• Kidology Coaching Update
Coaching Update: We now have NINE on-line mentoring relationships. This last week with nine protege’s I believe I have turned a corner with our on-line leadership training ministry. Having spent nearly four years writing the curriculum for this program, it is now bearing a kind of tangible fruit that is being helpful on several levels.
• Dale Salwak with LAFCM
It was another great evening of learning and fellowship in the art of gospel illusion. Dale Salwak was our guest lecturer. Dale was immensely helpful to our October Meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. Above you will see most of Club leadership posing with Dale Salwak. From left to right is Joe Marotta (Vice President), Dale Salwak, Shawn Lindstrom (Librarian), Michael LaFond (President), and Robert Miller (Treasurer). It was another great evening of learning some more professionalism for our craft.
• Closing the Office
We began the new year downsizing the office by removing all our creative products, manufacturing, distribution to Kid Helpers Resources, Inc. As the year wore on our office was becoming just a storage unit. So after several months of struggle with it, it was finally decided to close the office after 36 years in the same place. So I kind of “dropped out” for a solid four weeks to make the move. It was not easy. I would sure rather move someone else, than move my own things. My ministry collection was 40 (plus) years old, so moving and sorting through my accumulation sure brought back the memories. All I had to do was just pick something up and the memories would come.
Then the question would follow…
• Speaking to Indonesian Kids
Recently, I had the opportunity to return to the Indonesian Evangelical Church in Azusa, CA. The church was celebrating their 25th Anniversary of the founding of their Church. I was there to minister to the children. It was a festive time with lots of authentic Indonesian foods and desserts. Here I am performing, my now famous Stiff-Rope Trick, much to the delight and laughter of the children. This was a routine I first starting using on my India-Kid Mission last summer, with so much success that I included it in all thirty shows. Well, it was a hit here too.
This was the second time that I have been with this group of children. They seemed very glad that I could return. I was able to come last December for their annual Sunday School Christmas Program.
• Pocket Tool-Box Resources
This month’s Special Resource Collection for children’s evangelism is the Pocket Tool Box.
This wonderful toolbox filled with 14 tools has everything one will need to share God’s good news about His son Jesus Christ. This Tool Box comes complete with the following tools:
• (1) Gospel glove with scripture for each finger
• (1) Between You & GOD step-by-step instructional pamphlet
• (1) Wordless Book (3×2)
• (1) Pocket Wordless Book (1×1-1/2)
• (1) Wordless Wrist band
• (1) Half dollar size Coin with 15 scripture addresses
• (1) “Great Adventure” Cards (set of 4)
• (1) Comic strip tract entitled “In Search of the Greatest Treasure”
• (1) Comic strip tract entitled “Good News”
• (1) Finger Puppet (Peeper’s) & booklet to share Jesus
• (1) Evange-Cube and designer Leather Belt case
• (1) Evange-Pen (with retractable message inside)
• (1) Evange-Pencil
• (1) Gospel Magic Trick “Hunter’s Puzzle Knot”
• (1) Colorful plastic Tool Container (8”wide X 2-1/4” tall X 5-1/4” deep)
A $43.99 Value
Now one-low price of $29.99 (for the month of September only!)
There is a limited supply, so get yours, while they last!
Check it out at www.kidhelperresources.org
• Night At The Castle
We continue to enjoy our monthly fellowship with the Los Angeles Chapter of the Christian Magicians. Every month our meetings are held at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. This month our guest lecturer was a Balloonatic, Harvey Simpson. It was good time, demonstrating how we can add balloon twisting and unusual creations to teach the gospel truth in our programs. He really challenged us to add some balloons to our programs for children.
To find out more about our monthly meetings (click here).
• Kinard Family Celebrations
We now look for any excuse to get all the family together. It was an Open House, an Engagement Party and a Family Vacation, all rolled into one. This has been a great summer for our family. Sarah delivered Taylor, Kristen and Bryan announced their engagement, Ken and Jennifer announced the coming of grandchild number eight in 2009. So we scheduled a holiday/vacation for us all to be together to celebrate. We had an Open House to invite all our family and friends to visit us.
Above is a recent family photo taken in our backyard. (back left) Kevin and Sarah with Taylor, Bryan and Kristen, Barney (Proud Papa), Karina and Michael West holding Tennyson (Ken’s son), Cheryl West (Matt West was in Korea). (front left) Jennifer Kinard with son Spencer, my wife Sharon (Nana) with Madison (Kevin’s), Ken and his son Benjamin.
If you are interested in learning more about the family celebration….
• Brunch with Bob
When my wife Sharon spotted this Brunch with Bob opportunity at the UCLA Countrywide Classic Tennis Tournement, she just knew that I would love it. So I invited one of my “Bob” friends, Bob DeKlotz, to join me for Brunch. Bob and I usually have breakfast every Wednesday morning anyway, (we have been doing this for many years). So it was easy to think that we could just go to UCLA on our normal day to have the brunch and watch some great tennis afterwards. We both like to play and watch tennis.
So what was Brunch with Bob all about?
• Celebrate God’s Goodness
We had an wonderfully eventful mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. Some fifty-two of us journeyed by bus to remote and needy places. The most wonderful part of the trip was that “God was with us.” He promised us that He would be with us, you know. It says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” The Lord sure was there with us. One of the reasons I like to do mission work is that you get to experience the power and presence of God. He provided all we needed in every situation.
Here is just one example, and there are many, of how He showed His powerful presence.
• Oaxaca-Kid Mission Next
The time has come to depart for our next Kid Mission. This time we are off the Oaxaca, Mexico. We leave July 18, this Friday morning, for Mexico City, then transfer for a flight to the City of Oaxaca. There our team of fifty will board a bus and begin our missionary journey with Pastor Paul Su, the Director of 4 Christ Mission out of San Diego. I will be leading a nine-member children’s ministry team, who will be conducting children’s meetings at every stop along the way. Ultimately, we will end up in Cancun, some 1,500 miles and ten days later, and from there, fly back to Los Angeles on July 27th.
We have had a series of training meetings to prepare for this trip. Doctors, Nurses, Dentists and a host of team volunteers will be going. Several whole families go with us too; their children are on my children’s ministry team. We are prepared to teach choreographed music, theme crafts, puppetry, drama, personal testimony and I will be illustrating a couple of gospel messages with object lessons, gospel illusions and other visuals. It will be a lot of bus riding, there will be lots of kids. We will have long days, a couple of nights trying to sleep on the bus. We will do a little sight seeing towards the end of the trip. We hope to see some Aztec and Mayan Ruins, which should be very interesting.
Of course, these mission trips are not about being a tourist, on the contrary, they are serious, full on, short-term mission work. The team conducts a Discipleship Training Seminar and I will be one of the adult speakers. I will be teaching about Why Children’s Ministry is Important. It is a medical mission first of all, all the other ministries are a compliment to that, including evening rallies and revival-type meetings to reach out to friends of the Christians. We mostly attract people with our free medical help and medicine, which the doctors take with us. From this basic strategy, this Mexico Outreach Mission seeks to provide ministry among the poor, especially in smaller villages throughout Mexico and Central America. We are just one of many teams that travel throughout the year.
If you think of us during July 18 to July 27, we would appreciate your prayers: for our success, safety, strength, sleep, unity on the team, salvation for the children, medical help among the sick, training for the leaders, and ministry of encouragement among the poor everywhere we go. I am praying for endurance. More reports to follow. (I will be off line for ten days)
