GROWING A DANDELION
Have any of you purposefully watered and cared for a dandelion?  At Casa de Niños we have a 6 ft. cactus growing in a huge pot.  Months ago a small weed appeared and soon showed its leaves and a yellow bud.  A dandelion.  In Indiana, lawn owners pull, spray and destroy these so called pesky weeds.  But, I decided to see how long a dandelion would last here in the desert especially underneath a prickly two armed cactus.  It is now 23 inches tall and has grown over 21 yellow buds.

GROWING A CASA DE NIÑOS "DANDELION"
Angel, age 17, without any fear or shame gave his best friend (Altair) a Bible.  Angel was adopted as an infant, which means he never knew his birth parents.  His adopted parents moved him from Veracruz to Mexico City to Queretaro and then to Matahuala, Mexico.  He has said growing up was not easy as he was constantly ridiculed and beaten.  One day he had enough and went to a neighbor's house who just happened to be a Church of Christ preacher (Pepe) in the small town of Matehuala, just 2 hours north of San Luis Potosi.  With broken limbs and a heart full of scars, the preacher and his family took him in under their wings.  Since his adoptive mother still lived too close and the verbal abuse continued, the family services (DIF) called us and sent Angel to Casa de Niños on November 21, 2008.

His joy and smile was overwhelming and soon he adjusted to a new lifestyle at Casa de Niños.  For his baptism (October 14, 2009) he wanted the janitor at his school present and the preacher (Pepe) and his wife from Matehuala.  You see they never knew where he was sent.  God protected Angel and today his faith is strong; strong enough to share his faith with his best friend.
 
What may look like a weed to some of us is a plant (person), just waiting to be watered and nourished.  What does the Bible say about planting and watering?  Open your Bible to I Corinthians 3:8.
 
Casa de Niños has one purpose for each child.  To know and live for their Savior! 
That my friends, is loving and caring for dandelions.  
 
Just Watering Dandelions!
David DeBolt
 
P.S.  Last month's boy is still studying God's Word daily and was asked at school about the Bible in his book bag that he was reading.  His answer, "It reminds me that God is always with me."  His friends response, "My mom has told me I should do the same thing."

CLICK HERE - VALLEY ROMANIA TEAM 2012 WEBSITE

Hello Valley Christian Church People!

My name is Erin Hunt, and I'm serving as the captain of the Valley Romania Mission Team 2012.

In July, I will be traveling to Romania with five of my brothers and sisters in Christ. We couldn't be more excited! We are praying for the Lord to watch over us and guide us as we prepare and travel to Romania so that He uses us for His purpose.

To learn more about all the things we will be doing, please go to OUR MISSION page.To meet each of our team members, go to OUR TEAM page. If you would like to support our team, you can do so through prayer or donation by visiting our GIVE & PRAY page.

As we prepare for our Mission and while we serve in Romania we will be updating OUR BLOG page. Please visit our site often!

On behalf of the team, we thank you for your support!

Erin Hunt

If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact me through the Valley Christian Church contact page.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for being faithful in prayer on our behalf. We need the strength, wisdom, and sustaining presence of the Lord to do our daily work.

Thanksgiving
The CSF alumni event on Thursday, April 19th brought together a great group of CSF’ers stretching back through the mid-1990’s. We were very grateful for the chance to reconnect, share our vision and mission, and for the ways these alumni have agreed to help us as we move forward.

Bryan Bademan, Executive Director of MacLaurinCSF, along with our Board of Trustees spent a fruitful day together on Saturday, April 28th refining our ten-year strategic plan. We are grateful to God for his guidance and wisdom, and will continue to seek Him as we work out what MacLaurinCSF can and should do in the years ahead.

Requests
Our beloved co-worker Ruth Pszwaro, her husband Justin, and their son Elias are preparing to welcome a new baby into their family around June 7th. Be praying with us for the health and safety of Ruth and the baby during these final few weeks of her pregnancy and through delivery as well.

May is a month of transitions. The school year comes to a close, and with it, many of our regular programs. Pray that we can effectively shift our attention to other pressing matters that we can focus on during this season. We need to marshal volunteers for painting and house projects, work on details for fall events and programs, and plan to cover areas of Ruth’s work while she enjoys some time off this summer.

We are currently seeking to establish several boards of advisors (student, pastoral, U of M faculty) to speak into our work. We are praying for the right people to join these teams and for the wisdom to maximize the effectiveness of their counsel.

The end of our fiscal year is June 30. We are trusting God and working hard to meet our budget by then. Please pray that we may initiate new partnerships, renew dormant partnerships, and perhaps be the recipients of some special financial blessings between now and then.

Blessings,
Brad Dewing

MacLaurinCSF
Coordinator of Community Life

dewing@maclaurin.org / maclaurincsf.org

Dear Family and Friends,
 
One of the boys recently asked if I could help him make a change in his life.  Not just a change of routine, or simple changes of style, but a radical change for God.  You see, he had drifted away from God.  He found himself in places and situations that was not part of his Christian behavior.  One day in March he woke up and said, "No more, I can no longer keep living this way."  Crying for help, I sat down with him and helped him begin a new journey of faith.  First we prayed, set out a plan of physical exercise and spiritual exercise.
 
Each day begins with a Bible study, not alone, but together.  He was begging for help, someone to guide him, carry him, pray with him, study with him and love him.  Old friends, I said, would have to be left behind, new habits, new rules (strict rules) and new routine would have to be followed each day.
 
It's been nearly a month (March 11) when he first cried out for help.  He admits he still struggles with certain things, but he also says each day he feels so good about himself and for the radical change he has made.  I do not want to mention his name, but your prayers and gifts have made a radical change in this young person's life.
 
They say you need three weeks to form a habit.  This special child of God opens God's Word each day with excitement, prays sincerely and deeply and is truly searching and living a cleaner and healthier life.  As parents of Casa de Niños we are here with open arms, bended knees and a heart big enough to help every child overcome their past and present fears.  Your gifts truly make a difference.  God bless you all for being that special link between God and Casa de Niños.
 
David DeBolt

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement.    This month we ask your prayers for the following matters:

1. Rwanda is currently in the Week of Mourning to Commemorate the lost lives in 1994’s Genocide.   It is a somber week of reflection. Please keep Rwanda in your prayers this week. May healing take place. May both reconciliation and justice reign.    May institutions be built in this generation which proclaims enduring hope.

 2. Our prayers for many months have been answered. Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs is home with his forever family and healthy.    May God be praised for so abundantly answering our  community’s prayers.

3. Our family plans to leave Rwanda on June 4 to begin living in Wheaton, Illinois. It is very difficult to say good bye to Africa’s Great Lakes after 19 years. We hope this call is only temporary. May God’s glory be the utmost through this transition.

Imana ikurinde (May God Stay with All of You),
Dave and Jana

P.S.  To read more about Mugisha’s transitions see http://focus.rw/wp/2012/04/mugisha-is-good/
 and http://jenkinsinrwanda.blogspot.com/2012/04/goodbye-mugisha-welcome-home-mugisha.html



--
Dave Jenkins

B.P. 6612,

Kigali, Rwanda, Africa

In support of World Outreach week, we have packing times reserved EVERY DAY next week. Starting on April 15th and going through April 21st, we have a time each day.

Mon, April 16, 2012    6:00 PM - 7:30 PM  
Tue, April 17, 2012    9:30 AM - 11:30 AM   
Wed, April 18, 2012    12:00 PM - 2:00 PM    
Thu, April 19, 2012    6:00 PM - 7:30 PM   
Fri, April 20, 2012    8:00 PM - 9:30 PM   
Sat, April 21, 2012    9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Please go here to sign up if you are willing and able to join us for any (or all!) of these or any future times you'd like to volunteer.

Thanks,
Josh Watczak

Thanksgiving
During the past month we have enjoyed facilitating several stimulating conversations. On February 29th we hosted a Paideia Forum on Marriage and the Common Good. This timely panel discussion brought together University faculty and students as well as local pastors and lay people. On Tuesday, March 27th we hosted a smaller crowd for a discussion on International Development.
 
We were also very blessed to welcome Fr. Robert Spitzer for a lecture and dinner/conversation on medical ethics. We sense that we are gaining traction in our relationships with key people in the medical school and medical community locally. This is very exciting and encouraging (but we still have much to do!).
 
MacLaurinCSF staff enjoyed a full-day retreat to discuss ministry strategy, our ten-year strategic plan, and fall programming. We really enjoyed spending an unhurried day together looking at some big picture and long term goals.
 
We have also been very thankful for a good deal of volunteer help during the past month. People like Ross and Barbie Anderson, Levi Langseth, Rebecca Lehmer, Katie Brown, Denise Deen, Sara Joy Proppe, and Tyler Giles have helped with events and also accomplished some work around the Center that was beyond our capacity to do. What a blessing!
 
 
Requests
Bryan Bademan, Executive Director of MacLaurinCSF, continues to refine a ten-year strategic plan for our ministry. Bryan and the trustees have a full-day retreat scheduled for Saturday, April 28th. Please be praying with us that this will be a day filled with fruitful discussion, planning, and direction-setting for our ministry.
 
Our final spring alumni event is Thursday, April 19th. We are asking God for help in establishing strong connections with these former students and to integrate them into our ministry going forward.

MacLaurinCSF has a deep desire to continue reaching out to international students. Our second Graduate Student Dinner & Dialogue is scheduled for Thursday, April 26th. We are praying for the opportunity to connect with 40-45 graduate students for this event—to welcome them into our Center, show them hospitality, invite them to think about the Christian faith, and nurture an ongoing relationship.

In addition to our weekly Reading Groups, please keep these April events in prayer as well:
    • Paideia Forum - Author Meets Critic on Joshua N. Moon's Jeremiah's New Covenant, Wednesday, April 11, 2012
    • Paideia Forum - The Christian Story and the Story of the World, Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Thanks for continuing to pray for us.

Brad Dewing
MacLaurinCSF
Coordinator of Community Life

Email Brad
MacLaurincsf.org
facebook.com/bjdewing
651-324-6276