December Update

 

“Christmas at The Oaks” Weekend

Things are getting festive around here! Last weekend was our annual “Christmas at The Oaks” weekend, where hundreds of families from inner-city Los Angeles came up to spend the day on Saturday and Sunday.  This event is programmed by The Oaks, and thankfully we had about 150 volunteers to help us pull it off!  Because of the help of these volunteers and our own staff, we were able to offer a huge range of activities, including:

• Adventure Activities (paintball, zip line, leap of faith)
• Several holiday crafts
• A family photo booth
• Cooking classes
• Worship services
• Archery
• Hayrides
• Karaoke
• Dance Dance Revolution
• Free CAbi Clothes Shopping
• Free childcare
• Christmas movies
• A HUGE turkey dinner with all the trimmings

Jared and I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from summer camp and meeting some new families who had never been up to The Oaks before.  It is always a blessing to hear the stories of our inner-city guests and how God has changed their lives.  They have struggles and hardships (as we all do!) but it is exciting to see the hope and the joy that they now have in Christ. Many of them have come to know Christ here at The Oaks.  What a PRIVILEGE it is to be part of a ministry that God uses in such powerful ways!

Here are some photos of the weekend (first ten photos courtesy of  our friend Doug Peters from World Impact Los Angeles).

Pray for World Impact’s St. Louis Ministry

On another note, World Impact’s ministry in inner-city St. Louis can use your prayers!  Recently, thieves stole copper from the air conditioning units at the St. Louis Ministry center.  The vandalism will cost close to $200,000 to repair and replace.

The following week St. Louis was rated the most dangerous city in America.  As if to underscore this, Randy Riggs, a St. Louis missionary, sent World Impact’s president Keith Phillips the following email:

"Two people shot and killed near the center last evening in two different shootings that police think are connected. The first  was a 14-year-old boy, who was shot and killed about a block away; the second was a 20-year-old several blocks away.  They happened within 10 minutes of each other.

The week before there were shootings across the street from our missionary homes - one victim was involved with our ministry.”

Please pray for peace in St. Louis--and for safety for all who live in this community.  Pray for the World Impact staff to have peace and wisdom as they minister in this dangerous city.

Upcoming Events and Prayer Requests

Please keep the following requests in your prayers!

• Provision for our Youth Ministries Director Position (for more details contact us!)
• Planning and details for our Winter Camp coming up January 15-17.
• Safe, hassle-free travel (if that is possible with two small children) for our family as we travel to Indiana for Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Meidal Family!