Monthly Update - July 2017

Making a difference update, from the recovery field – July 2017 edition…

Below are some bullet points of the highlights that happened in the Life Issues ministry over the last month:

· A personal announcement that’s unrelated to our recovery ministry is that Angie and I’s son and his wife (Luke and Brenda) began being the ministry leaders of HBF’s High School class; we’re very proud of them!
· I failed to mention it earlier, that our 8-week Project Strength Class (Harvester’s nutrition program) wrapped up on mid-June, with 4 people remaining faithful to it; I really appreciate Mark and Laura's faithfulness to teach it!
· Speaking of finishing, one of our students finished the community service portion of his probation on 7-12; this same young man has started HBF’s discipleship course with one of our leaders as his sponsor.
· Speaking of discipleship, we had a different student who complete HBF’s discipleship course in July, and we have two of our leadership couples who are completing HBF’s discipleship course this month! All of these folks are planning to attend HBF’s D2 (Discipleship 2) class that is coming up in September, hallelujah!
· Brad gave a great testimony on 7-28 to about 50 people, of how he went from sports to marijuana, then from marijuana to meth; he then got victory over meth but turned to alcohol. Brad met Annie and got saved and got victory over alcohol and then got discipled and received pastoral level training, and they are now on track to be sent out to pastor a church in Clinton MO! Wow what God can do to those who surrender to him!
· Jim gave a great testimony on 7-25 and one young man gave his life to Christ afterwards.
· The Sunday night Bible study that Pat Lee is leading at Joshua House (men’s transitional home) is starting its second month and is going strong; they had one young man accept Christ into his heart on 7-30!
· We had 3 salvations this month within our ministry, and one of our students gave his testimony at a church in California in early July, and 3 other souls there made professions of faith there!
· We are helping to get a man from jail into Joshua House next week.
· We gave away 4-6 boxes of food in July, and our pantry stills seems full, PTL!
· One of our lady students is gaining full custody of her son this week, we’re very happy for her / them!
· One of our Alumni became a grandpa last month, and two of our students had babies in July!
· We took over a dozen people to a meeting in Butler MO on 7-24 and heard 3 great testimonies and some great music; things were going well until one of the speakers exhibited some physical / health problems, and the meeting was cut short and an ambulance was called. The man was hospitalized overnight, then released, and is OK now; he has had some infirmities in the past, but they aren’t sure why he nearly collapsed that night, please pray for him and his ministry in our neighboring county.
· We had over 20 people attend our Recovery Walk Kick-Off meeting on 7-15, and there was a sweet spirit of fellowship and comradery as we discussed finances and logistics, below are our goals this year:
- Money, we hope to raise $15,000 this year
- Walkers, we hope to have 100 walkers this year
- Volunteers, we need about 40 volunteers to staff the walk this year
- Pledge collectors, we hope to have 20 people request donations from others this year

· We’ve had over $1200 come in so far, and another $4000 or so in pledges, so we’re over 1/3 of the way there, but we didn’t get a couple of the big companies this year, that we had last year, so I’m not sure where funding will come from, but I’m trusting God to meet all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:19

· We raised $12,000 in 2016 with 13 pledge collectors, so we hope that 20 can raise more, please pray it will.

· I’m kind of neck deep in fundraising this month, and am finding myself trusting God more than ever, as we attempt to do a great work for our Lord in these last days. It’s hard to describe what it’s like being in my shoes, but there’s several things going on that touch me and that I know are from the Lord. Last week a couple from our church decided to sell sweet corn from their garden and give to our walk, how sweet that was to me! One lady left work in time to get a packet to take to her church and try and raise support for us. Another lady at another church helps us each year, because her sister died of an overdose and she wants to help others. On the page below is a description of what we’re doing, if you want to be a part of it; written by a true man of God and a dear friend…

Sincerely, Steve Fleshman – Life Issues pastor and founder, Proverbs 4:23…

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Life Issues’ – 5^th Annual Recovery Walk announcement

Everyone is invited to participate in the 5^th annual Life Issues Recovery Walk.  The Recovery Walk is the primary fundraiser for the Life Issues Addiction Recovery Program, an outreach ministry of Heartland Baptist Fellowship (HBF). This year’s Recovery Walk is scheduled for Friday September 1^st, 7PM at Heartland Baptist Fellowship (walkers should arrive by 6PM in order to be shuttled to the start line).

The “Walk” is a 4.4 mile walk, run, or jog starting at the Cass County Justice Center.   The Walk symbolizes and celebrates the journey many of our Life Issues members have made.  They may have begun their recovery course with incarceration at the Cass County Justice Center, but they have made their way to church and a relationship with the Lord.   Anyone in the community is encouraged to join us in our Recovery Walk to Heartland Baptist Fellowship.   There is no cost to walk, just come to HBF on Friday September 1^st about 6PM, and we will provide transportation to the “start line” at the Cass County Justice Center.  The walk will officially begin at 7PM.   This is a family event and strollers are welcome.   Unfortunately, pets are not able to participate so you will need to leave your furry friends at home.   Along the 4.4 mile walk, there will be several water stations, a nurse, and a portable restroom.   We also have several golf carts, ATVs, and cars available in case someone needs a lift to the finish line.  We try to make the walk as safe, fun, and as comfortable possible.

When the walkers arrive back at HBF, we will enjoy an evening picnic with grilled food, activities for the kiddos, raffle drawings, and a concert from a local Christian praise band.  We will also hear inspiring testimonies from our Life Issues members and an update from our Drug Court friends.  It’s going to be an exciting evening under the stars and celebrating recovery from the issues of life.

Now, there are many ways you can participate.   First, you can lace up your sneakers and join us for the evening walk.  Second, if you are not up for the actual walk, you can help us raise money for Life Issues by collecting pledges from family and friends.   If you can collect $100 in pledges you will receive a free Life Issues limited edition T-Shirt.  Thirdly, you may want to help Life Issues with operating or organizing the event. We can use your talents and abilities to fill many positions needed to carry out an event such as this. And lastly, you are welcome to do “all the above” if you wish. See Steve Fleshman or Chris Coen for a pledge form and for details on how you can help; they will be located in HBF’s foyer between and after services during the whole month of August!

You can also check our cool “Walk Introduction” video on the Life Issues YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/8krpDgfGRDI

Plan to join us on Friday September 1^st for the 2017 Life Issues Recovery Walk. Make some new friends and new memories.