Merry Christmas

God has blessed us more than we can be thankful for. I want to continue to reach out to those in need in 2009. One more project in 2008 . . . Feed the Hungry at the D street shelter. Everyone is welcome to help. Share the blessings you have recieved with those who for some reason or another seem to be lacking in a lot of ways. I cant wait for this adventure. See ya at the building at 2:00 pm on 12/ 27/ 2008.

News . . .

I apologize for not sharing any news lately. I have been lax in updating the blogg which is evident by the the lack of posts. There has been a lot going on here in Modesto and even more things are planned for the future. On the near horizon the women of Davis Park are having a time of fun and fellowship with our neighbors at Parkview Christian Estates. Our family outreach for Christmas is gathering steam. this year we have chosen ten families to bless with food, clothes and the word of God.
Our two weeks of Family Promise went very well. The best gem in the two weeks was the relationship between the Padilla family and one of the families. Lee and Selena are studying and mentoring this family, pray for fruit from this bible study.

After Christmas on the 27th we are scheduled to feed the folks at the "D" Street Shelter. We are partnering with my fitness instructor and friend Don Harris on this project. We will feed in the neighborhood of 200-250 people that night. Volunteers are needed for all kinds of tasks related to this project.

In the near future I will be on call with the local law enforcement chaplaincy program. One week with Modesto PD and one week with Stanislaus County. Pray for peace in our city and county.

Take a look at the Church of Christ Disaster Response Team website and blog by clicking on the link at the botton of this page. Work continues in Bridge City, TX. Pray that this good work can continue and impact people for Christ . . .

Family Promise Day 2

Thanks to the Higgies, Calibros and others for helping out last night as we have taken on an additiional week. I know that the families are glad to be here and it gives us a special touch with other local groups that help with this program. I believe this is the best program for those trying to get back on their feet from homelessness. I will publish more as the week progresses.

Buddy

Ike Relief Trip Pictures - Bridge City, TX

Pictures are from one of the first houses we worked on. Brian is sweeping, the Cowan Brothers are making quick work of demo sheetrock. Cindy Fox is working on taking sheet rock out.

Ike Trip concluded. . .

We had a great trip to the coast(Texas) doing storm relief. All of us are back and most of us are well. I will give an update on our only injury after I talk to the injured party today.

Wow! that's how I would describe the trip. Church of Christ Disaster Response Team is the finest organizations to work with. They are volunteer friendly, in that they have jobs lined up, supplies, shelter and tools. These folks are the real genuine people God wants them to be.

Mucking Houses, Distribution of Supplies, Moisture Testing, Warehousing, Counseling, Worshipping, Praying, Interviewing, Cooking, Food Service, Transportaion of Supplies, First Aid, Clothing Distribution, Ice Distribution and Bobcat operation.
These are the jobs that were undertaken by the Community Response Team and I am sure there were others.

I know that God allowed us to touch lives in Bridge City. He allowed us to work everyday from dawn to dusk.

It is good to be home. Thanks for helping us help others. I will start posting stories about people that we met along the way as I have time.

Ike Relief Day 6

Sorry for the lack of posts. ATT does not have good coverage here. Right now I am in the middle of a parking lot, posting this post. Its 50 degrees and humid. We had another great day. We moved a thousand pounds of hamburger meat today, all in one pound plastic wraps. Brittney went out with a group from Freed Hardman University and mucked a house. Lynn has found his niche moving ice. Oleta kept things in order around the camp. Pictures will have to wait till I am home.

Buddy

Bridge City Work Day 3

Today at the Lovelace house our crew took on a large muck job. This house had over 5 ft of water in it. The floors were oozing moisture it had gotten so wet. The house was filled with a lot of odor, especially when the toilet was taken off of the wax seal to be moved to the trash pile. The debris pile was as big as any I have ever seen at the end of a job. We put in 64 man hours to finish the job. Its an honor to be able to start the process of drying out a house for a family that needs the help. We drove to the Gulf today after working all day. We saw all the usual sights in the wake of a hurricane. Boats in the wrong places, houses flattened, lives changed forever. There was a serenity at the Gulf at sunset. It is hard to believe that it can get so angry and do so much damage. Pictures will have to wait, I am too tired to continue . . . Keep praying for the people of Bridge City.

Buddy

Bridge City

I am posting this while sitting outside of a community center building. an endless stream of cars are coming by looking for food and water. Today is a day of respite for the Disaster Response Team, so though the crowds of people are coming by we are not distributing goods. Mark and Laura are moving today. When they first arrive they show up in an older class a motorhome. Once they determine they will be somewhere for a longer period of time they move in their fifth wheel trailer. The two units are 150 feet apart.

We have three crews working right now. Group 1 is working at home base cleaning it all up. Sweeping, moping and all that goes with detailing a public building that is serving hundreds of people a day. Group 2 is going to Lake Charles, La with a cargo trailer to pick up donated goods from a church. Group 3 is at a house trying to move a 15 x 25 deck that floated away from a house, back to the side of a house. This deck is the means of entry for a disable man who is in a semi vegative state. His wife presently is paying for his care away from home until they can get him back into their house. Moving this deck is going to be no small feat. I hope to upload photos later today.

things are progressing well

Buddy

Ike Relief, First day in Bridge City

What a great day we had today in Bridge City, TX. If we were wondering if there was a need before we arrived, the questions were answered for us today. 3800 homes total in this town only twenty eight without damage. Most homes had three feet of water or more in them. Water in houses means mud on the floors. Most of the mucking is done, thank goodness, but there is much sheetrock to be torn out. Glen V. continues to show his prowess with a sledge hammer. He has a talent for tearing things up. If you are worried about the teens who are beginning to mature, do not worry the teens we have on the trip are awesome. They are strong, willing to work and untiring. Our two homeowners today were thankful for the work we were doing for them. You could see the relief on their faces as we completed the jobs. Jesse and Shirley were fun to talk to while we were working on their houses. Its bedtime more info tomorrow.

On the Way to Texas . . .

We have cleared security and are sitting at the gate waiting to depart from Oakland. A lot of nervous anticipation as we get ready to work in an environment that we are not used to. Bridge City, TX will be our home away from home for a few days. We cannot wait to see what God wants us to do while we are working for him on the Texas coast. So far it has been uneventful and all is good for the moment. Pray that God is preparing someone to hear the gospel while we work in Texas.

grace and peace,

Buddy

Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team . . . Newspaper Article

Dateline: Oct 8, 2008 - - - Orange County Leader


A Church of Christ Disaster Response Team has moved into the Bridge City Community Center, and won’t be leaving anytime soon.

There, residents can get hot meals, cleaning supplies and more.

Being a temporary office, it may seem a bit chaotic inside as people move about doing various jobs. But just ask someone at the door or in the kitchen, and they can get you to the right person.

Dorleen Bickley, a volunteer from Beaumont, said the operation could be in effect up to a year.

“We won’t stop until Bridge City is back to normal,” she said, adding that volunteers include Church of Christ members from Vidor, Beaumont and Port Arthur. The Bridge City operation is directed by Laura and Mark Cremeans of Ohio.

“Right now we are serving just Bridge City residents, but that may change in the future,” Laura Cremeans said. “We will soon have volunteers coming in from across the United States for long-term recovery and rebuilding. We will have skilled laborers that can help with home repairs; and will have a mobil kitchen serving hot-cooked meals.”

At the Community Center, she said, about 700 meals a day are going out to residents.

Clothing donations are needed, she said, but only new clothes can be accepted.

“We started out in Beaumont about two days after Ike hit,” she said. “Then we came down and had a meeting with [City Manager] Jerry Jones and we’ve been here since. We can offer cleaning supplies, baby supplies, boxed nonperishable foods and some bedding. The options change as we get each shipment in.

“We soon plan to put banners around town to let people know we’re here,” she said. “We will be here as long as it takes and want to help in any way we can.”

For more information, call Laura Cremeans at (937) 308-2259.
The Disaster Relief Team (called DRTs) office is headquarted in Melbourne, Fla.

The Bridge City DRT opened Sept. 24 and has about 35 volunteers.

Churches of Christ’s mission is to bring the “Good News of the Gospel” to communities affected by flooding, tornadoes and other natural disasters; as well as human-related disasters such as fires, explosions and terrorist activities.

DRTs have served with relief efforts in states such as Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri.

Ike Relief Trip Plans Moving forward

The relief trip team will have a meeting on Wednesday Night at 6:30 pm in the MPR at Davis Park. We will go over last minute details such as what time we will leave the church on Friday morning, dress code for the trip. We have a good size group going, we will need to coordinate rides to and from the church. It appears that their is still much work to be done on the coast of Texas. I am eager and excited that we will have a presence of Christ's body doing work for him there.

Ike Response Fund raising . . .

A special thanks to everyone who contributed to the Ike Response Trip. We are getting close to covering the transportation costs of the trip. God is great! He keeps providing so well.The disaster response team continues to work dilegently in Bridge City, TX go to their blog for an update at http://www.disasterresponseteam.blogspot.com/. Hundreds of people have been helped so far and many more re waiting to be helped. I cannot wait for our group to get on the ground and work there

Buddy

Ike Relief Trip Team Set and waiting to go

We have confirmed a team of fourteen to go to Bridge City, TX. The team will leave Modesto on October 17th and return on the 26th. I communicated with Laura from Church of Christ Disaster Response Team today and they are ready for us to be there. They have not been advertising there feeding location and they have been feeding 400 people per meal at their site. Presently they are set up at the Community Center in Bridge City. Laura tells me there are not many groups active in relief work in Bridge City, where most of the houses in the community sustained some type of water damage. The disaster response team is in dire need of workers for this relief effort. We are glad that God has placed us in this work. Many of our workers are going to the field for the first time. We are approaching this trip differently because we are not taking many of our resources with us as we have in the past. We can have more boots on the ground for a longer period of time by flying. Not to mention the cost of gasoline to pull the trailer to the Texas Coast. I am anticipating a great 9 days of work in Texas.

Ike Response Planning going full steam ahead . . .

The team is just about set for our response to the Texas Gulf Coast. We will leave on 17 and then all arrive back in Modesto at various times until Oct 26, 2008. We are excited about this trip. Pray that we can touch lives and souls . . . Pray for COC Disaster Relief Team here us the most recent update. Octhttp://disasterresponseteam.blogspot.com/2008/09/we-see-it-taste-it-smell-it-and-yet.html I am in Austin TX on vacation. I will be posting every day. I hope to run over to Bridge City on Thursday. More later

Buddy

Fireproof The Movie

Fireproof the movie is now in theaters across America. It is a great movie about the redemption of God and the power it brings to peoples lives. In this movie Kirk Cameron does a wonderful job of potraying the fireman who is trying to show his love for wife and family through working hard at his job. This is one great movie. Join us today at the the Brendan Theater downtown Modesto. We have purchased all the tickets for the 440 pm showing come and be our guest.

Buddy

Family Promise Hosting . . .

Our hosting week is just about over for this cycle. It has been a good effort with 9 individuals from 3 families being hosted. Our Church is awesome in that the people really enjoy living here for the week. We have a reputation for our hospitality, thank you to all who have helped in some way.

Buddy

Ike Response Info . . .

After Sunday morning services at Davis Park Church of Christ there will be an informal meeting of those interested in going on the relief trip. The meeting should last less than 1/2 hour. I have talked to the COC DRT and there is much work to be done. I can not wait to hit the ground running in Texas.

Ike Response Info Outlined. . .

Ike Response
Partnering With Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Team
Golden Triangle Area of Texas
Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange
Galveston (possibly)
October 17-26, 2008

Workers Needed for:

Kitchen Help

Mucking Houses

Chain Saw Work

Demolition

Assessors

Distribution

Distributing tools to volunteers, etc.

Office Help

Financial Assistance Needed:

Budget Condition

Money Not Available

Special contribution

Do not want to harm future contributions (rob Peter to pay Paul)

October 5, 2008
Money raised through this special contribution will go for transportation of individuals to the Storm ravaged area, transportation for workers, food for workers.
Cost per person will average $700.00

Ike Response Trip Date Set . . .

The Community Response Team is recruiting team members for a trip to the Texas coast. We will leave Modesto on Oct 17 and return Oct 26. These dates are approximate and fluid, but we believe this will be the best time for us to make the trip. Most infrastructure issues should be taken care of by that time and the area should be somewhat safer for us to work. We will try to make the trip similar to the Katrina Trip in that we will try to work with individual homeowners to clean up and get them on the road to recovery. We have not pinpointed where our work camp will be at this time but the area we are prayerfully targeting is Galveston County. There will be a special contribution to help fund this trip on Oct. 5. We will be detailing the costs of the trip on Sunday to help us better understand the scope of the project.

Ike Response . . .

Dr. Glen called and asked me if we were going to deploy to Texas. I want to deploy, I just don't know where we would do the most good. Pray, for God to give us direction on the best way to help. We are still looking and assessing the situation. With Katrina I spent the first few weeks in LA(Lousianna) right after the storm. This time I am far removed, however, I know God has plans for His glory to be seen in this storm. Anyone, interested in deploying for Ike Disaster Relief can let me know by responding in the comments section or by calling the church office at 209-522-7226.

waiting to hear from God,

Buddy

Ike hits Texas Coast . . .

The peak of the hurricane season is upon us and to know one's suprise Ike hit the Texas coast head-on. Right now I am not sure how to respond. We have decided not to deploy with the Red Cross. Usually we would take advantage of their generosity that allows me to go and volunteer somewhere in the disaster. We have decided to take a wait and see approach to this storm. We have several response projects locally that are coming to fruit in the next few week. Our Family promise week is coming up and we have our Fireproof event also before us in two weeks. If the situation calls for us to deploy, we will. As of this moment we will wait and see where the need arises from the largest storm to hit the coast in 50 years. FYI, we heard from Oleta that Christi has deployed with the Red Cross and is staging in Fort Worth with a few thousands of her friends :)

Fireproof the Movie . . .

We have stepped out on faith one more time and purchased a theater showing. We have purchased the 4:40 time slot on Saturday afternoon. Now is the time to start inviting friends, family, and neighbors to this movie. This movie is concerned with a couple who is having relational problems and the resolution/solution that they use to make their marriage work. I believe this movie is good for all couples to see (together). Start praying for this outreach event, and for the people you are inviting. More about the movie later.

Gustav. . .

As of this moment we are not planning any response to the Gulf Coast. We will watch, wait and see what happens in the coming days. The storm proved to be somewhat predictable while being unpredictable at the same time. The major response needed at the moment is shelter workers. I can only imagine the contolled chaos of housing and caring for all the people taken away from there homes by planes trains and buses. My hats off to our local Red Cross folks who waded into the shelters in various states to help those in need.
Now we wait and see, what Hanna, Ike and posibly Josephine have in store. Pray for those who have a disaster looming over them in the coming days.

Louisanna Should Get Ready, Texas, too

I have monitoring the storm for the past 48 hours and at first was not convinced that it would hit Lousianna. I believe that the storm will hit somewhere between Houston, TX and New Orleans. Morgan City, La is the most likely spot. The Red Cross has made their plea for their national workers to place themselves on standby. Some of these folks will be shipping out tomorrow for a staging area I presume. My guess right now would be Little Rock, AR. If you are a DHSR member contact your local chapter and put your name on the list. There is going to be a need for shelter managers.
I am conflicted at the moment on what to do. I have some personal health goals that I have been working on for months, time out for storm duty could reek havoc with all this work. The conflict is wanting to be there to help those needing help. Pray for me and my family as we seek God's will in all of this.
Pray for those about to have their lives disrupted. Pray for God to lift the people who can help the most.

Buddy

Gustav is coming to America . . .

Get the deployment bags ready all you storm responders, the storm is coming. Right now it appears that there is no way for the Gulf Coast to be spared. It is still early and we pray that the predictors are wrong. It sure looks like something is going to happen we just do not know how bad it will be. We are keeping a watchful eye and will update more later.

Back to School Bash. . .

Our annual back to school celebration is this weekend. We will have five bounce house type attractions on the lawn of the church plus we will have hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks. Celebrating that our wonderful children are going back to school . . . I have enjoyed a little extra time with Matthew, although it will be nice for him to be in school. Pray for our kids who have started school and for those starting school this week, that they may learn the things necessary for them to become good students of the Bible.

Disney . . . Time with family

The last couple of days we have been fun. fun to the point of exhausting. . . We have gone into the park (Disneyland) early and returned late everyday. Today was the best day we have ever had at Disney. Monorail, Train, Innoventions, Fantasmic, Dream Parade and a host of rides. We have seen the Pixar parade and the Electric parade at California Adventures. Its all cool. Most importantly its cool to see a seven year old watch and dream and look at all that is going on around him.
We have been swimmimng at the Motel pool everyday. Matthew is turning into a fish. Price is a great way to book a room. We got rooms at the Anaheim Hilton for a great price. Nearly 60 percent off their best internet rate. Disney does a great job of making your visit special. I still cannot believe the number of people that flock to the park each day. One more day off and its back to work.
I thank God for providing time off from the rigors of ministry. Goofy's Kitchen for Lunch tomorrow will be the highlight of the day.

Colonoscopy . . . All Clear

I was certainly amazed at the 11 polyps that were found growing on their own in my colon. It was an amazing procedure to watch as the doctor would find em lasso em and get rid of them. The largest one of all caused some concern, and the doctor tatooed the spot were it had been. The good news is that the biopsies have all come back clear and we are presently colon cancer free. I praise God that He has once again taken care of me.

Triathlon . . . Rancho Seco

I proved that if you are determined you can do anything. I did the TBF = Tri for Fun at Ranco Seco, near Sacramento. 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike ride, 3 mile run(walk for me). It was a lot of fun. 58 days until the real moment of truth, the Longhorn Triathlon.
My current response focus is me. I have let myself get into poor physical condition and I am trying to climb out of the hole. The hole is deep, but my God will help me overcome. The better condition I am in the better I can serve him.
Pray for me as I seek a better way of living

Colonoscopy . . .

I can now say I have had mine. Nothing to it but to do it . . . No pain to speak of. The versaid has me locked in on 10 polyps removed when there were actually 11. I must have said the wrong number a 100 times. Krista laughed each time.

Hilltop in Iowa

Hilltop Rescue and Relief has opened up for business in the wake of the floods in the midwest. They have set up a work camp in Burlington,Iowa. Jess Kenyon is taking a group from Stockton there in a couple of weeks. If you are interested in this great work let me know

BG

Family Promise, Report thru Thursday . . . California Fires

The FP week continues and everything is going well. The Higginbotham/Cobleigh small group were the feeding team. The spaghetti was good tonight. Spaghetti is my most favorite meal. I usually eat a ton of it and tonight was no exception. All of the families continue to progress at their own pace. One of the persons in the program and I had a protracted conversation concerning God. He has been a Christian for 5 years, and is definately a lover of God. He has a well thought out understanding of God. He has some obstacles concerning his present lifestyle and some decisions he needs to make to realign his relationship with God. We have offered our hand to help in these matters, pray that he will do the right thing. What a unique opportunity God has given us to spend time with people who have needs that we can fill while sending a message to them concerning Christ. Making them feel welcome enough to find Christ is the goal. Pray for us as we serve them.
California is burning as we write this tonight. Josh Parrish is in Chico on the front lines. Josh is chomping at the bit to do soemthing for the community that has been hit been by these fires. Disaster Relief Effort from Nashville is responding with a truckload of goods as we speak. I am trying to assess the situation and formualte a plan of action. There are lots of fires in alot of locations.Pray for God to guide us to help some. Pray for God's guidance for Josh and Tiffany as they respond in their area to these fires.

Family Promise continued . . .

We had another good night with the FP crowd. A new family arrived last night and are assimilating into the program. The families are a joy to be around. They all seem deligent about the task of "getting" out of the program. They all have a few hurdles to overcome, but they are all working on their respective issues. The Barkus small group made dinner last night. Sheila's nineteen pound roast was a big hit. The challenge is to not gain weight during the FP week. Their is an abundance of good food every night.
We have one of our new families at Davis Park hosting, it should be a real experience for them.

pray for us as the week continues,

Buddy

Family Promise. . . . Helping those who want help.

We are on day three of this current cycle of Family Promise. We have a good group of folks who are struggling with the hands that they have been dealt. A young couple trying to overcome several issues, but working hard to get it right this time. A single mom trying to raise a young daughter and a grandmother overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising two grandchildren.
I am still amazed at this program and the opportunity afforded churches to help people who want to perservere through tough times and emerge victorious. This program brings people to your doorstep and drops them off. One of the moms asked for a bible for her daughter who starts meeting with a teen group tonight. One mom cried when she found we host an Al-Anon meeting in our building.
Last night Rick's small group hosted the evening meal. It was awesome food, various smoked meats, salads and great deserts. Jim and Doty brought their grand children to "sleep in church." It is cool to have a multi-generational touch to servanthood.
More updates coming up . . .

Alcatraz . . .

About six months ago Mike Crowley my fellow minister at Davis Park talked me into swiming across San Francisco Bay with him. Neither of us had ever swam open water before, and I was in ridiculously bad shape physically. The swim starts with a six block walk to a ferry that takes you out to the island. At the island your feet never touch dry land, you exit the door of the ferry straight into the water.

The moment of truth is the time when its your turn to jump. The water is 57 degrees and everyone before you has screamed as they enter the water. At the start line are 700 other people with black suits and yellow caps. All of which are being wound up by a guy with a bull horn and ever decreasing body temperature.

Finally the boats horn blasts and its time to sink or swim. The obstacles are many, feet, elbows, waves, fog(couldn't see the GG bridge). From the water the shorline looked miles away, although it was only 1.5 miles. So, thats what you do, you swim, you drink salt water involuntarily and occasionally you tread water to see if you are any closer to the shore line. Eventually you close in on the opening of the aquatic park, you dream of the nice calm water of the park and how close that is to the finish line. Then your in the park and you have about 25 percent of the race to finish.

At the finish line you come out of the turbulent water to find solid ground that is not mimicing the undulations of the water. Your first steps are awkard and the triage person asks you if your OK. Rule 1 is to lie to this person or she puts you into the care of a teenage emt, who is all about pestering you until you tell him to bug off. It was great to see friends and family at the finish line and it was great to be at the finish line before Mike. The good news is that we both survived the race without any major damgage to our bodies.

Thanks for all your prayers in this quest.

Buddy

Kyle, SD Story

While on the mission trip God amazed us with a small view of how great he is in providing for Christian's needs. A group from Plymouth, Indiana was in Kyle while we were. In fact the group from Plymouth had 34 members on their team. 17 adults and 17 teens. The ratio seemed right 1 on 1 coverage of teens always seems appropriate. The Plymouth had contracted with the local schools for all their meals. We had brought the majority of our food(and more) with us from Modesto. On Wednesday while eating our evening meal we were discussing what to do with the leftovers. We had quite a bit of food leftover from the previous days of the trip. We decided that we would graze on leftovers the following day. God however had something else in mind. For reasons we do not know the cafeteria staff did not show up to cook for the Plymotuh team that night. Our team was running on fumes. We were tired, we knew we only had one day left to work. Their leader came in to our abode and asked if we had any spare food. I ask Sheila and the team if we could feed them. It was an amazing burst of energy. Our leftovers were just enough for their meal that night. Also that day their devotional material and study was on the providence of God, how God takes of His people and provides for them when they are not expecting it. What great timing - they needed food and we needed to see God's hand at work. What am amazing God we serve!

Kyle Mission Trip 2008 Report

Kyle Mission Trip 2008

The Kyle Mission effort started with a seed planted by Chuck Baker during the fall of 2007. This effort’s primary goal was to establish a “beachhead” for future work among the Oglala Lakota Sioux Indians of Kyle, SD. The method used to achieve the goal was to be a combination of service projects, seminars and community gatherings.
Our initial contact at the Reservation was made with Steve Hernandez with Pejuta Haka College Center. PHCC is the Kyle facility for Oglala Lakota College and serves as point of communication for the local community. Steve is involved in building this community in a variety of different ways and was very instrumental in the success of our trip. Steve helped us make contact with the Headstart Program and with the Emergency Youth Services personnel.
The projects that we chose to tackle during the mission trip were as follows; a renovation project for the Youth Services Shelter; a deck project for the Early Headstart Program; a collection of tennis balls for the Headstart program and a series of family oriented seminars and gatherings. The projects chosen challenged us by virtue of the short amount of time we were to spend working on them. The variety of tasks and the limited number of personnel that we had on the trip made for long days and short nights while we were working in Kyle.
In addition to the tasks mentioned above we were responsible for our meals and hydration during the trip. Members of the team devoted time and energy to cooking, cleaning and general maintenance of our living area. We also planned to feed a large crowd of people during one of the nights as well as showing a family/Christ oriented film. We also made meals available for anyone from the local community during each of our regularly scheduled meals. No one was turned away hungry from our camp.

Early Headstart Deck
The deck project turned out more daunting than we expected. The scope of the project was larger than we anticipated. We thought we were going to do cosmetic and appearance enhancements to the deck and ended up doing a demo and rebuild project. The project took longer than we anticipated but the outcome was that we have a left a serviceable, accessible ramp that will last for years to come.


Youth Shelter Renovation
The Emergency Youth Facility needed and still needs today a lot of work. The facility experienced water damage this past winter when the pipes broke during a freeze. The break was not noticed for several days and water sat on the floors for quite some time. We were able to take out the carpet in the facility, take up the tiled flooring material and take out all the damaged sheet rock in the ceilings and the walls. Additional, all the cabinets were removed from the kitchen area because of their poor condition. This shelter served as our command center and campsite during the trip. Several children from the Pineridge shelter came down and painted a few of the room in the facility . This project was very successful but leaving the place unpainted and bare to the studs in many places reminded us of the work in many other places that needs to be completed.

Seminars and Community Gatherings

The seminars were designed to provide information in two of the most critical areas of poverty stricken communities throughout the United States. Meth Awareness and Gang Information are relevant for communities all over North American and especially in low income areas with high incidence of addiction. Chuck Baker embraced these topics well and was welcomed by the locals and local law enforcement for the quality presentations that were given. These community events showed increasing attendance each night and increased friendliness by the local population to the team members each night. Our numbers were 31 for the first night, 55 for the second night and 126 for the final night. Chuck made major in-roads, being invited to speak to the local JDC in mates while we were in Kyle and being invited to speak at a Gang Awareness event that is to occur next year sometime.
Tennis Ball Collection
Our efforts in Modesto to collect tennis balls for the Headstart program chairs exceeded the goal of 1000 balls by 300 balls. These balls will give the children in the program a better chance to learn and keep the cost of floor maintenance down at the same time. A cool way to recycle and have multiple positive results.

Summary

The 2008 Kyle Mission Trip has positioned the Davis Park Church of Christ to reach out to the Oglala Lakota people of South Dakota. We met or exceeded the goals associated with this year’s mission trip in every way. I would recommend that we continue our relationship with the people we have encountered during this trip and seek new ways to serve this population and bring Jesus Christ into their lives.

Kyle Mission Trip Photos limk

Here is the link to Mission Trip Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19978632@N05/

Kyle Team Arrives Home . . .

The Kyle Mission Trip is over. We arrived home at 8:30 last night. Two grueling days of driving at the end of an exhausting week. The trip exceeded expectations on our end as we made in-roads into the community in and around Kyle.
Our Thursday night, family night was a big success. We had (20% of local populaion) in attendance from the community. We fed them Indian Tacos, Beans and Rice. The Indian Tacos are made on Indian Fry Bread, a delicacy in that part of the world. We had three local ladies cook the fry bread for us. It was wonderful. Highlights of the trip also include parting gifts from several organizations for our team members. One Lakota man did a song for us and had us dance in a circle to the song as he "blessed" our return home. I will be posting pictures and giving more stats in the near future.

Kyle Update #2

Kyle Update . . .
Tuesday proved to be a very busy day. Wayne, Darren , Art and Shane worked on the deck project at the early Headstart Facility. We finally started building it after revising the revised plans several times. The wheelchair ramp has to be about fifty feet long to meet ADA code. Not that code matters, there are no inspectors watching over our shoulders. Wayne is determined to build it right.
Shelia continues to cook stellar meals. Each day we have more locals for lunch and dinner. I would estimate that we are having more than 30 additional guests each day. Chuck's seminar on meth was great. I hope we can have him do it in Modesto sometime. At the seminar we had 31 adults and 9 children. A good showing in a town of 1000 people. All of the woman are working hard each day, doing a variety of activities. Things are coming along just fine.

Kyle Photos

Kyle Update. . . .

We made the trip with very little problems and it was a blessing to arrive in Kyle safely. We have a lot of work before us, however we have completed many tasks already. Wayne, has learned some old lessons concerning thermocouples, and only has hairloss and sunburned looking skin to show for it.

Our first task was to make our living quarters livable. We were able to do that in a few short hours, next we gutted out all of the water damaged sheetrock and flooring from the house. We are going to start getting the house reading for interior paint next. We have also taken out a large deck in front of a daycare facility and as we speak Wayne, Darren and Art are installing a new accessible deck and handicap Ramp. We have a lot of traffic around our basecamp, people are curious as to why we are here and what do we want? We continually tell them we are here to get to know them and provide assistance to their community while we are here.

Tonight we are having our first seminar at the Little Wound School. We will have three nights of activities, please pray that these go well.


Here are some pictures of Kyle, SD.

Excitement, anxiety, uncertainity, and faith.Kyle SD - Coming Soon, less than 7 days. . .

Excitement, anxiety, uncertainity, and faith. These are the things that make up a mission trip. I am excited about this trip as adventure in kingdom activities, we are going and doing something outside our zone of comfort. We are going to help start a renovation projection on a house to help an organization start helping teens who are having family difficulties. The anxiety is about what the conditions will be like, how we will be perceived and how effective we will be. The great thing about all this is I have faith that God will use the trip to better the kingdom. Pray for us as we prepare.

Tennis Balls Rolling In. . . .

We have collected 675 balls so far. Keep bringing them in. We have 325 to go. I know we can do it. Lets find all those old tennis balls and send them to SD for a good cause.

Tennis Balls needed . . .

The Kyle Early Headstart Program needs 1000 tennis balls (used) for class room chairs, that are damaging their floors. We will take them on our trip if anyone wants to donate them to us. Bring them by the church before June 5th.

Buddy

Kyle Mission Trip Planning Continues . . . .

We are just a few short weeks out from the mission trip. We know for certain some of the things that will take place and we know who the players are.

The medical part of the trip died in a paper work night mare and a whole bunch of federal govt red tape. Thanks to all the medical people who were interested in giving time and effort to this trip.

We are for sure doing the demo/ renovation project at a shelter for the teens of the
Reservation and we may build a deck for a new Headstart facility in Kyle.(if time allows.

Our evening programs are shaping up, we will have to seminars and a community gathering for food and fellowship.

Please continue to pray for us. . .


Buddy Gray

Kyle

Kyle Mission Trip Information

Medical Screening for Headstart . . .

The trip we are preparing for will be occurring June 6-16th, 2008 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Oglala-Lakota people live on the reservation which is among the poorest and most economically challenged area in the United States of America. Many of the statistics ** point to a poverty cycle that is nearly unbreakable. However, we know that through education these people can overcome the obstacles in front of them and their children can mature into productive adults. The Oglala Lakota College Headstart Program is enriching the lives of children 3-5 years old, helping shape the skills for future academic achievement. The obstacle that stands in the way of this great program is the ability of the local medical infrastructure to provide the necessary screenings, medical and dental for the children to enroll in the program.

Building Renovation for Abused Teens Shelter

Our intent is to renovate the former abused women's shelter and make it a livable space for teens that find themselves temporarily out of homes.

Health Living seminars and screenings

Our objective is to work with the local nursing school to provide diabetes and cholesterol. We also would like to provide nightly seminars on several different topics to include meth abuse, suicide prevention and others.

Help Wanted! If you are interested in making the trip with us please contact Buddy Gray @209-522-7226 or e-mail me wlgray2@flash.net

**Statistics

The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to approximately 40,000 persons, 35% of which are under the age of 18.  The latest Federal Census shows the median age to be 20.6 years.  Approximately half the residents of the Reservation are registered tribal members of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation.

Recent reports vary but many point out that the median income on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.

The unemployment rate on Pine Ridge is said to be approximately 83-85% and can be higher during the winter months when travel is difficult or often impossible.
 

97% of the population lives below Federal poverty levels.

Some figures state that the life expectancy on the Reservation is 48 years old for men and 52 for women. Other reports state that the average life expectancy on the Reservation is 45 years old.  These statistics are far from the 77.5 years of age life expectancy average found in the United States as a whole. 

Kyle Mission Trip. . .

Plans are moving forward for the mission trip to Kyle. We are still not sure exactly what the work will look like but we have a lot of irons in the fire and we are trying to narrow the scope with God's hand involved all along the way. Prayers are still needed for us to have Glenn priviledged or licensed to work at the Reservation. We are getting closer to that goal. We have e-mail a ton of paperwork and have found out the names of the right people to contact.
Pray for God to show us where he needs us to work in Kyle.

Buddy

Survey Trip Info . . .

Chuck and I had a great day at the Rez today. We met a bunch of delightful people who are interested in improving the life of the people of their community. We have a lot of opportunities to pursue. Steve Hernandez spent the day with us showing us around Kyle. Kyle is a small town with a lot of potential. One potential opportunity is to help renovate a shelter for children. Another possibility is to help with a health fair. We also may have nightly seminars concerning gangs and meth to inform parents about the growing problems these drugs are bringing to rural communities. Pray for God's direction as we try to assemble the team and select the projects to have the most impact on this community as we respond to it.

Buddy

Rapid City here we come. . .

In just a little while I'll board a plane for Rapid City, SD. Chuck Baker and I are going on a survey trip for the June Mission trip. In a few hours we will be near the heart of America and just a few miles from Mt. Rushmore. Oddly enough this monument was built on sacred land of the tribes of the region. As we launch toward helping another cultural group we have to be sensitive to their cultural peculiarities. Chuck has lined up several meetings for us. The people we will meet with will direct us to a place where we can lay a foundation for future mission efforts. Pray for our efforts . . .

Connections to Christ

Everybody has the need to be connected to something or someone. The rage it appears in culture is to try to "connect" to find intimacy and blot out the loneliness that the single life offers in the world. The internet offers all kinds of connections to all kinds of activities, most of them are rooted in the flesh. We are presently trying to form a new minsistry in our current response to Christ in Modesto. It is a connections ministry, better yet it is a ministry about connecting people to Christ.
We have spent a lot of effort teaching ourselves the importance of inviting people to events at church. Now we are following up with the next step. That is assimilating these people who have responded to our invitations. We will need this to be a congregational effort, all are invited to be a part of this effort. We want to start in the parking lot and make people feel wecome their entire visit with us. I am excited about this new adventure. Please pray for this effort.

Buddy Gray

Two Souls Added . . . to the book of life!

Praise God! Two souls were added to the church this week. One of the people that was baptized has been attending for some time. She dropped by the office and when she could be baptised. We offered the water immediately and with a few hours the rescue was complete. Tears streaming down her face as she sought the forgivenness of God and God gave her what she needed. The gift of the Holy Sprit.

On Sunday night I recieved a call from one of my close friends and he asked if we could baptize his brother-in-law. No hesitation we met them at the buidling, talked for a little while, opened up God's word, prayed and then my friend took His brother-in-law down into the watery grave and new creature came up from the water. The angels rejoiced as we did Sunday night. Another soul claimed from the grip of Satan. That is what response is. Taking people away from a world that has them in their grips.

Go! Make a difference today!

Buddy Gray
Modesto, Ca

Inviter Event Success Story. . .

I am asked all the time how effective our events are in relation to people making a decision for Christ to become their Lord and Savior. Honestly, I cannot wait to go to Heaven to see the difference it has made in God's Kingdom. However, it has been difficult to name the specific people it has impacted in this manner. I always want to remind our skeptics that evangelism is process oriented not event oriented. Here is some anecdotal evidence for these types of events.

One of recent converts asked a family member who was away from Christ to come to her baptism. The person chose not to come fearing pressure would be applied to get their life right with God. A short time later the new convert asked the family member to a movie event. The family member said yes, because it seemed like a less threatening enviroment. Four months later the family member came forward for restoration with Christ and a friend came for salvation. Praise God!

Finding ways to allow people to come back to God or find God in non-threatening venues works. It's not the venue that changes people, it's not anything we do as we host the event that changes people. What changes people is the word of God. Bringing people close enough to hear the truth that God has given us to share with friends,family or whomever will come with us to one of these events.

Thank You God for bringing this story to me today. Make it be used for your glory a thousand times over!


Buddy Gray

Family Promise Day 2. . . .

Kudos to our first two night food hosts. The Walls cooked up some great fried chicken and made a great pot of green beans. The wings were among the best I have ever had, Sheila Walls knows how to fry up chicken. The Kelly Small Group outdid themselves tonite. We had Pork Butt cooked several different ways, the meat melted in our mouths. Pork Butt in crock pot with taco seasoning cooking all day long. Wow! It was great. Joan Ortloff shared her sticky buns with us. She made 5 pans of the delicacy for us for desert. Sticky Buns are like monkey bread just not as sweet. Last night was very uneventful and the families all seem to pull into their rooms around 9:00 p.m. Matthew, Krista and I were here last night and are here tonight also.
Pray for us as we continue on in this effort. The hardest part of this ministry is getting people to stay overnight as night hosts. The discomfort really is minimal. I hear all the time about how it is outside people's comfort zone. It is outside mine, but I continually like to go there to increase the places I can go where I have limited myself from going in the past.
Good Night!

Buddy Gray

Family Promise

4 families arrived at the church today, total people 14. 9 Children and 5 adults. It is always an interesting tranisition to get things up and running. Its like 0 to 60 in no time. It is always good to have people here for the program, however it is bad that life situations are such that they lives end up in disarray and children are left without homes. I pray that these folks find jobs and homes in the near future. It is weird in many ways to not be sleeping in my own warm bed, in a place that I am most comfortable. I know I have a home to go to tomorrow. This program allows us to have touch with alot of good people who are down on their luck. Pray that we make the best of the week with them.

Buddy Gray

Comedy Night . . .

Comedy night was great. Attendance was not what we had anticapated but it was a successful event nonetheless. Over 450 people attended the event. Tommorow I will get an account of the total number of visitors from the community. My guess at the momnet is about 150. Chris Blackmore did a great job. He put together a great presentation and show. I have heard lots of compliments concerning our congregation's hospitality. This makes me proud to hear from our guests. More comments later.

Buddy Gray

A Night of Laughter can be an introduction to Christ!

Right now we believe advanced confirmation of tickets is running ahead of last year. Last year we had 705 people at the Comedy Event and considering the weather is going to be better than last year we could have a record crowd. I would like to mention that we do not do this for numbers we do it to have an opportunity to give glory to God and for people to come to a knowledge of Christ. Pray that this will occur. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be present at this meeting of people. Pray for people who are lost to be found by a God who loves them. I am wound up about this event, can't wait to see you there.

to God be the Glory,

Buddy

Comedy Night Inviter Event. . .

Click on image for more details
This was one of our more succesfull outreach events of 2007. We had over 200 guests mostly unchurched at this venue. Members of Davis Park - start inviting people now! Last year we had 705 in attendance, I know we can do better . . .

This event is a great way to introduce your friends and family to this congregation and Jesus Christ. Out comedian we make your sides hurt with laughter. Come and enjoy!

Buddy Gray

1020 Tenaya . . . Habitat/ Kaiser Build

The lunch program went very today. Our team cooked for approximately 200 people. Special Thanks to Wayne Smith who took charge after I double booked myself. Our volunteers were John Bailey, Lee and Sheila Walls, Ernie Yoshino,Gary Laguna and Brian Smith. Sheila Smith did a job with photography for the volunteer day for Kaiser. Wayne cooked up a "killer" pot of beans. I know the Kaiser volunteers enjoyed their warm food, hot chocolate and coffee. Thanks for making a difference today.

Buddy Gray

Habitat for Humanity . . .

Habitat called today needing someone to help prepare 225 meals for Monday's lunch. I said yes and have now realized that I am officiating a funeral at 1:00 pm the same day. I am now recruiting cooks and servers for this project. Kaiser will have their employees at three different sites and Habitat needs help. This will be a great way for us to lend a hand to the community on a project. Now I will try to figure out the details. If you are interested let me know that you can work.

Buddy

Outreach by Movie . . . Comedy Night Coming Soon!

Today was the Veggietale Outreach event. It was the greatest vegetable outreach event we have ever had. In all 211 individuals were at the event. Well over half of them were non-members. The Baileys invited 27 guests and 24 of them came to the event. What a great way to let your friends learn about Christ in an unobtusive enviroment. In the next week we will send out follow up letters inviting these folks to our next inviter event, which will be a comedy event at the buidling on February 9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Our comedian this year will be Chris Blackmore from Los Angeles, CA. We have great expectations for this event. Start praying now for our next event.
At the theater we were able to give out a half dozen books to theater patrons who were wondering what we doing there this afternoon. It was great to be outside the walls touching people we could not otherwise touch.
More about our continuing response to communities later.

peace,

Buddy Gray

VeggieTales . . . Pirates Premier!

This Sunday at 3:00 pm we will be hosting a movie premier event at the Riverbank Galaxy Theater for the movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". We are providing tickets for non-members who want to see the movie as a guest of one of our members. Veggetale movies are great for teaching biblical principals to younger children, while in a subdued fashion through humor also teaching adults. We expect over 100 guests (non-members/non-christians) to be at this event. Pray that we make a positive impact on the community as we respond through this cultural event.

Peace,

Buddy

If your interested in the movie and want to see it please come.

Notifications . . .

One of the least favored times of ministry as a chaplain is when you are called upon to perform a death notification. These notifications can happen for a variety of reasons, sometimes the deceased has been killed in an auto accident, or something of that nature. Ocassionally we are called upon after homicides, or police involved shootings to go with an officer or deputy to tell a family they have lost a loved one.
Last night I was called upon to deliver a message from another agency in a different part of the state that a man had died. Rather than a cold telephone call law enforcement agencies perform mutual aid avtivities such as this to make a hard message have a softer edge. Telling this father that his son had passed was not easy, but I am glad that he heard the message from a person and had someone with him as he steadied himself from the shock of the news.
My prayer today is that this father can have peace and comfort from God to work through this loss.

Buddy Gray

Spencer Ave. Fire. . .

A couple of nights ago I was awakened at 4:15 a.m. by a call from the Red Cross. Calls in the middle of the night for a chaplain are never good. . . This call concerned a housefire on the West Side of Modesto and involved several families. I was called because one of the ladies was having a difficult time with the loss. Loss by fire is rough on individuals, a few hours earlier pictures and memorablia were secure and in the spot where she could grab and hold them when she wanted, a little while later they were incinerated beyond recognition. I have not experienced this type of loss, however, I could empathize with her in that moment. She was outside, 39 degrees and a little mist in the air. The only clothes she had to her name were on her back and they were her flannel pj's. The coat she was wearing was the camo jacket out of my truck. Her shoes were some deck shoes from the fireman who carries extra shoes for times like these.
One of the little known facets of the Red Cross is that they take care of needs like this initially to help people back on their feet. The Red Cross team provided her with two nights in a hotel, some provision for food and an allowance for clothes.
I have been volunteering with the Red Cross for five years and I am still amazed that this is a service they provide. It still baffles me with the "Christ Resources" we have in the United States that there is no coalation of Christians meeting this need. Granted the individuals that do much of this work for the Red Cross in Stanislaus County are Christ followers and I am blessed to work along side these indiviuals.

Buddy Gray

Winter Storm Warning in the Sierras. . . Standby as this dvelops

From the National Weather Service . . .

STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ARE FORECAST.
FOR THE SIERRA RIDGES...WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 80 TO 100 MPH WITH GUSTS NEAR 145 MPH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
FOR THE EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES AND WESTERN NEVADA...WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. GUSTS IN WIND PRONE AREAS ALONG HIGHWAYS 95 AND 395 MAY EXCEED 80 MPH. WINDS WILL ALSO CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST WHICH MAY LOWER VISIBILITIES BELOW 1 MILE AT TIMES.
WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE MAY DOWN TREES....UTILITY POLES...AND DAMAGE FENCES AND ROOFS. HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES MAY OVER TURN IF ATTEMPTING TO TRAVEL IN AREAS OF STRONG CROSS WINDS.

For Full information follow the link marked severe weather warnings on the this blog.

Pray that the conditions lessen so that the intensity decreases.


Buddy

Happy New Year . . .

Well 2008 has rolled in and now we have a new year before us. God has given us 365 days of new year to work with. I am excited about a lot of opportunities that we will have in this new year. I just hope we can embrace the moment when opportunbity stares us in the face. Many times it seems I am looking the other way when opportunity brushes by. I am going to try to live with eyes wide open.
Today a lady came by that we had helped a few months ago. She came by to say thank you to the congregation for helping her restart her life. She was homeless and we helped her get into a home. She now has a job and is providing for her two children nine and ten years old. It was encouraging to have someone come by to say thank you.
I hear a lot of stories about bad experiences when we interact with people in our benevolence ministries. Usually, around the holidays the bad experiences seem to be multiplied because we are giving out at a much faster pace than we ususually are giving. Many of us have been surprized that there are people who take advantage of the system at "Christmas". I wish I had a good answer to this issue. I do know that we do alot of good despite the people working the system. The family that I partnered and helped were in great need. It was a blessing to share with them.
Laura and Cindy did a great job on both of holiday programs this year. If you have a chance thank them for taking on this huge responsibility.
Hilltop officially shutdown there operation on the first of January, if you link to their website form the bottom of the page you can see that we did a large percentage of the projects completed by them in Ramona.

Buddy Gray