Lenses of a 3 year old...

I love trying to see life through the eyes of my three year old daughter. Over the last two months we've had to deal with the reality of death up close and personal (as we recently lost an old friend of the family, my nephew, and my Grandfather). My daughter has prayed, asked questions and has seen the signs of our grief. This has recently prompted questions that I wouldn't expect from a three year old. About a week ago, we were all just sitting in front of the fire talking and my daughter began to grill us with these difficult questions like, "will I see Grandpa Schrock again?" "Will he come back to life again, like Jesus?" "What happens when he dies?" "Will you and mommy die someday?" "Will I die someday?" "Will we get to live with Jesus someday?" "Where does Jesus live?" To be honest I was so flabergasted by these questions I felt that I fumbled through answers to which she patiently listened and asked more questions.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach her class at Epic, and I was asking the review questions for the lesson from the week prior. I have to admit I was quite impressed with the answers and response from the children (kudos to the teacher from the week before me). It was evident that she and the other children have been taking in the Bible Stories. This morning she surprised me again as she apparently took what she has been learning and applied it to the questions she has been asking about life. This morning over breakfast she looked at me very matter of fact and assuredly said to me, "Daddy, it's okay if we die, because then we get to be with Jesus." I was amazed by the conviction and yet the care free spirit she seemed to have.

Of course as she was getting ready to go to her preschool she decided to take her Snow White puzzle with her to which she became concerned about some of the other students playing with it. As the only child, we're still trying to work on the sharing part of life. And yet, the other night, when I was telling her about this needy family we were helping, she simply said, "Daddy, they can sleep in my bedroom and they can have my bed."

Last week the tulips that we planted together last fall began to break through the ground. With great excitement and wonder she ran outside to get a closer look at them. As she came into the house today she asked, "Daddy why are the flowers that you bought mommy dying?" (bouquet from the store) "Do flowers always die?" "Will they ever come back to life?"

As we enter this Easter Season, may we have the wonder and faith like that of a child and may we rest secure in knowing that in Jesus, we have new and everlasting life!

Apples and Stages...

We had a challenging but awesome second week! During our first week we had a guy from Michigan that came to our public launch. He was so compelled with our heart for meeting needs and reaching out to our community that he wanted to help partner with us. As it turns out, he is a distributor for an organization that gives away large amounts of free food to other non-for-profit organizations. He ended up getting 1,000 lbs. of apples and 80 loaves of bread and asked us if we could use them to help touch some lives in our community. Our team rallied to the challenge and we distributed every last apple and loaf of bread to multiple families in need. As a result we were able to have so many incredible conversations with people as we started the conversation by simply letting people know that God loves them. So many were blessed and several asked what church we were with (we only told them if they asked as our heart is that people will know that God loves them and that they would get involved in any church that serious about being devoted followers of Jesus).

On Wednesday I received another phone call that challenged our team significantly. We learned that due to a mechanical issue we would no longer be able to use the stage in the gym where we were holding our worship gatherings. This posed several significant issues. First we didn't have any stage (and I'm really short). Secondly, Even if we get a stage we don't have a big enough trailer to haul it in.

As we prayed and talked with others, we ended up having a church allow us to use their portable stage that they were just storing and not using...and they told us we could use it long term. Then, one of our team members posted our need on his facebook status and a guy responded that his father had a 24 foot trailer that he wasn't using and he thought we could use it long term. On that Sunday, we ended up completely flipping the direction and using the new stage and most people said that they liked the feel even better.

We ended up having 105 people (which I found out is pretty decent for the second week) and most importantly, we had 12 first time visitors from the community that came (not very usual...but awesome)!

God continues to go before us and He continues to remind us that nothing catches Him by surprise...it's His church that He's building after all!

Public Launch Sunday...

We had an amazing first Sunday! We conservatively had 198 people in attendance (although we think there were more than that...and we’re double checking our figures). Our team did a really great job inviting and there were several faces that I didn’t know or recognize from within the community. We had two families that came as a result of our promotion (one of which was a single Father who hadn’t been to church in over 7 years).

On a personal note, Ann and I had 15 of our friends from the community and neighborhood show up (plus all of their kids)! Many of them said that they really enjoyed it and are planning to come back. At the end of my message as we went into our second worship set, there were several who were visibly moved by God! In fact one of my friends that was a prayerful and financial supporter came down from Wisconsin posted on our Epic Facebook wall, “One of the most powerful (services) I've ever attended...EPIC is amazing!!!! God is really at work here.”

Friends, it’s apparent that lives are being impacted and changed, and we’re asking God to continue to use us for so much more! Please keep praying for us!

Exciting yet challenging week!

It's been a long time in waiting but this Sunday is the day! We will be having our first public worship gathering. The team has been working their tails off and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. The last two weeks we held our preview services at the Meadows Edge Elementary School (where we will now meet) and they went incredibly well. Last week Jennie Kintner spoke and I heard nothing but positive feedback. Again the strength is the incredible team that God has brought to Epic. I'm really excited as I've had several of my friends and family members mention that they are coming this Sunday. We even have some of our supporters from Wisconsin and Colorado coming in to be a part of this momentous occasion. We're so grateful for all of you who have prayed and supported us in so many different ways!

On a more personal note, I could use your prayers as Ann and I had a loss in our family this last Sunday night. One minute before we were supposed to start our service, Ann and I received a text that we needed to "get to the hospital now." We had to leave and the team went on without us. As it turns out, our nephew Joshua was born on Sunday night but was only with us for an hour after his birth. We were made aware of this diagnosis prior to his birth so it didn't come as a total shock. However our family is deeply saddened by this and would appreciate your prayers. Please especially remember my brother, Jonathan and his wife, Kristin as they mourn the loss of their first child. Ann and I are so grateful for all of your prayers and encouragement!