Good
morning Pastor, Thanks for all you are doing to keep in touch! This is so important. Do
you receive any of the Prayer bulletins from Wycliffe? There are some
interesting items to pray about as we look to the Lord to complete the
Task. The next generation will live to see beyond the fulfillment of
Vision 2025. Encouraging them to become passionately and actively
involved in the work of Bible translation now is the goal of the Next
Generation Mobilization team. Part of helping to accomplish this goal
is developing core groups of 13 to 23-year-old students in the U.S. who
are interested in missions.
Carrie Hurley, the new director for Next Generation Mobilization, is
especially looking for core groups in Central Florida to be the pilot
groups for programs the Lord leads her and her team to design. Give
thanks to God for bringing Carrie into this strategic role. Ask Him
to give her creativity to plan "outside the box."
Ask Him to raise up students in Central Florida to form pilot groups.
Praise God for young people who are wholeheartedly seeking God, growing
spiritually and remaining focused on the call He has placed on their
lives.
Ask God to identify ways that you can help bring in today's youth for
tomorrow's Bible translation work.
As you read in my last newsletter, I am about to leave for Europe to
attend our annual Field Staff Development conference in Bratislava, Slovakia.
As I have requested in the past, if you want or need to email me, please
use my Entrust email address (whollis@entrust4.org) because my Compuserve
email box will fill up quickly with spam and, more importantly, because I
cannot access my email through Compuserve while I am away. Only through my
Entrust address can I open my mail box and reply to you.
Prior to the conference I will spend about half a week at Tyndale
Theological Seminary in Amsterdam to visit a friend who is serving as
chaplain there for a year and engage in several activities in which I
will share aspects of my doctoral work on Ephesians 5:18--I will lead my
friend's study group study on sanctification, deliver a chapel message,
and meet with several profs. I will also spend a couple days in Vienna
right after arrival and just before departure.
I will leave tomorrow (Wednesday) to spend the evening with family in
Denver and then take off for Europe on Thursday. My scheduled return
date is November 21.
I would very much appreciate your prayers for a successful and
productive conference and for all others parts of my schedule, including safe
travel, good health, and fruitful visits with friends and colleagues.
Thank you very much,
Wendall Hollis
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Hello Pastor Karen and I want to wish you an early Merry Christmas. We have attached our latest Hydanus Happenings. Sorry that it has been a while since we put one out. Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. God Bless Steve & Karen Hydanus Awana Missionaries |
Praises: That God provided the people and the finances for us to serve full time.
· We are just a little bit over 70% support level.
· For the number of Churches that are interested in Awana as their
Children's Ministry.
· Being able to see the excitement folks have as they leave the
Orientation / Role Book trainings we are doing.
November 2007
AWANA CLUBS INTERNATIONAL
CALIFORNIA GOLDENWEST
LOS ANGELES, ORANGE, SAN BERNARDINO, RIVERSIDE & VENTURA COUNTIES
How Many Souls?
Hydanus Happenings
Prayer Requests
· Finding the balance between family time and the new demands of the new
full time ministry.
· Adjustment to change in what is my workweek, and how it impacts out
home life.
· That we find the right people to bring on board as Ministry Team
Members. We need to double our Ministry Team.
· Our planning as we start to put together the Training and Conference
for next year.
Time is flying in the Hydanus household. A year ago, Steve left Northrop
Grumman for the world of Awana Church Care. What word describes the
transition? Exciting!!!
EXCITING
We are blessed to have several people come on as trainers for
Orientation Training. (OT replaced the old Basic Training) Our new
trainers practiced in August and September with us, and now can teach OT
on their own. This multiplies training availability for the next year
which in turn helps more people be able to reach kids effectively,
understanding the why’s and how’s of Awana, and especially the Gospel.
PTL!
While we offer the training year round, highest demand is in August. The
plan for next year is to continue the strategy of holding regional
Orientation Trainings, increasing the number of locations so no one will
need to travel more than a half an hour. Let us know if you would like
to host one!
CONFERENCE
Exciting too was Fall Ministry Conference, held in October in Pasadena.
Pastor Alex Montoya keynoted, Mary Rice Hopkins provided music and we
had over 100 different workshops.
One of our feedback responses said it well, “It’s great seeing so many
Christians in the same place.
I’ve never seen such a giant church!”
Indeed, it is exciting to see 1300 people from 132 churches, all who
carved out time to come recharge and train to reach the boys and girls
God will bring them. As we see them we wonder, how many souls will not
be headed to Hell because of what these leaders will be doing? We
don’t and can’t know, but here are some highlights people shared with
us:
Alhambra
Our Sparks club has grown from 20+ to 32 this year with 20 newcomers and
a growing number of non-church
clubbers. We have reached out to a non-church parent last week. The
leaders helped the clubber and his parent through some difficult times
while the mom was struggling with cancer. The mom accepted Christ
and got baptized last Easter. Praise the Lord!
Highland
Last week a T&T girl, who does not attend church anywhere, received
Christ as her savior when she finished the Start Zone. I’m so thankful
that the Start Zone is laid out as a tract.
Redondo Beach
6 kids asked Christ into their hearts 2 weeks ago in my Sparks time.
Kids were very excited to get their own Bibles last week.
Valencia
First year of Awana at our church; Cubbies through T&T 117 kids, 48
volunteers. Meeting at an ice rink. God is great!
Tustin
This year our T&T club is the biggest in years. Many kids are from homes
where the Lord is not #1. We think it is going to be a fruitful year.
Looks like we hang out with some pretty shady characters!
Commander College is Coming!
More that anyone in your church the Commander holds the keys to a
successful Awana Ministry. Up until this year CC was only available in
Chicago. It is coming to the local area. For us it will be in Sacramento
January 18th to the 21st
2008. You can read more about it and register at:
www.awana.org/commandercollege
Look What God is Doing
Area Updates
Murrieta
A lot of growth, more than our current building can handle. Had to move
our JV and Varsity to another night.
Long Beach
We have children from the church neighborhood whose parents don’t come
to Awana. Some go to other churches but for some our Awana program is
the only word of God these kids get.
Riverside
Bringing my totally unchurched neighbor —helping him learn verses when
he comes over.
Lancaster
I just started this year. One of my Sparks told me he loved council
time, learning about God. It put it all in perspective to me. What a
blessing and encouragement.
From a pastor
We are new to this, but Awana has breathed new life into an old church.
Many folks like the single location for conference, and being able to be
together.
But facilities that will hold 1500 people and 30 breakout rooms do not
come easy, and the travel distance is hard for many. Our area covers
30,000 square miles. We are looking very seriously at having three
conferences next year. Pray for us as we try to work out how to meet the
needs of all of our churches.
Conference (continued)
Chinese nationals, for the most part they are here on a two year visa.
The end result is that they are here for a short time, then go back
home, and are able to spread the Good News. We heard of PHD’s,
government officials, folks from the
Communist Party, now all believers and spreading the Good News in China.
This reminds me of the story of Phillip and the
Ethiopian eunuch. One was a follower of Christ, one was not. Phillip met
him right where he was emotionally and spiritually.
He fed him directly from the Word of God. The Ethiopian was a man of
prominence, who heard the message and
believed. He then took that message home We were recently invited out to
an Awana awards ceremony, what they
called graduation, at a Chinese congregation in the heart of downtown
LA. They are reaching out to the children around their church. Many are
coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The parents, many of whom
are Chinese nationals working at UCLA Medical Center, are seeing the
changes in their children. They are coming to the church to see what is
going on. Each Sunday they share a meal, then the children have Awana
and the parents go up to have a Bible study. Many of these are also
being saved. As they are where he would have a major impact on an entire
nation. That is such a picture of what this church is doing— reaching
out not only to the kids but to the parents of those God places on the
road with them. Just as Phillip faithfully preached the Word to the
Ethiopian, they are preaching the Word to the people of China, one
person at a time. China is a country that desperately needs that
lifechanging message. Pray for this church as they are changing the
world. Pray that they keep up the good fight, and not grow weary. They
are doing great and mighty things for the Lord. It excites us to
have the privilege of helping to train & support God’s people through
Awana. God is using
this awesome ministry. Could you share in it with us? You can support us
by going to the local area web site
www.awanacgw.org and downloading a faith promise form.
Our missionary number is 244. Mail it to:
Awana Clubs International
One East Bode Road
Streamwood, IL 60107
Part of serving God is being good stewards. Postage for newsletters adds
up quickly. If you desire we can send the newsletter in digital format.
Simply email us at
SteveHy@awana.org and we will add you to our mailing list.
Steve Hydanus
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January 4, 2008
Dear Friends at CBC, I know it’s been since September since you’ve heard from us in a more personal way. Our Christmas letter took the place of the letter we would normally have written to you in November, so there’s a lot of news of a more personal nature to share with you. I made a trip to Orlando for Personnel Meetings in early October. The meetings were good for me so I could meet many of my colleagues, whom I correspond with often, face-to-face and learn how they do their jobs. Another reason I was there was to work on the curriculum for The Wycliffe Connection, the re-orientation seminar that we’ve been developing for the past couple of years. One of my lady colleagues and I did most of the work on the revision of the curriculum during these meetings, and that was a good job done! Wycliffe is expanding this program for the Financial Year 2008, which began on October 1, from the four we’ve been doing each year to 26 this year. We’ll also hold some one-day Wycliffe Connection programs that go from noon to noon with a one night stay in a hotel. Our supervisor has asked Ruth and me to be more involved in these programs since we’ve been involved in the development stage and have actually led two of them. Right in the middle of October we spent a week at Bethany Church of Sierra Madre’s annual Missions Conference. We were so thankful to be able to stay with our good friends, Peet and Barbara Gibson, who live in Pasadena . The church kept us busy with seven presentations during the week, ranging from speaking at a men’s breakfast on the 13th to sharing at Bethany Christian School ’s chapel on the 19th. In between we shared in three home meetings. Toward the end of September we received a newsy email letter from our daughter, Deborah, who lives in Illinois . It was great to hear all the news of the grandchildren as well as news about Deborah and Mark. But it ended on a bit of a sad note. Deborah said that the children were wondering when they would get to see us again! Well, that struck a chord with us; we ourselves had been thinking that it had been too long since we’d seen them, too. So, I proposed to Deborah that we come out to spend Thanksgiving with them. All the details worked out, and we spent 10 days with them during the Thanksgiving holidays. It had been almost two years since we had seen them, and all the kids had changed so much. And now Christmas has come and gone and we’re in a New Year! We had the great pleasure of spending a week around Christmas with our daughter, Pam, and her family in Central California . Of course, we’d seen them at least twice, maybe three times, this year, so their two girls hadn’t changed much. But it’s always great to see them! By partnering with us, did you know that you are a part of one of “the great Christian events of the age”? Here’s what Christian historian Mark A. Noll says in his book “Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity”: "If it were necessary to find a single turning point symbolizing the movement of Christianity from the North to the South, a good candidate might be the founding of Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1934. This organization has been the most visible promoter of Bible translation in the twentieth century. The translation of the Scriptures, in turn, may be the most enduringly significant feature of the global expansion of Christianity.” (p. 308) He goes on to say (p. 310): "…while the message of Christ that missionaries brought has been of great significance, even more important has been the message they left in the shape of vernacular Scriptures. When people hear the Word of Life in their own languages, salvation is no longer an offering from an alien culture but an offering from within the culture. For these reasons and more, the founding by William Cameron Townsend (1896-1982) of the Wycliffe Bible Translators may stand symbolically for one of the great Christian events of the age." Words can’t express our gratitude to you for your financial and prayer support over the years. May God bless you, pressed down, refilled, and overflowing in your walk with him daily.
Have
a Blessed New Year! |
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You
have our email version of the monthly letter we write,
and it does not list specific prayer requests this
time.
We have been having good talks with Chinese Lewis, mentioned in December, though, and he continues to progress in his inquiry about spiritual things. We pray for his salvation. He was here on Sunday and we had hours of deep conversation about this. To our surprise we get phonecalls every once in a while from a former student that has been silent for years. Someone will run across our phone number and "give it a try" again. And renewed opportunities have sprung up as a result. One call like that came from Venezuela , and another one came from a Pakistani friend who now lives nearby. Please pray for Mr. K., as he seems to be making headway in his spiritual searching. We often marvel at how the Lord brings to us an international friend from a place that is featured in world news. We feel humbly privileged to have personalized contact with the turmoils of the world, and our hearts reach out to people in their softened times, to share the love of Christ. |
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I think one of these days I will just admit to myself that trying to live a “normal” life over here is not something that was meant to beJ Life’s an adventure, might as well hang on and enjoy the ride right? Or freak out by all the twists and turns it makes. I have in my mind how I think life should be, even over here on the mission field, and since returning from our furlough last August, God has blown my ideas and expectations out the window. Sure there are things that Kyle and I think are important. They ARE important, things that NEED to be done, like buildings needing to be built, offices remodled, guesthouse and housing taken care of, people’s needs to be met, stability in our own home life, time for each other, our son. I could continueJ. But God has other agendas for us in the midst of the “work” for Him. Every upset that has come our way this past year, has been like another hurdle for me to jump over, hold my breath under, just waiting until life can just be “normal” again. But what IS normal? God doesn’t ask us to “weather” every storm, hold our breath and hunker down until it has passed on by us.…but to STAND UP INSIDE the storm, the challenges, the difficulties, and embrace WITH JOY the lessons He has for us in those times. “Normal” isn’t the easy life… where we slide through days, weeks even months, without a tremor to our well placed plans and expectations. Maybe normal is embracing those things that God brings daily into our lives, that challenge us to grow, step outside our comfort zones, and trust Him even when the circumstances He has placed us in don’t make sense. I want my “normal” to be accepting with joy all that God’s hand and grace decides to give me for that day. Because trials… ARE normal. I think I have a long way to go in this…but with all the changes our little family has been through this past year…one thing has never changed…His faithfulness to stand beside us all the way, and teach us wonderful lessons from all the places he decides to take us. Normal? God is… the only constant, sure, steadfast, unmovable, unchangeable, normal thing in this world. I am glad we are Standing on THAT rock, and nor our own understanding as we walk through life.
Now where did that all come from you ask? Good question.. I guess I just sat down to write you an update about our past week here and things just started coming out as I wondered what to writeJ This past week was just another mini struggle in the whole scheme of things I have been learning. My struggle this week was my dental issues continuing to get worse. I had had a root canal done while we were living in Moresby and it never fully “healed”. I struggled with headaches and jaw aches daily and little energy. Then 2 weeks after we got home the filling caved in, and the headaches were back. So I flew back to Moresby to get it fixed ( 3 weeks ago) But again it started to cave in this past week and the headaches and jaw aches continued.
SO this past week I packed up again, and headed to Goroka where a team from the States had come to minister. An American Dentist was on that team and he was seeing patients for a week who needed emergency work done. Praise the Lord!! I flew up to see him and he FINISHED the supposedly already finished root canal I had done in Moresby. ( OUCH!!!) But the headaches persisted and he didn’t know what caused them and I started to get discouraged. Along with that, no daddy for Noah, schedule all messed up, Noah getting sick, and still hoping to get some answers on things or just a FIX to the problem so I could return to normal added stress to the situation. My “flesh” just sighs and goes good grief, to be able to get in a car and DRIVE to the dentist would be so NORMAL right about now. Instead of catching a 206, trying to find a room at the guest house, chartering flights, and ultimately spending a week away from home and ministry to fix a TOOTHJ an exercise in patience and faith that God knows what He is doing was a good lesson for me. He takes care of all our needs, and provides what we need, when we need it, faithfully.
So we are all home together again. Surprisingly the headaches are starting to get better and I feel like I have more energy through the day. As we settle back into our ministry, life, and routine, again I realize ... life is going to be what God chooses it to be. He is going to take us to the places, and teach us truths about Himself that he wants us to learn. If that cant happen in the normal of daily life, and He needs to upset things a bit to refine us, however often that may be…then that is GOOD… that is NORMAL… that is GOD.
This all may seem silly coming from just a tooth problem.. but in reality it goes way back to me just learning to let go and trust God for the plans He has for my life and the life of my family and our ministry over here. If you think of it, pray with me that I would continue to grow and be FLEXIBLE to all the changes this life brings my way and that I would not long for the “normal” life I had back home. I have come to realize that this earth is not my home, PNG is not my home, even the USA is not my home. Rather HEAVEN is my home, and the different roads God takes me on to get there are going to be full of twists and turns, straight shots and narrow places. But when I GET there.. Ahhh now THAT will be what Normal is supposed to be – Praising HIS name…. Forever.
Growing with you Jen for Kyle and Noah too Pedersons PS.. a picture of Noah hunting for eggs on Easter Sunday.
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