USC Players making an impact

Matt Barkley #7

College: University of Southern California
Position:Quarterback
Year: So.
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA

“I understand that I am playing for an Audience of One, which helps me focus on the game and not be distracted by 90,000 screaming fans. I know everything is in God’s hands and, no matter what happens, He is watching over and protecting me.”

Robbie Boyer #49

College: University of Southern California
Position: Wide Receiver
Year: R-So.
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA

 “I try my best to make the game all about worshipping Christ and praising Him for the amazing opportunities He’s blessed me with. Focusing my energy and attention on Him and His amazing power, mercy and faithfulness puts it all in perspective."

Brice Butler #19

College: University of Southern California
Position: Wide Receiver
Year: R-So.
Hometown: Norcross, GA

 “Without God, nothing is possible. John 15:5 says that whoever abides in the Lord bears much fruit, but without Him we can do nothing. Understanding that verse, I try to put away selfish desires regarding how I’m going to perform, and I ask the Lord to help me glorify Him.”

Huddle Recap 12/9/10 Mater Dei High School

Dear FCA Families,

We wanted to share with you how amazing the Huddles were on Thursday. Thank you to all the families that helped and served at FAm last week. We had about 200 students listening to the wonderful message by Josh Sheau of BreakFree Ministries.

First we want to thank all of you for your contributions of prayers, dropping off treats and serving...Cathy Sullivan, Mari Frome, Stacey Kofoed and Debi Murray; and also Kim Caskey and Elisa Larson underwriting the pizza. As always we are so glad to have the leadership of Jared and Kathleen.

As parents, we are committed to prayer and seeing students lives being changed. Thursday at the huddle, Josh share the simple truth of the gospel and the difference between religion and relationship, amongst other topics, in a powerful way. For those of us there, we go to see many raising their hands and making a commitment to a relationship with Christ. We have seen God working on the Mater Dei campus and this day was wonderful.

Lives were changed and it will be a great day to remember. We are so thankful!

Merry Christmas to you and your families.

Love, Lucy and Paula

Huddle Recap 12/9/10 Irvine High School

Good Evening FCA parents,

Here is a quick recap about our last huddle....

We had an awesome turn out, in fact, there were more kids than we actually anticipated.  We were competing with the “Food Fair” fundraiser that was going on in the main quad area during lunch.  But that didn’t keep the kids from showing up for the huddle, it was great!!

Once pizza was finished, a large match of “Ninja” was played.  I would try to explain it, but I am sure I would just confuse you more....probably best to have your kids explain  =  )

I had Sara Nordstrom write a short description of our speaker’s, Joey Fiktarz, message;

“The turn out on Thursday was awesome. We were expecting less people because of the food fair, but we had a lot of students still come to FCA .  Joey Fiktarz was our speaker.  He is the High School pastor at Voyagers church.  Joey started his talk sharing about his first year of marriage and how hard it was.  He told us it was okay that he was saying that, since he brought his wife, Sheena, to our Huddle.  He said he had her permission   : -)    Joey told us how the Bible is our instruction manual for all of our relationships.  He told us that instead of just reacting to the people in our lives, and doing what feels right to us, we can turn to our bible and learn how God wants us to respond.  God made us to be in relationships, with each other and with Him and the bible helps us to make those relationships the best they can be.  Joey encouraged us and also told us that when he trusted God’s word, it made his marriage great.  After Joey spoke, Jared made an announcement that we had free bibles to pass out to anyone that wanted one.  We ended up giving out all of the bibles and the students seemed to be very enthusiastic. ”  
In addition to having a great speaker,  Steven Johnson from Good Shepherd Church and Josh Saenz from Pacific Church came to just ‘hang’ with the kids. Also, Sheena (Joey’s wife who works in the High School group) was there to visit with the kids.  It is so awesome to see the kids approach these youth pastors to ask questions or even just visit with them.  We would love to have your youth pastor come to our huddles, so please extend them an invitation.

Jared Hall also has a FCA Blog with pictures and recaps for all of his Orange County FCA groups.  If you would like to check it out, click on this link....
Of course, our huddles could not happen with out your help....here is who stepped up to the plate this week:

• Pizza – John and Heather Searl sponsored our huddle and graciously paid for all of the pizza.  (24 XL Pizzas!!!) 

• Baked Goods were lovingly prepared by the the Alayra and Kenney families.

• Water bottles were provided by the Lee family.

• Our amazing sound system is provided by the Alayra family.

Thank you, also to the dads and moms who rolled up their sleeves during their lunch break to help serve water and pizza. We are so grateful for your help every time .

Your continued generosity will make it possible for us to be continue to provide the students with hot pizza, homemade treats and a drink... all while hearing an inspirational message.  If you are interested in sponsoring a Huddle, please contact me via email – jmnordy@cox.net  As you can see this club is growing and will only stay afloat with all of our help!   (Your financial donations are tax deductible!!) 
If you are able to donate waters or baked good on the day of the Huddle, please email me.  You can either drop them off at the school gym the day of the huddle or beforehand at my house.  If you are able to help serve these hungry students, please show up at the gym at 11:30 on the day of the Huddle.   And most of all, we ask that everyone please pray for this ministry as kids continue to come with a curiosity and a hunger for meaningful inspiration!

THANK YOU PARENTS for your support!!!    Attached are some fun pictures from the day!
Our next Huddle is Thursday, November 18th!!!   Here are the dates of all of our huddles for the rest of the year.....
1/20/11,      2/3/11,      2/17/11,      3/3/11,      3/17/11,      3/31/11,      4/14/11,      5/5/11,        5/26/11,      6/2/11
 Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!!!

Jodi Nordstrom
Michelle Cart

Huddle Recap 12/6/10 Woodbridge High School

The Picture you see below is going to be added to the Woodbridge yearbook! We have the biggest club on campus, and all the kids are hearing the word of God every week. Praise the Lord. 

Today we were honored to have Joey Fiktarz come speak to the students. Joey is currently the youth pastor at Voyagers Church and knows a number of students from the high school. He was very genuine as he spoke about relationships and having the Bible as our everyday handbook. Close to 150 students came! Lets continue to pray for this campus as the Lord is using all of us to impact our youth.

Peyton Carter Fundraiser

                                                                              

Come Support Peyton and his Family

Peyton Carter's Story

By now have heard about Peyton, the freshman at Newport Harbor HS and the car accident he was in in Huntington Beach. If you have not yet heard this story, hear it is...

Peyton was in a car crash on Friday November 5th 2010. He was a passenger in a car driving home from a friends house that night. The driver swerved and lost control of his car hitting a brick wall on Peyton's side of the car. There was no drugs or alcohol involved and it was truly an accident. He immediately went unconscious on impact and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Peyton was placed in an induced coma, and the doctors from UCI Medical Center and CHOC worked diligently to save his life.

The days following the accident were extremely difficult for those closest to Peyton. As Peyton fought for his life, those closest to him were left to pray and rely on the peace only our Heavenly Father can give. Here are some updates directly from the family....

November 10, 2010- "Peyton continues to fight for his life. On Monday the 8th, his doctors performed surgery on him to relieve some of the pressure on his brain."


November 12, 2010- "Please pray for success and stability as his body begins to experience consciousness."


November 13th, 2010- "Praise God! Your prayers are being heard and Peyton is doing well!"


November 16th, 2010- "His eyelids are moving and his eyes are twitching more each day. His team (you and me included) are encouraged."


November 18th, 2010- "God is showing up and answering prayers. Peyton is breathing on his own!" 


November 24th, 2010- "His newest accomplishments is the ability to reach down, bring his foot near and put a sock on and off his foot."


November 28th, 2010- He has taken a couple of walks with a walker! He can put on his own tee shirt! he has eaten bits of food- dining on cream of wheat this morning."


December 1st, 2010- He is doing so well so rapidly that they are going to discharge him tomorrow to go home! The hope is that he will continue to heal even faster at home with his comfortable and familiar setting not to mention regular daily life with little sister and dog.

That is just a quick glimpse into the past month in the life of Peyton Carter. Peyton has made a most miraculous recovery and all the THANKS and GLORY belongs to our Savior Jesus Christ. Lets continue to show faithfulness and pray for Peyton.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Huddle Recap of First Semester!

What a fall it has been! God continues to be faithful as we are witnessing the growth of FCA in its 4^th year of existence in the Irvine Valley. The Lord has allowed me to be on 7 campuses, with close to 10 leaders at each campus. The student leadership teams continue to be faithful in their calling, living for Jesus, and getting kids to huddles. FCA is impacting more than 1,200 students on a weekly basis across the 7 campuses. We have great support from our parent ministry teams by providing the food and, more importantly, praying for each campus. All 7 campuses have a youth pastor present at each huddle, which is key for the discipleship of new believers. I am truly thankful to be working for FCA. Thank you for your prayers!