News From Nance
My grandmother (Mamaw) called it, “the rules of contrariness”:
Why lots of things happen all at once.
Why when one thing breaks, another breaks shortly thereafter
She even blamed chewing gum on the sidewalk on the rules of contrariness.
I’m not too sure about the chewing gum, but right now, our schedules are filling up so fast it’s hard to make sure we’ll each be in the right place at the right time.
The ceiling repair is about to start while we’re preparing the Spotlight newsletter for mailing, doing Easter parties, a 5-Day Club®, a festival in Greenville, getting ready for the banquet, training a new staff member (Hannah), and attending a conference at the Ark Encounter.
The conference, March 16-18, is called “Children in Crisis” and is sponsored by CEF of Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia. Many partner ministries will be there with teaching sessions for us to attend.
Amazingly, we were able to schedule the ceiling repair while Pat and I are out of the building at the conference and Rachel is in Greece on a field trip. Which proves that God can over-ride the “rules of contrariness.” But you already knew that!
Thanks to many of you, we finished January and February in the black, which is always a huge blessing and encouragement. Another encouragement is hearing about children being saved in the ongoing Good News Clubs as well as groups showing interest in more clubs in the fall.
As we schedule summer ministries, we ask for your prayers for wisdom, boldness, opportunities, and energy. Thank you for partnering with us to reach the children of the Miami Valley.
Rachel’s Report
A little while ago, we mailed letters to local church pastors to hopefully spark their interest in getting involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship®. In the 2nd half of February and into March, we have been trying to follow-up on those letters with a phone call (or voicemail) or email. One pastor I called remembered the letter and was excited about doing a Good News Club for a school near his church in Huber Heights. After discussing it further, the plan is for the church to do a 6-week Good News Club at Monticello Elementary School in Huber Heights starting in the middle of April. Next year, their plan is to do GNCs at Monticello and Rushmore. I’m working with the school administration right now to request use of the school building after-school. Assuming nothing falls through, this will be the first GNC™ in the Huber Heights district in a long time! It was such an encouragement to me to see that this pastor remembered the letter, wanted to get involved, and was glad I called to follow-up. It’s awesome as well to see that their church is so eager to reach out to the community.
In the end of March and the beginning of April, we’re doing Easter Party Clubs! There are four on the calendar, each at small churches. This year, our curriculum is Jesus Gives Life and Hope about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and then resurrected from the grave Himself, after dying on the cross for our sin. It’s a fun spring themed party, and of course we’re going to race to see which team can wrap an adult up in toilet paper to look like Lazarus the fastest! I’m also doing a “What’s in your Easter Basket?” presentation at a Christian daycare’s Community Easter Festival to share about the true meaning of Easter.
Praise God for:
How He is providing for us in unexpected ways
Four Easter Party Clubs scheduled
Please Pray for:
The hopeful GNC in Huber Heights: willing school admin, team training, and kids to enroll
Trust in God and good organization as I continue learning to juggle multiple projects at once
Our upcoming fundraising banquet in April