The leader of Acts of Appreciation, our Military outreach, recently received an e-mail from the Lieutenant Colonel of the USMC Battalion 5, Jeff Jarosz. Jeff was compelled to send his thanks after being one of the recipients of the Military outreach’s recent shipment of care boxes to the marines and sailors. The care boxes are filled with things such as socks, snacks, and personal care items. They may sound like simple things to us, but for the men and women serving and fighting for our country right now, those small pleasures make a huge difference.

The Lieutenant Colonel wrote, “What you and all of the others from Act of Appreciation and Saddleback Church have done for us has been above and beyond simple appreciation. We owe you much gratitude.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jarosz went on to thank the outreach for their upcoming plan to do another welcome home event for the marines and sailors returning from their deployment. He mentions, “Your generosity with your time and effort is simply amazing. We are blessed by your presence and association.”

It’s clear that the volunteers who serve with Acts of Appreciation are being used in powerful and significant ways by God.

The Breakfast Together outreach (previously called Motel Ministry) is known to have a lasting impact on the families and individuals who are blessed by the outreach. But recently, a man who at one time had lived at one of the motels that Breakfast Together ministers to, gave back to the outreach that gave to him in a time of need.

This man had been so positively affected by the Breakfast Together outreach that he anonymously donated $100 to another resident of one of the motels whom he knew needed assistance. Because the anonymous donor is no longer living in a motel and is back on track toward his goals, he was able to see things from the other perspective….and what he saw was a man in his previous position whom he knew he could help, even if it was just a small first step.

For this reason and many others, the Breakfast Together outreach plays a significant part in changing and blessing lives. If you’d like to be a part of this amazing and fulfilling outreach or get some more information and read some awesome stories, call 949-609-8333, or go to http://breakfastoutreach.blogspot.com.

Check out this short video in which Saddleback's Community PEACE Pastor, Brian Uyeda, explains what the Albertson's Hope for the Holidays opportunity is all about. This will definitely get you more excited....

http://www.blip.tv/file/4277407

“This may be the day God gives me a great opportunity to serve someone who needs help from me.”

-Bill Grosz

We’ve all heard the saying, “Live everyday like it’s your last.” And for most of us, that quote leads to thinking about what we would do with the last day of our lives. Where would we go? Would we travel somewhere we’ve never been? What would we buy? Who would we make sure we saw one last time, and what would we say to them? How could we make ourselves the happiest and what desires would we fulfill in a day?

It’s interesting (and sometimes sobering) to think about that idea, but there’s another question that is far less often considered: How will God ask me to serve someone today? It’s not the first thing we take the time to reflect on at the start of the day, but if we believe and remember that serving does not always refer to some grand gesture of sacrifice but that it includes any act of helping someone, then I think we would be much more attuned to where and when God is prompting us to serve.

There is a way, every day, to be a servant, and there is a person that God will put in front of you somewhere and at some time in your day whom you can help, be it with words of encouragement, a listening ear, giving someone a ride, fixing something for them, and on and on. If we begin looking for those moments, pretty soon our natural inclination will be to seek out ways that we can be Jesus’ hands and feet.

This coming holiday season, countless families across California are going to be reminded of something. They won’t be reminded of one tradition in particular that most of us know and hold tightly to every Thanksgiving and Christmas: the holiday food. Instead, these families will remember that this is another year without that traditional experience of those big, warm, comforting meals.

Throughout the year, families in need go without food. In the city of Anaheim alone, 82% are on some food assisted program. But the sting of going without is felt even more intensely during the holiday season. Here’s where you come in…

You (along with your family, small group, a friend, etcetera) can help provide a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal this season. You can team-up with Project City Hope as we team-up with Albertson’s stores across California to give a meal to disadvantaged families or families with at-risk kids. GRIP, Gang Reduction & Intervention Partnerships, will be working alongside Project City Hope and Albertson’s to make sure families will be able to receive the blessing of a holiday meal this year.

There are so many areas where you can help with this opportunity: answering questions and greeting at one of the Albertson’s stores; making phone calls in the church office; putting food boxes together; delivering the food boxes, etcetera. If you’d like to play a part in carrying off this significant and incredible project, please call 949-609-8333 or e-mail dawnm@saddleback.com or bonniet@saddleback.com.

This year, we can give a family something that they’ll always remember – the year they received a complete holiday meal that will hopefully leave them with a lasting blessing.

This past weekend, Project City Hope’s military outreach, Acts of Appreciation, held a dinner for the volunteers that serve with the outreach. It was a way for the ministry leaders to let the volunteers know how valued they are, as well as a way for the Acts of Appreciation team and some of the marines they serve to spend some time together and thank each other.

About 75 members of the ministry attended the dinner, and representatives from  two of the Marine battalions they serve were invited. The Family Readiness Officers from both battalions, the commanding officer’s wife, and three marines came to the dinner. The marines came in their full dress uniforms, as well.

During the dinner, there was a Powerpoint presentation that highlighted the past year’s events and activities that Acts of Appreciation had put on. The presentation was very appreciated by the volunteers since many of them do behind-the-scenes preparation work and don’t actually get to attend the events that take place on the marine base. They were able to finally see the results of their hard work.

Overall, the event was a great time of affirmation and valuing, both for the volunteers and the marines that they serve. It was a way for both groups to thank each other for serving in such different and significant ways.

If  you’d like to show the men and women who serve our country how grateful you are for their dedication and service, the Acts of Appreciation outreach is one great way to do that. You can call 949-609-8333 to get involved.

Here’s a shocking fact for us all: The prime targets of gang recruitment are 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th graders. Children who should still be eating Lucky Charms while watching cartoons on a Saturday morning, not watching violent crimes committed.

Because we want to protect these children who are at risk, PCH has teamed up with GRIP, Gang Resistance Intervention Partnerships. Our goal is to do our part in becoming a supportive role to the principles of schools who participate with GRIP, the District Attorney and Sheriff’s department, and the parents of the students at the participating schools.

A few of our PCH coordinators have attended some of the GRIP meetings, bringing breakfast and just trying to get to know those involved. We want to have a presence there in order to show those involved, especially the parents of the at-risk kids, that Saddleback and Project City Hope will do what we can to help the GRIP program and the parents succeed with the goal of preventing young kids from being pulled in the wrong direction. We hope to partner with GRIP so that together, we can be an incredible positive influence.

If this is something your heart beats strongly for and you’d like to know how you might be able to help, let us know! Call 949-609-8333.

God’s plan for us to bring hope to people comes through, one, telling them about Jesus’ grace and salvation, and two, through serving others.

Pastor Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Life, writes about the “assignment” that God has given to us on this earth. I thought I’d let Rick teach us a little bit about that today. So, in Rick’s words, here we go….

You are going to give your life for something. What will it be – a career, a sport, a hobby, fame, wealth? None of these will have lasting significance. Service is the pathway to real significance. It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives. The Bile says, “Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body.”As we serve together in God’s family, our lives take on eternal importance….God wants to use you to make a difference in His world. He wants to work through you. What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it. Not how long you lived, but how you lived.

What, then, will your donation be?

Senior citizens across south Orange County were blessed on August 21^st when about 80 Project City Hope volunteers visited 30 board and care facilities, bringing with them PCH Care Boxes filled with everything from blankets and slippers, to crossword puzzles and cookies.

The volunteers brought with them a little questionnaire called “Wisdom of the Ages” that included fun questions for the seniors to answer such as, Who was the president when you were born? What was school like for you when you were in school? What has been the greatest invention, in your opinion? The residents of these facilities enjoyed answering these questions and telling their stories. The things the residents said even made an impact on a 9 year old boy who volunteered with his grandpa. He was so impacted that later on, he began asking questions about Jesus and that night, he accepted Christ as his savior!

The volunteers who participated in this event were so gratified and had such a great time, that two of the groups are doing the same thing again this weekend, on their own. If blessing senior citizens sounds like something you’d be interested in, you can e-mail Dawn at dawnm@saddleback.com or call 949-609-8333.