Huddle number 7- Woodbridge HS

You know the show The Price Is Right? I'm going to ask you some questions to gauge your heart...

              How much would you pay for your favorite pair of jeans?  Would you pay $500,000 to bail a close friend or loved one out of jail? How 'bout $10 million to spare someone you loved the death penalty? Would you pay $1 billion to get to heaven?

So began Josh's talk at FCA earlier this afternoon--but only after he and his nine-year-old friend JoeJoe did some amazing break dancing for the FCA crowd.  Josh was unbelievable (check out a video @ www.breakn4christ.com), and then there was JoeJoe doing--among other incredible moves--a hands-free cartwheel: he used his head instead of his hands!

We understand in our court system that there are consequences for our wrong actions, and we expect justice to be done. God is no different: there are consequences for our sin and justice must be done. Every human being has broken the law (Romans 3:23), and that sin separates from God and keeps us from being in relationship with Him. That's the bad news that we need to hear before we can hear this good news: if we acknowledge our sin, repent/turn from it, and trust in Jesus--who suffered on the cross the consequences for our sin--as our Savior and serve Him as our Lord, we will enjoy for eternity a relationship with our heavenly Father.

At the altar call, there was no closing eyes or bowing heads: this was an opportunity for students to make a public stand of their need for Jesus and their desire to live with Him as Lord of their life. That's a tough assignment!  "What will people think?" Josh addressed that when he said, If you were drowning in the ocean, you wouldn't care what people thought! You'd just want to be saved!  Well, you're drowning in your sin!

God used those good words, His Spirit moved, and several students made public their decision to receive Christ or rededicate their life to Him.

We had about 100 students join us on this Monday before finals begin.  Thank you, Walton family, for hosting and thanks to Tim Avazian, Kristi Gaultiere, and Christina Moore for serving!

And thank you for praying for WHS students as they study and take tests this week--and pray, too, for them to be wise and safe during their four-day semester break.

We are at the halfway point of the school year and FCA's 2012-13 ministry on the WHS campus.  It wouldn't be happening without you!  Thank you for your faithful and generous support!

With gratitude to God for each of you!

Kris and Lisa

Break Free Ministry...   

Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free.

Huddle Number 6-Woodbridge HS

Thank you for praying for today's Huddle--and thank you for donating dollars, waters, cookies, and time. God once again blessed the students attending Huddle #6 with a special time in the WHS upper gym!

You may want to try at home the competition that opened the time together:  For each competitor, put a piece of bubble gum on a plate and then cover the gum/fill the plate with whipped cream. It's a race to see which of the competitors can eat to the piece of gum, chew it up, and blow a bubble first! Go!

After the fun, the students heard from senior Milovan Semic... who talked about worrying.

* Why is worry bad?  It's unhelpful (it accomplishes nothing: worry can't change the past or future; worry just messes up the present); it's unreasonable (God's got this!); and it'sunhealthy (gives headaches, takes away sleep).

* Worry is a learned skill; we can unlearn to worry.

* Believe that God will take care of you.  As Psalm 23:1 teaches, the Lord is the shepherd of His people, and shepherds provide, protect, guide, and correct the problems in the life of their sheep.

* The promise of Philippians 4:19 says, "My God will meet all your needs"--and Milovan pointed out that will is definitive; that needs are different from wants; and that all is totally inclusive.

* Worry means not believing that God will keep the promise of Philippians 4:19.

* Worry is a control issue: worry reveals our desire to be in control.

* Milovan took us to Jesus' words in John 10... "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me... My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (verses 14 and 27).  Key to a worry-free life, then, is knowing Jesus, listening to Jesus, and following Jesus.

* God gives us the option: Will we let Him be our shepherd?

* Philippians 4:6 -- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

*  If you have time to worry, you have time to pray. And if something is big enough to worry about, then it's big enough to pray about!

Thank you, Milovan!  Great job presenting a great message for our students as they head into finals... as they live life in 2013!

Blessings!

Kris and Lisa

Epi Garcia Shares the Significance of Christ's Blood (Picture link)

Thank you, Parents, for all your help in providing the food for the crowd of students who came on Wednesday to the January FCA Huddle.  The bleachers were full, and many kids ended up sitting on the floor along the walls!

The Huddle started with a game of "Get the Oreo in your mouth without using your hands."  These kids must practice at home, because amazingly one young man was able to do it fairly quickly!  We'll make sure he puts that on his college application:)

View Huddle pictures.
Epi Garcia, youth leader at Bethany of Sierra Madre, then took the floor to to share his testimony.   Epi grew up in LA in a home where punishment was handed out freely, but showing love was rare.   He became involed in acting and he developed a lot of his self worth from his success.   When his family uprooted and moved to Escondido, he had to leave his success and identity behind, and he fell into such deep depression that he finally decided to kill himself.  As his wrists bled, he regretted his decision and prayed that God would spare him.

Though he came so close to a pointless death, Epi went on to explain the importance and significance of Christ's death to us as sinners.  He graphically shared how the crown of thorns caused our Savior's blood to run from His head and into His eyes representing His payment for our sinful thoughts and the sins of lust we commit with our eyes; how the blood from the nails piercing Christ's hands paid the price for our sinful actions.  As Epi shared each of the ways Christ bled and died for us on the cross, the students got very quiet.  It was intense, and there were many in the bleachers who may not have thought of Christ's death this way.

Please be in prayer that those who heard how Christ suffered on their behalf will be deeply impacted by the amazing love Jesus has for them, and that those who do not know Him as Savior, will come to understand they can have a personal relationship with the God who loves them and wants them for His own!

God continues to work on Foothill's campus!  The Gospel is getting into the hearts and minds of teenagers who would never hear a message like this if they hadn't stepped into their own high school gym!

In His service,

-- 
Linda and Cherie
FCA Parent Volunteer Coordinators
Phone contact info: Linda 714-838-9000 or Cherie 714-501-5775
The dates of our remaining 2012-2013 Huddles are:
January 16
February 13 and 27
March 13 and 27
April 17
May 1, 15, 29
June 12

Andre Murillo Tackles Pain, Suffering and Salvation at the December 19th Huddl

Dear FCA Parents,

Sometimes it's really hard to describe in a simple email what we experience at an FCA Huddle, how does one explain the work of the Holy Spirit?  When we see it playing out, we too often take it for granted or shake our heads and assume we must be mistaken...read on.

Andre Murillo spoke to an audience of about 500 students yesterday.  In his humble way he shared his awkward years in high school--being the outsider until he grew in stature and talent and suddenly became interesting to the very people (girls) who ignored him for earlier.  His basketball talent got him a place on Concordia's team, but he was still just an insecure, lost kid.  One night at a party, Andre was challenged to a fight by a kid he'd never met before.  The two took it outside, and after giving a couple blows, Andre felt incredible pain and weakness.  He had been stabbed...several times!  He was rushed to the hospital where the doctors discovered his heart had been nicked.  If the knife had gone in differently, he would have been dead.  Andre's friends hailed it a miracle, but he turned to pain medication instead of the God who saved him.  When trauma after trauma hit and the pain meds could no longer mask his feeling of emptiness, he opened his Bible and finally found God!

Skipping through Exodus and Isaiah, Andre then tackled the subject of Connecticut, the pain and evil in the world--both things he personally experienced--and how he knew a loving God, but also a God of justice who demanded payment for our sin.  He explained how God sent his Son at Christmas to be born, live and die to pay the price for our sin, and how we can have hope and absolute assurance of our future in Christ.

View December 19th Huddle pictures.

What was amazing to every parent is that Andre not only gave his testimony, but also clearly explained the entire Gospel message--covering the recent tragedy and the real purpose for Christmas--in 15 minutes.  Cherie and I have been at almost every Huddle, and we've never seen this happen.  It was as if God expanded time.  We cannot explain it logically, but we simply accept the Holy Spirit has work to do on Foothill's campus, and He wanted His story to be told--all of it!!

We know there were students in the bleachers whose hearts were touched by the Gospel message.  There are many who struggle with a loving God who allows such suffering.  Please pray that these kids will find Christ and know Him as their personal Prince of Peace this Christmas season!  

Thank you so much for your support of FCA and its mission on Foothill's campus!

Merry Christmas Blessings to you all!

Linda and Cherie
FCA Parent Volunteer Coordinators
Phone contact info: Linda 714-838-9000 or Cherie 714-501-5775
The dates of our remaining 2012-2013 Huddles are:
January 16
February 13 and 27
March 13 and 27
April 17
May 1, 15, 29
June 12

Huddle Recap 12/21 Irvine High School

FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETESDear Irvine High School Parents and Students,
 Please read......
Good afternoon everyone.  I apologize for not sending out my normal Huddle Recap last week .... Thanksgiving festivities sidetracked me....ha ha, but I did want to share real briefly what an awesome huddle it was.   If you remember,  our speaker was Bryce Turi from Calvary Chapel Tustin.  Bryce is a former Irvine High graduate.  I asked Ian Proehl, one of our FCA student leaders to share about our speaker....Our last huddle went extremely well. The speaker was Bryce Turi from Calvary Chapel. He was very relatable to all high school students, especially the ones who might have a drug or alcohol problem. It was amazing hearing how he early he got into all these bad habits, such as stealing and drinking. The even more amazing part was when Bryce told us that he quit by finding Jesus. We have been having a lot of students attending the huddles this year, which is very encouraging for all the leaders. It makes me feel like we have an impact with over 200 people coming to see what we put together. Our games committee put together a few “minute-to-win-it” games which are always fun to play as well as watch. It was our first huddle this year with Jared not in attendance and I believe it went very well.

Huddle #5 December 17th-Woodbridge HS

Today's FCA Huddle began with a student's concise and strong explanation/reminder of what Christmas is all about! The gospel was clearly presented! Then came this God-glorifying testimony from  FCA friend Nathan Schwegman--and Nate has quite a story to tell.  (Ask your son/daughter... and/or read some details below.)

At the age of twenty, Nate was drunk, driving 60 mph, crashed into a wall, and broke his neck... and survived this near-fatal accident....  At age 23 he beat stage 3 cancer.... He went on to get a job, earning $4000/week and experiencing the world's idea of success in all its glamour--and emptiness...  Nate had been raised in a Christian home, yet he chose to party now and deal with God later--but, as the tragedy in Connecticut reminds us, none of us knows when we will die.

Nate heard a message that God used to get his attention:  Let go of the heaviness of life; let God lead while you sit in the passenger seat.  In this message, Nate heard love, joy, forgiveness, grace.... and welcomed Jesus as his Savior and Lord.

But being a Christian doesn't mean life is perfect or even easy.  On December 9, 2011 Nate went to the doctor with a cough he couldn't shake and an aching back.  On December 19--when he was 25 years old--he learned that he had stage 4 cancer: his lungs were filled with metastasized tumors.  If he chose no treatment, he would live between six months and a year.  If he chose treatment, he had a 3 to 4 percent chance of beating the disease.  What would you do if you had one year to live?.... 

Nate chose treatment. Even more importantly, he chose prayer: "Lord, the lashes on Your back are for healing!  Let's battle up!  Let's fight this!"  God opened doors, and Nate began a three-month clinical trial--combined with lots of prayer and his diving into the Word of God. 

On April 10 Nate was cancer free. Quoting Daniel, Nate said, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20).

As everyone bowed heads and prayed, Nate invited students to raise their hands if they need relief and healing, whatever the pain they're feeling. Several students did exactly that.

faithWONministry.com is Nate's website.  Take a look at the clothing line he has that helps him not only give more glory to God for this wonderful work of healing but also to support cancer research: "Fighting cancer with faith... one thread at a time." 

Thank you for your faithful support of FCA!  It's exciting to see God provide for the ministry through you, to see Him send great speakers, and to celebrate the ways He touches the hearts of the students who attend. Despite the crunch of last-week-before-vacation demands on students, we had about a hundred attend today.

And, thanks to the generosity of the following families, these students enjoyed pizza, water, cookies as well as Nate's powerful story:  Prock, Mellor, Haney, Hood, Gibbs, Torrey, Escalante, Coyle, Link, Moore, Klopfer, Gaultiere.

Merry Christmas!  And may you find real joy in the fact that the Lord is come!

Jared Hall, Kris Gibbs, Lisa Guest