Jan12 - Macomb News

Happy New Year From Macomb!

LAST MONTH: Like many of us this time of year, December was a flurry of events as well.

YFC raised $520 for the Salvation Army kettle drive, ringing bells for them a total of 6 times!

We had great fun combining junior and senior high, when the older kids performed “The Reason for the Season” for the younger. We hosted our Annual Christmas Free Pizza Lunch, serving nearly 100 kids! We started off Christmas break with a huge pancake breakfast with many treats, candy and pancakes, bringing smiles to many! Finally we ended the year with a Teen New Years Eve Party: NYE @ YFC. We incorporated many New Year’s traditions from around the world – from Sicily, where the only pasta that should be eaten is lasagna; to Spain, eating 12 grapes for the 12 upcoming months; to the US, a kiss a midnight (the milk chocolate kind, of course).

THIS MONTH: Campus Life returns with its New Year’s Eve party on Tuesday, Jan 10th, and focusing how unlike the calendar, Jesus renews us daily, not annually. Information about Believe has been emailed out. Anyone that needs additional information should contact Lauren.

Just this past week, we hosted Finals $2.00 lunches. Wednesday: Mac & Cheese, Thursday: Tacos and Friday Pizza lunch. Delayed Start Weds was the first day of finals. We hosted pancakes on Weds until finals start – and then offered lunch. We also offered a light breakfast Thursday and Friday – so that students could come study, ask others for help – or just unwind before finals.

LAST YEAR: We had an amazing year!!! How blessed are we to make connections with so many awesome students! We have helped build relationships – between leaders & students, between junior and senior high students - among students, in general. We have had some deep talks, in depth studies and grew our prayer lives.

THIS YEAR: We look forward to keep doing what works well, trying new ideas, investigating God-sized ones. All the while, prayerfully seeking God’s wisdom and insight. We are open to whatever God wants us to do… and we know we need to hold on for the ride – because it’s going to be amazing!

YFC Macomb Tidbits

the approximate number of…

15 ... volunteers connecting with kids in a week

85 … forks used in one week

150 … kid connections in one week

160 … plates used in one week

180 … pancakes made during one pancake breakfast

576 …of drinks distributed in one month

600 …kid connections in one month

1 The One it all matters for

OUR PRAYER: This is our prayer for the coming year – we ask that you join us: We continually ask God to fill [us] with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that [we] may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with

all power according to his glorious might so that [we] may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father (Colossians 1: 9-12)

Pizza Lunch Partners

Jan 13 Industry Assembly

Jan 20 First Christian

Jan 27 Wesley UMC

Jan12 - Macomb News - photos

Jan12 - Bushnell Beat

Bushnell newsletter info for Dec.

“Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12

It was the perfect time for Bev to share her testimony with the middleschool teens. She had been helping for a couple of months now, and she was ready. As she wore some of the clothing she used to wear, which contained many places for chains to be placed and held. She told how God had helped remove some chains in her own life. She told how God had replaced those chains with love and a desire to serve Him. She then challenged the teens to let go of the chains that bound them and let Christ have 1^st place in their lives. Many teens responded. Several indicated that they wanted to trust Christ as their Savior. A couple admitted that they were not ready yet. Still others indicated their need to recomitt themselves to Christ. Praise the Lord for how He is working through not only Bev, but all of the leaders that are giving of their time to serve Him through Youth for Christ! God has place a unique bunch of volunteer leaders together to reach out to the teens in Bushnell, and I am very thankful.

Your prayers and time spent in prayer is so crucial to the open hearts and minds of the teens we reach in Bushnell. The enemy is pushed back by your prayers and God is able to reach into their lives because of your prayers and those of many others. I don't understand it all, but I do know that prayer is where revival starts. It often leads people to repentance and opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work in a person's life.

One of the ways we serve the community is to collect canned goods for the annual Christmas Basket Give-away, sponsored by the local ministerial association. A concerted effort to cover the entire town of Bushnell and Prairie City is made possible with the partnership of the local Varsity Club and FFA students at BPC high school. The Varsity Club puts out bags and collects the food in Bushnell and several students and I collect the food in Prairie City. We all help package the food at the local Rec. Center and distribute it the weekend before Christmas. Around 120 families are helped by all of the generous donations from the community.

Will you please pray for:

ñ continued vision to reach teens in Bushnell

ñ for God's spirit to convict teens and lead them toward the cross

ñ for several new students to sense the need to dig into God's Word and find His ways

ñ for the faithful volunteer leaders that are working with the teens on a daily basis

Thanks so much for your uplifting before the throne of the one and only true God!

The Rodeffer's

Upcoming events

Jan. 14 – 16 Faith Bible Camp Sr. High Retreat

Jan. 16 – nursing home visits with teens

Jan. 20-21 – YFC Volunteer Conference

Jan. 28-29 – Faith Bible Camp Jr. High Retreat

Dec11-Banquet Report

A huge thank you to all who helped to make our 20th annual banquet go so well! We so appreciate the underwriters and supporters, the staff and student speakers, the churches who donated awesome baskets, Jeff Ringenberg for coming to spend the whole day and speak at both banquets, special music by One Accord and Bushnell choir students, and of course all those who attended so that they could hear about the ministry to teens in our area and show their support for the cause of reaching teens for Christ. Above all, we thank God for His blessing upon the day!

As wonderful as the banquet was–and it was a wonderful time!–we did not reach the financial goal we had set, so please keep the important ministry of Youth for Christ in mind as you consider year-end giving and new year budget plans. God provides through the generosity of our donors. We always need and appreciate your prayer support, as well.

As Lauren mentions below in this newsletter–and you may well have heard through local media–Youth for Christ was selected as a beneficiary of the annual VIBE (Volunteers Interested in Benefitting Everyone) auction this year–and we will receive $25,000.00 in January. What a blessing! We are so thankful for this gift! It is our understanding that VIBE intends this money to be used in ways other than regular budgetary expenses, since it is a one-time gift–so we still need to raise the funds to support our ministry.

Thank you, and may you have a wonderful Christmas season–what a time to reflect upon the ultimate gift of love we have received from our heavenly Father: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Banquet Financial Results:

Gross receipts $17275

Expenses 4311

Net income $12964

Special “Thank you” video–one of our former YFC students, Derek Hammond (now a senior graphic communication major at WIU), prepared a very special video presentation for our banquet. We invite you to take a moment to watch it (it’s brief!) on our website, www.yfcwi.org; you will be glad you did!! It will move and inspire you!

More special thank yous to our sponsors:

Event Underwriters: Barsi Tax & Business Center/Copy Pack Post, Richard & Beth Ann Ferguson, Heritage Farms Grain & Dairy, Ed & Karen Kuras, Ludlum Food Mart, Bernard & Kay McCance, Gary & Lisa Ludlum, Midwest Control Products, Reusch, Butler & Associates PC, Morris & Mary Elizabeth Vos, Western Illinois Shotokan Karate & Jujitsu Clubs and Tonny Jill Williamson, D.D.S.

Meal Sponsors: First Bankers Trust Company, Charles & Wilma Hess, Gary & Nancy Kendall, Pierce Law Offices, William & Karen Poncin, Rusty’s Overhead Garage Door and Charles & Deborah Schade

Supporters: The Bike Shop, Bushnell Locker Service II, Car Care Center, Inc, Clugston-Tibbitts Funeral Homes & Monuments, Cox Construction, Dodsworth Piper Wallen Inc., Floor to Ceiling, Hy-Vee - Macomb’s Full Service Store, MidAmerica National Bank, Nelsons Clothing, Dennis & Virginia Samuelson, Schuyler State Bank, Security Lock Shop

Dec11-Financial Status

Nov. Donations $22,160

Nov Expenses $12,087

YTD Donations $45,034

YTD Expenses $50,058

YTD Shortage ($ 5,026)

(note YTD is July to Nov ‘11)

Dec11-Merry Christmas from Macomb

As we head into December, we have a strong focus on the Reason for the Season! Looking back, we had such a jam packed November, it just goes to remind us that we have so much to be thankful for. We had a great time at our Banquet – and those who were able to attend, got to see, in action, just how much we all just enjoy each other.

Blessed by VIBE

Todd and I enjoyed back-to-back banquets (sort of a double-date for the second one), attending the VIBE (Volunteers Interested in Benefitting Everyone) banquet with Michelle & Tom on Nov 19^th. As a grant recipient, I got to share our vision and passion for teens with the community. Fun tidbit: During this talk, I was able to give a “shout out” to Aaron Durant, an MHS student was working at the Forum that evening. He was so excited, I think he told ½ of Macomb High! Loving on kids – it’s what we do best!

“We have all heard the adage, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”… teens have a slightly different spin on this – “they don’t care WHAT you know, they JUST want to know you care!”

[Lauren @ VIBE Banquet]

Kassie Courson, President of VIBE, called the next day to let us know that YFC Western IL will receive a check for $25,000 (yes, 25 thousand dollars) in January to be used in 2012!!! There is one use for this money – “to directly benefit the students”. While the exact usage is still being finalized, Todd and I are excited to be able to offer scholarships for kids for CIY Believe (Jr High Program), CIY Move (Sr High program), Go MAD (Sr High) and camp scholarships. We are excited to see how God can grab hold of these kids in life-changing ways.

Fun Stuff Coming Up

YFC has signed to ring bells for the Salvation Army Kettle Drive. Dates are locations are listed below.

Please come by, visit and of course, drop something in the bucket.

 12/12 iConnect rings bells at Walmart 6-8pm

 12/13 After School Hangout ring bells at Walmart (in shifts) 3-6pm

 12/13 CLM ring bells at Walmart 6-8pm

 12/17 YFC rings bells at Hyvee 10am-12pm

Our Christmas celebrations take place on Monday, Dec 19^th for iConnect (Senior High) and Tuesday, Dec 20^th for Campus Life. Festivities include Christmas caroling, fun and food. [On Tuesday, iConnect performs Reason for the Season – a humorous look at Christmas through the eyes of Christmas symbols - for Campus Life].

The favorite Christmas celebration: FREE PIZZA LUNCH takes place the Friday before break, Dec. 16^th. Anyone interested in helping donate soda, water or desserts would be greatly appreciated.

From all of us in Macomb – we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - Lauren

Dec11-Macomb Pics

After losing the Penny Wars, Justin fulfills his obligation to be made into a Human Sundae

got to fling spoonfuls of ice cream, whipped cream, cherries and sprinkles – aiming for his mouth. …Justin said the sprinkles were the worst thing to get hit with.Sundae. Kids

The activity also provided a parallel teachable moment about how one man took the punishment for the losers (us – due to sin, not status)

Playing in the leaves just makes ya feel like a kid again!

Colton sports an extra large smile while working the Altrusa fair