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Last weekend we had a serve day, it was the first one in a long time and will absolutely not be the last. I wanted to tell you a bit about our time!

We went to downtown Santa Ana, near the civic center, and passed out sack lunches. I learned something in those 35 minutes that it took do that. The homeless need food, yes, but more importantly they need their humanity restored. These are men and women and children who are without homes and food… they do not have to be without dignity. When we went out there it took 5 minutes to hand out 100 lunches and 30 minutes to learn that we were doing SO MUCH MORE than feeding their mouths, we got the opportunity to feed their hearts. In turn, our hearts were fed as well. It’s a beautiful thing to have a simple conversation with some one and walk away changed.

I met a man named David. He told me that he doesn’t like to be called homeless, as if it’s his identity. He said that he is without a home and is still human. He thanked us for bringing lunches but said that it’s better that we brought joy. People drop off food and leave all the time but few stay and talk. He asked if next time we might bring music. Maybe some games. Sooo… they just want to be treated like whole people? I can do that.EDL can do that. Calvary Church of Santa Ana can do that… Jesus DID that. The love of Christ was revolutionized for me after speaking with David.Loving some one is not necessarily just about digging deep and meeting their most dire needs. It’s about treating others as lovable. Love transcends circumstance, it doesn’t hone in on it. If I just clothe some one and walk away, yes they are warm but they are not loved. We have to allow our hearts to get involved. I know that it can hurt to see others suffering and sometimes it’s easier to meet the physical need and get out before your heart is affected.But that isn’t what Christ did! He invested, he involved. I want to love like that, I want the people in my life to know that I am invested in them and that my heart is attached to every word I speak.

Our next Reach Day is March 3rd. We are going back and we are going to get our hearts involved. I do hope you’ll come. If you have any ideas about Reach Days or would like to know more about what ideas we have for them then come this Sunday at 8:15 to G101! I am going to be hosting a meeting where we will get some plans and ideas in motion. If you can come early please do! I will bring donuts

Katie Mansfield

(inventor of microwave popcorn and supporter of sliced wheat bread)

Serve Day: Saturday, February 11^thfrom 10am-12pm, we will be making lunches and passing them out to the homeless in downtown Santa Ana. This is an amazing opportunity for your student to get out of their comfort zone, take their eyes of themselves for a couple hours and also enjoy time hanging out with friends in the name of serving Jesus!

Hume Registration: Sunday, February 12^th at 1:00pm. Bring a $200 deposit to secure your spot. And there will be no lottery this year…FIRST COME FIRST SERVE! The dates of Hume are July 15^th-21^st.

Summer Missions: This year our EDL Missions Team will be heading to Bucerias, Mexico! We will be partnering with La Fuente Ministries to help support their current church planting effort. We will be helping with various work projects and also hosting a Vacation Bible school for the local kids. Our goal is to help support the Bucerias Missionaries in establishing and growing their church. Our prayer is that through the efforts of our VBS and various work projects, the local people will be drawn to the church so they can be introduced to Jesus! The dates of the trip are July 1-9^th. If your student is going into their junior or senior year, they can get an application on Sunday or Wednesday. The deadline to turn in the application is February 19^th. No applications will be accepted after that date.

Edlstudents.com: Make sure you check out edlstudents.com for regular updates on what is going on in the life of our ministry and receive encouragement and updates!

Do you receive text messages from us?:  We have a software that we use to send group text messages to students, staff and parents in order to keep everyone in the loop as to what is going on and send last minute reminders. We usually send to parents any message we send to students so that you can help your student remember what is going on! If you are not receiving our text messages and you WANT to…Please email me at mbrosch@calvarylife.org with your telephone #, phone carrier (att&t, Verizon etc) and we will add you ASAP!

Come and Pray: Every Sunday morning during LifeGroups we have a group of staff volunteers and parents that spend 30 minutes praying for our students. Join us in the gym at 9:15 am and get to experience first-hand how God is moving in the lives of students.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! It is in honor to partner with you in ministry!

Melissa Brosch,
HS Director
714-973-4800 x.357 ]]> http://edlstudents.com/2012/02/1621/feed/ 0 http://edlstudents.com/2012/02/the-art-of-marriage/ http://edlstudents.com/2012/02/the-art-of-marriage/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:56:09 +0000 EDL Staff http://edlstudents.com/?p=1612

I’ve been married for almost 9 years and the biggest thing I have learned is that this thing is NO JOKE!!!! It is the hardest, awesomest (I made up that word), most challenging, most rewarding, most painful, most exhilarating thing I have experienced so far. And I am a rookie! All of this to say, the challenges of marriage and parenting can feel overwhelming to say the least! As a result, our Marriage and Family Ministry is hosting a “Marriage Weekend” to help encourage and equip YOU!!! I want to encourage you to sign up and get in on this great opportunity to learn and grow! Check out the LINK.

I showed Doug and he said, “I think we’ve just gotten an insight into what you do at home.” It’s true. I just look up videos and pictures of the cutest puppies in the world. I love cute things. Sue me!

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. Enjoy your Tuesday and smile a ton.

Katie Mansfield

 Come get to know our group and play some dodge ball. Its totally free! Click here for directions, bring your friends to make a team! See you in the GYM

So a few weeks ago Melissa had us (and by us I mean Doug, Ben, her and me) do this little exercise. We all had to spread out and do something called “downward facing dog.” Just kidding, it wasn’t a physical exercise. It was a mental one that turned into a spiritual one real quick. She had each of us fill out a timeline for 2011 using major events over the course of the year as markers. We were then encouraged to sum up our year into a single word idea. This exercise was incredibly valuable. It forced me to look back over the most difficult year of my life and recognize God’s hand in every season. Amazingly, this caused me to be thankful for the trial, for even in them our God is beautiful, generous, kind, and merciful.

He is never changing and the redemption He has for me is constantly renewing my heart. To this I have clung.

I encourage you to look back over 2011 and sum it up in one word. Look beyond the hurt or the happy and see the Christ of it all.
My word is endurance. Christ’s endurance in His endless pursuit of my heart caused me to endure the seemingly endless hurt that the world had for me. It gave me light when I felt like there was none, provided comfort in the loneliest of places, and brought about joy even when all felt lost.

So, think about your word, find God in 2011 and recognize Him for it. Thank Him for His sovereignty and blessings and redemption. Share your word with us! Put it on Facebook, respond in a comment on this post, tell some one tonight at EDL. Whatever you do, share your heart with your friends and let them know how God was working in your life in 2011.

I fully anticipate you all continuing on in your typical fashion of awesomeness.
–Katie Mansfield
(I have a song in my heart… it’s probably sung by Celine Dion.)