Next Meeting: 1 Mar 2008 6:00 pm

UPDATE: The reception for Victor and Angie will be at 6:00pm on the 1st of March!

See you then.

Nate


Beloved,

Our meeting on the 6th was quick and sweet. We are nearing resolution with some of the fund raising issues. I spoke with Paul Stevens today and he hopes to provide more guidance within the next couple of days.

In the mean time, the focus is for everyone to work on their support letters. Email me if you wish to receive some samples.

Victor arrives in 2 days (19 Feb 08). We are encouraging anyone who is going on the trip next summer to host either Victor or Angie for at least one night. This is a marvelous opportunity for you to start making connection with the people we will be supporting next summer. Trust me, you don' t have to own a mansion to show hospitality. What they value most is your friendship and love--much more than you may realize. You will be blessed!

I'll update a separate posting for the itinerary of their trip.

Victor and Angie are Coming!

I just received great news: Victor Khumalo and Angie Diale are coming to the US! My hope is to enable many of our US brethren to have the incredible privilege and challenge of meeting them and hearing their testimonies/hearts! Both of them are leaders of SAHAC (Southern Africa HIV AIDS Collaboration). The pilot project that Churches Together is working alongside is in Sowetto (Orlando, East) South Africa.

Updated agenda (as of 18 Feb 08)

Agenda:

• Feb. 19: Victor arrives in Little Rock
• -Meet with Fellowship LR leaders, people in Clarksville, etc.
• Feb 24: Church at Fellowship Cabot; Youth Meeting
• Feb 25 -Meet w/Nate & Charlie to work on our summer trip
• -Meet w/ Joe Park/Luke Porter/James & Codi Bennett to work on the summer trip
• Feb. 26: Victor & Robert Brown fly to South Carolina to meet Angie there
• -Tuesday and/or Wed: Meeting(s) in Sumter at Alice Drive Baptist Church
• -Thursday: Meetings in Myrtle Beach
• Feb. 29: Victor, Angie, and Robert Brown fly back to Little Rock
• 1Mar: Saturday: Possible driving tour w/Nate; Meeting (6:30 pm) at Fellowship Cabot
• 2 Mar: Sunday: Day trip--Collierville/Memphis, TN with Lord of Nations Church
• 3 Mar: Monday Lunch: Day trip--Collierville/Memphis Area Meeting
• 4 Mar: Tuesday Lunch at Fellowship Bible, LR: Meeting with Central AR leaders @ Larry's Pizza on Cantrell
• 5 Mar: Wednesday Dinner: Dinner at Luke Porter's House with New Life Leaders
• 6 Mar: Thursday: Victor & Angie fly to Cincinnati

Contact Nate or Robert Brown if you want to host them in your home. Don't miss the opportunity to be blessed by one of these faith giants.




Angie is HIV positive. Her husband was unfaithful and infected her. She lost him. And a child who was born HIV positive. Another child threatened suicide because he feared being the only living family member. She is one of the bravest people I've ever met and an INCREDIBLE SPEAKER!!!

Victor formerly worked with Campus Crusade. He has also been a long-time pastor in South Africa. He now serves as a pastor to pastors – helping them as they lead their churches to try to transform their communities in the midst of destruction and death. He is an incredible conduit between US and South African Churches.

I'd love to hear any ideas you have about how to maximize their exposure. I certainly think that exposure to them now will only help our trip to work alongside them in July.

Please help me share these Kingdom-servants with:
Key people/influencers
As many of your people as you would like to see more engaged in Kingdom pursuits
Bless you my friends … Together Is Better!
Robert Brown

10 Feb 2008 Planning Meeting

The next planning meeting will be 10 Feb 2008 in between services at Fellowship Cabot (1020-1040). Since our time is so short, it will be fast & furious.

Agenda:

• Fund Raising
• Victor & Angie's visit
• Prayer!

Thanks in advance for your time.

Notes from previous meetings:

We are still working with the right policies before we begin fund raising. We need to ensure that any fund raising done is reputable, charitable, and equitable (nice words, huh?). Essentially, we want to make sure that we are fair and up front with the policies and that any funds distributed are done so openly and equitably. That being said, the majority of any funds raised will be from personal efforts; specifically, support letters. I'll provide a sample for everyone to use. You can send them to family, friends and community group members. More to follow.

Victor Khumalo and Angie Diale will be in town in late Feb & early March. We are looking for host homes to house them while they are here. Don't miss the opportunity and blessing to have one of these faith giants spend an evening with your family!

Get started on your passports. The process is running faster these days, but you don't want to wait.

Im Dienst Christi,

Nate Allerheiligen

Fund Raising

What are your ideas for fund raising? Email me or respond with a comment. The goal is to provide supporting funds for those who need them most. Any money we can raise will help, especially since we have several youth who would like to join us. Part of the challenge is that we don't want to squeeze all of our funds from our own congregation. We will be more successful and support the church at large if we focus on external fund raising. Here are some ideas:

• Donut sales
• Car washes
• Auctions (E-Bay or other)
• Family & friend sponsorship

We'll take any ideas you have. This will be the primary topic during our 6 Jan meeting, as well as getting others to sign up for committees.

Planning Committees

We'll start with the following planning committees. Let me know if you wish to join or change groups. Assume I'll be a part of all of them, but my goal is to let others run with their talents & I'll advise as necessary.

Fund Raising
Will lead the efforts to raise support for the trip through events, outreach, solicitation & just plain begging (if required) to get the necessary funds for all to travel. Reality check: We are using $3,000 per person as a planning figure. Are you ready to commit to that?

• Patty Crabbe

Team Building
Responsible for recruiting, training, and coordinating the mission team. Duties will include approaching other churches & groups to come, as well as providing personal training to the team. Coordinating other church teams will also be required.

• Robert Brown
• Charlie Loften

Travel
Arranging all aspects of the trip to include ground & air travel, lodging, tickets, schedules, etc.

Publicity
Getting the word out about our Mission: Eradicating HIV/AIDS through partnership with churches in South Africa. Assists the Fund Raising & Team Building teams as required. Audio/Visual skills, web-savy, & techno-geeks are highly encouraged!

16 Dec 2007 Planning Meeting

Notes:
We had a great introductory meeting. Can you believe that we already have 17 pledges to go on our trip next year! Praise the Lord!

Now the work begins. As mentioned first step is to get your passports up to date. The process takes 4 months, so best to start now. I'll forward on the links once I get them sorted out. In the mean time, you'll need 2x2 pictures to submit later. It doesn't have to be portraits. I'm guessing Walmart can do them from a digital photo for a couple o' bucks.

Check the blog (left side) for prayer list. I'll get those started shortly. It will be the power of prayer & the blessings of the Holy Spirit that will see this trip to completion. So we'll work as if it depended on us & pray because it all depends on God!

Im Dienst Christi,
Nate Allerheiligen

Agenda for 16 Dec Planning Meeting
1015-1045, Fellowship Cabot, Yukon-Ho room (5-6th graders)

1. Introduction & sign-in
2. Give introductory presentation
3. Demonstrate blog/documents
4. Committee brainstorm:

• Fund Raising
• Team Building
• Travel
• Publicity

4. Next meeting: 6 Jan, 1015-1045

Visit to Cabot

The visit of our brothers from South Africa concluded on Sunday. We had an awesome worship (thank you Jason et. al.) and then spoke to the elementary age kids during the second service. That evening, we had another gathering to allow others to meet Jeremiah and Sebastian.

We shared with Sebastian a long-standing Allerheiligen tradition: Sunday-night pancakes. They were delicious (thank you Susan!). Sebastian left our home this morning, and after a day trip to Memphis, will begin his journey home tomorrow (Tuesday, 11 Dec).

God has blessed us with the friendship of these two great men. They have great visions and have made huge personal sacrifices to address the basic needs of the lost in their community. As we tell of their story, I get the feeling that my initial estimate of 20 will be far too low! We already have 10 interested and we haven't even had our first planning meeting! God is good!