Monday, December 31, 2012

End of the Year Financial Details


During the month of January 2013, we will be sending out 2012 Giving Statements.  All donations to 3:18 Ministries are tax-deductible.  In order for donations to be included on the 2012 Giving Statements, the envelope must be postmarked by December 31, 2012.  If you cannot get your end of the year gift to the post office today, you can also give through the PayPal Donate button on the top right of the main page.
 
Also in January we will be finalizing our 2012 Financial Statement.  We believe in financial accountability and transparency.  If you would like to receive a copy of our 2012 Financial Statement, please email us at threeeighteen@hotmail.com.

Thank you for partnering with 3:18 Ministries both prayerfully and financially.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving

Today we have a guest post from David Sprinkle.  David and Lisa Sprinkle are the Co-Directors of Hope In Transit, a traveling music school reaching Native Americans for Christ.  You can find Hope In Transit's Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/david.sprinkle.96#!/hopeintransit?fref=ts

Here are David's thoughts:

In recent years, a great deal of debate has gone into the original Thanksgiving. I’ve seen debates on whether the pilgrims were good or bad. I’ve seen debates on whether the Native folks were helpful or warlike. I’ve seen debates whether the pilgrims where thankful to God or to the Native folks. I’ve seen debates on whether we should even have the holiday given the possible answers to some of the previous questions. I even saw a debate one time on whether there was more turkey or more fish at the original feast (seriously). I’d like to settle the score today, on all the arguments but the last one.

The pilgrims, much like you or me, were people who often tried hard to do the right thing and even more often missed the mark terribly, and tragically also sometimes didn’t try to do the right thing. It is possible that the Native folks were very helpful and started to feel defensive as more and more people arrived and more and more resources were used—they were not immune to the same problems the pilgrims faced during the winter and likely felt the need to insure their own survival as you or I would. I believe the pilgrims were thankful to God and the Native people who helped them, despite the later tragedy. And yes, I think we should still have the holiday.

The painful truth is the story you heard in grade school is true, and the story of the conquest and destruction by the pilgrims in the “King Phillip’s War” is also true. Before you get mad at me (on either side) hear me out. It is well known that Squanto helped the pilgrims and far lesser known that Massasoit helped them as well. What is lesser known still is what happened to Massasoit’s first son, and how those events, along with pressure on resources and culture sent his second son into war against the settlers and how the settlers came raging back with events like the Turner Falls massacre and many other unfortunate incidents.

“That’s a lot of bad news. Why do you still think we should celebrate?” you say. Because we have so much for which to be thankful, and we spend 364 days per year either complaining about not having enough or worrying and scurrying to try to correct not having enough or trying to protect what we have.

Starting tomorrow, we will be inundated with commercials telling us we don’t measure up if we don’t get our loved ones a diamond, a new car, or whatever. We will see the ultimate in altruism, commercials telling us how WE will benefit if we really outdo ourselves on gift giving. And yes, we will even see commercials telling us to buy gifts for ourselves because it is Christmas, as if we don’t do that 200 times per year. Then it will be New Year’s….get drunk to forget or celebrate or whatever it is—like we needed a day for that. Then Valentines Day (more gift pressure). Then Easter—Celebrating Jesus through huge amounts of chocolate. Then Memorial Day (a day where we remember fallen heroes with beer and racing). Then Independence Day (we’ll blow stuff up….but at least it will sort of be in gratitude to our founding fathers). Then Labor Day (a day off to celebrate work….kind of ironic). Then Halloween (free stuff if you look weird enough). Then Veteran’s Day (another holiday I can get with at least a little bit) and then we’re back around—a day to just be thankful.

The truth is, we spend an awful lot of time on ourselves. We do it everyday, then take holidays to really sharpen the focus. I like Thanksgiving because it gives me a chance to focus elsewhere.

So, yeah, you’re darn right I like this one more than all the others—I’m thankful for my God and Him saving me—I hope He’s strong, because I’m a mess. I’m thankful for my wife, my family, my Native brothers and sisters, my friends, my work, the provision God gives me whether it be bare sustenance or and overabundance at any given time and about 1,000,000 other things. I’m not going to gorge myself, get all bent out of shape over a football call or a non-cream-filled-non-bread-product not being available anymore, or forget the purpose of the holiday. More than that, I’m going to have thanksgiving day again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Is anyone with me?

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Christmas Project!

Christmas time is just around the corner! This is an exciting time for us at 3:18 Ministries!  We would love for you to share in our opportunity to bless some children and families on the San Carlos Reservation this year!  We are planning on three different projects of blessing this Christmas.

 
First, we are planning to have a Christmas party at the San Carlos Apache Youth Home and bless each child and staff with some gifts and great memories as we show them Jesus. How you can help? Donate money or Wal-Mart or Kohl’s gift cards to help purchase their gifts.

 
Second, we want to encourage and continue to build relationships with our “construction guys”.  We would like to take them to a sporting event for their “Christmas Bonus” as well as help them to choose and buy gifts for their children.  How you can help? Again, donating money and Wal-Mart gift cards will help us to do this.

 
Finally, to help bless and build stronger families we would like to give a new book and a new stuffed animal to all of the children whose parents are involved in Parenting Classes at Social Services and San Carlos Alternative High School. How you can help?  You can send books and stuffed animals to 3:18 Ministries 1210 E Crestwood Dr. Globe, AZ 85501 or you can order books and stuffed animals online at Walmart.com and then have them sent Site to Store to the Claypool AZ store.  Make sure you list Kara Satter as the person picking them up, and sending a text message to (928)200-1974.  Also you can send Wal-Mart gift cards as well. We need all donations by December 12th.

 
Thank you so much for helping us to give unconditional gifts while we share the love of Jesus with children and families!
 
3:18 Ministries Staff
 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

It Is Time To Go!

Here are some of Robert's thoughts as he transitions from one great ministry to another!  Please read his post and pray for the Crews family.

http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/2012/10/its-time-to-go.html

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Latest From Robert & Liz Crews

Here is the latest update from the Crews family!

http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/2012/09/here-we-go.html

We are getting excited!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

An Update From Robert & Liz Crews

Here is the latest from Robert & Liz Crews as the prepare to move to Arizona!

http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/2012/08/vacation.html

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Helping?

A great post from Robert Crews.  Robert and Liz Crews are in the process of fundraising to join the staff of 3:18 Ministries full-time.  What do you think about his blog?

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Setting Your Chapel Speaker Lineup For Church Camp

I am a church camp junkie.  Over my 20 plus years working at church camps I have learned a lot about setting your chapel speaker lineup.  Here are some words of wisdom to set your lineup!

Sunday Night – This is your leadoff hitter.  He will set the tone for the whole inning.  If he strikes out it will affect the entire week.  He must get on base or you risk the chance of having the campers dreading coming to chapel time.  If at all possible make sure he uses at least one video clip and tells several stories.  Prayer over this speaker, “As Ecclesiastes 6:11 says, ‘The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?’  We ask You to use (insert speaker’s name here), his few words, and his several funny stories to reach these campers.  Amen.”

Monday Night – This is your #9 hitter.  He is usually on the team for his defensive ability.  He has a great attitude and is willing to do his part on the team.  Sometimes the coach will tell the #9 hitter to crowd the plate to possibly get hit by the pitch.  This is a great spot to allow your missionary another opportunity to speak or if you are feeling very liberal, maybe your dorm mom could even share her “testimony!”  Hopefully your Monday night speaker will crowd the plate and maybe get hit by the Holy Spirit.  Prayer over this speaker, “Lord, we know You used Balaam’s as…donkey to speak so we ask You to somehow use (insert speaker’s name here) tonight.  Amen.”

Tuesday Night – This is your #2 hitter.  Find a hitter who handles the bat well for the second spot. Make sure he can bunt effectively, take a pitch when a base runner is trying to steal and make contact during a hit-and-run play.  For camp you need to find someone who handles the Scriptures well.  He needs to advance the theme of the week and begin to challenge the campers towards a decision.  Prayer over this speaker, “Lord, tonight we present to You (insert speaker’s name here).  He is a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Use him.  Amen.”

Wednesday Night – This is your #3 hitter.  The #3 hitter in baseball is usually the most consistent hitter on the team.  His job is to get on base so the cleanup hitter can smack him home.  At church camp this is your set up guy.  His job is to start moving the campers towards a decision.  Sometimes if you pick a really good speaker, he might even get a few decisions himself!  Prayer over this speaker, “As John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, please use (insert speaker’s name here) to prepare the way for many decisions in Your name.  Amen.”

Thursday Night – This is your cleanup hitter.  The fate of the whole game rests in his hands.  He is one of your better hitters, but most importantly, he’s a prolific run producer.  For church camp, this is your most dynamic speaker and a prolific decision producer.  If he can’t get the girls crying and the boys sniffing, he has failed miserably.  The ultimate fate of your week of camp in the history books comes down to this speaker.  Prayer over this speaker, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I pray these words over (insert speaker’s name here): Preach the word; be prepared tonight; correct, rebuke and encourage, but mainly correct and do a bunch of rebuking.  In the almighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ whom these campers really need to accept tonight, amen.”


-----------------------
I hope you smiled as you read this random post.  This was not a serious piece!  This was inspired by a dean of a High School week who asked me to speak...on a Monday night!

tory

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Packets, Packing and Proms

Life goes by way too fast, have you ever noticed? Wasn’t it just yesterday that my baby girl was decked out in her pooh bear garb, running through the sprinklers in our backyard? Or was it yesterday she went to her Senior Prom? In between stuffing packets and preparing mailings, packing boxes and handiwork we are taking a deep breath. Our lives are chaotic and surprising and emotionally charged. We’re experiencing lots of firsts, both good and not so good. Here is a small update of where we are, where we are going and how we are getting there.
                                             
The next two weeks are filled, literally!  Our youngest, Shelby is graduating from High School! We have choir shows, awards nights, senior banquets, graduation, parties and Father’s day. So, if that is not exhausting enough, the following week Robert will be leading a group on a Mission Trip to Brisbane, Australia for 2 weeks.  During all of this we of course have our full time jobs, trying to get our house in working order, packing up a few boxes here and there, etc.

When Robert returns from his trip, we plan on hitting the ground running. This means we are in the stage of gathering supporters and finalizing a moving date. We have come up with a rough budget and what we will need to live on. We will be sending out packets with information on how to support us and what that looks like. We will be planning visits to churches, Bible studies, individuals, anyone who will have us. Let us know if you would like to get together. The time is near.

Our biggest request at this point is prayer. Would you take a moment and pray for us? Our family has been through some extraordinarily difficult things.  Though we know why, it has been a growing experience for us all. The closer we get, the more challenging it becomes. But we are not deterred, because we know where we are supposed to be. In God’s will, wherever He will have us. Please take a moment and pray for our friends on the field now, Tory and Kara Satter and their family. Also, please lift up the San Carlos Apache people who daily struggle to see hope and light in the darkness.

We are so grateful for your partnership in this journey! "I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers" Philemon 1:4

Robert and Liz

For more information about Robert & Liz Crews and their journey to join 3:18 Ministries full-time, check out: http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Coffe, Coffee, Coffee

Take a minute and read the latest from Robert Crews.  Robert & Liz Crews will be moving to Globe this fall to join 3:18 Ministries full-time!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Hope In The Midst Of Hopelessness

A couple of years ago my mom had a conversation with one of our relatives.  They were talking about the ministry to which God has called Kara and me.  They were talking about the San Carlos Apache Nation and the hopelessness which fills it.  My relative asked how we can keep going without being totally discouraged.

To be totally honest, there are days when the hopelessness we face overwhelms us.  There are days when we are heartbroken as we see another soul take five steps back after taking two steps forward.  When we see a two year old child barefoot, unattended, and playing on the sidewalk with a forty ounce glass beer bottle, it leaves us speechless.  When youth we have poured our lives into choose to try and self-medicate with alcohol and marijuana, we hurt deeply.  When another marriage dissolves, our heart breaks.  When another teenager's life ends way too soon, we cry from the depth of our souls.  There are days we shake our fists in the air and ask, “How long, O Lord?”

I found myself face down on my bed, pouring out my soul to God and pleading for the souls of my Apache brothers and sisters.  In total despair I asked God, “Can I make a difference?”  I was not looking for an answer, but no sooner had I finished my question I heard a still, small voice.  God spoke directly to my heart and said, “No, but I can.”

How arrogant and foolish of me to think this ministry was somehow about me.  I was reminded of the story of David.  I love what he said in his confrontation with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:47.  “For the battle is the Lord’s.”  If the battle was up to David, he would have lost.  Goliath was too big and too strong for a little shepherd boy, poorly equipped, fighting on his own.

This battle is too big and too strong for us to fight on our own.  However, with God’s help, we will keep going.  God has called us to be available, to be faithful, and to stand firm.  The work is His!

tory

Monday, April 23, 2012

Update from Robert & Liz Crews

Here's the latest from Robert & Liz Crews, future teammates at 3:18 Ministries.  Please take a minute to read about their journey and pray for them!

http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-next-truth-isi-dont-know.html

Thursday, March 15, 2012

3:18 Ministries - 3/18 Day!!

March 18th (3/18) is quickly approaching! We will once again have a 3:18 Ministries giveaway at 8 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, 3/18. One lucky fan of 3:18 Ministries' Facebook page will win a t-shirt and one of our brand new 20 oz. travel cups! All fans of 3:18 Ministries' Facebook page are already entered.  If you get someone to like 3:18 Ministries' Facebook page and they win then you win a prize pack too!!

3:18 Ministries Facebook page:

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Thoughts From The President of 3:18 Ministries' Board of Directors

Check out the latest blog from 3:18 Ministries' President of the Board of Directors, Mike Andrews.  We are so humbled and honored by the men and women who serve on our Board of Directors.

http://www.theoquest.blogspot.com/2012/02/looking-for-mission-pick-one.html

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Eyes of An Apache Baby

Eight years ago this month Kara and I wrapped up four years of youth ministry at Fort Street Christian Church in Omaha, Nebraska.  It was hard to leave this incredible group of students whom we loved deeply.  We had some great times with those students.  Shortly after we told the kids we were moving to Arizona, one of our students wrote a poem for us.  She had experienced ministry on the San Carlos Apache Reservation the summer before and shared her feelings with us.  Here are her words...

The Eyes of An Apache Baby
By Amanda Brazda McAninch

We had to part and say goodbye, to the eyes of an Apache baby.
They're returning now and making it right, for those eyes of an Apache baby.
Solemn as it is we must respect their cares, for the eyes of an Apache baby.
Though we mourn and without doubt will miss,
They will not leave in vain, but for the eyes of an Apache baby.
The sparkle's gone along with absence of hope,
In the eyes of an Apache baby.
Their troubles long and hard to cure, you see, in the eyes of an Apache baby.
The wear and tear of abuse and neglect, in the eyes of an Apache baby.
Searching high, searching low, for a Savior, a friend,
A love, a treasure, a hope,
But failing to find enough nourishment to their sorrow,
In the tired eyes of an Apache baby.
Our leaders depart to stop shedding of tear,
To cease agony and pain; they see, and I've seen,
The eyes of an Apache baby.

Amanda (on the left) in Hallelujah Square on the
San Carlos Apache Reservation
Summer of 2003

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Live Life On Purpose

Check out a blog from Robert & Liz Crews, future teammates of 3:18 Ministries!  It is a quick read about their journey.

http://crewsfamily3-18.blogspot.com/2012/01/live-life-on-purpose.html

Monday, January 16, 2012

Martin Luther King Jr; The Civil Rights Movement & Native Americans

I have great respect for Martin Luther King Jr.  I respect a man who will stand up for what he believes in even when it is the tough thing to do, especially when his life is on the line.  I found myself reading MLK's "I Have A Dream Speech" this morning.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

     Today I wonder what our country would look like if the Native Americans and African Americans had united for the Civil Rights Movement. Today the Native American still is not free. Today the life of the Native American is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. Today the Native American lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. Today the Native American is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. The majority of treaties (if not all of them) between the Native Americans and our United States government have not been honored.  They too have expereienced many checks written by the United States government returned marked with "insufficient funds."  I have a dream...

-tory