A New & Exciting Journey

Meet My Boyfriend, Paul

A year and a half ago, the Interior Career Group at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton where I attend, decided to focus this ministry to those in their young 20’s. You might say that my friends and I outgrew the Interior, as we participated in it over the years. So last January, some of my friends got our Pastor’s blessing to start the 30’s Home Fellowship. This was a wonderful chance for us to stay connected and continue our fellowship.
During this time, I got to know Paul Kannard. He, too, had been part of the Interior, was active in one of the men’s small groups and participated in a six month spiritual growth class that I took, called The Journey. This class met weekly and alternated between lecture format and mixed small groups. Paul happened to be in my Journey small group. Somehow, I had gotten his attention, but he never let me know.
It was not until the 30’s Home Fellowship began that I talked to Paul at any length. We were both very active in the group on Friday nights, serving wherever needed. He offered to walk me to my car one night, which made me a little nervous. He had noticed me picking up leftover paper plates after dinner and commented, “I just want to make sure you know: We love you for who you are, not just what you do for us.” I was really impressed with how observant and sensitive he was! At the end of a meeting in early April, he asked me to join him for coffee. We started dating, and we have been dating consistently ever since.
Paul is studying to be a nurse and loves helping others. We are very like-minded and enjoy doing activities together, such as: watching movies, walking his dog, babysitting my nieces and meeting with other Christian couples. We participate weekly in the 30’s Bible Study and enjoy activities with mutual friends from church. We were involved in the church service project, the summer car-campout and have gone on a few hikes together. Paul loves the great outdoors, so I expect more of this will be in our future. In June, his older sister, Karen, and her husband Rob, had a baby boy. In May, I got to meet most of his family when we attended the baby shower.
This new, exciting journey was un-expected, but what a joy that God caused our paths to cross. We are both so thankful to Him!! Thanks for your love and support!

Four Summer Missionaries

Pictured to the right:
Blake, Rebekah, Paris, Roger and Myself

Meanwhile, our summer ministry of 5-Day Clubs is still going strong. God brought four students to join our Summer CYIA Missionary Team this year. Three returning students came for their third year. During CYIA Training School, 202 heard the gospel, and 37 made first-time decisions for Christ. In July, 120 more children heard the gospel through these four Summer Missionaries in the Greater Long Beach Area. God continues to use us as we are faithful to Him.

A Lifelong Writing Project

Mom, Susan and Bob-My Ordination Fan Club!

On May 12, 2009, I met in a small room with 6 others to have our final Ordination Interview. We were asked many specific questions about our calling and conversion. The committee of Pastor’s wanted to know which passage of scripture best conveyed our heart for ministry. During the Ordination Ceremony, this passage was read and all family members and friends in attendance came forward, laid hands on me and prayed. That evening will always be a special memory that I hold in my heart!
The verse I chose was 2 Corinthians 3:2, “You, yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are our letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of the human heart.”
Over the last 10 years, my “letter” of recommendation has been the people to whom I minister, as I invest in their lives. There have been many children who have received Christ as their Savior. My credentials have rested in the additional adults and teens that I have trained to share the gospel effectively with kids. Through this, I am aware that each task is God’s “elaborate excuse” for me to love others in His name, just as I was loved unconditionally. As I experienced the benefit of God using mentors to invest into my life, I decided to live for what will really lasts by investing in the lives of others. Now that my Ordination allows me to “marry and bury” my intention is to use this credential to strategize with others pastors about how to reach children outside their churches. I am driven each day by the realization that children live without God and without hope. You might say I have a “lifelong-writing project,” but one that will impact the world, one child at a time.

Pathways of Preparation

Putting my trust in Christ around age 4 or 5 led me down a specific path. Could God’s call on my life have started in Kindergarten? God impressed upon me the lyrics from a simple childhood song. I remember singing, “I’m just a child, my life is still before me. I just can’t wait, to see what God has for me, but I know that I will trust Him and I’ll wait to see what life will bring for me.” Each verse gave examples of Bible heroes who were used by God in great ways. I so badly wanted to be just like them! I was told that God was going to use me for something great someday—but when? Just like the child who starts out on a long road trip and asks, “Are we there yet?”—I grew up with anticipation about God’s adventure for my life. It has taken almost 20 years for me to understand the purpose of the road God has me on.
Since last Fall, I have been seriously considering getting a Minister’s License. This would be the next step in relating to other Pastor’s and add to my career credentials as a Children’s Evangelist. Most Ministers get Licensed through the church or denomination where they serve. My church only gives a license to those who minister directly on their church staff. A Pastor friend, who was formerly on Staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, recommended that I apply to the Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA). The ECA is an international organization founded to supply ministerial credentials to those who will not compromise the Word of God. So I pursued the application process through them.
After turning in the paperwork, processing my file took longer than I had been told to expect. In going through my file they noticed that I attended Biola University and graduated from the Children’s Ministry Institute (CMI). They also recognized that I had been serving in vocational ministry for almost 10 years. Based on this, the ECA called me to say that not only could I be Licensed, as I requested, but that I was qualified for Ordination! So I decided to go for it.
I have learned a lot following this trail and feel honored to join those I have respected for so long. I have heard it said, “God does not always call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.” I know I still haven’t “arrived” but the One who planned my journey has been preparing me for this pathway, at least since Kindergarten.

God’s Superheroes

“Faster than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s . . . Bible Man!!” Well, all that may not be true, but he always wins a good ole’fashioned sword drill!
I actually got to meet Bible Man from the Children’s DVD Series created by Nelson Publishing when I visited San Diego for the Children’s Pastor’s Conference.
As we took this picture, posing with a grip of power, I thought, “How many Christians stand strong like a Superhero?” The Bible says in Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” Luckily, you don’t have to wear purple and gold spandex to faithfully live out this verse! But you do need to put on the full armor of God each day in order to stand strong. It is only by His power that we can put our trust in the truth of His Word. Remember “God’s Word will keep you from sin and sin will keep you from God’s Word.” Let’s be God’s Superheroes, as we depend on Him to help us do what is right.

Stepping into God’s Plan

2008 CYIAer’s: Muthoni, Rebekah, and Chelsea

Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) is a time when we challenge students to step forward into God’s plan for their lives.
One of our students, Senior High Graduate-Rebekah Pena, recently returned after 12 weeks of attending the Children’s Ministries Institute (CMI) at our CEF headquarters in Missouri. This experience was a significant step into God’s plan for her.
While at CMI, Rebekah learned about CEF ministries, sharpened her skills in teaching children and developed valuable friendships. She said the highlight was getting to know others who had dedicated their lives to serving God. Those around her strengthened her faith as she sought the Lord’s direction. Most importantly she learned to put God first in making decisions. She recommends CMI to other high school graduates, looking to prepare themselves for future ministry.
This will be my sixth year on staff at CYIA Training School and it has been such a joy to watch students, like Rebekah, step into God’s big plans for them.