Save the Date! On Saturday, April 23 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. we will be hosting our second Leesville Road Community Family Fun Day. Last year’s inaugural event was a big hit as we hosted 600-700 guests! It takes a lot of help to offer all the food, attractions, and games, so please plan to participate. Information on how to help will be coming through Life Groups in the next two weeks. If you are not in a Life Group and want to help, email Lisa Wall at lwall@cisco.com or drop a Connect Card marked “Family Fun Day Volunteer” in the offering box.

Besides being a great way to reach out and connect with people, Life Group members had great fun and fellowshipped together. Holidays are great opportunities for connecting with the community.  Some will require some more creativity but stand out more because of the effort put into.  By participating in a cultural tradition, and identifying a need or want  to meet, we allow our Savior to stand out.  It is Jesus who is to be glorified.  

Three Blind Mice finding Halloween Treats.

Cross Culture Church Life Groups

Trick or treators picking out candy!

Do you have Potential?

Here are some of the qualities we are looking for:

•   A devoted follower of Jesus.
•   Bible study is an important part of your life.
•   Love for people and group life.
•   Excited about the vision of Cross Culture Church.
•   Desire to explore and develop your gifts and talents in service to Christ.  

If you are interested in learning more email Pastor Bill at pastorbill@crossculturelife.org.

Making Peace With Your Past

This support-group study offers practical, biblically based guidance to lead adults to identify, understand, and come to terms with the feelings and problems of growing up in a dysfunctional family. This course will help adults who grew up in a home in which one of the family members had emotional needs so strong that they disrupted the development of healthy relationships. Participants will understand problems from the past and identify and remove emotional, psychological, and spiritual barriers to fellowship with God.

Shelter From The Storm: Hope for Survivors of Sexual Abuse 

This study offers biblically based guidance to lead in the understanding of devestating effects that sexual abuse has ones life.  Persons who sustain this trauma wonder if they ever can be free of the haunting memories from their past and whether they ever can feel physically, spirtually and emotionaly whole again.  This study tells the stories of many survivors and their journeys to recovery. It offers hope and healing as it examines, false beliefs, overwhelming effect of abuse on the life of survivors the process of grieving the pain and much more.  This is a highly confidential group that walks together through 13 weeks of removing walls and barriers that have kept you from the joy and peace God intended for your life. This study will examine the path to take, with Gods help to move from victim to survivor to thriver.

Jesus made this clear when he answered a lawyers’ question about which commandment is greatest and said, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart , and with all your soul , and with all your mind .’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40 (NASB) Clearly, we cannot ignore this duty.  But, what happens? If this is so important why is it that so many people in our communities feel ignored or unwanted by the church if loving our neighbor is so tied to loving our savior?  Could it be that we are forgetful, or busy, afraid, or just unsure what to do?   While part of LYND is coming together to make a larger splash in our community so that they know that as a church we love our neighbors, my hope is that it will serve to remind and excite us about putting love for neighbor into daily practice.  The “I Love My Neighbor” wristband is intended for this.  If we are going to wear it then we have a pressure to  behave like we do . 

With this in mind I want to challenge all of us at Cross Culture to make a special effort as individuals to do something for our neighbors.  Even though Bible learners will quickly understand that Jesus gives us a much broader definition of ‘neighbor,’ it seems that while we apply it in a broader sense it would be wise to also look to our neighbors next door.  I was recently caught off guard when a restaurant server noticed my wrist and asked, “Is your neighbor good to you?”  I was tongue tied because 1) it seemed like an odd question to me 2) I recently moved and haven’t met my neighbors who live beside me.  In reply, I admitted that I needed to love the people living next to me by meeting them.  So, in the next week I’m committing to baking something to take to the three apartments that share the breezeway with ours.  I don’t know if you know the people living adjacent to you, maybe you’re already friends, but I’m challenging you to do something for two households near you.  Introduce yourself if you need too, like I do, or invite someone you’ve waved too for a long time but never spent more than 5 minutes with.  You could even invite them for dinner.  If you weren’t able to participate in Love Your Neighbor Day but would like to have one of the wristbands, I’ll put them at Connection Point on Sunday morning.  You don’t have to say anything to anyone. Just, pick one up. I only ask that you will commit to doing an act of kindness for your own neighbors in the next week or two.  Wear it as reminder to live loving your neighbor.

HAITI BUCKETS OF HOPE

Thank you, church, for caring for our neighbors in Haiti.  We collected 11 Buckets of Hope which will be sent to Haiti by Baptist Men of North Carolina. Thank you, to Teressa Bays for organizing and transporting them to the collection site.  It will be too late to collect anymore on Sundays but, if anyone still wants to put one together they can deliver it themselves to Durham Memorial Baptist Church located at 133 Robbins Road, Durham, NC 27703 (919-596-7350) Monday – Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m.. The deadline is this Friday the 26th. 

There will be more opportunities to help in Haiti.

If there are any Life Groups that want to work together, the shopping list could be divided, so that one person is picking up all the buckets, and someone else may go to get the rice for example.  Just remember that the deadline is Feb. 21st to bring it to Cross Culture. 

North Carolina Baptists responded immediately after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Medical teams from NC have assisted thousands of people in Haiti and the work continues. As you have no doubt seen in news reports, the work in Haiti will not end anytime soon.  North Carolina Baptists will have many opportunities to respond in the coming days, weeks, and years.  We anticipate sending many more medical teams and construction teams for a long time.  In addition to the work going on right now we have including several important ways your church can respond to this disaster. 

The following are four things North Carolina Baptist Churches can do to help:

1.) Pray

The people of Haiti need your prayers.  We encourage all North Carolina Baptists to spend time in prayer that God will use this disaster to open doors for the Gospel to be shared with those who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Pray also for the medical teams that are in Haiti now that they would be able to serve God through their ministry to the Haitian people.

2.) “Buckets of Hope” Food Relief

North Carolina Baptists have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people devastated by the earthquake in Haiti.  NC Baptist Men are working with the Florida Baptist Convention in the “Buckets of Hope” Ministry.  In the following two pages you will find instructions on how to pack a “Bucket of Hope”.  The statewide collection deadline is Saturday, February 27.  “Buckets of Hope” will cost approximately $30 to put together.  North Carolina Baptists are encouraged to attach $5-$10 cash in a sealed envelope to the top of the “Bucket of Hope” to help offset the cost of shipping to Haiti.  (If you would like to write a check please make it to NC Baptist Men and mark it for Haiti Relief)

3.) Build a Home in Haiti

North Carolina Baptist Men are making plans for the long term recovery efforts in Haiti.  A big part of this recovery effort will be to help those left homeless after the earthquake by building new homes.  The estimated cost for these new homes is $2300.  This money will help buy the materials for the home, and with North Carolina Baptists providing the labor, many Haitian families will once again have the shelter they need.

4.) Build a Church in Haiti

In addition to many homes being destroyed in Haiti, many of our sister churches in Haiti were destroyed beyond repair.   North Carolina Baptists volunteers will have the opportunity to help rebuild these churches when the recovery efforts begin.  The estimated cost for each church rebuild is $12,000.  This money will help buy the materials for the church, and with North Carolina Baptists providing the labor, many Haitian churches will again have a place of worship. 

 Every North Carolina Baptist can have a hands-on, life changing affect upon the people of Haiti by participating in the “Buckets of Hope” ministry.

The “Buckets of Hope” is just one means by which North Carolina Baptists can fulfill the mandate of Jesus Christ to feed the hungry in the name of Jesus.

As we are reminded in Matthew 25:45, Jesus tells us, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, yet did it not to me.” (KJV)

The “Bucket of Hope” consists of a plastic five-gallon bucket packed with the specific items listed below. For approximately $30 you or your family can purchase the materials and assemble a “Bucket of Hope.” In addition, North Carolina Baptists are requested to include a $5 or $10 cash contribution placed in an envelope and attached to the lid of the bucket, to offset the cost of transporting the relief buckets to Haiti.

North Carolina Statewide Collection deadline is Saturday February 27.

The following items are to be used to pack your “Bucket of Hope”. 

Please make sure you follow the list below when packing your bucket.

2 – 5-pound bags long grain enriched rice (smaller bags totaling 10 pounds are acceptable)
1 – 48-ounce plastic bottle cooking oil
2 – 2-pound bags dry red or black beans (smaller bags totaling 4 pounds are acceptable)
1 – 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
1 – 20-ounce cylinder container of granulated white sugar (coffee service size)
2 – 1-pound boxes spaghetti noodles
1 – 40oz. plastic jar smooth peanut butter
1 – white kitchen trash can size plastic bag (which will be used to wrap the bottle of cooking oil)

*packing instructions and a link to an instructional video are on the next page.

“Buckets of Hope” Packing Instructions

1. As you pack the bucket, pray for the Haitian family that will receive the food.
2. Lay bucket on its side.
3. Place rice packages in bucket. Lay bags side-by-side and flat running in the direction of top to bottom of bucket. Gently compress the bags (without breaking them) as flat as possible to create room for other items.
4. Place bottle of oil inside a clean, unused trash bag and wrap the excess portion of the bag tightly around the bottle. (This is a precaution to protect the food items should there be leakage or a break in the bottle during transport.)
5. Lay the bottle of oil on top of the rice bags. Lay the wrapped oil container so that the bottom of the bottle is at the bottom of the bucket and is approximately in the center of the bucket.
6. Place the peanut butter jar on one side of the oil.
7. Place the cylinder of sugar on top of the wrapped oil bottle.
8. Place boxes of spaghetti noodles on the other side of the oil bottle.
9. While holding the sugar and peanut butter containers in place, stand bucket upright .
10. Place one bag of beans down along the inside of the bucket next to the peanut butter.
11. Place bag of flour on its side on top of the peanut butter, gently packing down the flour bag to clear the rim of the bucket.
12. Place second bag of beans next to the flour on top of the peanut butter.
13. Close lid on the bucket and make sure it is securely closed.
14. Place $5 to $10 cash (bills only) into a business size (#10) or smaller envelope. Seal the envelope.  Securely tape the envelope to the lid of the bucket.
15. Take the filled “Bucket of Hope” to your area collection center before February 27, 2010.

Follow this link for an instructional video on putting together your “Bucket of Hope”

http://www.ncbaptist.org/index.php?id=1670

For more information on the “Buckets of Hope” Please contact Mike Sowers msowers@ncbaptist.org or 800.395.5102 ext. 5626

For information on the North Carolina Collection locations please contact your associational office.