It is one thing to to do some work for a couple hours a month, it is another thing to change the trajectory of child’s life that would otherwise be destined to repeat a cycle of failure, poverty, and oppression.  If anyone should be leading this, it is the church.  We have a hope that no one else has.

So, we are teaming up Communities in Schools and Hands on Central Texas for 1 Hour For Kids in Zavala Elementary and Martin Middle School:

I know, I have the same objections:  I don’t have the time.  The location isn’t ideal.  Maybe next year when I have more time.   The truth is, none of these objections will ever leave, this is why they call it ‘sacrificial giving/living.‘  But more importantly, the time you have to give (1 hour a week), the distance you have to go out of your way in travel, and committing now as opposed to next year (which is always next year), is nothing compared to difference that will be made in the life of a child in need.

Why these schools?  Austin New Church is wanting to begin to invest in and enhance a local community, and what better way to do this than partnering with one of our churches – Soli Deo Gloria.  But for me, the statistics demand it!

Martin Middle School:

• 91.6% of the students are considered Economically disadvantaged, compared to a state percentage of 55%
• 4.8% are students with disciplinary placements which is double the amount of the states average of 2.3%
• 63.9% are considered at-risk compared to the states average of 48.4%

Zavala Elementary:

• 93.2% of the students are considered Economically disadvantaged, compared to a state percentage of 55%
• 0.3% are students with disciplinary placements which is double the amount of the states average of 2.3%
• 73.5% are considered at-risk compared to the states average of 48.4%

All you need to do is fill out this volunteer application, and lets make a difference in Martin and Zavala with our partners Communities in Schools and Hands on Central Texas.

Neighborhood Engagement – A balanced approach

I love it when people give back to their community, especially in neighborhoods. It’ a great way to connect with families, get to know neighbors and neighborhood leaders and you get to find out what the “real” needs are as well as understand what people truly want for their neighborhoods. Working in communities, I’ve seen resurgence in helping out neighborhoods from clean-ups and graffiti removal to starting community gardens and hosting potlucks or block parties. In Austin and across America, more people are involved in “neighboring.” The Volunteering In America report (link: www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/TX/Austin) shows that more people are working with neighbors to fix a problem and attending community meetings, but you don’t need a report to show you how people are engaged in Austin; just go outside and see for yourself!

Helping out neighborhoods is a great way to strengthen communities and this type of engagement can be successful if you use a balanced approach; balancing passion, needs and aspirations.

• Take one part passion: what you care about – what drives you to create positive change
• Add needs to the mix: what is the real need – the critical issues
• Finish it with aspiration (or start with it!): what are the aspirations for the people living in neighborhoods – what do they care about?

We often times, just think of our passions and the need and we forget to ask what neighbors care about (I confess, I’m guilty of doing this in the past). Taking the time to ask people why they’re involved or what issues are important to them builds bridges and trust, especially in low-income neighborhoods. Ever wonder why some projects work in some neighborhoods and not in others? Part of the reasons projects don’t get traction or even work is because neighbors weren’t involved in the process; they weren’t asked for their input and so people don’t come out to support the effort. This is why it’s important to take the time to ask people what they care about; what their aspirations are for their neighborhoods and getting them involved. Taking the time to balancing these three approaches will help not only you with your project but neighborhoods in the long-run.

How will you incorporate this approach in your next project or maybe you have already? What did you learn? Pass it forward!

Adelante,

Mando

Director, Community Engagement – United Way Capital Area/Hands On Central Texas

VP, Engagement – Cultural Strategies

armando.rayo@unitedwaycapitalarea.org

www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org

www.handsoncentraltexas.org

www.cultural-strategies.com

www.elmundodemando.com

Thank you Mando, we look forward to this partnership!

In order to do this, there are a few items we need donated.  So if you have any of the following that is in good condition, please email our Extreme MakeOver facilitator at brettne@mac.com or susanafletcher@gmail.com.  The items we are in need of to complete this MakeOver are as follows:

• At least 5 lamps with shades (they do not have to match but should be small or medium size)
• 3 white noise machines or small ‘boomboxes’ that play cd’s (yes, I did just say boombox)
• fake plants (2 trees & a couple of small table top plants)
• throw pillows (we are going to recover the fabric to match the room, so they do not have to match)
• 3 small end tables in a medium or dark wood and one coffee table
• 4 office dividers (or knowledge of where we can get them for free or next to nothing)
• 2 video game chairs or bean bags in brown or beige

Even if you are not going to serve at this particular project, it is a great way to be involved in adding to the learning environment of Martin Middle School

Thank you,

Matthew

In Brandon Hatmaker’s blog a couple days ago he used a phrase that speaks to this issue with complete clarity, “It’s about giving until it hurts!”  Can you imagine what that may look like for you on a personal level?  Can you imagine what that may look like for your Restore Community?  What if that meant that your Restore Community stopped serving once a month…ONLY!  What if for 2010, God really called you to begin to give more of yourself, your time, your ability, our presence, your _____________ (you fill in the blank) until it began to cost you?  What if.  What if, our lives began to be literal windows into the Kingdom of God?  What if the Kingdom of God stopped being this story we told, but began to be actualized in our lives to those around us?  What if people could say, “Do you want to know what the kingdom looks like in action?  Just look at his/her/their life?”

In the gospels, John was the one preparing the way for Jesus, he was like a herald announcing the inbreaking of this kingdom.  No, a lot of the Jews of that day were hoping for a ethnically sovereign political or military power to break in and politically defeat the Roman empire.  I don’t think John thought that, but we don’t have enough time to get into that.  However, we do know that John expected there to be some sort of immediate benefit to him.  At one point, John was arrested for the purpose of execution.  At this point John began to doubt, and began to wonder if this Jesus truly was the one.  He began to wonder if the kingdom was truly breaking in.  Would this not at least free him from the impending death?  In fact, while in prison, John began to doubt so much, that he sent a messenger to the very one he had previously said of, “behold this is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (which was much more than a moral statement).  John was now needing a bit more proof, and thus sent a messenger to find out if he was truly the Christ, the coming King, the lamb of God.  When the messenger reached Jesus he relayed John’s message to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”  John was once certain, now, he was not so much.  Then Jesus responds with proof that he, was in fact the Christ, the coming King.  But Jesus’ statement of proof is not what many would have or still do expect.  Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.  And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Did you get that?  The proof that the kingdom was breaking through was not material safety, security, or success…in fact John died at the hands of the executioner.  The sign was not a big church.  The sign was not a charismatic leader.  The sign of the in breaking of the kingdom was the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, the poor having the GOOD news preached to them!

What if? What if in one area of the City our Restore Communities began to ‘give till it hurts’?  What if our Restore Communities began to saturate one area of our city with the proof of the Kingdom?  Not that we can build the kingdom, it is already being built and advanced.  But what if we saturated this one area of the city with lives that were windows into the Kingdom?  What if, because we were willing to give in ways that cost us our time, money, abilities, emotions, and presence to saturate this one area of town, people literally began to see the kingdom break through among them.   So, what would this look like on a practical level?  I think it would look like not just one, but several people being committed weekly, several Restore Communities being committed once, twice, or even three times a month literally pouring themselves out in the following ways:

• 10-15 men and women committing to one hour a week for one year to mentor a young boy or girl at Zavala Elementary or Martin Middle School
• 2-3 Restore Communities partnered with CIS and the Austin Housing Authority to be committed to the Smart Kids Program in the Santa Rita Projects every other week.
• Some dedicated business men who can train life skills; dedicated caring women who can help train, love, and support single mothers
• Working together with Communities in Schools and the local public schools to plan special events for the parents and children in that area.
• 1-2 Restore Communities on a monthly rotation to spend time renovating the Soli Deo Gloria Building while other members of the Restore Communities spent time building relationships in the Santa Rita Projects.

What is this?  This is giving till it hurts?  This type of giving will cost us.  This is leaving the idea of just getting a single event calendared, checked off, and then move on…This is Kingdom Saturation!  I realize we have been spending a week praying about how we can begin to give in such a way that it hurts, on an individual level.  BUT what about our Restore Communities, how can we begin to give till it hurts.  I think this is it!  Let’s do it!  Let’s pour our lives out in this area in such a way, that if a messenger were to come to the residents of this area of town and ask, “Are you sure the kingdom is breaking through?  And if so how do you know?“  They could say, “The proof is that hope is coming to the hopeless, the homeless are becoming self-sustaining, the children are learning how to end the cycle of poverty, the hungry are being fed, and the gospel is being shared and lived out among them!” This my friends is KINGDOM SATURATION!

On a side note, you will notice some points begin with emboldened words, those are the organizations we partnered with for the work mentioned.

The Orphan and Fatherless:

• Help end Local Poverty (H.E.L.P.): Recently we began to donate quarterly a portion of our tithes to support this poverty reduction organization focusing on eliminating poverty in local communities and around the world.
• Mexico Orphanages: Donated quarterly a portion of our tithes to support two orphanages in Meir and Sandoval Mexico that provide complete care and education for over 40 orphans
• Miracle Foundation: Donated quarterly a portion of our tithes to support their efforts in India to care for over 700 orphanages and help renovate conditions in 6 orphanages; while several individuals made 5-year commitments to sponsor individual orphans in India.
• Caring Family Network: Our Restore Communities volunteered at and sponsored the 2009 Christmas Party for Foster Children and sponsored 15 children & 45 families for Christmas
• Extreme Make over for Lutheran Social Services
• Collaboration with local Churches and Adoption agencies to remedy the orphan crisis in Austin.

The Dispossessed and Homeless:

• Mobile Loaves and Fishes: Our Restore Communities assembled & donated 100’s of Toiletry Bags for Homeless; Coordinated several neighborhood Jeans Drives; Prepared meals for thousands of Austin’s Homeless and working Poor; and Served hundreds of burrioto’s and breakfasts through the burrito project.
• Foundation for the Homeless: Our Restore communities coordinated monthly Birthday Parties for Homeless Children; Landscaped the campus of Foundation for the Homeless; and Built an organic garden
• Caritas of Austin: Our Restore Communities did an Extreme Makeover for the Caritas’ Kitchen on SAS; Provided consistent Volunteers for Caritas Morning Meal through the week; Hosted a Caritas Training in which 15 individuals where trained to care for the homeless on a more personal level; and Sorted, labeled, and stocked over 500 pounds of food
• Refugee Services of Texas: Our Restore Communities trained over 15 volunteers to care for refugees in 2010 and collected enough furniture and appliances to furnish a new apartment for new refugees in Austin.
• Fed over 6,300 hot meals to Austin’s Homeless through Downtown Grillouts.
• Organized Christmas-eve Homeless Blanket, Coffee, and Socks giveaway
• Held a Red Cross Training and Red Cross Certified 30 people

The Poor and Needy:

• Communities in Schools: We completed 3 Extreme Classroom Makeover’s (Langford Elementary, Rodriguez Elementary, and Lanier HighSchool) while committing to two more in 2010.  Promoted the annual CIS Back Pack Drive for those who couldn’t afford backpacks and school supplies and donated1,800 back packs.  We raised over $2,200 for the Austin Marathon and recruited a total of 10 runners for the 2009 and 2010 Austin Marathon benefiting CIS. We provided Christmas presents and food for over 60 families in need.  We recently committed to a partnership in the Santa Rita projects near our East Side Church, and we were recognized as the Volunteer Organization of the Year.
• Capital Area Food Bank: Currently working with the CAFB to meet some of the hunger needs in East Austin by developing a local food distribution center at SDG.
• Housed and Fed over 60 East Houston evacuee from hurricane Ike
• Had over 50 volunteers serve Blue Santa three years in a row.
• Donated enough food to Capital Area Food Bank to serve over 1,000 families
• Supported children in need through Angel Tree
• Donated School Supplies for kids under the Austin Housing Authority
• Painted a house for a widow, built a wood fence for a family who could not afford it and helped a single mother move
• Held a Bake Sale and donated for the “No Kid Left Hungry”
• Served the residents of Maggie Johnson Nursing Home
• Extreme Make Over: three different rooms at Akin’s High School different times

The ill and marginalized:

• Livestrong Foundation: Mobilized 10 runners and 40 Volunteers for the 2008& 2009 LiveStrong Challenge.
• Care Communities: Restore Communities partnered with a family in which the mother and Father has HIV/AIDS.  During this time they walked with the mother through her husband’s death, salvation, and helped the mother become self-sustaining. Cared for a 21 year old lady with a brain tumor that has attacked her skeletal system in her spine.  Partnered and cared for a man who was living with Cancer.  Partnered and cared for a man who has AIDS, schizophrenia, and dementia. Partnered and served at the Austin AIDS Ride, AIDS Service, and AIDS Walk
• Raised money and walked in the Race for the Cure

The Environment and Creation:

• The Eden Projects: Donated quarterly a portion of our tithes to support their efforts in Ethiopia and Madagascar through digging wells to provide water, support reforestation efforts in planting over 1.8 million trees, & help provide jobs to 1000 indigenous people.
• Keep Austin Beautiful: Restore Communities removed close to 1,000 pounds of litter from an East Slaughter Lane; Adopted Boggy Creek for two years; Cleaned up and did restoration work on Stassney Creek and Onion Creek; and Cleaned an illegal dump site in the Sol Wilson / Pandora area of town.
• Filled three 40 yard-city-dumpsters of litter to clean Park Ridge Subdivision
• Landscaped the Campus of Clayton and Houston Elementary
• Supported and Served at the Austin Trail of Lights
• Beautified the campus of Jackie’s Fine Arts Facility

Church Planting:

• Hill Country Bible Church: Donated Quarterly a portion of our tithes to their church planting and training efforts in Austin.
• Austin Baptist Association: Donated Quarterly a portion of our tithes to their church planting and training efforts in the Austin area.
• Soli Deo Gloria – Helped Financially Secure an East-Austin Property for their church plant in a strategic ministry area.
• The Soul Movement – Providing Support and Training through our partnerships for this primarily African American downtown church.
• Revolution Church – Donated much needed sound & technical Equipment for this plant in Shertz, TX.
• Placed two couples in Apartment complexes South Austin as Missionaries and one couple on the East-Side of Austin as Missionaries.
• Refugee Church in Houston – Helped secure their Building, donated our van, chairs, and sound equipment and are continuing to mentor.
• Austin Mustard Seed – Partnering in North Austin help develop a network of Mission minded house churches.
• Planted over 12 Restore Communities impacting our city.

In addition to the report above (and most importantly) we’ve had the honor of being a part of seeing over 80 people find faith in Christ through God’s movment and your commitment to incarnational community and service. Just in the last three months, we’ve had 104 people join ANC as “Partners”. And are looking forward to adding a second worship gathering this spring. Amazing!

Honestly, when I put together this report last week to send to Brandon and Tray, I was blown away!  Both by the generosity of our people and supporters… and by the sheer volume of what a small little church plant in South Austin was able to accomplish (together with our partners) in our first year and eight months. When we began to dream of a church… this was it. What an honor.

Thank you,

Matthew

Hello Friends,

The need: We serve 100 orphans in Zimbabwe. These kids are only getting meat once-a-month in their diet. We seek to change that in 2010.

• How: The Chicken Project
• Cost: $5200

We’re going to purchase Chickens for the Musha Wevana Children’s Home in Zimbabwe. This will enable the kids to have eggs and meat in their diet on a consistent basis.   So far we’ve raised over $3,000. Roughly we need an additional $1,500 to fully fund this project. This will make a huge difference for our kids in Zimbabwe.

We need your help, every donation counts. You can donate $10, $20, or any amount, nothing is too small. 100% of your donation goes to the project.

You can donate by clicking this link and then clicking on the PayPal button: HERE

HELP has many videos you can watch to learn more about the organization including information about the Musha Wevana Children’s Home in Zimbabwe, by clicking: HERE

When you think of Christmas what comes to mind?  Is it the smell of food wafting from the kitchen?  The laughter of your family and friends?  The gifts piled high under the tree and stockings bulging with goodies?

What you probably don’t think about are the men, women, and children on the streets.  Homeless families are easy to overlook despite the fact that they’re the fastest growing part of the homeless population.

For example, let’s take the story of the Carmona family:  A few years ago Tony, Linda, and their mentally challenged son Gordy spent Christmas (and every other day of the year) in the cardboard box they called home.  Today, thanks to MLF’s Habitat On Wheels program, they’re living in a furnished recreational vehicle, and have the income to buy the food and health insurance they desperately need.

Other families aren’t so lucky though.  According to the US Conference of Mayors, families make up over 1/3 of the homeless population.   There is something you can do to help:

• $10 a month will help keep the MLF trucks in working order so that they can go out on the street 365 days a year.
• $30 is enough to provide 10 people in need with a nutritious meal from our truck.
• $60 can feed 20 hungry people this Christmas.

This year, help make Christmas the start of something wonderful for a family on the street.  I promise that you will be helping us change lives.   To help with the above donations, simply click here: HELP

God Bless

So, what do you have to do?  You have to print the attached document, and take it to Jason’s Deli on Tuesday night (12/08) – that’s it…that’s all you have to do!

Have a great week!

Matthew

p.s…click here…Jasons Deli Flyer

p.s.s. – there will be a limited amount of these fliers at Austin New Church on the 6th on the Local/Global table in the back

To know a little more about Wonders and Worries watch the video below:

Hello Friends,

Today is World AIDS Day.  As I travel through a country ravaged by HIV/AIDS, I wanted to encourage you to promote awareness of the dramatic impact AIDS has on orphans.

In the African nations where we work, there is a generation of AIDS orphans left behind. It fuels not only extreme poverty, but child abuse and sexual abuse of the worst kind.

In Russia, AIDS grows by the day, often helped along by sex trafficking of young girls from our orphanages.

Fortunately we can and are doing something in both cases.   On World AIDS Day, I just wanted to encourage you with two thoughts that I hope you’ll pass along to your online friends through Facebook and Twitter. Or just repost this entire message…

1. HopeChest is protecting over 1,000 Russian orphans from sex trafficking and crime throughout our Ministry Center, Family Center, and Independent Living Center programs.
2. HopeChest is rescuing 10,000 orphans from extreme poverty by supporting feeding programs, health and education initiatives, and Christian discipleship throughout Ethiopia, Uganda, and Swaziland.

In those places, there is no sex trafficking or extreme poverty. We are making a difference.

One of the ways that happens is through-5 for-50. This is a small way that just $5 can make a difference for someone who has been impacted by AIDS–particularly orphans in Africa.

Click on 5-for-50 to find out more about the 5 simple ways that YOU can make a difference in the global AIDS crisis.

And, be sure to pass that message of hope along to those who can join us.

Thanks so much for being on this journey with us.

For the Fatherless,
Tom Davis
CEO, HopeChest

• feed over 300 of Austin’s homeless population – IN THE RAIN!
• sort, box, and stock about 500 pounds of donated food for Caritas Austin.
• begin a renovation project on the back of the SDGA building so that Restore Austin can better serve the citizens of East Austin
• treat the elderly of the Maggie Johnson Nursing Home with some much needed love, care, and attention
• partner with Keep Austin Beautiful to restore a downtown-EastSide neighborhood to clean up an illegal dump-site.

Today was a hit, and it couldn’t have happened without you, but remember, January 31st is just around the corner!

Matthew…