Hauquitz Family Struggles with Language School in Albertville

The Hauquitz family is still busy in France working to learn the language before they head back to Cameroon. In their January newsletter, they tell about their struggles and silly mistakes in language school, and they tell about Keenan’s most recent antics. To get the full scoop, download their January newsletter (PDF) or visit them at www.thewitzonline.com.

Earthquake Shakes Up Costa Rica & Impact Partner Sunshine Loveland

Sunshine Loveland, LifePoint’s impact partner in Costa Rica, sent her November/December newsletter this week and included this note:

Please be in prayer for Costa Rica. Last Thursday, we had a 6.2 earthquake centered about 25 miles away from me. It was very destructive, and may people have died. Even more people are missing. They continue to uncover bodies from the many landslides. People are living outside with nothing. Though the days are pretty warm, the nights drop to the 50s, and the in the hardest hit areas in the mountains and rain forest, it gets even colder. Pray for the people who are working day in and day out to recover bodies. We continue to experience more earthquakes, which they say are aftershocks from the big one we had. We should expect this for the next several months. Pray for the nerves of the people here and that life can begin again. Pray for me. The earthquake really scared me, and I continue to have bad dreams about it, and I find it hard to sleep at times. I know I am not to live in fear, and I’m desperately trying to give this over to God, for he is in control of everything. Thank you for your prayers.

You can read more about Sunshine’s work in Costa Rica by downloading her newsletter (PDF).

Sermon Series | Vision 2009

1. The Year of Movement. As we reflect on 2008 and set goals for 2009, we study four truths about the church and define 2009 as the Year of Movement. In 2009, we’ll move by growing our ethos in worship, serving, discipling, and missioning.
2. Servant & Missioner. To grow our ethos in 2009, we must know what it means to be servants and worshipers. In this sermon, Pastor Dennis defines these roles in our ethos and provides practical applications to incorporate them into our lives.
3. Disciple. To grow in our ethos in 2009, we must understand what it means to be disciples. In this sermon, Elder Chris Bryant provides four signposts to heighten our understanding of discipleship.

Download all three sermons (58 MB).

Winter Update from Impact Partners David & Alicia

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Things are going great here in Central Asia! We can’t believe we just finished our first semester of teaching. The time has gone so fast. Most of our time is taken preparing lessons for our English classes during the day and teaching in the evening. We are blessed to have a three-day weekend every week so we can explore our city and meet with nationals. We’ve gotten to see American movies dubbed in Russian, shop in outdoor bazaars, visit a museum and the city zoo, and see the Moscow circus so far this year.

We’ve really enjoyed exploring the culture through food, music, and language. We have eaten several tasty dishes and drunk many steaming cups of tea with friends. Although we are working to learn Russian, most people we meet want to practice their English since it is rare for them to meet native-speakers. But they love to ask us how we say things in Russian, and they wonder how we can function in such a different environment!

Meeting with people has proved to be more difficult than we had expected. There is a barrier even greater than language. It is time. Most of the people we know are students or teachers, and they are extremely busy. Students have school six days a week and several private lessons throughout the week for dance, music, sports, art, or school subjects. Teachers work 12 hours a day, six days a week. The only day off for most people is Sunday, which they spend sleeping in late and then hanging out with family and friends or catching up on things at home. Most people say their ideal vacation would be a week for sleeping! During the end of December and the beginning of January, all the schools have a winter break for two weeks. We are hoping this will be an opportunity for us to meet with our students outside of class while they are not consumed with lessons.

Lately we have been talking to people about the American Christmas holiday, which they generally don’t celebrate here. Most of what they know about Christmas comes from American movies. Central Asia has many similar traditions in their New Year’s celebrations, like decorating trees and giving gifts, but it is lacking the significance of the first Christmas. We hope that our students will come to know the founder of Christmas in the coming year.

We are looking forward to our second semester of teaching and growing the relationships with our new friends. We are also beginning to think about where we will be next fall. We are definitely interested in continuing to teach in Central Asia, but there are many things to consider. Please lift us up as we discern what direction to go.

If you’ve been watching your email for regular updates from us, you might be wondering why there hasn’t been one since September. That’s because the Internet is a very finicky thing here. Sometimes you can only access email but not other websites, sometimes you can get into Facebook but not email. Sometimes you can read email, but you can’t send anything out. Obviously, it’s been a little frustrating for us. Fortunately, I seem to be able to access my blog regularly, so I have been posting there and include links to my photo albums in Facebook (you don’t have to be a member to see the photos). Sorry for the inconvenience if you’re not an Internet junkie. To help you wade through the mass of blog posts, each post includes some keywords that you can use to sort through by subject. You’ll find the list of keywords on the side of the blog, and if you click on one, you’ll only see the posts related to that keyword. The posts are also sorted by date, with the newest ones coming up first. If you would like to read about our adventures in Central Asia and see the pictures, please visit our blog at http://backpackdownload.blogspot.com.

For your convenience, there is also a link to subscribe to the blog. This will notify you every time a new story is posted. We’d also love to hear what’s going on in your world. Feel free to email us, just know the response may take a few weeks.

We love you guys and miss you all!
Alicia & David

Feliz Navidad de Costa Rica from Partner Sunshine Loveland

Sunshine Loveland, LPC’s impact partner with Christ for the City International, wrote us this note for Christmas:

I am so thankful to be celebrating the birth of the world’s savior and mine–Jesus–with my friends and family. I am so grateful to be place in Costa Rica by God this year and look forward to all that God has in store for me next year.

The past four months have been amazing! There have been some challenging moments and some amazing moments. I have finished by first trimester at language school and have been co-leading a Bible study at the Women’s Restoration House. I am daily learning what it looks like to have Christ as my first love.

I am so encouraged by all your prayers and encouragement. It means so much to me and gives me that extra push when I need it most. It helps me to return home to San Jose, Costa Rica, knowing that I have such amazing people talking to God on my behalf! Thank you for blessing me in this way!

LifePoint family, thank you so much for all your prayers and support. I’m so grateful to have a home church in the States that loves Jesus so much! You are an encouragement and blessing to me. Thank you so much.

I pray that you will see, feel, and experience the amazing love of our Savior Jesus, who was born for us.

Merry Christmas,
Sunshine

60K in 60 Days Update from Mystery Church

LifePoint received this note from Steev Inge, pastor at Mystery Church in Joplin, regarding their 60K in 60 Days capital campaign in December:

I wanted to take a few minutes to give you a brief update and sincere and heart-felt thank you. God has provided a location, and through you, your generosity, and faithfulness, he has met our need! Jesus provided over $60,000 in under 60 days–simply amazing! Please join us in celebrating his provision and grace.

This is to say thank you for believing the gospel and supporting us. You’ve made a huge difference and provided an incredible tool for mission. We’re hard at work preparing to move into the new downtown Joplin location the second week of January.

If you are in the area, I would love to show you around. Again, we are so grateful for you and are praying for you, your families, and your churches.

In Christ & Amazed by Grace,
Steev Inge