Rodriguez India Missions Week 6 Update

Hey guys,

Well week six of this adventure was amazing, but in many ways tough. The subject of our discipleship classes this week was submission and authority. It was intense and the speaker was amazing.  I was hoping to go to Punjab with Shane and The Crossing Team, but my leader gave me a “priority” speech and so I stayed back at school.

It was still a really good week as we enjoyed a  festival called devale.  I’m not sure on the spelling,  but it’s the light festival in English (because its our fourth of July, but just really without the independence and about a god).

I do really desire to return to India in July, but that’s my “want” not necessarily God’s will.  I’m really seeking Him now in regards to where He wants me  in the future, but for now I’m half way done with my lecture phase and almost to my outreach phase which I’m so excited for.

Please pray for me to bring true worship here.  Pray also for our festival outreach and the other events that it will push and stretch me in my relationship with God.  In 3 weeks I will be out of lecture phase and transition to the outreach stage.  We will be taking what we learned to the people of Rajashtan.   There is so much need for the kids to be loved and prayed for so I’m excited about to see how God will use me.

Yours truly,
Bubbles

Hebrews 13:17

Update from Anya Leggitt in Belize

Orange Walk: The Moguel Family

So this past month, I had the opportunity to visit a small city about 2 hours from Belize City called Orange Walk. Myself and two others from our team, Allysen and Mark, stayed there for 2 days with this wonderful family—Andre, Suri, Adir, and Abibi Moguel. What an amazing family! God blessed us by bringing them into our lives. We spent those days split between spending time with the family and getting to know them and doing a service project, picking up litter around town. Our days were filled with garbage (quite literally) but people were so surprised by the sight of strangers cleaning up the town that it stimulated many conversations with passerbys. It was such an awesome experience to just talk to people and hear their stories. Our evenings were filled with conversation, and food, and games with the Moguel family. We were hoping to go to Orange Walk to bless that city but as it turns out, we were the ones who left blessed!

Words from Anya Leggitt blog in Belize

Anya’s Discipleship Training School Group

 The last few weeks have been absolutely AMAZING!! It’s hard to express all the stuff that God is doing here but I feel the strong urge to pass on some of the awesome teaching that I am exposed to here.

What you need to do right now is stop reading this blog and go to www.youtube.com and search the video called Graham Cooke-Inheritance. It is a song by Jonathan Hessler and prophetic words by a man named Graham Cooke. It is possibly one of the most powerful and touching things that I have ever heard. Go do it now….

What did you think?? Didn’t it blow your mind?!?! If you’re curious, you can buy that on iTunes searching Jonathan’s name or Inheritance or the album which is called The Awakening. Graham’s words really sum up what I am learning here. God IS love. It’s his nature to love us and we have to do NOTHING. Isn’t that awesome?! It really goes well with what the theme was this week.

Family Promise

A note from Joy Burhen, coordinator of Family Promise at The Crossing:

Just wanted to give everyone a little mid week smile. The 2 families that are staying with us this week are such a joy.  We have a mom with 2 teenage boys who are originally from Uganda, and a mom with 2 girls and a boy from Sudan.  Both women have very thick accents so we don’t always understand each others words…but we very much understand that we love each other.  At night we watch movies in the kids worship room after dinner and I get to watch these kids come alive when they stand on that stage.    Last night Violet (from Uganda) said she could not believe how many wonderful people come to this church and that she has never felt more welcome anywhere.

Tonight we are transforming the 5^th grade room into a spa and both moms’ are getting the surprise of a massage!  I can’t wait to see what a blessed hour of quiet and relaxation does for each of them. 

Attached is a picture of all the girls after dinner last night.  So far each day with these families has been a day worth trading a day of my life for.

Opening Our Eyes

A letter from Pastor Shane who is currently in India:

As you are starting your Wednesday, we are finishing ours. It is 11:25 p.m. local time on Wednesday night. The only word that I have to describe today is OVERWHELMING. I have tears as I am writing this (partly because I am working on about 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours, so I am probably a little emotional) at where I have seen the hands of God. It shows me how big the kingdom is and how sheltered I am to the life that most of the world sees.

Homes of Hope

Since 1990 more than 3,000 homes have been build by “homes for hope” in eight different nations.  These nations include: Mexico, Panama, The Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Haiti, Brazil, Paraguay, and Jamaica.  In 2009 alone, 154 homes have been build for the poor by 3,045 participants! Groups from The Crossing go each year to build home with YWAM in Mexico. A group of 10 men from our church built a home in September 2009.

Homes for Hope is one of the many programs run through YWAM (Youth With A Mission).  They not only build homes, but they also share the Good News of Jesus with the new home owners and their neighbors.  Just this past summer, a small group from the Crossing went to Tijuana and built a house for a family in need.

KIVA

Did you know that on the other side of the world, there are entrepeneurs ready to begin small businesses that will lift them and their entire family out of poverty?  Did you also know that you can help make that happen?

Kiva is a non-profit organization that facilitates small buisness loans between ordinary people like you and me, and begining entrepeneurs around the world.  With as little as $25.00, you can help a young lady in Africa start a sewing business, or a young man in Asia purchase young cattle to raise and sell at the meat market.  After each entrpenuer has begun his or her buisness, they are then responsible for paying back everyone who has loaned them money.  Please check out kiva.org to learn more and perhaps, make a difference in someones life.

In August of 2008 The Crossing donated $1,000.00 to KIVA entrepreneurs, following our Try the Tithe giving series. Since that time The Crossing has given out 72 loans of $25 or more.  Here is a story of  one of the people our donation was able to help; The “Virgen del Milagro” Group is represented by Adriana Mabel and consists of 12 members, including two sets of sisters – Mirian and Lidia; and Maritza and Janeth Claduia – who all work totally independent of the other. About 70 percent of the group makes a living selling traditional regional meals in the tourist zone, and the other 30 percent makes a living making little pastries and in dressmaking. The competition in their commercial environment is quite high, since the tourists come with demanding palates, but the members have a lot of experience and know how to keep making headway.

The loan they are requesting will be used to expand their places of business and purchase tools and ingredients so they can generate more profits, which will allow them to provide their families with a higher quality of life. The members have a strong credit history and also have demonstrated responsibility in repaying debt to our institution.