OVERFLOWING WITH THANKFULNESS

NIU UBF November 2011 Mission Report Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Colossians: 2:6 – 7

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.”

This month we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. In the Bible our Lord Jesus commands us to be overflowing with thankfulness. Verses 6 and 7 say: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.” Giving thanks does not always come naturally, but is a very intentional act. Think about Paul. When Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians, he wrote from a Roman prison. Roman prisons were a great pain to endure. But yet Paul was thankful because he saw that God used his imprisonment to advance the gospel. He was thankful because he remembered God’s grace in his life and in his ministry. He was a prisoner, but he was free because Jesus, not Caesar, was his Lord. There are many hardships in our lives, but God has shown us that through these hardships, Jesus has shown us very solid reasons why we can be truly thankful. Let’s see….

Part l: People In Your Fellowship

The kids are continuing to grow in their singing abilities. The DeKalb school system provides a great singing program. Jenn, Augi and Sarah performed in the Winter Choral Concert. The high school Madrigals (Jenn and Sarah) had a concert in downtown DeKalb when the town gathered to kick off the Christmas festivities. Hope (12), together with Junior Madrigals, performed at the Stage Coach Theater. Jenn and Sarah sang in the IMEA concert at DeKalb high school. Jennifer overcame and sang a Jazz song in the solo competition. They are also working hard to prepare for the madrigal dinners in December (a DeKalb tradition). They recently did a ten school tour advertising the madrigal event. May prayer, now and always, is that they may devote their gifts and their talents to revealing Christ and the gospel to the world.

The following is a report about the IMEA concert, written by Jennifer.

People in Your Fellowship
By @Jenn J.

Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) District 8 held its annual Jazz Festival at Honenegah High School in Rockton, IL. The state of Illinois is divided into 9 districts, and District 8 includes eight counties in Northwestern Illinois. The mission of IMEA is to promote lifelong music learning and to provide leadership for music education. Students audition and are selected to participate according to their musical ability and experience.

I auditioned and together with 14 other students was selected to perform in the Senior Vocal Jazz ensemble. For three weeks, I prepared by listening to YouTube videos of the songs and memorizing the sheet music. Yesterday, we arrived at Honenegah High School at around 8am and practiced all day with a Guest Director from one of the participating schools. The Festival then began at 4pm, consisting of three Jazz Bands and one Vocal group. We sang five songs, accompanied by bass, piano, and drums. I auditioned for a solo on the song that I knew best, and by the grace of God was selected for it.
9 other musicians from DeKalb High School were selected and performed in Jazz Bands. Next Saturday, Sarah and I will both perform in the IMEA Freshman & Senior Choruses, which will take place at the new DeKalb High School.

Jennifer is continuing to pray for her university. We pray that she may follow the will of God and that her university years may be full of spiritual growth.

Steve has one more section to finish on his GED. It has been a long haul. But Steve has been persistent and faithful and we pray that he may taste victory in his school studies.

James K. is continuing to study 2 Samuel and succeeding well at NIU. He is working on an accounting project involving home hardware. He is tasting victory during his years at NIU. We pray for future direction after his graduation.

Augustine is training hard for basketball. He loves sports and willingly submits to 4-5 hours of training, travel and games. I pray that he may apply all the principles he learns from team sports to his spiritual life, like persistence and perseverance and striving for the crown.

Hope continues to study the Bible, 1:1 with her friend. Emma. They decided to study John’s gospel, 1:1. They study after school most weeks. Emma and Hope and Mark also join their middle school Bible study club.

Jason D. is a great Christian friend. Though he attends the Christ Community, he studies John’s Gospel with me. We really enjoy the word of God together and prayer together. Jason prays to find a new and better job and to achieve his Masters Degree.

This year we celebrated Thanks Giving day at home. It was just our family, but it was very nice and peaceful. Julie is commuting a lot and the kids are all busy with their school activities. It was nice to just spend time cooking together and spending time together, which is growing rarer these days.

Part ll: Co-working With Other Chapters

We participated in a joint Thanksgiving worship service in Villa Park with Triton and DuPage UBF ministries. It was held at the VA in Villa Park. About 75 people attended. The message was delivered by Mother Sarah Barry. She delivered a message on Colossians 3:6-7 entitled, “Overflowing With Thankfulness.” Triton praise band led the praise and worship and there were special songs from DuPage and Triton UBF. The Jesmer kids sang and up-tempo version of “How Great Thou Art.” There was a child dedication of Evelyn, the daughter of Jeremy and Suzanna Hajek of DuPage UBF. There was a communion service led by Rene Alonzo. Afterwards there was a delicious buffet meal and some great fellowship. We thank god for Jesus and his abundant grace.

. This month, Pastor Kevin, Julie and 3 of the kids (Hope, Sarah and Mark) attended the Hyde Park dedication at The Hyde Park UBF Bible House. It was also the U of C UBF 20th anniversary celebration. The following is a report that was posted on the UBF.org web site.
“The dedication service was held at 12 noon on Saturday, November 26 at 5407 Hyde Park. Around 120 people came from Los Angeles, Yale, New Jersey, and all around Chicago. This building was once a Hindu temple; now it has turned into a beautiful and spacious prayer house of the Lord God. The construction work is still going on for the finishing touches. We could give thanks to God who has been doing a great work in and through Hyde Park UBF thus far.
Nick Williams presided at the service. Wesley and Ester Jun and Rebecca Pierce led joyful worship songs. Mother Barry blessed us with an opening prayer. Pastor Abraham Kim blessed Hyde Park ministry with his message titled, “A Spiritual House of Prayer,“ based on 1 Peter 2:9. Dr. John Yoon shared on Hyde Park UBF’s 20 years of history. His title was “Like a kernel of Wheat” based on Psalm 126. U of C is a powerful intellectual hub in the world. It is a very challenging place for students. God sent Dr. Sam Augustine, Dr. Mark Yoon, and in 2005, M. Joshua Hong with several co-workers. For the last 20 years, they went out weeping, going out with seeds hoping to reap with songs of joy. Now God has begun to bless U of C with some signs of an abundant harvest.

Dr. John Jun and several prayer servants prayed for the ancestors of faith of Hyde Park UBF: Abraham and Sarah Zapata, Dr. John and Mary Yoon, Wesley and Ester Jun, Nicholas Williams, Andrew Jaegers, and Joshua and Grace Hong. Hyde Park UBF prepared abundant food and gave each participant a towel and bookmark as a gift.

May God bless Hyde Park UBF to raise compassionate Bible teachers, Christian scholars, and world changers. May God make U of C the University of Christ.”

This month, the Jesmers participated in the monthly Open Mic Night at DeKalb Christian Church. Jennifer and Augustine were not with us and so Sarah had to take the lead. I thank God that she could stand up and take the leadership role. We also practiced with the DeKalb Christian church, Christmas songs for a 5 church Christmas concert. We are thankful for Dave Y.’s mentoring of us in music. He is a great encouragement. We have been holding our Sunday worship service in their church building. It is a blessing and an encouragement to us.

Julie attended the True Woman Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Marriott Hotel and Indianapolis Convention Center. The following is her report posted in our church bulletin.
2011 True Woman Conference By Julie J.

On Friday, November 3rd, I traveled with @Liz H., @Christy T., @Elena L, @Jenny C. and @Lilliana A., to Indianapolis to attend True Woman ’11. The 2-day conference was sponsored by Revive Our Hearts ministry, headed by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and was primarily purposed to equip and provide resources for pastor’s wives and church leaders of womens’ ministries.

Speakers were as follows:
1) Nancy Leigh DeMoss
– 9 Potential Pitfalls of Ministry
– Vision for the True Woman Movement
2) Pastor Crawford Loritts
– 4 Traits of Spiritual Leaders
– 7 Keys to Strengthening Faith
3) Susan Hunt – Spiritual Mothering

On Saturday afternoon, the group split into two breakout sessions where pastors’ wives discussed family issues and womens’ ministry leaders discussed overriding principles. Throughout the conference, Fernando Ortega led the congregation on piano with praise songs, some dating back centuries.

Each of us who attended made use of the Resource Center and came home with good materials for use with the women for whom we pray. At the end of the conference we were challenged to ask God the hard questions, and to discover what God has placed in our hearts to do for his kingdom. My spirit was personally refreshed through the worship and messages, and God gave me one word from Gal 4:24.
Part lll: Networking In The Community
This month were were faithful to attend the “Feed ‘Em Soup” community meals. It is good to eat together with members of the community and to support this organization.

Part lV: Reaching Out To Others

Hope’s Bible student, @Emma, led the weekly Group Bible Study at CRMS. They continue to study the Bible 1:1. 8-10 students attend this group each week.

9-10 students attended the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings at DeKalb High School each week. Jennifer, Augustine and Sarah attend and Jenn leads the group in Nehemiah Bible study.

Part V: Visitors

This month Julie and I are continuing our Bible study with @Mark Yang@. We are studying about Jesus’ discipleship ministry from Mark’s Gospel. This month, Msn Mark drove out to DeKalb to study with us. We thank God for send Msn Mark and for strengthening our spirits through the word of God in Mark’s Gospel.

Part Vl: Repentant Topics And Vision

We pray to reach out again to the flock of God at NIU. We are still working out in our hearts many things, like…what are we inviting students to? Are we ready to endure more rejections and being ignored? How can we grow in co-working with other area Christians? How can we create an environment where people would want to grow in faith around us and with us? May God fan into flames a passion to share the gospel and give us answers to these questions.
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