More Indy Pix...

Well, it's been anything but quiet this week out in Indy.  A cool front passed through last night and after an awfully hot week it has turned milder and drier.  The team took the day off to rest up for week two of the trip after a busy week one.

We tore off old paneling and the some hideous ceiling tile at 1436 Montcalm as well as landscaped all around the yard.  The place is looking good on the outside and getting there on the inside.  The old garage on the back of the property was cleaned out of all kinds of odds and ends that get stored in old garages and is now gaining back some of its dignity but it still needs a lot of work.

On the Southside we cleaned out 31 Karcher.  It had been a long term rental and suffered terrible abuse.  The debris and the old stinking carpet are out of it and the walls have been scrubbed down.  Next steps include more general cleaning and then repairing and repainting the walls.  The backyard of 31 Karcher was also cleared of debris and some old fences taken down.  The yard will get some grading and raking and hopefully some grass seed this week.

Saturday night we celebrated Pentecost with a BBQ on Karcher St.  The forecast was for storms but we prayed in the morning for clear weather and by the time we started it was a beautiful Indiana summer evening.  The Indy branch, some of the Muncie Branch, the Action folks, the Christians in Mission and a contingent of Southside neighbors gathered under a big tent for a prayer meeting.  Michael Coney led the meeting and the Indy music ministry served us well.  It was a night a great praise and worship.  Along toward the end of the meeting prayer teams set up around the yard and people got prayer for more of the Holy Spirit.  It was a great evening.  CIM did a wonderful job again.

We're off and running on week two of Indy #1.  Here's a few pix courtesy of Trish Brewer.

Indy Trip #1

Barbara and Mary Brophy

Pentecost Tent Meeting on the Southside

Katherine, Caitlyn, Mary and Haidy

Gabi's Big Board - Keeping us moving!

Michael Coney welcoming everyone on the Southside

Barbara, Meghan, Kathleen, Liz, Caitlyn, Gabi, Addison, Laura and Mary

Indy Action Underway

It's day three of Indy Action Summer Trip #1.  The team is working hard in very hot conditions and doing it all in a wonderfully generous spirit.  Each time we pray together we look at another story from Acts where the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church.  We're praying for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit this Saturday at our Pentecost meeting.  Come Holy Spirit.

This week we're working on 1436 Montcalm St.  The house is slated to be the second women's campus household in the Fall.  We'll have at least 14 women living in our campus households next year in two houses.  The house was made into a duplex some years ago and this summer we're putting the two apartments back together to form a single family house once again.  Years of neglect and a whole series of quick fixes that were installed over its years as a rental need to be fixed up so the house will be ready.

Another project has been gutting a house on Karcher Street on the Southside.  This little duplex has suffered severe neglect and needs a lot of love an attention to be livable once again.  The work down on that house on Karcher is hot and dirty.  The Action folks are laboring hard to get the place cleaned out.

We're especially blessed this trip to have Jack and Haidy Busekrus with us from the Oahu branch.  These two troopers are on their second trip to Indy and just like last year, they are working hard to move things forward.  Their faith, good humor and willingness to dive into the work are an inspiration to us all.

Here's a few pictures:

John Mysliwiec and Jack Busekrus working on 1436 Montcalm

Andrea Kane and Haidy Busekrus

The project on Karcher

Paul Kane and Mike Coney on the Southside

Pentecost meeting tent on the Southside, Come Holy Spirit

Lunch on the front porch of the duplex.

The lunch crowd.

Josiah Johnson working on 1436 Montcalm.

Thank God !

All three of our campus sisters were admitted to the Nursing School at IUPUI for Fall 2011.  Thank the Lord for their hard work and for answering our prayers.  Entry into the Nursing program is very, very competitive so we're especially happy that the Lord and their hard work has opened this door for them.

I asked each of them to say something about how Campus Household living affected them in the pursuit of their academic goals and here's some of what they said:

Meghan, Annie and Cathy

Annie Putzier: Praise God for the Triangle in Indianapolis! I can not explain enough how much of an impact household and campus division life made on my success academically my first year of college. God is so faithful. Living in the campus division, we are called to learn all that the Lord has for us to learn, as well as to put out studies in common. It is definitely the case that all the nine other women I lived with this past year encouraged me and allowed me to be the best student I could be. Studies are a priority for all of us, and I am so thankful for that. I didn't have to worry about friends not understanding when I decided to spend Friday and/or Saturday nights studying, because most often they were up studying with me! And when the work load became overwhelming, there was never a lack of housemates around to pray over me and for me in my studies. I experienced God's overwhelming peace this year in whatever challenges or uncertainties I faced: a difficult class, an upcoming tests or projects, applications for jobs, the application for nursing school...whatever it was, I knew God's hand was in it, and that His will would come about, whether or not it lined up with my plans.

God is working in huge ways in the Triangle and at IUPUI. I love the life God has called me to in Indy and look forward to the (at least) next 3 years there!!

Pam and Jacqueline

Jacqueline Magill: I am so grateful for the way in which my sisters in household supported me this past year. I could not have succeeded without their continual encouragement and prayer. I was blessed to share classes with and study with my sisters. I really benefited from talking over with them ideas discussed in class. Pam's encouragement, experience, and help during my application to nursing school was a huge advantage. She graciously edited my application essay and took me out to discuss the application process, my goals, and hear how she has brought and continues to bring Christ to the nursing field.

I had a hard interview in the application process. At first, I was very worried that I would still get into the nursing program and frustrated that this should happen to me. But then I realized who better could it have happened to? I had the tremendous support of my sisters in household and faith in our Father.

Although I would say this past year has proved by far the most challenging of all my previous academic years, and I was often anxious that I would be accepted to the IU School of Nursing, again and again, I saw the Lord in my studies. I knew that what was required of me to get into the program and the perfect GPA that I needed to maintain was beyond my abilities. I learned this year what it truly means to rely on the Lord's help in my studies. I found myself saying often on many papers and many tests, "OK, Lord. This is all that I can do. You're going to have to come through for me. If You want me to be a nurse, You're going to have to make it happen." On many a test, paper, and class, I felt His presence and His help tangibly. I know that I was admitted to nursing school because of His power and love. I am deeply indebted to the Father and I am very excited to serve Him as a nurse! Praise the Lord!

Cathy Schwab

Cathy Schwab: This past year of living in household was essential for my acceptance to nursing school. Schoolwork, of course, was a substantial part of these, but my residency status in Indiana was still a question through the first week of January, plus, working at Riley enabled me to go to school at IUPUI from a financial standpoint. In the midst of all of this, household and the relationships born from it were my tether to the Lord and his faithfulness.

There would be times throughout the year when I would be discouraged with my schoolwork and tempted to breeze my way through it, to get it done for the sake of completion and not actual learning. Then, I would walk through the living room and see one or two of my friends in household glued to their anatomy book, planning a physiology mentoring session, or writing a 20 page research paper. Their commitment to their schoolwork was exceptional and by their example, I was encouraged to persevere in my studies.

When I received the news the first semester that my initial request for Indiana Residency was not approved, it was my sisters in household who brought the Lord's peace through their words and actions. I knew that I wanted to serve the Lord by going to school here in Indy, but it could not happen financially without residency. When I appealed the ruling and met with the the Admissions Board at IU, one of my sisters came with me for support, which made all the difference in my peace of mind. Being granted the residency through the appeal was a victory for Lord. My household and the entire campus team prayed this one in! I would not be going to nursing school at IUPUI without it.

My sisters in household have also been essential in supporting my job at Riley Hospital, which has provided the monetary means for me to live in Indy and attend IUPUI. I know many coworkers who go home after their shift to a lonely life consisting of few people with whom to share the hardships and joys that accompany this job. When I came home from the day, I had the opportunity to share these issues over dinner with 9 other women. I experienced the Lord in my sisters' encouragement and interest through these conversations in a way that enabled me to continue to love my job and persevere. It was within these dinner conversations that my sisters shared what they experienced throughout their days, inviting me to turn my focus on the Lord in their lives and avoid dwelling on my day in an unhelpful manner. The Father took care of me through my sisters, thereby enabling me to continue working and going to school.

If I have learned anything from the path of getting into IU Nursing School, it is that God is good. He is ever faithful and desires to reveal his love for us through our life together here on the Campus Team.

Summer Plans '11

Plans are coming into focus for our Indy Action Summer 2011.  The growth of our work in Indy is going to keep everyone very busy this summer.

On the Southside we have recently purchased a very run down little duplex right on Karcher St.  (Karcher St. is the heart of our Christians in Mission work on the southside).  This house isn't very pretty... yet.  We'll probably end up gutting a lot of it and preparing it for eventual renovation.  I'll be posting some "before" pictures soon on this property.  This property is on the verge of ruin.  Pray the Lord provides the means to resurrect it from "mostly dead" to alive in Christ.

In the Triangle we have a big job to renovate a house that is currently two apartments but needs to be one single family house to accommodate our growing student population.  We'll need to fix up the kitchen, install a working laundry room and connect the two apartments in some livable way.  It's a real challenge.  We are growing from 22 to 27 in the campus work next fall so this project is important to making our life happen.

On both the Southside and in the Triangle, we plan to do a great deal of work on neighborhood improvements which include scraping, caulking, painting, landscaping, debris removal, and general fixing up.  No special skills required (other than willingness to work hard), so come on down and give us a hand.

I know I've mentioned this before but if you have some time to spare this summer we could use your help.  We're also looking for ways to fund our summer staff stipends.  The Action Summer Staffers are mostly college students who ask so very little for their summer of work with Action.  Despite the low, low stipends they receive, the cost of staff stipends remains a major expense of summer Action.  If you'd like to make a donation to help these folks, you can do so by sending a check to:

People of Praise,  attn:  John Xenakis
107 S. Greenlawn
South Bend, IN 46617

If you'll mark the check "Summer Action Staff" in the memo line that would really help.

May the Lord be with us this summer as we labor in his name.

walt

44 Days

Just 44 days before Indy Action One arrives. There's room for you to join the trip. So maybe it's been a few years since your Action days and maybe you think you've moved on with life yada yada but you can come back and do it again and we need your help and experience...or maybe you've never been on an Action trip but always thought it was a good thing to do, why not make a trip this summer?

Can't do two weeks? We can work it out.

Want to bring your spouse along? We can work it out.

No way you can make it this summer? We're trying to raise money to pay the Summer Staffers who give up the majority of their summer and work 24/7 for a small stipend. If you'd like to help, send a check to People of Praise, Attn: John Xenakis, 107 Greenlawn, South Bend IN 46617 and write ACTION STAFF 2011 in the memo space.

Pray that the Lord bless this summer and that he would send us all the folks that he needs for the work he wants done.

All for his glory.

Ready?

Ready?

We're getting ready for the end of the semester here in Indy.  Next week is the last week of classes and then finals -- everyone seems to be heading in a good direction in classes, praise God.

Ready?

We're gearing up for Action Summer.  We have just a few key vacancies left to fill for summer staff and then we'll be set to welcome this summer's visitors.  We have a lot of work planned and we're hoping you'll come on out to help.

Ready?

We have four guys in the application process for the Action Summer Intern household and we're expecting more very soon.  The household is open to High School guys who want to make a difference by getting their hands dirty doing the work of citybuilding.

Ready?

Is your men's group or women's group ready for a change of pace?  Why not organize a road trip to help out this summer during Action trips?  Get away from the usual meeting routine and do something different.  We're ready to host you here in Indy this summer.  All you have to do to decide to come and we'll work out the details.

Finally,

Last weekend Indy branch hosted their Action Auction and it was a great event.  Everyone had a great time and we raised a nice donation for the work of Action.  Thanks to the Indy Action team for making it happen.  Here's a few pictures courtesy of Trish Brewer:

David Gruber 

Meghan Couch and Andrea DeLee

Melissa Rader and Naomi Caneff

George Kane, Walt Seale, Chris Walker

Three ways...

Three ways to do something for the kingdom this summer:

1.  Come on an Action Trip.  There are three trips available this summer here in Indy.  We have a great deal to accomplish both here in the Triangle and on the South Side.

2.  Join the Action Summer Intern household.  This summer we are organizing a summer household for High School men here in Indy.  ASI guys will arrive on or about 6 June and stay through July 24 or so.  We're looking for guys who want to earn a little money, live in the men's household and do something constructive for the kingdom of God.

3.  Action Summer Vacation.  We've set aside some space for couples and families to spend some part of their vacation working on an Action trip.  It'll be a vacation with a purpose!  You'll join in on the work and on the team meetings and see for yourself just what the Lord is doing here in Indy.  Last year we hosted three couples and they were a huge help.  We're flexible on time commitments, so think it over.  This may be your year to make an Action trip.  We'd love to have you here.

We enjoyed a visit from the Missionary Company this past weekend.  It was so encouraging to hear their stories of the Lord making a difference in the Mississippi River valley.  Pray for our missionaries as they labor in the name of our King and in the name of the People of Praise.

Missionaries joined us for Lord's Day in the Triangle