Easter Egg Hunt 2014

It was amazing to see so many kids participate in the Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday, April 19th at Simms Park. The changes made this year turned out to be very well received by all. We changed the starting time from 10am to after 11am to give the opportunity for all kids to arrive on time, and so they could enjoy all the activities prepared for them! The Shows, Cupcake Decoration and Arts & Crafts areas are always a hit and were very pleased to see the Easter Bunny make an appearance in one of the shows to help share the TRUE meaning of Easter with parents and kids. All of this could not have been possible without the help of all the volunteers that helped on the day of and during the weeks leading up to the Easter Egg Hunt. We had about 150 volunteers and about 1,500 kids participate in the event. It fills us with joy to see the Bellflower Churches and community come together to bless our families by not only proving a fun event with toy prizes and candy but also with the amazing news of the resurrection.

by April Mardueño

A letter from Ryan

                                                                                                                        April 23, 2014

“a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.” Matthew 26:7

Dear Friends, 

It seems like God uses the season of Lent consistently to grow our faith.  Last year, God moved during this season to call KCB to the faith-growing step of buying Margaret’s House and turning it into a family shelter.  This year there’s been another faith stretching call. 

In late February a friend and former Bellflower Pastor, Moses Chung, who is now the director of a church-planting and renewal agency based out of Michigan, called Home Missions, called me out of the blue.  Since November he had been looking for a team member that could help him with the skills and gifts needed to help with the implementation of some significant organizational culture and strategy changes within this agency.  He could not find the right fit from among the applicants for the position, and he said the Spirit had led him to ask me, “Is there any chance you would consider taking on a role like this?”  I had a quick response.  “No.”  He said he thought I would be “a good candidate for the role” and asked if I would just look at the position description over the weekend and call him if anything changed in my openness to the idea.   I told him politely that I was “about 3%” interested and so while I was honored to be considered he better continue his search elsewhere.  “We are living the dream here in Bellflower and it’s not likely that God would change that.”

I was NOT looking,  nor could I imagine applying for, any other role or assignment than the one that God has had me on.  It would be too costly for us… We’ve lived our entire married lives here in Bellflower, our family enjoys a depth of community with you, the KCB board members, our co-workers, neighbors, and church, that not many get to experience.  We do “live the dream”.  Our daily lives are so FULL and BLESSED with a wholistic experience of what it means to live as Kingdom people with other followers of Jesus, beyond what we imagined or envisioned when we started out our lives here.  We are proud and honored to be a part of a “tribe” of Jesus followers who consistently lay down their agendas and priorities for the sake of God’s Kingdom priorities.  We couldn’t imagine that God would want or ask us to give this up.

You have to be careful when you assume that God will not change His assignments.  Since that “out of the blue” phone call, God has been making it overwhelmingly (and at times painfully) clear to Rachel and I through a series of “coincidental” dreams, conversations, “divine” appointments, other circumstances, and prayerful discernment that He is calling me to take this position that will require us to give up the “dream” and resign from my role as Executive Director of KCB/OPHS/LH.

The story in Matthew 26 of Mary anointing Jesus has been particularly poignant for Rachel and I in this season of discernment.  In the story, Mary, out of her love for Jesus, extravagantly anoints Him with an alabaster jar of perfume.  This perfume was extremely costly and valuable, a family heirloom, a source of comfort and security, and she takes it and pours it all out in an expression of her love for Jesus.  The disciples can’t understand this “wasteful” expense.  They have better ideas for how this precious resource should have been used.  At a conference I attended in March, as we were just starting to discern this call, one of the speakers taught on this text and asked pointedly, “What is your alabaster jar of perfume?  What is it that you cling to for security and comfort?  What do you tie your identity to?  Would you pour even that out in an expression of love for Jesus?  Is Jesus better to you than all of this?

Many secret tears have flowed in these weeks as it became clear that God was in fact asking us to pour out this offering of love and surrender our ideal life, community, church, home, job, connections and influence in what feels at times like blind obedience, trusting that he will provide for our family and for you all. 

God used our 10 year celebration to remind us of all that God has done, and will continue to do amazing things through the ministry of KCB (OPHS and Little House) to advance His kingdom in Bellflower.  From our beginning we have professed that Jesus is the leader of this organization and I am sure that He has the right person to fill the leadership role for KCB.  KCB has worked because this organization is HIS and because He uses you on a daily basis.  Home Missions has said that it wants to embrace missional approaches similar to the one that God has been doing in our midst, to help new and struggling churches and communities engage in similar work.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve alongside you brothers and sisters who are radically committed to this work and I am confident that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”  The leadership at Home Missions has given a generous period of time (start date of June 1) to ensure that we can carefully plan for my transition from the role as Executive Director and I am committed to finishing well.  I remain committed to KCB’s mission and vision and want to help as much as you see fit during this season.   Please feel free to contact me with any questions as they come up.

Thank you for all of your servant leadership and for allowing me the great privilege of serving as the Executive Director over the last ten years.  I am confident our success has been due to our God’s great love for our city and because KCB/OPHS/LH are HIS and He will continue to bless the work on into the future. 

To God be the Glory,

Ryan

KCB Celebrates 10 Years!

This past Thurrsday, KCB celebrated 10 years of service in Bellflower! We had a wonderful celebration with over 300 KCB volunteers, donors, and friends! It was incredible to be recognized by the City of Bellflower and partner organizations for our work, and to be able to thank the HUNDREDS of people who have worked together to do some pretty incredible stuff in our city. 

Most importantly, it was a time to give credit and thanks to God for His faithfulness in using His people to bless His city. We are excited to see all that He has in store for the next ten years!

If you were unable to make it to the celebration. Check out the video that we shared here. It does a great job telling our story of working together to love our city.

If you want to celebrate with us... here are three easy options!

1. Commit to praying for KCB 10 minutes each week (email us at admin@kcbellflower.org if you would like to receive a weekly prayer request email)

2. Invite 10 friends to like us on on Facebook. Check out our page here.

3. Partner with us by becoming a monthly donor of $10/month! Click here to give online, or call our office at 562-804-2189 to sign up.

We're thankful for the part that YOU have played in these past 10 years!

By: Abbey Nishimoto

Reflection From Teaching an ESL Class

Over the past month at KCB I have been given the opportunity to begin an English conversation class for primarily the women with young children of Bellflower. At first this venture was frustrating, facing the great challenge of learning how to best help these women learn and practice English, oftentimes with few to no women attending the class. After the second week, in which no one showed up, I was ready to give up. I began to really doubt my abilities and my purpose in teaching this class. But God had a purpose for this class far better than my purpose and in the weeks that followed He began to reveal to me the importance of this class.

Many of the women who began to attend in the weeks that followed and still continue to attend are eager to improve their English. Some desire to be able to communicate with their children’s teachers, to find jobs, or just to be able to interact with people they encounter around the city. The interesting thing I’ve learned is that while many of these women understand and speak a lot of English, they struggle to have confidence in their abilities. Several of the women shared with me that they feel self-conscious about their accent and are worried that people won’t understand them or may make fun of them. As an English-speaking student learning Spanish, I can completely relate as I struggle with the same insecurities and anxieties!

God truly equipped me not only with the technical ability to teach but also with the understanding and relatability necessary to allow these women to feel comfortable practicing their English and asking questions when something may be unclear. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:8, which says “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” In prayerfully dedicating time to do the work of the Lord, He takes our feelings of inadequacy and equips us to accomplish His purposes.


Miranda Starbeck, Spring Intern

Why I Keep Working With Kids

This week I was hanging out with some Washington kids, we were just talking about life. Out of no where one student turns to me and asks when our tutoring program would be over. I hadn't planned that far ahead so I didn't have an immediate answer. I would characterize this particular student as an "at risk" youth; he has so much potential but needs a little encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Thinking he was asking me when it was to end because he wasn't enjoying our program I responded with, "I don't know. Why? Do you not want to come anymore?" To my amazement he replied, "No! I want to come! If it wasn't for this tutoring program I wouldn't be able to get help at home, because my mom doesn't know how to do my homework, neither does my dad."

Every time I start questioning my time and effort at Washington Elementary, I am reminded, by the kids themselves, that God is using our volunteers in ways that surpass our imagination. So when I stop to think that so far we're impacting a small percentage of students at one of the eleven elementary schools I get saddened for the other elementary schools who have "at risk" kids waiting for a volunteer, a friend, to inspire them to be who God created them to be!


By Edgar Guzman