Figs for a Cause

My friend Skipper and her husband are leading a trip to Egypt this November to work with Habitat for Humanity. The traveling group is all married couples, going to help improve some of the substandard housing in the Nile Valley region. Skipper and I went to work with Habitat in Egypt in 2009 and when she got home, her husband loved her stories so much he began to pray that they could go back one day together.

That time is near. Skipper & Preston are doing a bunch of creative things to help fundraise for their trip overseas. It costs about $2700 a person (but part of that money goes towards actually donating to Habitat to make the loans for the houses they will help build). One brainstorm Skipper had last week, as we were picking figs from my tree, was to make fig preserves to sell.

After an hour of picking we had one giant bucket of fresh figs. That night, Skipper worked her kitchen magic and made jar after jar fresh fig preserves. She came back to my house 4 days later and picked 3 more buckets full of figs to work with. Wendy & her climbed our tree to pluck every last ripe fig in 100 degree heat.

Skipper has so far cooked around 30 jars of the goods, and is selling it for $10 a jar. All the money is going towards her trip fundraising. I bought a jar and it is to die for... so yummy!!!!!

So, if you are reading this and want to purchase some, you can email her at skipper.mcwithey@yahoo.com

(pictured here, Skipper and our team standing on the roof we just built for a family in a small village in Upper Egypt.)

West Texas Vacation

In The Beginning... from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

We just returned home from a Texas-sized road trip to Marfa, Texas. Its near Big Bend country and we did a lot of scenic drives to drink up the nature. There were so much jaw-dropping beauty we were pulling over ever few bends in the road to take pics.

Anyway, it reminded me of this awesome video our church did to kick off our current Genesis sermon series. The video was filmed in the same area we vacationed in, so it's all the gorgeous views we kept enjoying... so happy vacation on your computer from watching this video!

Muslims in America

Today, some friends and I went to tour a local mosque in Austin as part of a class that works to build bridges between Muslims and Christians in America. The Imam that showed us around also prepared an excellent presentation for us about what it's like to be a Muslim. Our mutual hope was to gain greater understanding of our neighbors right here in Austin.

The intro to his presentation was a great music video put together by a Muslim COUNTRY singer! Here is the Youtube version of the video. It gives American Muslims a chance to tell you about themselves (it's similar to the "cardboard stories" video our church did this past spring). Thought yall'd enjoy learning something about the brothers & sisters that also call America "HOME!"

Book Reviews: Summer Reading

I realize its Oct 12th... but I read so much this summer that I wanted to share/recommend but never got around to posting. So, this was my summer reading list (thru Sept actually, but I think fall just officially got under way)... in short review form:

• Crossing Cultures by Patti Lane... I pick this book up our our church's summer Leadership Conference after attending the breakout session Patti taught. She shares from years of insight about how to relate cross-culturally with respect, with humility, with a learner's attitude, and in a way that glorifies Christ. Thumbs up, recommend it!
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire... I "read" this via audio-book this summer during lots of road trips. I decided on it after seeing it on the High School Required Reading List and remembering that I'd always meant to read it. I am not really good at picking up on spiritual metaphors, but I LOVED this book and all the hidden meanings and indirect commentary about the spiritual nature of humanity. In fact, loved it so much that I walked out of the play at intercession because I was so disappointed in how they had left out everything I'd love from the book so far. (don't stone me all you Wicked play lovers!) Thumbs up, recommend it (the BOOK that is)!
  
• What is the What by Dave Eggars... I grabbed this book to prepare for my summer trip to Sudan with Seed Effect. I was educated through reading not only about Sudan, the harsh civil war there, and the aftermath, but I also got to read the story of a refugee's journey in the U.S. Refugees are something new(er) on my radar and I've been trying to learn as much as I can about their lives. So, bonus-- learned about Sudan & refugees. Thumbs up, recommend it!
  
• Dreams of My Father by Barak Obama... I figured since he's our president, I probably should hear his story. I read his other book back in the spring which was a lot more about his goals and aspirations for our country's potential. This book was a portrait of his childhood, his make-up, his history (up until going to Law School). He was asked to write it after becoming the first black man to become the head of Harvard's Law Review. Its tone is pre-political and I enjoyed it! Sure, read it.
  
• Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker (see my previous full post review here.)... glowing reviews from me. Super-thumbs-up, everyone should read it!
  
• Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali... this was a re-read for me. I had first read Infidel in 2007 and was moved by the descriptions she told about the lives of women in the Muslim World. This time, I re-read the book looking at her story as the memoir of a refugee. She lived as a refugee almost her entire life, from one country to the next. Both in African countries, and the West. Her stories about refugee life alone (regardless of religion) are POWERFUL. I was glad I took the time to change lenses and receive a new kind of heartbreak from this book. Thumbs up, recommend it!
  
• Outcasts United by Warren St. John... I picked this book to help my refugee education too. Its the story of a women in a small town outside of Atlanta who started a soccer team for refugee youth. They are discriminated against, persecuted, mistrusted, and mistreated. Its a sad story, but has some hope as they overcome those obstacles. Apparently its being turned into a movie. Sub-par writing, if you ask me, but the story itself makes for your motivation to keep reading. Sure, read it.
  
• Tortured in the Name of Islam by Setaareh Shahbazz... Oh my word, this was a tough book to read. Super short, a complete personal essay about a woman who became a follower of Christ in Iran and who was ultimately imprisoned for it. It is her spoken testimony written on paper. Its rough, detailed, sad, and yet inspiring at the same time. To see how she was able to persevere and to witness Christ to her captors was amazing. Warning, she's not a writer, but her story is powerful. Thumbs up, recommend it!
  
• Christians Evangelistic Pocket Guide to Islam by Malcolm Steer... Andy's band and I read this before our trip to Turkey this September as part of our training. It's about 50 pages. Super basic. But super helpful. Boils the top issues down to a simple explanation and a simple response. Sure, read it.
  
• Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay... This was a great follow up book for me after having read Hatmaker's Interrupted in July. It picked up where she left off with what God was doing in my heart about getting more outside my comfort zone and into community and service (outside the 4 walls of the church). Our church is going through the "Tangible Kingdom Primer" as a whole church this fall, so I wanted to read the "prequel" so to speak. Thumbs up, recommend it!
  
• Muslims Next Door by Shirin Taber... I read this short practical book about how Muslims are just about everywhere in the U.S. and we should treat them with love and respect. Taber gives practical steps to help us be educated about this culture, this religion, and how we can be kind and not offensive. Sure, read it.

Nothing I would say "don't waste your time reading". Which means I guess I chose well this summer.

Rise & Shine

Andy's been writing songs for a new record (which should be out in about 6 months) and he introduced one to our church yesterday: Rise & Shine. Each fall, our church goes through a Vision Series to get everybody on the same page about our call to live on mission in the CITY & for the NATIONS. This Sunday, Matt kicked off the vision series with a challenge to us from Acts 1:8. He asked: What did a 1st century Christian look like? And do we, today, look anything like that? It was convicting and powerful.

Andy thought the message was a good fit to roll out the new song because the idea of it is-- it's time for us Christians to step up and be the hands and feet of Christ. To download a free copy of the song, click here. I am so proud of Andy. This song really resonates with my spirit and where God has me lately. But I also believe it will speak to a whole generation of Christians out there who are feeling the itch to rise & shine! I also recommend you listen to Matt's sermon: Powerful Witness of the Resurrection (click here)-- you will be stirred.

Here's the lyrics to the new song too...

Rise & Shine (by Andy Melvin)
We were once Your enemy
Now displayers of Your mercy
Called from darkness into light
To be the very hands and feet of Christ
So in the Name that saves
Let Your love ignite a flame in us

We've got rise and shine
We've got to rise and shine
The light of the world alive in us
The hope of the world alive in us
We've got to rise and shine

To you repairers of the breach
To you restorers of these broken streets
For every hungry tongue
For all injustice done beneath the sun

We've got to rise and shine
The light of the world alive in us
The hope of the world alive in us
We've got to rise and shine

For the hopeless and the weary
For the broken and the needy
For Your glory, send Your Spirit
And let it rise

Andy's "Nothing Compares" Video

I am so proud of my sweet husband, Andy Melvin... He has given his life to the service of the Church by using his talents as a musician & songwriter to lead believers in worship through song! This is a video of one of the church services at Austin Stone Community Church this summer. The song is one of Andy's originals off his most recent album, The Human Engine Waits (available on itunes). This video captures our church body in praise as we corporately sing "Nothing Compares."

Here are the lyrics...

Forgive me Lord when I rely
On anything else but Your life in mine
All the vain things I held so high
I count it as loss

Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You
Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You
And it keeps drawing me in
And it's stirring my soul to know You more

Forgetting what lies behind
I'm reaching for the prize
The upward call of Christ
I'm reaching for You

Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You
Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You
And it keeps drawing me in
And it's stirring my soul to know You more

Cause You're my hope, You're my goal
You're all I'm striving for
You're my strength and my peace
You're everything I need
Nothing compares to You

Feel free to put the video up on your blog, or Facebook, etc... you can get the embed-code off youtube.com or vimeo.com.

Want to Pray for Muslims?

Today begins an important month in the lives of Muslims around the world... today is the first day of Ramadan, the month-long fast that is one of the major traditions of Islam. From sunrise to sunset for about 30 days Muslims abstain from food, drink (even water), smoking, and sex. They do this to remember the month that Mohammad received his revelations that eventually became the Quran. Austin Stone's Make Disciples blog has posted a few updates that help explain Ramadan if you are interested in more info.

Each year, there is an organization that puts out a little prayer booklet that serves as a guide for Christians to pray for Muslims during this critical period of their year. This is website... http://www.30-days.net/ . I ordered about 50 of the booklets to be able to give out to my friends who are interested in joining me on this journey of prayer for Muslims... Do you want one? Let me know and I'll get it to ya! Its really great because it helps me have some guidance and focus for my prayers for Muslims... PLUS I get to keep the book and use it year round too.

"Small Groups" Impact Ethiopia

(pictured above, our team visits the home of a young HIV widow living on the mountain.)

On my recent trip to Ethiopia, our team got to partner with a church in the capital that is really getting things done. Not because they have these big outreach "programs" or church wide service "projects". They are reaching their city because the people, the everyday believers in their church body, are living out their faith to those in their city that are hurting, hungry, sick, unemployed, and homeless by building relationships and serving them with love.

Our team visited several different "small groups**" from this church, and each one had a different heart and different vision to serve a segment of the local population (usually unchurched people).

One "small group" we worked with told us how they heard about a group of people, infected with HIV/AIDS, that move to a mountain outside the city because of rumors there is healing water there. Many of those infected with the disease become outcasts in their families and villages, they lose their jobs along with their ability to provide for their own needs, so moving to the mountain seems like their only choice. When they move, they are not only hoping to be cured, they also just seek to disappear, believing what society tells them: they are unworthy of love, care, or help.

(pictured above, our team visited homes of several HIV/AIDS sufferers up on the mountain to hear their stories and pray with them.)

When the "small group" heard about these people, numbering around 4,000 at the time, they began to pray-- asking God how do you want us to help them? For a year all this "small group" did was pray, research the needs and situations of the people on the mountain, and BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with them. Every person in their group would go to the mountain top a few times and week and just meet the people, spend time in their homes, bring them a decent meal, listen to their stories, and love them. During that year, the "small group" even held a feast on the mountain top, where they cooked for several hundred people.

After a year of knowing and understanding those they sought to love, this "small group" banded together to try to create sustainable, tangible ways to impact and better these peoples' lives. First they started a small business in order to employ those adults battling the disease. Many of the people infected with HIV/AIDS are refused work or are too sick to keep regular jobs. So the "small group" started a jewelry making business to provide work for the HIV/AIDS friends they had made. They give each person two 3-hr shifts a week and pay them several times the average wage in the city. The "small group" taught them how to make the jewelry, they provide the supplies, and they sell the finished products at NGO bazaars, local churches and to international teams that come through the city. This is a job they can do while they are weak or strong.

(pictured above, our team visited some of the jewelry makers hard at work.)

As they started the business, they decided to rent a small house on the road to the mountain top to make it easier for the sick people to get to work. This home quickly became not only a place for their job, but also a safe place to come and hang out. Like a small community center.

Once they started this new jewelry making business, the "small group" noticed many of the people brought their kids with them to work. And the kids would just sit around. So they decided to start helping the kids too. Now, every Saturday, they hold a Kids Club where they teach music, art, sports, and English (using the Bible and Bible stories). Plus they feed the kids a healthy meal while they're there.

(pictured above, Shara & Melissa from our team taught a lesson from the Bible about Zacchaeus & Jesus to the Kids Club.)

(pictured above, Birukti & Melissa join the kids in a game of jump rope during the sports class.)

With the Kids Club underway, then the "small group" started noticing that the parents would come with the kids on Saturdays and just sit around. So they started teaching a class for the parents during the same time-- different topics each week like health classes, parenting skills, computer skills, English, and a ton of other stuff.

(pictured above, a nurse from our team taught the parents' class health tips for HIV/AIDS sufferers.)

While we were in Ethiopia, the "small group" was gearing up to implement their latest idea to serve the HIV/AIDS population on the mountain. They are starting a library where adults, kids, or families can come and check out books to practice reading and learning English.

All of this started from one "small group"-- literally a few dozen believers who knew each other from church. They are sacrificing their own money, they are spending their own time, they are using their own ideas, they are investing PERSONALLY in the lives of those they want to serve. They are not waiting for the Big Church to help, they are simply being intentional themselves. They are meeting the needs of this HIV/AIDS community together, as a band of believers who love the suffering people in their town.

It was really neat to witness and really inspiring when I think about the "small groups" in my own church. I hope we are as visionary, bold, willing, and intentional as the pockets of believers I met in Ethiopia!

** There are so many buzz words for what Stone calls "missional communities"-- like small groups, community groups, home care groups, cell groups, home groups, core groups, etc.-- but for this post, I'll just call em "small groups". What I mean by that is a group of 10-30 Christians from the church that meet together weekly, outside of a Sunday church service, to share prayer, encouragement, service, Bible, etc.

Simple Ways to Live On Mission

Check out this short article from our church's "Missional Communities Blog" called EIGHT WAYS TO EASILY BE MISSIONAL.

How to Share the Gospel

My friend Ronnie preached at church on Sunday. To hear his sermon titled "Speak the Gospel", click HERE. But afterward, he posted an article about practical tips for how to share the gospel. I copied it below, but if you wanna read it on its original blog, click HERE.

Following up on Sunday’s sermon I thought it would be helpful to write an article providing practical ways to share the gospel. We preachers spend a lot of time conveying the need to share the gospel, but we don’t always give listeners the tools to get started. Sharing the gospel does not need to be as intimidating as we make it out to be. Being someone who consistently shares the gospel does not mean we run around our workplaces heralding “turn or burn.” I hope to lay out a blue print here that will help you strategize and implement regular gospel sharing in your everyday life in a natural and seamless way.

Before we get into the “how to” of evangelism I want to stress that in order to be an evangelist in your sphere of influence, you must be intentional. I think sometimes we have romantic notions of people coming to us, falling on their face, crying for us to tell them the path of salvation, but we must remember that Christ told us to “go”, not to wait. So it is imperative that we set our hearts to do fulfill the mission that Christ has called us to. If you don’t think it’s necessary to share the gospel, forget about reading this article; read your Bible instead. But if you have a heart to see more worshipers of Christ in your places of influence, read on and think deeply about how these steps would look in your life today. I would highly encourage you to read this with pen and paper in hand, following along with these steps as we go. That way, at the end you will be all ready to hit the ground running.

Step 1: Identify the top 4 topics that come up in regular everyday conversation

This is not the time to over-spiritualize. For most of us we will have answers that look like work, family, school, types of leisure, hobbies, health, politics, relationships, TV, movies, etc. These are the things that in everyday conversation, we will talk about 99% of the time with the people we encounter. Think about those “shooting the breeze” type conversations you have with people everyday at work, your neighborhood, or on the bus. What are the topics that are normally brought up? Probably something of the types listed above. The four things that I have the most conversations about would be family, work, sports, and health.

Step 2: Divide those 4 things into smaller parts

This sounds more difficult than it really is so let me use myself as an example. Here’s how I would divide my top 4 things:

Family: Wife, children (if I had any), where I grew up, where I live now
Work: (Keep in mind I work at a church) Teaching, meetings, leadership development. When you think about it for yourself, think about those work things that regularly come up in conversation; things like clients, sales, profit, ethics, whatever work topics you discuss most.
Sports: hockey, tennis, and basketball (these are the sports I talk the most about)
Health: Working out, eating right (When I have health conversations, those two are all I got)

99% of all the conversations I have on a daily basis, whether it is with strangers, acquaintances, friends, or coworkers, involve these things to some degree.

Step 3: Pick one of the major topics you listed in step 2 and practice connecting its smaller parts to the gospel.

Again, for the sake of clarity I will use myself as an example. This is where the rubber meets the road. You’ll need to think deeply about these issues. The question you need to ask yourself is how can I connect those everyday things in my life to a gospel conversation? Think about it: if we are Christians, then every single thing in our life should relate to Christ and the gospel in some way, and our goal is to think about what that connection is, then speak it. I will use my family topic to illustrate this step. Also keep in mind there could be a myriad of transitions from each of these topics so I am just including a couple for examples.

Wife

“Yeah, my wife and I argue a lot too. Sometimes it’s really hard to get past it and let things know, but when I consider that Christ’s love for me is limitless even though I offend Him every day, it seems ridiculous that I would hold a grudge against my wife.”

Children

“It wasn’t until I had children that I fully realized the love that God has for me. Because of what Christ did for me on the cross, the Bible says that I am really a child of God and all of those feelings I have towards my children, God has towards me in even greater degree. That’s amazing!

Where I grew up

“I grew up in Detroit, MI. It’s as bad as everyone thinks. The poverty there was horrendous. When I think of the people there with no hope, very little government assistance, forgotten in a lot of ways, it’s unbelievable to think that that is a perfect physical picture of what my life was like before I came to know Jesus.”

Where I live now

“I live in south Austin, near I-35 and Slaughter. The best thing about that place is Southpark Meadows shopping center which is the largest retail area in Austin. I love to go to the Borders there and sit and read on my day off.” (This is where many will ask what you like to read) “I’ll go there and spend some time reading my Bible or some other theological book that talk about how great God is and how beautiful Christ is.”

Practice, practice, practice

Invite a Christian friend, roommate, or spouse to have mock conversations with you about the things you listed above, then practice making transitions to the gospel. There are a host of transitions from a variety of angles so get creative. This does take practice, but it will definitely give you confidence and show you how easy it is to make simple gospel-centered statements in everyday conversations.

Step 4: Next time it comes up in real conversation, make the connection!

Realistically speaking, if you do not make a mental note to make these connections, you will probably squander the opportunity. A couple of things to keep in mind here: first, BE INTENTIONAL! If you do not set your mind and heart to share the gospel then it will just fall by the wayside. Pick a couple specific people each day, pray for God to allow you a conversation, and then make the commitment to speak the gospel into their lives. Secondly, we must remember that Jesus is an offense to a lot of people. It would be misleading for me to convey that you won’t have any awkward conversations. To some we will be the aroma of death and to some we will be the aroma of life (2 Cor. 2:15-16) and which means it is important to remember that not everyone will be receptive and accommodating to the truth of Christ. But be intentional and let God do what He desires to do.

Finally, chances are in the beginning you will be much more timid and apprehensive about making the gospel transitions. Don’t get down on yourself, pray for more boldness, and live another day. God will always be faithful to provide us with opportunities.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the rest of the topics you listed

Simple as that. Think about it: if you are faithful to complete these steps, you will have a gospel presenting arsenal that targets every single one of your daily conversations! I do not want to imply that speaking the gospel is as easy as falling off a log, but it can be much simpler than we make it out to be. God is the one who saves yet we must be intentional to speak the gospel saving truth to those around us; now go out there and make disciples!

Habitat for Humanity Egypt Director in Austin

I want to invite you to help me welcome the National Director of Egypt’s Habitat for Humanity, Yousry Makar. Mr. Makar is in Austin for a short visit and we are gathering anyone interested in learning more about the spiritual climate of Egypt, poverty & development in that country, or about Habitat’s work there to join us on Thursday, May 7th, at 7pm at The Austin Stone’s church offices. We will have a Q&A for Yousry and a short informational presentation, and we hope to encourage Yousry in the work of mercy ministry in Egypt.

Habitat for Humanity—Egypt’s mission is to demonstrate the love of Jesus, practically, by helping families to gain simple, decent, healthy, afforable housing in all parts of Egypt. Last year alone, Habitat built 2,445 homes in 25 different communities across Egypt. Although the cost of an average home built by Habitat for Humanity in the U.S. is $90-100,000, the cost to complete a Habitat home in Egypt averages $1300. Many lives are touched and entire communities are impacted, both economically and spiritually.

The Austin Stone sent a team to Egypt in February 2009 to work with Habitat for Humanity. They built homes in a small village in central Egypt for a week and loved every minute. They spent time with Yousry and are eager to introduce him to more of you from Austin Stone. Here is a blog post from one of the team members describing their time with Habitat.

We encourage you to come and hear more about Habitat this Thursday (May 7th at 7pm at the church office). Bring your family, friends, community group… If you can’t come, pass this along to someone you think might enjoy it. Please RSVP to atxanna@gmail.com so we know how many snacks and drinks to have on hand (but even if you forget to RSVP, you can still come).

300 New Homeless People in Austin Tonight

Due to the massive apartment fire in St. Johns' neighborhood this afternoon, the Red Cross is reporting there are now 300 people displaced and without shelter. Although the two most common contributing factors to homelessness are (1) poverty and (2) lack of affordable housing, another frequent factor is an incident of emergency. Once a family experiences an unexpected change in their situation, they can go from housed to homeless in an instant. That is what happened today in Austin.

Because so many of you I know will be helping to serve those displaced by this catastrophe, I thought I would share with you all some MYTHS & FACTS about Homelessness in the Austin area*.

MYTH: Those in homeless situations are mostly single adult males.
FACT: Families are the fastest growing population of the homeless. 40% of all those in homeless situations are families. (And, in the U.S. at large, the average homeless person is a 10 year old girl.) Unlike homeless single adult men, homeless families are often invisible to the public eye. Homeless families often live doubled up with friends or family members or in shelters, including domestic violence shelters.

MYTH: Those in homeless situations are "street people."
FACT: Only 18% of those in homeless situations live on the streets. The majority (64%) of those in homeless situations live in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or doubled up with family or friends. 19% live in motels or rooming houses.

MYTH: Those in homeless situations are lazy and won't work.
FACT: 44% of homeless persons did paid work during the last month. Of these, 20% worked in a job lasting or expected to last at least 3 months, 25% worked at a temporary or day-labor job. Most work in minimum-wage, service, or seasonal jobs that do not pay enough to afford housing at the fair-market rate in our community.

MYTH: All those in homeless situations are poorly educated.
FACT: While lack of education and significant job training do contribute to homelessness, a health crisis, or natural disaster (or other disaster like the St. Johns' fire today) does not discriminate based on education. Many of those in homeless situations have a high school, college and even graduate degrees.

MYTH: All those in homeless situations get government assistance.
FACT: Over 40% of homeless persons are eligible for disability, but only 11% actually receive them. Most are eligible for food stamps, but only 37% receive them. Most families are eligible for welfare benefits, but only 52% receive them. Some 12% of children are denied access to school, despite federal laws.

MYTH: There are plenty of shelters to assist the homeless.
FACT: 52% of shelter requests by homeless families are estimated to have been unmet (last updated in 2001).

MYTH: Most people in homeless situations are chronically homeless.
FACT: The transitionally/situationaly homeless account for 40-50% and are homeless for 6 months or less; 70% of all those in homeless situations are homeless for less than 2 years. Others who are considered episodically homeless as they move in and out of homelessness account for 20-30% of those in homeless situations. This leaves less than 20% of all those in homeless situations who are actually chronically homeless.

(This picture is of a little girl who is homeless tonight, after the apartment fire destroyed her home. (via Matt Carter's Twitter)

MYTH: People are homeless because they want to be; they're happy that way, i.e..
FACT: The circumstances of homelessness are anything but happy. Families and children lose their homes, rooms, possessions, neighborhoods, friends, schools, pets, security, identity, self-esteem, and on and on.
-- 38% of those in homeless situations report being robbed
-- 41% of those in homeless situations report theift of their property
-- 22% of those in homeless situations report being assaulted
-- 7% of those in homeless situations report sexual assault
-- 1 of 8 women in homeless situations report being raped
-- 26% of those in homeless situations report infectious conditions
-- 46% of those in homeless situations report chronic health conditions related to their living situation and inability to access adequate healthcare
-- 69% of those in homeless situations report being arrested or harassed merely because of being homeless (i.e. they broke no law)
-- Nearly 100% of those in homeless situations report going hungry a portion fo the time they are homeless.

* From my Caritas Training Manual on Poverty & Homelessness in the Austin Area.

Who would choose these things for their life? Please reach out and help those in need as a result of the fire today. Follow @justinlopez on Twitter to get instructions for how you can volunteer, or check the facebook status' of the Austin Stone staffers, or the Stone website will have posts about it. The Red Cross is also asking for financial donations.

Sign up to volunteer collecting, organizing, and distributing donations at Ebenezer Church here.
Sign up to volunteer at Gus Garcia Rec Center (Spanish speakers / kidcare especially needed) here.

How to Help with the St. John's Fire Aftermath

If you attend the Stone, you know that we are always seeking ways to serve the St. John’s neighborhood. Today, a four-alarm fire in an apartment complex in that neighborhood has affected many families. These people are greatly in need of many everyday items that have been lost in the fire.

Donations will be accepted for these families from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday at Iglesia Centro Familiar Ebenezer. Directions are available here.

Items that are needed include:

• Canned food items
• Diapers and wipes
• Shampoo
• Soap
• Tylenol and Children’s Tylenol
• Hand sanitizer
• Feminine hygiene products
• Toothpaste and toothbrushes
• Baby formula and baby food
• Baby bottles
• Socks
• Underwear (both adult and children’s sizes)
• T-shirts (all sizes)
• Blankets

If you are able to help, please do so. Thank you.

Carboard Signs

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

The Easter service video from our church, The Austin Stone.

The Theme of Refugees

If you read my last post about getting to serve in the Sudanese Refugee School in Cairo, you'd notice I mentioned God has been developing a theme in my life since 2007... a theme of being interested in and caring about refugees.

It started when I read the personal memoir of a Somali refugee in The Netherlands (Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali). The first part of her book described her life before fleeing as a refugee. The second part of the book describes her life as a refugee in a Western country. And even after she was settled in her new country, she also served for years as a translator for other refugees. The stories she told about the lives of refugees were so crazy to hear! I literally wrote in the margin of the book several times: "If only there were refugee camps in Austin!" and "I wonder how someone in Austin could help refugees." I read several more books with similar stories and continued to highlight and underline stories about refugees and still wondered "are there refugee camps in the States I could get involved in?"

Low and behold, during our church's fall vision series they aired a video of people in our church who were "living missionally".

Synergy from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.In the video I learned that:
A) there are refugees from all over the world RIGHT HERE in Austin! and
B) that there are volunteer opportunities to serve the refugees RIGHT HERE in Austin!
WHAT?! How exciting is that!!

So, I got online and checked out Caritas to see about volunteering with their organization to help the refugees here in my city. It was so easy. I filled out the application, had an interview, took their training classes, and am about to get my first client. I am thrilled! Stay tuned for more info on serving refugees here...

Egypt Team's Garage Sale-- SATURDAY

Hi friends!I want to invite you all to come out to our Egypt Team's Garage Sale THIS SATURDAY, Dec 6th from 8am-2pm!

What: Egypt Team GARAGE SALE
Date: Saturday, Dec 6th
Time: 8am-2pm
Location: 1609 Bush Coat Lane, Austin, Tx 78754 (Jonathan Bowman's house)

In late January of 2009, I am headed to Egypt with nine gals from the Stone to serve the people there in a couple of different ways. As a team, we are each trying to raise $2500 in order to go... and this garage sale is one of our efforts to raise support. We hope that you can stop by and support us... it is a 10-family garage sale (so it should be chalk full of lots to choose from)! Every dollar helps us get one step closer to our goal, so we hope to make some good headway this weekend. If you cannot make it to the garage sale, but would still like to support our team, please email me and I will get you a donor card.

Join us in prayer this week, asking God to provide all the funds necessary for every team member to be able to go. Also, begin praying even now that God would bear fruit through our team in our efforts to serve the people of Egypt spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The things we get to participate in (service wise) are simply amazing and we are all excited to see how God moves in very tangible ways while we are there!

with Him,
anna melvin
The Team: Laura Applegath, Wendy Jo Cox, Michelle Enriquez, Cara Kyle, Melanie Kowalik, Skipper McWithey, Anna Melvin, Leticia Mosqueda, Heather Rountree, and Anita Smith

Ordinary People Post

New updated post on my other blog... a testimony of Jonathan & Lauren, partners at Stone who are preparing to move to Sudan in 2009. Picutred to the right is Jonathan, helping to baptize a new believer in Sudan on one of his trips there.

Click HERE to read the blog.

Andy's Guitar Player, Joe

Many of you might have already heard, but I wanted to record the info here for those who've missed the news in the last 24 hrs. Yesterday, Joe, Andy's guitar player, was driving home for a quick nap between the AM & PM services. He was exiting off 183 at I-35 when some sun glared in his eyes, he squinted, (must have swerved a little) refocused, thought he was gonna hit a fire hydrant, swerved to compensate, and slammed head-on into one of those tall, giant cement pillars that hold up the freeway fly-over. The wreck was bad. He is truly lucky he had on his seat belt (cuz if he'd flown through a windsheild he would have connected at 50 mph with that cement pillar). The ambulance took him to the hospital and he broke his arm pretty bad.

He officially broke his radius with a jagged fracture. They tried to reset the bone last night so his arm could at least be put in a sling until surgery. They will have to put screws and plates in his arm. Next, he dislocated (at least) a bunch of the little bones in his wrist/hand. When they reset the bones, some went back into place, but there is still some displacement b/c of swelling. And some of those little wrist bones were chipped (shattered would be too harsh to say, but definately chipped). He can move his fingers and feel them-- which is EXCELLENT NEWS! Tomorrow (Tues) at 1:30, he has a consult/dr appt with the surgeon and they will schedule his surgery probably for Wed now.

The picture above, is Joe's arm in the ER... the part under the orange is his deformed hand, the S-shaped thing in the middle is his forearm, and his real elbow is under the sheet. YU-UCK!

His car is officially totaled, according to the wrecker. And his insurance company has found a loop-hole to deny him a claim and are not paying for any of it. He had a car note, so that stinks. But after seeing the car in person, it truly is a miracle he survived, so the whole insurance/car note dilemma seem small in comparison.

Everyone please keep him in your prayers. Joe makes his living by playing guitar. So now, he's out of work, fixing to have surgery, and will have a long road of rehab. He will need his church family to come around him with love, prayer, and support.

Chick-Fil-A

I am wondering how many of you out there (who go to the Stone) have been tempted to go out and have a Chicken Biscuit yet this week? With Matt talking about it on Sunday AND putting a picture on the screen, we were all were doomed...

Andy woke me up this morning at 10:15 saying, "wanna go get breakfast with me?" (FYI, I sleept 19x later than Andy each day and he's always having to peel me out of bed after he's been working for several hours already and is ready for a break.) I sleepily replied, "okay, where?" To which he says, "I don't know...hmm...what about Chick-fil-a?" Ahhh-haaa! Subliminal advertising DOES work!

Long story short, Chick-fil-a serves up another satisfied customer. Thanks Matt-- my diet got a hiatus this morning!

Stone's New Worship Dude's Wife-- Get To Know Her

Hey all you Stoners out there reading this blog... I just wanted to introduce you to the latest addition to the ever-growing crowd of Stone staff wives: Jamie Ivey. Aaron came on staff in August, or something like that, to help share the load of worship leading with Andy. We have absolutely loved getting to know them so far... seriously good peeps and an incredible addition to the Stone.

Anywho, I just finished my latest article on my Ordinary People blog and its about Jamie. She and Aaron are bleeding hearts for the country of Haiti and would love to tell you why you should care about Haiti too. If you haven't found their blogs, yet-- check them out (Jamie and Aaron). Or you can go to my Ordinary peep blog and read more about her.

But HEADS UP-- Jamie leaves on Monday for Haiti to visit the two kids they are adopting from there (see photo above or Aaron, Jamie & their two Haitian kiddos), encourage and love on some missionary workers there, and witness first-hand the devastation left by Hurricane IKE (you think Texas got it bad... Haiti is in near shambles without a government infastructure that can help). Keep a close watch on her blog this week as she will be posting pics and updates regularly.