2010 Celebration Banquet - A Spirit-Filled Evening

          The 2010 Living Water Rescue Mission Celebration Banquet was held Monday evening, November 15, at the Stone Creek Event Center.  If you weren't there, you missed quite an experience!  Kerry's catered amazing Junction Steaks with mashed potatoes, green beans and salad; delicious cake was served courtesy of Randy and Tammy Obermeier; musical offerings were provided by a talented group from York College, "Psallo"; and best of all, we heard the testimonies of a number of people who came to us from the Columbus Rescue Mission to talk about how Jesus has worked in their lives to bring about new life in Him.  Wonderful evening!  It reminds me of Acts 2:42 through 43:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." 

          The Lord had already worked in those hearts to bring about His wonders and miracles, as He has worked in my own heart and the hearts of so many of us.  During the evening, an offering was taken, and the Lord provided through caring Christians an abundant provision to do His work!  Praise God!  Clearly, the people of the surrounding communities have heard and taken to heart the instruction found in 1 Timothy 6:17:

 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 

We receive this promise as a result, from verse 19:

 "In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 

Amen.

          The work continues on the mission building at 701 S. Lincoln Avenue, York, Nebraska!  Brian Weber is living in York now, off-site but working in the building every minute that he can!  Brian can work circles around anyone who's ever worked with him, and it's a blessing to see his enthusiasm and eagerness to do this work that the Lord has put into his hands!  We are thankful to God for giving Brian these gifts, and bringing him to York, Nebraska!!

          We are in the process of working on the electrical phase of the project, and will soon be hanging insulation, and then drywall, and then painting!  If you are skilled in carpentry or if you simply have a heart for the mission and are able to push a broom or hand a worker a sandwich or a bottle of water, we have a job for you!!  Come and help us get this mission ready to take in the homeless and hurting who God will send our way this winter!  Come and help us help those neighbors of ours who are maybe not homeless, but hurting all the same.  Who are our neighbors?  Luke 10:36 through 37 tells us:

 "'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' 

The expert of the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' 

Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'"

There's a New Guy In Town (Almost!)

Brian Weber, our night manager, will be moving to York this week!  He won't be living at the mission just yet - he's staying in a place off-site until the building is ready for occupancy - but he WILL be working at the Living Water Rescue Mission on a regular basis assisting with construction and clean-up.  Praise God! 

Brian will be able to help coordinate volunteers on an as-needed basis.  Please call Chaplain Dave at 402-366-7598 to set up a time to come down and work with Brian on any number of upcoming projects! 

(Brian is seen here, standing in his new apartment at LWRM!)

On another note, be sure and call in your reservations for the Living Water Rescue Mission Celebration Banquet coming up on November 15th!  Seating begins at 6 p.m. and dinner will start at 6:30 sharp!  We'll be at the Stone Creek Event Center in McCool Junction this year.  There will be delicious food catered by Kerry's, special music, and live testimonies about how God has touched peoples' lives with His grace, making over those lives into new creations.  Come and be blessed.  To make your reservations and enable us to have the right amount of food and seating, please call us at 402-362-5350. 

Update!

Things have been happenin' down at the mission in York!  Walls are getting framed up, drywall is being hung; and soon we'll have heating and a/c folks installing ductwork!  We are so thankful for your prayers and petitions for this work to continue, and we know that God is faithful to help us in the good work He has given us.  We praise Him in all His wisdom, glory, and goodness; and we thank Him for His ever-abiding love!  He is our God, and we are His people, and we love Him with all our hearts!

Chaplain Dave will be speaking at three area churches this month!  If you'd like to get in on a live, state-of-the-mission presentation, you can catch him on September 12 at 8:15 at the Benedict United Methodist Church, where Dave and Boyd Tietmeyer will speak at their community Bible study kick-off.  After that, on September 19, Dave will speak at the New Life Nazarene Church in York, at 1028 Beaver Avenue, at their 10:45 a.m. service.  Finally, on September 26, Dave will give a presentation at the Baptist Congregational Church during their 10 a.m. service. 

As for the Extreme Mission Makeover, the Lord has blessed us abundantly!  The first phase of the building, which consists of the men's dorms, offices, chapel/dining halls, and food prep area, will definitely be finished this fall!  The funds that have been raised thus far will cover renovation of the shaded area of the attached blueprint picture.  Praise the Lord! 

If you would like a tour of the mission -- either the building that we are renovating in York, or the Columbus Rescue Mission that is up and running, and is a good preview of what we'll be doing here in York -- please call Chaplain Dave (402-366-7598) or Chaplain Ted in Columbus (402-910-0131).  Also, please call if you'd like to get involved in ministry opportunities!  If you'd like to have Chaplain Dave or Chaplain Ted come and speak to your church or any groups you may be involved with, please call me, Jamie, to arrange a speaking engagement, at 402-363-8298.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Gal. 6:9)

Stromsburg VBS

Salem Lutheran, Evangelical Covenant, and United Methodist Churches of Stromsburg, NE invited Chaplain Dave to speak to the kids during their Vacation Bible School this week!  They finished up a week of learning about Jesus with a gathering complete with barbeque and music on the courthouse square lawn.  Hearts were very open to the message of the mission, and the kids and their churches greatly blessed us with their love and their offerings. 

"I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

A Letter from Chaplain Ted Pearson and Chaplain Dave Martelle

Dear Pastors and Friends of the Mission,

     We would like to partner with you in building Living Water Rescue Mission and join with us in God's Extreme Mission Makeover.  I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:3-6)

     God led us to, and provided for, the purchase of the perfect location: 701 South Lincoln Avenue, York, Nebraska (God paid CASH).  From there, He provided the engineering, all of the permits, the demolition of the interior, interior underground plumbing, free use of a 60' x 35' storage building next to the mission, some donated material, the rest at cost, donated roll-off service, donated computers, Christian electricians and a plethora of caring Christians to provide labor.

     You may be curious what God's Extreme Mission Makeover actually means, or what it is.  Let's start with the beginning, the word Extreme, God went to extreme measures to ensure our salvation, He sent His very best to save you, and I, therefore nothing but the best or Extreme will do.  Just good enough is just not good enough.  Next, let's look at the word Mission.  This term is nothing new to the Church; we have been doing outreach in the form of missions since the first century.  However, we do not need to go overseas or even out of town any more to find the need.  His Mission at LWRM is to care for the lost, the hurting, and the homeless in the name of Jesus.  Finally, we are a new creation in Christ; our souls get a Makeover.  Our God-given task is to remodel or Makeover the Mission, so God can Makeover souls.

     Extreme Mission Makeover is our new capital campaign to provide the necessary funding to remodel the Living Water Rescue Mission.  We have divided the cost of the remodel by the square footage (5100 sq. ft.), which gives us a cost of $40 per sq. ft. This is a very reasonable due to donations of time and material.  This will enable us to complete the project all at once not in phases.  Rather than a thermometer in front of the building to show God's hand, we are going to use our blueprint and shade it in as God provides.  We are praying God would help us find 5100 Christians and caring individuals to give $40.00 each.  On behalf of those who desperately need our help, I am asking you to prayerfully consider allowing us to present this need to the Church.  We would love to do a presentation to whom you deem appropriate: the board, Bible study, or the congregation.  For speaking engagements, call 402-363-8298.  To speak with Chaplain Ted, call 402-910-0131.  To speak with Chaplain Dave, call 402-366-7598. 

     Today and in the days to come, may God richly bless you and your loved ones with His presence, His provision, and His peace!

Support Beams

Next Steps

Praise God! The beams are in place, and we are ready for the next step . . . which is to tear out a portion of ceiling and deep clean the building, getting ready for FRAMING . . . we will be blessed by a group from Kansas City later this week, who is coming in to do missions work at Epworth Village and at LWRM. They will tackle this next step. Pray on warriors!