Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving

This year there is a lot for which our family can be thankful.

House Sale

We finally sold our house!! We are now residing a few blocks away with a much lower cost of living. We know many people have gone much longer than 5 months without selling their houses so we’re thankful God provided buyers for us. We’re also grateful that God gave us someplace to live only a few blocks away.

(Looks pretty good empty)

Abigail.

Every day it seems Abi is learning a couple new words. She is even starting to use short sentences like “I kean (clean) it” as she wipes a cloth in circles on the coffee table.

Her intelligence, which amazes me every day, is not what I’m most grateful for this year however. I’m most grateful for her joy. I love to come home from work, step in the front door, and see her smiling face running toward me to greet me with a hug and a kiss. She truly lives up to her name’s meaning, “my father’s joy.”

(Abi's "Elmo Shoes")

(Decorating the Christmas Tree)

Another Child.

Amanda is now almost halfway through her pregnancy. Yesterday, Amanda’s sonogram told us that our little baby is going to be a girl, which means her name will be Anna Grace. Her due date is April 15th. I’m grateful and excited for the opportunity to create another Daddy’s girl.

(Amanda 14 weeks pregnant... she is now almost 20 weeks pregnant)

Family.

There is nothing like the comfort and connection of family during the holidays. I’m grateful for this gracious gift of God .... for both the earthly family to which we are born and the spiritual family given to us in Christ, the Church.

(Halloween at Chipotle with the family)

You.

Finally I’m thankful to God for you, who pray, give, and encourage. We could not do what we do without you. You are God’s gracious enabling provision for us, our family, and our ministry.

I pray that during this season you also take time to remember and thank God for His good gifts.

Let There Be Silence

Before Jesus chose the twelve disciples, Luke (6:12) tells us that Jesus spent the entire night in solitude. Right after he fed the five-thousand in Matthew 14, Jesus “went up into the hills by himself; and in Mark 6, Jesus taught his disciples to “come away by yourselves to a lonely place” after doing some very intensive ministry. It is rarely noticed how often Jesus retreated into silence and solitude.

One of my desires is to see the Church love this under-appreciated spiritual discipline. I agree with what Thomas Merton says in The Way of the Heart that solitude is “the furnace of transformation.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called Life Together. Though it is primarily a book about community, he dedicates an entire chapter to what he calls “the day alone.” He writes (read this quote carefully), “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community ... and let him who is not in community beware of being alone ... Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.”

This month, our YMI students spent a week at Youthfront Camp South for “Solitude Week.” During most of the semester, our students learn the value of community (the day together). During solitude week, our YMI students learn the value of “the day alone.”

Any time not spent in silence, they spent processing their experience. Our hope is that the taste of silence and solitude will allow them to truly grow in their ability to see and hear Christ; and the taste will create an ever present hunger for communion with the Father. We pray this hunger will then be transmitted into the the larger body of believers to experience its benefit.

Abi's Update

I LOVE FALL!! This month I visited the Ozarks with Me-ma, Mommy, and some of my friends; I got to play in the leaves; and I helped decorate our Christmas tree! This week, I saw my new little sister, Anna, on TV at the doctor’s office. I can’t wait!!

November Prayer

Family. We are so excited about having another daughter. Pray for Amanda and her pregnancy. Pray there will not be any complications, and God’s manifest presence will be near to us.

YMI. The end of YMI is only a few weeks away. Pray our students will continue to grow and learn from the things they read, the people with whom they interact, and the time they spend in prayer. Pray they will stay focused and consistent until the end of the program.

Our Move. We have now moved out of our house. Amanda is so efficient at unpacking and organizing that we are already almost finished moving in. However, pray for the last bits of cleaning and organizing. Also, pray that there would be rest in the middle of the work.

Holiday Season. The holiday season is usually a combination of fun and stress. Pray for good reconnection, God-centered rejoicing, and ever-present peace.

Youthfront News

Youthfront sends out a monthly newsletter highlighting some of the ministry that is happening on an organizational level.

We hope you don’t this month’s edition of Youthfront News. On the inside page, Youthfront Mission Institute (YMI) was highlighted. If you don’t receive Youthfront’s newsletter, please let us know. We would be happy to get you on the mailing list.

Youthfront Mission Institute (YMI) in Mexico

In Mexico this month, I (Jonathan) spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of poverty. Often times when we think of poverty, we think a lack of material resources is the defining mark of those who are most in need. However, if you were to ask the poor themselves, they will usually define poverty in terms of shame and helplessness, lack of progress, depression, and feelings of inferiority.

From the book Voices of the Poor, here are the words the poor use to describe their own situation: “For a poor person everything is terrible - illness, humiliation, shame. We are cripples; we are afraid of everything; we depend on everyone. No one needs us. We are like garbage that everyone wants to get rid of.”

In the book, When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert , the authors explain that what is at the base of poverty is in fact an array of broken relationships. Relationships that are not just, not for life, not harmonious or enjoyable. “Poverty is the absence of shalom [peace] in all its meanings. “

For us, as believers, our task is to be bearers of shalom, ministers of reconciliation. We carry a kingdom of peace with us into areas of brokenness. We proclaim a kingdom whose identifying mark is that the relationship between man and his creator is no longer broken. The message does not stop there however. It preaches right relationship to the creation in which we live, right relationship to each other, and a right understanding of ourselves as bearers of God’s image. Our calling to care for the poor needs to better reflect this message.

Consequently, when we want to help the poor, it will require a lot less money and a lot more time. It will take effort toward recovery and development, not simply financial relief.

October Prayer Guide

Family. We are so excited to be pregnant again! Pray that the pregnancy will continue to go smoothly and that we will be good partners and parents in the process. Pray for a healthy and happy baby.



YMI. Our trip to Mexico went really well. You can read a little more about it on the front page. This month the students will be traveling to a Christian Community Developers Association (CCDA) conference. Pray for attentiveness and good discussions. Pray God would continue to teach them what it means to follow Jesus and participate in what he is doing in the world.


My Car. My Honda Civic bit the dust this month. We are getting by for now using just Amanda’s van. However, we will eventually need to get another vehicle. Pray that we will find a cheap, reliable vehicle, and that sharing until that time would not be difficult.

Our House. This month we sold our house. Pray God will give us clarity about our future plans and that he would provide someplace for us to live.

Abi Update

Abi Update: This month, while I was in Mexico, I went to this woman’s house, and she taught Mommy and me how to make flour tortillas. In the bottom picture is my new friend Katie.

YMI 2009

YMI has begun! Much has happened in the last month. Here is a little update.


The YMI House. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, one of the changes to YMI this year is that we have chosen to move our students into an urban, lower-income neighborhood called the Argentine. Rather than spending most of the semester at camp, they live every day serving and caring for their neighbors.

One of the question marks for YMI towards the beginning of the summer was a place to live. Kurt and Emily had been living there and knew of several apartments where our students could live. However, one day, Kurt looked out his window and saw the perfect house.... plenty of room for a family and our YMI students.... and for a great price.

Less than a month later, Erik Leafblad and his family, along with our students moved into the house less than a block away from Kurt and Emily. What a blessing!


Kurt and Emily (and Luke). Several years ago, Kurt and his wife Emily, moved to Kansas City after graduating from Iowa State to be part of Youthfront’s Mexico program. One of the great things about Youthfront’s program is that they believe that the best ministry is incarnational. In other words, like Jesus, they came to live with and around the people they were reaching. They sought to bring the message of the kingdom with humility and solidarity. Ministry was not only about a message proclaimed, but a message embodied.

When they moved back to Kansas City, they became involved in YMI. One of the great advantages to having someone like Kurt working with YMI, is that his passion for doing this type of ministry is absolutely contagious, not only to our students, but our staff as well.


Erik and Amy (they also have two kids, but they are not pictured). Erik and Amy have also had a great influence on YMI. Their passion for alternative forms of education fit wonderfully with the vision for YMI. Erik, who earned his Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, is one of the more intelligent men I’ve ever met, yet he has a great ability to make things that are complex understandable for people like our YMI students.


A day at YMI. So how does YMI look day to day this year? Typically, every Monday through Friday, there is a book discussions in the morning, led by Kurt, Erik, or me. In the afternoons, the students are out building relationships in the community though activities like after school programs, service projects, and other various ministry opportunities.

On Friday’s, we spend a day at Youthfront South. After some discussion in the morning, the students use this day as a retreat from the busyness of the Argentine. They spend time in prayer, study, solitude, and rest.

Mexico. Part of YMI is spending two weeks in Mexico together. On Monday, Amanda, Abi, the YMI students and I will be piling in a van and driving to Monterrey, Mexico. Pray for us as we go.

Abi Update

Abi Update: This month, I went to the zoo and saw lots of animals. Daddy put me on his shoulders like he was a horse. I kept saying “horse, horse!” This months I also helped mommy in the kitchen a lot.

Septmeber Prayer Guide

YMI Mexico We leave Monday for two weeks in Mexico. Pray for safety in every sense. Also, pray that we would hear and respond to what God calls us to. Pray that the students will be very attentive to their environment, learning and growing from the things they experience. Also, pray for relationships. Pray that they will be built easily and quickly.

Also, pray for our interactions with Youthfront Staff in Mexico. Pray we will be able to serve them well and step easily into the ministry they are already doing.

Family. There is nothing sweeter than your daughter calling you on the phone to say “wuv woo” (love you). We love being parents. Like all humans, Abi’s will has also developed. We are already to the point of having to stay very on top of discipline. Pray that we will be good parents. Pray we will be consistent, God-centered, and heart-focused as we help Abi know what it means to be a good girl.

Joy and Evangelism

Mike King, the president of Youthfront recently wrote a really interesting blog entry in response to a popular you tube video. I wanted to pass it on to you. It's a video of a promotion stunt for a Belgian television program in which a large group of people performed a music routine from the Sound of Music in the middle of a busy train station. In the words of Mike, "the response of the commuters is extraordinary as they move from surprise, awkwardness and discomfort to finding themselves caught up in the experience. I think this video is a fitting metaphor for the church and our invitation to those outside our communities of faith to enter into the joyful story of God unfolding in the world." Follow this link to read the blog and see the video. king.typepad.com

BROKEN PHONE

The screen on my phone cracked in the midst of our service project. Do you have an extra Sprint phone I can use for a few months? I'm hoping to switch carriers in October, so I would prefer not to buy a new one. If so please call me or email me...

A Life that Counts

I think we all want a life that matters for something. Yet, there are countless people who come to their end and discover that nothing worthwhile or lasting came from their time on earth. So what happened?

There are many reasons why people end up wasting their lives. Some can’t quite muster up the courage, knowing that living a life that counts requires sacrifice of the things they enjoy. Their comfortable situation is just too valuable to them.

Others are just too busy. They are so focused on climbing the corporate ladder (or some other symbolic ladder), that they forget to check if their ladder is leaning on the right house. Still others, know ing what it takes, just decide that its simply too hard. They would rather cover over the emptiness and lack of meaning with fun and toys which they hope will help them cope.

I think that almost all the roadblocks to meaning can be summed up in one word, “desire.” For most people, the daily desire for comfort, recreation, and accolades outweigh the desire for meaning. Yet we all know, that in reality a meaningful life is tremendously more important than the latter.

One of my favorite authors, CS Lewis wrote, “... it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

One of the best ways we can grow in our desire for Christ and his kingdom, is not to suppress our desires, but to cultivate the right kind of desires in our souls.

For me, mobilizing others to love and serve is one of the best cultivators in my spiritual life. This past week, Amanda and I helped facilitate a service project for a church from Ames, IA.

The youth came down and painted a elderly widow’s house in an urban area of Kansas City, KS. Before they arrived there was a lot of peeling paint and bare wood. Two days later, the entire house was a beautiful new brownish-gray color with white trim. It was hard work, but there is something about hard work and service that is a means of grace to the one who serves, (and to the one facilitating that service).

It is easy to say that this project was just as much about my joy and desire as it was about the joy of Grand Avenue Baptist in Ames and the joy of this elderly widow in Kansas City, KS.

I pray that your joy this month will also be full and meaningful as you support and mobilize these types of ministries through your prayers and giving.

Signage

sign⋅age (sī'nĭj):

noun 

signs collectively, esp. commercial or public display signs.

One of the exciting events around Youthfront this month was the Youthfront reunion. Hundreds of people came in, from as far away as France, to re connect with old friends from their days at KCYFC/Youthfront.

Unfortunately, Amanda, Abi, and I could not attend (due to an important wedding the day of the event). However, I was able to help get ready for the event. Topher, my brother, and I worked on new signage for Youthfront camp West. We spent a couple days in the heat digging holes, cutting wood, and pouring concrete, so that the new signs would be ready when our guests arrived.

For me there is something really rewarding about hard manual labor in the sun.

Abi Update

ABI UPDATE: The last two months have been really fun. I saw fireworks for the first time since China, fed goats at Deanna Rose Farmstead, made some new friends at an urban ministry called Freedom Fire, and visited my friends at camp. (along with some rubber duckies)

YMI UPDATE

Recruiting. This month we’ve spent some time recruiting for YMI at our camps. It’s been so much fun to connect with some of the summer staff who worked there last summer.
In general people have been very interested in coming to Youthfront Mission Institute. Most of them, however, talk about it for future years.
For one reason or another, very few students have been able to commit to this fall semester. We are praying about how this is going to effect our fall.

College Credit. This week Kurt will be having lunch in the Argentine with several key people from William Jewel College. They will be continuing our discussions about gaining college credit through YMI courses.

Family Update

It’s been interesting living in the Philgreen household this summer. In all my years as a Kansas Citian, this is the first summer in thirteen years, where I have actually been living in the city (rather than camp, Mexico, or Minneapolis). Though I have missed the places of intensive ministry, the benefits for our family have been huge. In addition to ministry around the KC area, we have enjoyed afternoon walks, meeting with church friends, and experiencing the city.

We’ve also been trying to sell our house. About a month ago, we put our house on the market. Within 2 days, we had accepted an offer, and were making plans for our next steps. Along came the inspection. Next thing we knew, the offer was withdrawn, and we were starting over. Sold, then “un-sold.” Please keep praying for us in this process. If you know anyone who wants to live in the Westwood area, point them our direction.

Feed the Hunger Initiative

According to Bread for the World Institute, six million children under the age of five die every year as a result of hunger.

By comparison, the population of the city of Chicago (which is the third largest in the United States) has a population of almost three million people. So, for the sake of understanding, imagine cities, the size of Chicago, being completely inhabited by kids. Then drop a bomb on the city, and everyone dies.... two cities a year. Perhaps this is a little morbid. Forgive me, if it is overly offensive. But isn’t this similar when we consider that there is ample food to feed these people.

Part of following Jesus, is the choice to live life differently for the sake of those in need. We abandon our own “rights” for the sake of the poor, oppressed, and those with little access to the gospel of Jesus.

At Youthfront camps this summer, students have been packaging meals to send to third-world countries in need. This summer up to 128,000 meals will be packaged at our camps. In addition, groups of students across the city are making plans for packaging food throughout the school year.

More than simply packaging meals, we are hoping to encourage people to not turn a blind eye to someone in need. We want to encourage students to live a life that appropriately reflects Christ in the presence of this extreme reality.

A few weeks ago, FOX 4 came out and took video of some Campers at Youthfront South making the meals. Take a look at the video below.

 

July Prayer Guide

Youthfront Mission Institute . We have a lot of questions if we do not get any more students. Pray that students will be able to come. Pray also that we would have wisdom regarding the next steps for Youthfront Mission Institute and our family.

Camp. Though we cannot be at camp this summer, what they are doing is very exciting. Pray for the Feed the Hunger initiative, and for the Camp’s mission to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Family. We would really like our house to sell. The stress of getting it ready to sell is for the most part over, but the stress of waiting has begun. Please pray that the right buyer will come along and that our house will sell for a good price.
Support. We’ve continued to have a support deficit. Please continue to pray for unexpected gifts or other means of provision.

Change

Change happens all the time. It’s something that we must all learn to navigate. Sometimes it is difficult and frustrating, while other times it is invigorating and easy. Sometimes it steals the life and hope out of your dreams, while other times it puts wind in wilted sails.

Over the last couple of months there have been quite a few changes in YMI and our family ... and we’re not expecting it to stop for a while.

Change #1: New YMI team members. The YMI team grew to three people last month. On Youthfront staff are two incredibly gifted and talented leaders who have decided to devote a large amount of time to YMI this fall.

Kurt Rietema has led our Mexico program for the last several years and has recently moved into an ethnically diverse, low-income region known as the Argentine district near I-635 and Metropolitan. Kurt views his life as one big mission, seeking to live out his theology and love for people, even in his home choice.

Erik Leafblad recently came on staff and is in charge of the Cabin leaders at South this summer. He moved here after completing his MDiv at Princeton and has a huge interest in alternative education.

Adding these two guys into the YMI equation has been a change that has definitely added new energy to the mission. Lots of new ideas. Lots of excited conversations.

Change #2: YMI Programatic changes. One of the difficult parts of YMI has been the recruiting process. With the downturn of the economy few people have been able to get past the price tag.
In order for us to clear this hurdle we decided to cut some pieces of the program and bring the semester price to $3950 (includes everything - books, room and board, ministry, Mexico trip, etc.). That is almost half of last year’s tuition.

Some costs were easy to cut. Others were very difficult. The most difficult was our decision to drop/postpone the overseas trip to Asia. It has not necessarily been removed permanently. However, for now, it seems this is the decision to make.

Like most difficult change, once you are through the tunnel you begin to see new possibilities.

Change #3 YMI location. Last year we wanted to expose our students to missional community living. The Asia piece fulfilled that. This year, rather then spending 8 weeks at Youthfront south during the offseason, they will live in the Argentine for 14 weeks. They will build relationships, serve the community, and look to follow Christ in their context.

This will also allow us to create a more natural relationship between engagement and withdrawal. Every week the students will supplement their whole-hearted engagement in the Argentine, with a day or two of withdrawal to one of our camp facilities.

In this transition, we’re already moving. Kurt has especially been busy. He’s been building relationships with community leaders and meeting with area colleges to develop new possibilities for college credit. He’s even found someone to donate living space in the Argentine (free rent in a brand new duplex).

There is more change to come. I can feel it. We’ll keep you posted.

Franklin

((This is a picture of a vacant elementary school in the Argentine. Perhaps a future YMI facility???))

More Abi Pictures