Whatcha doing this summer?

What 'er you doing this summer? Anything along the lines of the great commission?

I got an e-mail from a KingdomBuilder who, along with 9 or 10 others, is going to teach English in China. And it got me to thinking what are others doing?

Nothing has totally solidified for me yet, so I'm still open. Below is one thing I know that is going on.

Nogales, AZ Rescue Mission
These folks totally live on what the Lord brings them...literally every day they pray and food shows up to feed homeless people.

Right now they are praying for about 10 men to show up and finish up some Drywall and other clean-up type projects. Lodging (bring your own air mattress and sleeping bag) and food are provided. The only cost would be transportation down there which everyone can share.

Christian Henderson is connected with these good folks and is leading the trip. If you are interested please contact him at xnh@lifemap.net or 431-7535.

Well either comment or e-mail me to let me know what you are doing and I'll post it on here. I think it would be encouraging for all of us to hear what us men at CalvarySLO are up to.

Men's Advance 2007

See my Tabblo>

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Jms 5:11

So many weeks prior to the Men's Advance this year I wanted to quit...to just cancel the whole thing. It felt so real, to just quit, that it would make everything so much better for everyone. I'm not being overly dramatic, this is how I really felt. It was weird...

Steve Anselm and I were praying the Thursday before the Advance and he felt the same way. All of a sudden lethargic not wanting to study for the message on Sunday morning. We both felt that if we were getting attacked this much the weekend was going to be amazing. And it was...

FRIDAY NIGHT
Friday night I spoke on 2 Kings 5 relating Naaman's story to how this weekend could go. It was an attempt to Set the Temperature or Tone for the weekend. As Anselm said the temperature that night was hot! We continued the evening by responding to the Lord in song and ended by praying for each other in groups of 3-4. It was a great start.

SATURDAY MORNING
We woke up Saturday morning to the smell of breakfast burritos. They were pretty dang amazing if you ask me. We then tried our best to keep the burritos in our stomachs while at the same time competing for some sweet prizes as platoons at Tug-O-War and Kajabi Can Can.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kajabi it's a game where you stand around in a circle with trash can(s) in the middle, hold ropes, and try to pull each other into touching the trash can. It goes last man standing style but in this case we went last team standing won. Curtis N. was a force to be reckoned with. Bryan said it best, "There seems to be force field around the trash can that keeps Curtis from touching it." He made a valiant effort, but in the end succumbed to Joey H's team, who won the screwdriver sets.

Next came the Tug-O-War. Unknowingly I put the four biggest men in Anselm's cabin and they pretty much annihilated everyone that tried to compete against them. They finally won best two out of three in the finals to win the DeWalt gloves and eye protection.

It was great to compete but we reminded the men that we ought to be competing for the heavenly prize. "I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Phil 3:14 NLT)

Next thing we did was have Bryan give us a message on being More than a Conqueror. He talked to us about John 14:16 and how the Father would send us another Helper not just after a battle but for the battle. Best take away for me was finding out comforter, another word for Helper, means coming with strength. Even though we as men will fear what the Lord calls us to do...we can be assured and even have courage that he is coming with strength to help us in our time of need.

Last thing we did Saturday morning was have some Platoon time. Most talked about what was going on in their lives and then prayed for each other. One platoon leader told me,

"each of us shared specific burdens we were carrying... It was awesome! We had a great discussion and ended in prayer. By the time we left on Sunday many burdens like self reliance, arrogance, discontentment, shame, and envy (to name a few) were left at the foot of the cross, and many men were liberated this weekend. Now, we can run the race. Now we can advance and be more than conquerors."

That pretty much sums it up right there...and that's all I have to say about that.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Most of us enjoyed the splendor that is Main Street Grill (Firestone North). For those of us that are hockey fans we enjoyed the San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings game with our ABC burger, fries, and a root beer. Then I headed back with a few folks and I for one took a nap...

While I was asleep men went mountain biking, surfing, played whiffle ball, and soccer. All kinds of activity. Next thing I know I'm awaken by shouts of laughter echoing from around the camp. See a couple of men had these shock games. Literally where the game gives you an electric shock...for all the ladies and sheepish men reading this they weren't plugged in the wall (unfortunately). I played one of the games a few times and man was it fun!

SATURDAY NIGHT
Pastor Steve Stump arrived around 6pm just in time for the grub. We had Carnitas for dinner and boy was that good. One of the guys I was eating with had spare ribs at the Grill and we had bacon for breakfast the next morning so he had the pork trifecta. I made him an honorary Filipino since the main food of the Philippines is rice and pork.

We started the evening service at around 7:30pm not knowing we'd be there for 4 hours. Yes...the men were in a 4 hour service and I'm here to tell ya it didn't feel like 4 hours to me. I was ready for 4 more. Stump taught on the story of Jonathan when he and his armor bearer took on 20 Philistines (not to be mistaken with the Philippines or the Philippians).

He talked to us about hearing God's voice when he calls us to do something amazing. He did this with 7 P's, which I can't remember all of them but some of them are: Purpose, Precarious, and such things. Sprinkled in were his testimony of being used by the Lord to lead some from Calvary Paso to smuggle tons of Bibles into China as well as many other adventures while in the service of the Lord. For me personally it was exactly what I needed to hear!

We went into our response time...after such a revelation we felt like we had to go into responding to the Lord. Then it happened, one of the men came up and confessed his sins publicly to the entire congregation. It was a beautiful thing...not prompted by anyone but the Holy Spirit. And guess what? It started a chain reaction. Men were coming up and asking for prayer, for release from captivity, one prayed to accept Jesus.

It was the most beautiful thing I've witnessed since I started helping out with Men's Ministry...heck maybe since I became a Christian! It brings tears to my eyes just remembering it. I fell face down on the concrete in worship to the Lord for all he has done and will do in each of these men's lives. I'm humbled and honored to have witnessed it.

SUNDAY MORNING
Sunday morning was surreal. It was difficult to wake up the next morning and put my mind around what happened the night before. We had some pancakes and stuff for breakfast which were also grub. Then we started our Sunday service at 9:15am to close out our time.

Steve Anselm spoke that morning...for 2 hours! And it was great. He spoke to us about knowing who our Alpha Male (Jesus) really is, about how meekly and humbly he walked on this earth as we should. He also talked to us about the fact we have an Adversary, we need to have our Armor, I think he was impressed with Stumps 7 P's but he could only come up with 5 A's.

To wrap things up we asked men to talk about what God is doing in their hearts. To be honest we stopped doing this about 4 years ago, because men tend to think this is preaching time rather sharing what God is doing in them time. This time was amazing. Many men spoke their hearts about wanting to be more than a conqueror, about wanting more of the Kingdom life. One man said, "I want to go into the heart of the enemy camp and fight!" That's it!

So to wrap things up I really feel like the enemy was after us because he didn't want men to be set free to fight him. It was so sweet to persevere though...so sweet! And my prayer is that each of you that were there whether you publicly or privately made commitments to the Lord can also persevere! What is on our dog tags can be SO true! It says, "I'm More than a Conqueror!"

I told everyone there that I would go wherever God calls me to go...not knowing if I was supposed to go with Stump or not to smuggle Bibles. Well God has called me...up the street! This Saturday I'm doing a little funeral for my neighbors sister who lost her baby. Pray that the Lord gives me the words to speak and each of them has ears to hear. I'm not sure where they are coming from faith-wise.

To everyone involved in being used of the Lord this weekend (you know who you are) thank you...from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

KingdomBuilders Ministries

Thanks for your interest in Calvary SLO KingdomBuilders, our Men's Ministry. Below are short descriptions of the areas within the ministry and who to contact if you want more info. Also, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
-Patrick Zalamea, Overseer Men's Ministry, 474-8130, mrz09@yahoo.com

FRATERNITY
Small Groups
It's all about brotherhood. We have three small groups that meet throughout the week. Check out the bulletin or calvaryslo.com for the most up to date info.

igKnight
We try to answer the questions, "What does it mean to be a man, Biblically?" and "When did I become a man?" We try to do this in a one on one setting teaching about the differences between Jesus and Adam as well as requiring each squire to serve in some capacity.

If you are interested contact Christian at 431-7535 or xnh@lifemap.net

MENtoring
We are in the process of collecting applications for men that want to meet with an Elder or Deacon for 10 weeks this summer quarter. It can be as formal or informal as you both want it to be.

If you are interested contact James at 543-8516 or james@calvaryslo.com

WtS (Worship thru Service)
This area of KingdomBuilders is very close to my heart. I've found that men love to worship God through their service (undefiled religion, feed the hungry, visit prisoners, etc). So we offer as much as we possibly can.

Ongoing you can help out one Saturday every 2 months. There are non-profit organizations that always need help moving, light construction or repair, etc. If nobody needs you the Saturday you are signed up there will be nothing to do. Just sign up with Aaron (contact below) and let him know what Saturdays are usually good for you.

Habitat for Humanities - KingdomBuilders is leading the charge to have CalvarySLO join 11 other churches to bless a family on the central coast with an affordable home. We have committed to:

1. Sign up to help build the home for at least 6 Saturdays during the build process
   
2. Sign up for 6 Saturdays to provide lunch for the workers
3. Raise $8,000 to help fund the build

If you are interested in WtS contact Aaron N. at 234-1531 or aaron.nesper@gmail.com

EVENTS
Events are one of the best ways I know to grow closer to God and other men in the church. We've done Conferences, Breakfasts, and Competitions (Marrieds vs. Singles). Of course, we also do the Men's Advance (formerly known as the retreat) every year (as the Lord leads).

If you are interested in helping out with an event or have a cool idea for one contact Josh at (951) 805-9634 or joshkru@gmail.com

FoM (FISHERS OF MEN) TEAMS
FoM Sports Teams have a vision to both grow in fellowship with each other and be a witness for Christ to the other teams. We recently completed our first Basketball season and I think we placed quite high (tied for first?).

If you are interested contact Aaron W. 440-8001 or aywise@gmail.com.

Advance 2007 Feedback

We forgot to hand these out Sunday! If you have any feedback please leave it in the comment section (you can be anonymous or be a man and put your name on it). We'd love to hear what you thought.

If you are interested in any of the things we announced during the Advance go ahead and e-mail me at moveme3@gmail.com.

Thanks men...hope to have a recap and or some pictures up soon...

HouseBuilders in Atascadero

KingdomBuilders will be HouseBuilders this summer! Not changing the name...but actually building a house.

I'm pleased to announce that KingdomBuilders WtS will join Habitat for Humanities Apostle Build program (details below) for their Atascadero Project.

I'm so excited about this opportunity for a few reasons:

1. It sounds like a kick (I sit at a desk all day)

2. We as a church can help at least one family that is struggling with the insane housing market in our county.

3. Habitat requires the family that is buying (not getting for free) the house to build it along side us and the other churches that are helping out. (What a cool testimony!)

So here are some things you need to know for now.

• Habitat through the Apostle Build is seeking 12 churches to partner with them to build the home(s) in Atascadero. (As of right now they only have 8 including us...if you know of any Church leaders in the area encourage them to join us! They can even team up to make one church...share the load.)
  
  
• CalvarySLO, in faith, has committed to donating $8,000 towards the building of one of the Atascadero homes. If you feel led go ahead and send a check to CalvarySLO, PO Box 1463, SLO, CA 93405 or drop it in the agape box with Habitat Apostle Build in the memo line. (Just as an aside there are approx. 85 men on the KindomBuilders mail list. If we average $100 each we could meet the donation plus some!)
  
  
• We've also signed up for 6 work days possibly starting in July 2007 and hopefully ending in December 2007. Like I said above we'll be able to build this home alongside the families that will be purchasing the home (at way below market value and very low interest rates). So look for this announcement coming this summer.
  
  
• Last, we've also committed to feeding workers for 6 days through the building process. You can also help with this if you know any restaurants that would donate meals or you want to coordinate one of the meals. It can be when we have CalvarySLO men there or not.
  

Ok that's it for now. I can't wait until ground breaking! Hope you are as excited as we are!



We (Aaron Nesper and I) will be keeping you updated through the blog, Constant Contact, and church announcements. Also, check out Habitat SLO's website especially the part about Apostle Build and About (so you can see what Habitat is about and how they qualify home buyers).

Marrieds vs. Singles III

Who knew that Ultimate Frisbee was such a popular "sport"? I sure didn't but there were some men who played today that were "totally into Ultimate"!

We had what seemed like 30 single men show up and to say a dozen married men showed would be generous. (Maybe we should play shuffle board next time?)

Anywhoo regardless of the fact we were outnumberd 3 to 1 the Marrieds pulled out the victory. Marrieds = 10, Singles = 7 (I think that was the official score...if not e-mail me and I'll correct it).

GAME RECAP

The game started by each side sizing each other up. Marrieds were a little worried since they were so outnumbered. So worried in fact they were asking me to play! I hate running...that's why I play Roller Hockey.

Each team kept trading touchdowns...or are they called goals? Whatever...marrieds were getting tired but kept battling while the singles just kept getting fresh legs on their team. Then came a shot in the arm by the name of Murdoch...yes Dan Murdoch came to the rescue. He was all over the field blocking passes and generally jumping 12 feet in the air to play offense or defense.

Tim Whitacre got the "Took one for the team" award this year. He made a sprawling in the air catch that we believe separated or at least severely injured his shoulder. He went to the hospital I believe...if anyone knows anything comment on the blog and let us know. Before he left we all huddled up and prayed for him (I sent a silent one up that his injury wouldn't be in vane and that Marrieds would still be victorious).

Other random memories were of Jacob and new Kyle not Lind (who I think yearn to play Ultimate professionally) basically showing they have ultimate skills. Whether it's the way they calmly pass, block, jump, catch etc or whatever they showed they play this game a little too much. Cody had some amazing catches that he didn't complete but a spectacular one that made the crowd cheer. Oh and I happened to be in the end zone (is that right) for a couple of touchdown/goals. (remember I don't run so i just kinda hung out there)

Ok I'm tired and itchy from the grass so I'm gonna sign out. Check in later as I'll post some pics that I took with Lori Thompson's camera if they came out. All in all we had a great time and I hope we all got to know someone new.

A HUGE shout out to my Talmidim (the guys I disciple) Josh Krumheuer and Aaron Nesper for totally running with this event. One of the requirements Christian Henderson and I have for igKnight Disciples is to serve in some capacity. It was sweet for me to watch these guys go for it!

Next competition? Bocci ball...think we could get some marrieds out for that?

Transitional Housing Apt - Phase I

Here we are in Phase I of the renovation project...demolition. The
CalvarySLO KingdomBuilders went to town right away as you can see
above. Matt went straight for the shower in the upper left corner. Gary
started on that wall top middle and you see his work in the upper right
corner. My son Josh got in on the action and you see a great shot of a
great deal of the demo done to the left. ... See my Tabblo>

Non-Profit Apt Demolition Day

It's official, we are going to demolish an apartment. If you don't already know this is a project KingdomBuilders has adopted to benefit the Family Care Network and it's clients. They were blessed to purchase it, in Arroyo Grande, through grants and public housing funds. It is mainly used for their Transitional Housing program which teaches 16-20 year olds coming out of Foster Care independant living skills.

The 9x30 studio apartment we are going to "love" on will be used for the Resident Advisor (RA) to live in. Check out the pics to see the current picture to see what walls we are taking down this demo day.

If you are interested in helping out please let me know. I'll e-mail you the particulars but here is a general gyst of what we are looking for:

Date: Saturday, August 26th
Location: Arroyo Grande
Bring: Sledgehammers, gloves, goggles, saws-all, wheelbarrows whatever you got
Provided: We'll provide the drinks (Gatorade, water) and LUNCH!
Men: We'd love to have 10 men to commit to be there till the job is done but we understand this is your day off so come for a morning or afternoon shift (even if you come in the afternoon come for lunch)
RSVP: I need to know if how many we are feeding/hydrating so let me know by Thurs Aug 25th if you are coming and for what shift.

Thanks men. I know this is gonna be a fun time! Here's the Tabblo pictures and before and after drawings...

See my Tabblo>

El Salvador Crew the Return

I'm going to be posting some of the quotes from the guys that went on this trip here for the next few days. Enjoy...God was tremdously glorified and worked on each of these men's hearts. Rejoice!

"It’s hard to believe I was only in El Sal for a week. There is so much opportunity down there. The people at the church in Zacatecaluca have few material possessions but they are rich in Christ! They are genuine, hospitable, and their joy and perseverance in difficult times is inspirational. God is faithful. He provides more than they hope or imagine, and it stirs my spirit to be a part of that." - Tim Romano

"We came, we saw, we came back healthy! God provided throughout the entire trip and it was so evident in everything from getting through police checkpoints without trouble to keeping us safe with all the crazy food we ate! Despite some very different labor practices like mixing cement on the ground and pounding the ground flat with cement posts, I think a lot was accomplished and the people were very encouraged. They were the most amazing people and made us all question whether we truly wanted to come back to the States or just stay down there and work. Awesome trip overall!" - Nate Watts

---------------------------------------------
Just wanted to give you KingdomBuilders the inside scoop on some CalvarySLO men who are going down to El Salvador to do some work on the church in Zacatecoluca (hope I spelled that right!) Here's the scoop:

Who: 6 men from left to right Jacob, Tim, Kevin, Howie, Nate, Brandon, Bryan

When: First week of August

What they are doing: They hope to extend the foundation and roof of the church (which is a concrete slab, tin roof, and no walls right now.) The goal is to double the size of the church right now. They will also be repairing the existing structures as well as helping to build the orphanage onsite.

How can you help: PRAY! These men will need our prayers as they experience language barriers, fatigue, and such. ALSO, please pray about supporting this effort financially. All checks sent to CalvarySLO (El Salvador in memo line) will go towards the above mentioned construction. As far as I know each of these men are paying their own way and going on their own time so the funds collected will buy concrete and other building materials.

I don't know about you but I'm excited to see what the Lord will do with these men's hearts as well as the help both for the Church in Zacatecoluca and the poor orphans that will eventually be housed on premises. This is true Worship thru Service!

Father Son Campout 2006a

This will be officially known as the Ring of Fire (you know that Johnny Cash song?). I had just finished talking about how God the Father publicly blessed his Son Jesus on two occasions; at the beginning of his ministry and towards the middle. After I was done Steve Anselm had us all speak blessings to our sons. These are the men and their boys as best as we could picture them. It was an amazing and poignant time!

... See my Tabblo>

We got home from the first Father Son Campout of the year (we might do another one depending on rain and all those kinds of considerations) and it was a blast!

Here are some highlights:

-Tent camping with our sons
-The constant danger of 3rd degree burns as boys played with the campfire
-My all meat diet all weekend long, interupted only by Steve Anselm's deep fried pancakes (they were fried in bacon fat so I figured they counted towards my diet plan)
-Our boys braving a seriously rocky trail to get to the gorge waterfall and pool
-Sat morning we talked about speaking blessing to our sons as God the Father did for Jesus...twice. Then we followed His example and with our sons on our laps except for the teenage sons we spoke a public blessing to them.
-Sun morning we learned about Trust, Obedience, and Discipline both from a father and son percpective
-Before we packed up we risked danger one more time on a trail no mother would love as it featured rocky and poison oak sheer cliffs on one side the entire time

I'm hoping to have pictures up soon check in this week...as I get them i'll post them as Tabblo's. Thanks to all the men and their sons who participated. I know God is smiling!

Men and their boys:

Frank and Gabe Martin
Mic and Kyle Weedon
Tom and Marc Hadjiyane
Steve and Nate Anselm
Tom and Justin Cook
Noah and Ollie/Xander Brehio
James and Mitchell/Daniel Rey
Albert and Mason Ybarra
Larry and Christopher Zech
George and Riley Garcia
Sean and Ryan Brennan

Great Quotes:
"I just realised there are no girls here!" Ryan Brennan with a very wry look on his face...
"Are you sponsored by Coleman?" Albert to SuperCamper Noah who epitomized the saying "Be Prepared!"

See my Tabblo>

See my Tabblo>