Why should we pray?

These last two weeks of August we will look at Why we should pray and how we should pray.

See you Sunday!!!

How to study the Bible

The next couple of weeks we will be looking at some ways to study your Bible to get the most out of it. I look forward to see you all on Sunday!!


Aug. 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st

Shupe Department – Fallon, NV VBS Mission Trip

Day 1: (Sunday July 27^th) Left San Bernardino around 8:45am. Had little ones with us and had a couple of vehicle mishaps but arrived safe and sound in Fallon around 8:15pm. Long trip, everyone is tired.

Day 2: (Monday July 28^th) First day of the VBS. Decorating went well and had no problems securing the area of the park we were going to work at. Thought we were ready but God wanted to let us know He was in control, not us. A lot of the volunteers from the local church did not arrive to help us out. 40 children “signed in” that day but the physical count was 87 going through each section. Praise be to God.

Day 3: (Tuesday July 29^th) Debriefed and changed plans to be a bit more organized. We were all prepared for a repeat of Monday but didn’t know we were competing against the local Farmer’s Market. Attendance was down to 16. We were able to give more one on one attention to those that did come.

Day 4: (Wednesday July 30^th) Began to get into a rhythm and thanked God for all that He was doing in the children and us. Got a little insight into why the attendance dropped so dramatically. In years past, the church would have a block party in conjunction with their VBS and gave away prizes and this year they had to back away from it. A lot of the kids that showed up were asking us what they were going to get for being there. When they realized we weren’t doing the party, many didn’t come back. Should we try to draw a big crowd or draw those that we can sow the Word of God into? Question for all of us. Praise God we had 23 children attend.

Day 5: (Thursday July 31^st) Last day. We rounded out the week with 27 children in attendance. The children that were there to the end sang the songs with enthusiasm and welcomed us to return next year. Their smiles warmed our hearts and we know that a piece of each of us will remain in Fallon. The families that welcomed us into their homes and took care of us while we were there may never know their impact in our lives.

Day 6: (Friday August 1^st) On the road again. Left Fallon around 9:00am and arrived back in San Bernardino at 7:30pm. 8 people + 1045 miles + 1 city = 100+ children (ages 3 to 17) exposed to the love of Jesus. Amen.

Final note: Our team was invited to return next year to do another VBS. We discussed partnering with another church and are considering including a couple of days of prayer walking and flyer distribution prior to the VBS and concluding with a block party on Saturday. We also discussed including a small construction project with the next trip or even sending a second team at a different time to do a construction project. We are considering do next years VBS two weeks after IBC’s VBS to allow a week for rest and final preparation. Hopefully, with more time to plan, more of our class will be able to participate. Finally, Josh Shupe was invited to preach a three-night revival in conjunction with the VBS. Please continue to pray for him as decides whether or not to accept the invitation.

Prayer Request

Hi all,

I don't know who has been in the loop and who hasn't so i figured I'd send this out to everyone. Please keep Tamie Miranda and her family in prayer. Her daughter, Clarissa, was admitted to Loma Linda hospital tonight. From what I understand, Clarissa sick for the last few days and now due to that she is badly dehydrated. Also, she initially wasn't responding to the medications. As I am writing this, Chris has been with them at the hospital. From what I understand, Tamie has missed the last three days of work trying to take care of Clarissa.

Second Request is for Crystal and her family. Her daughter (Kalyn?) stepped on a piece of glass and they thought they got it out. Apparently they didn't get it all out until last night (Tuesday). I'm sure we can all imagine what they're going through. Thank you all for raising each other up in prayer. Hopefully by the time this gets to everyone, I will have more (good) information.

I appreciate each and everyone of you and I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

Josh Shupe

Update on Alexis...

Ok, for those who haven't heard yet, Alexis is in the hospital at Kaiser Fontana. She woke up this morning (Mon.) not feeling good and throwing up. Amber took her to the doctor this afternoon to get her checked out. They checked her out and did a urinalysis and said she had flu like symptoms and sent them home. They were about half way home when the doctor called amber and said to come back. Her blood sugar was high. Amber got back to the doctor's office and they drew blood on Alexis and her blood sugar was 390...which is very high. Amber and her mom met with Lexi's doctor and a endocrinologist...they said they wanted to admit her. They then said that she has juvenile diabetes and will be in the hospital for around 3 days. The blood sugar did come down and they gave her 2 shots of insulin. She is not happy to be at the hospital since they were supposed to go to San Diego tomorrow for the rest of the week since Hailey is on spring break. We are doing everything we can to keep her happy and make this into a "fun" event for her. She looks fine to me but i know things are not fine inside. We are holding up ok.

At one point she looked at me and amber and said "I don't want to be sick anymore"...it was all I could do to keep from crying...I'm doing all I can to stay strong in front of her and not upset her. That is a hard thing to do when you know your little girl is sick and there is nothing you can do to help her...I think I'm over the initial shock of the events. Larry is staying with her tonight. Tammy will be there in the morning. Amber will go back after she gets off work and I will go back after work and stay the night with her Tuesday night. Thank you to all that have called and please remember to keep her in your prayers. I will send updates as often as I can.

Love

Jeremy

From Guillermo

Hi Joshua,

Thanks a lot for your hospitality and your friendship, my
wife and I enjoy very much your company.

I have a church that needs help with their VBS this summer.
The dates are flexible but may be July.

The pastor's name is Mike Jones and he is pastoring a very
small church in Round Mountain. This place is close to
Tonopah (in the middle of no-where).

Bro. Mike and his wife Tina have been faithful serving
this congregation for almost five years.

Also the Hispanic church that I am pastoring need help
with their Back Yard Bible Club. Is the same thing as a
VBS but we have it at the Park. All the children speak
English so there is no need for translators. Dates are
also flexible.

The Hispanic church is in Fallon (where I live) and we
also can do a small construction project at the
Association's building that we are remodeling.

I will let you know of more opportunities for service
so far those two are the ones that responded.

God bless, and say hi to everybody especially Barbie
and Matt.

In His service,

Guillermo