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Check out this great opportunity for service and ministry to some of the broken and hurt in our county. Click the link to find out more!
Sunday, February 24th, was dedicated to going out and bringing beauty to Bellingham. There were a number of groups that formed as well as individuals who found ways to “love on” people and our city in various ways.
Click a link to read a report:
What an amazing night! I have heard reports already from most of you that are so encouraging. Please send out a short email to “reply all” so that we can all hear what took place.
As for the group we led to the Agape House, we had an amazing experience. About 25 or 30 of us convened there and overwhelmed them (in a good way) a bit at first with such a large group.
They gave us a huge list of cleaning jobs and we accomplished them all for them! We broke into 5 or so teams that cleaned old dirty walls, vacumed, washed windows, knocked down cob webs (matt mcgary rocked this one), changed light bulbs, cleaned out fire places, dusted old window screens etc… It was so great to see families working alongside each other. Kids and parents serving together. It was a really enjoyable time for our whole group and it only took about 1 hr and 15mins to do the whole job.
The Agape house was so blessed! Mosaic kids were cleaning grubby kitchen chairs. Carson fam with Athena and kids washed walls together. Lynna and I went around washing window. My daughter was having so much fun with me.
All I can say is “transformation” is a beautiful thing. We had about 10-15 people kids and adults. We unloaded an over cluttered and packed to the ceiling attic. We built custom shelving and purchased crates to replace the myriad of boxes and bags of items. Everything was sorted and repacked. Then all the crates were placed neatly on the shelves. 3 or 4 groups of people doing different things. Outside of some logistical and mechanical setbacks it went very well and the results were drastic. It was a great time to get to know one another in a different contexts and laugh at our limited carpentry skills etc. We also had a group go and pick up and clean a couple of vans. I wasn’t with that group, but it is my understanding that it went very well. One of the cool parts of this project was that we were there alone at night and we cleaned up like we were never there. It was like a secret “Mosaic blessing taskforce”
First thing Monday a.m. I got a call from Sharron Aller of Rebound (see thank you letter below). She said that the first thing she did when she came in was to go upstairs and look at the attic. She was just gushing of how amazed she was when she saw the shelving and the crates and how orderly and neat everything was. She explained how much of a blessing it was to her and the staff to be able to go up and quickly find something that they need instead of getting frustrated and running out and purchasing a replacement. One employee joked that they wanted to move into the newly organized space.
It was wonderful to be apart of this group and see such a daunting task be taken down with such easy in just over a couple hours.
THANK YOU FROM REBOUND:
Hello Mosaic Community,
I wish I could think of a way to adequately thank you for the amazing gift you have given to Rebound. This comes at a time when I was feeling pressure from several directions, just transitioning into my position as executive director, along with the ongoing demands of programming and finding fundraising streams for the organization. The offer of help was such a tremendous blessing for our entire staff, but we felt so overextended that we couldn’t even be there to assist. The attic had become more cluttered over time with many supplies buried and temporarily “lost” to our use. The shelving project has been on hold pending funding, so the piles just got bigger and bigger, and along with that a rising sense of frustration for all of us.
When we came in on Monday morning we were astounded by the transformation. It was beyond anything we could have imagined – all the supplies in totes and on the shelves, with additional room for more!
The thinking, planning, material and actual work that went into that project were amazing gifts to us as an organization. The best part of it was the reminder that this is God’s work and he is not limited by my finite understanding of how he will provide. I came in on Monday, saw the tremendous love gift and bowed my head and thanked God for his provision. As I reflected on that I realized how in the fray of the day to day I had lost sight of God’s power and was trying to search within to figure out how God would provide for Rebound.
Once again, the love, faithfulness and sacrifice of a group of His people have helped me to regain perspective and to realize that God does provide abundantly. It is an inspiration to see the way you have become a vital part of our ministry to families by extending yourselves in such very practical ways this weekend. We feel so privileged to call you partners in this amazing work God has called us to do. Thanks so much from all of us here at Rebound.
Sharon
Sharon Aller, MA Family Studies
Executive Director
A thank you note from one of the people that was served through the CHORE program:
“Thank you to everyone involved in the Volunteer Chore Program. This week I received cleaning assistance from the Gauthier (?) family of Mosaic church. Dad Dave receives the outstanding award, as he took on bathroom duties. Mom Kelli vacuumed like nobody’s business. Milan washed all my windows, in the dark, and they look great during the daytime as well. And finally, 3-year-old Chayse had the most important job; he kept me out of the way while the others worked. Thanks to all–Catherine.”
We had 12 people who grabbed the buckets and helped out five individuals. From what I’ve been hearing from our volunteers and Josie at the Whatcom Volunteer Center, things went smoothly and the people were very happy to have the needed cleaning done. In fact one of the ladies asked if they were coming back next week.
One of the ladies had mentioned that her house was a mess so I took a team of three others and we went in prepared to do battle. Lori, Tami and Allison were the volunteers and they had that apartment in shape within the hour. The lady was so amazed at seeing her kitchen again and having her bathroom all cleaned. She seemed very happy and also was hoping that we would come back. We only had one person that didn’t answer his bell and one little old lady that was scared of Eddie’s deep voice but other than that all the jobs were done by an hour and a half.
As I look back I think that it’s amazing what little time we put in yet it had a BIG impact on all. Just goes to show that God does bless the little stuff. 
I was proud to be a part of it.
What a night we had huh? So I had a group of about 8-10, all drawn for different reasons. We spent some time praying/listening/brainstorming and came up with several ideas. We really wanted to do some “anonymous blessing.” As we chatted, 3 families came to the surface – all connected with Mosaic – who are presently in need. We decided that with the amount of people we had who were willing to go in financially and shop, we should probably pick just one family. We were wrong! Between the 6 of us, we ended up with a hoard of cash! So, we headed up to Fred Meyer with cash gifts from those who couldn’t shop, along with the cash in our wallets and some unused Fred Meyer gift cards from Christmas. We were able to bless Zaleta and her two boys with a huge lot of groceries. Two Western students – Tanya and Garrett delivered this to her (after getting info by phone from Delia) – and actually got to spend some time chatting with her in Spanish (Tanya) and playing with her two boys (Garrett). She was SUPER warm and grateful and also appreciated the visit from these two, who are considering going back!
Two other Western students and I gathered up and got a $75 visa card, a cold stone gift card, some bath bubbles and some ninja turtle outfits. We through this into a basket and delivered it to another single mom with two boys who was overjoyed!!! Ask Julie Hall for the rest of that story because it’s awesome! We also delivered a $50 gift card for Fred Meyer to the front porch of another Mosaic family. And we had a blast!!!
Also, Johnny headed out with 2 other guys (Ethan Lowe and Ryan Rotz) to Joe’s on Meridian. They picked up some nice wool socks and headed downtown. They handed out socks to some very thankful people and had some conversations outside the Horseshoe. It was great, Johnny says.
And Jason Bourne and Willow headed out to a neighbor of Jason’s house. She’s an old lady in her 90’s with an elderly son living with her as well. They’ve been on his mind because their house is in disrepair. So, they headed over to check on her. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get to her front door because the yard was so overgrown. They didn’t want to freak her out by coming to the back door in the dark. SO – they’re heading out tomorrow at 4pm to check on her and see what can be done for her and for her son.
All in all, it went awesome. And I’ve heard from people, even those who weren’t involved in the group, that they really feel this is important to the life of Mosaic. It’s great that we have things organized for people to do and it’s SO amazing to be a blessing to an organization and have a big impact in a short amount of time together. But, it can be hard to make the transition from that into bringing this kind of action to the level of our daily lives. I think our little group Sunday night showed that there truly is a lot of need all around us (as Willow shared) and it’s so easy to ignore it. But we really can do something to make a huge impact ourselves quite easily. Also – in just an hour, with a few extra bucks and some friends. I loved it.
Recently Carla, our children’s director, was talking to our kids about the need for clean water around the world. She sent this email out to us parents and wanted to share it with you along with this video from Charity Water.
Hello everyone! We did something a little out of the ordinary with your kids last Sunday, so I wanted to let you know about it.
Attached is the take-home sheet sent with your child after our meeting last week. Please review it and have a conversation with your child about what they have “decided in their heart to give!”I have attached two links below. The photo on the handout was taken by a man named Scott Harrison – founder of Charity: Water. He is challenging the minds of Americans with regards to the need for clean water around the world. The first link explains the vision behind the work being done by Scott and his partners. The second is a video I thought you’d like to see.
We’ll be having a follow up conversation with the kids on February 11th – at our next Mosaic Gathering. We will also take up an offering at that time.
I honestly didn’t expect this little challenge to be met by such a huge response by our kids! But, since they responded with genuine compassion and generosity – I want to honor that and make sure to celebrate the impact they’re having!
Thanks!
Carla Cisneros
Mosaic Kids
NOTE TO PARENTS:
This is our 2nd week talking about the Parable of the Sower. Last week we talked about how the “worries of life” keep us from believing what God has to say and living the best kind of life. Today we talked about our “desires for stuff.” To help us understand how much we have, we talked about water. We learned that 1 Billion people in the world are in need of clean water to drink. “And that ain’t right!” We don’t want our desires for stuff to keep us from doing what is right – helping those in need. Jesus said that whatever we do “unto the least of these” we do unto Him. We are asking our kids to bring in $1 from their allowance or their piggy bank to do just that! It may mean sacrificing a new toy, Baseball card, or candy bar. But, if each child is able to do so, we will be able to provide clean water for someone in Africa for 15 years! I think that’s pretty cool, and it’s something even our kids are wealthy enough to do. So, please help them participate in “One Dollar for Water.”
Mosaic Kids needs your help!
We are in need of childcare workers for the next two months. We need 6 people each week to hang out with our wonderful kids and help walk them through their activities. It’s really simple, all you have to do is show up!
I find that it’s also a great opportuinty to re-think some of our rhythms through the simple eyes of a child!
Thanks to all who signed up and helped with our kids during December and January. You made it possible for us to have a great time together! If you haven’t helped yet, we still need you! Please e-mail me at johnnyandcarla@yaho.com if you are available on one of the following dates:
February 11 & 25
and
March 11 & 25
Thanks so much!
May you be blessed as you continue to B.L.E.S.S. our community.
Carla
