How would you answer the
above question? From my per-
spective there are only two pos-
sible answers:
YES! or NO!
We know the answer because
our bodies will tell us by how we
feel and maybe even look. The
Bible talks about the importance
of taking care of our bodies.
Paul reminds us that our bodies
are temples of the Holy Spirit. In
his first letter to Timothy he
states: Physical training is of
some value! (1 Timothy 4:7)
By now, we all should know the
basics of keeping ourselves
physically healthy. But, what
about your spiritual health: are
you in shape spiritually? What
are the basics when it comes to
being in good spiritual shape?
This is critical because Paul goes
on to say: Train yourself to be
godly because godliness has
value for all things, holding
promise for both the present life
and the life to come. (1 Timothy
4:8)
Right now I can think of at least
75 people who know the basics
for staying spiritually healthy.
These are the children, youth,
and adults who participated in
our OlympiOn Vacation Bible
School during the last week of
July. Here are the basics for
good spiritual health:
STEP 1 - Listen to God &
God’s Word!
STEP 2 - Trust God – Take
God at His Word!
STEP 3 - Obey God – Do
what God says!
STEP 4 - Confess to God –
When you fail, admit it
and receive God’s for-
giveness!
STEP 5 - Follow God’s Way –
Courageously live the
life God has called you
to live for Him!
It is a simple training regimen.
Like all good training regimens, it
promises great benefits.
And, like any good exercise pro-
gram, the time to start is now.
Not sure? Then, take Step One
right now and listen to God: Be
strong and courageous. Do not
be terrified; do not be discour-
aged, for the Lord your God will
be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9) You know what to
do from there. So, go ahead and
follow the steps. You have al-
ready taken the first.
Helping People Become Fully
Alive in Jesus!
Pastor S
(See OlympiOn VBS pictures on
pages 6 and 7 of this issue.)
A R E Y O U I N S H A P E ?
A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 F U L L Y A L I V E !
Fully Alive! I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :
W O R K C A M P 2 0 1 6
2
C A M P O U T 2 0 1 6 4
P O B L O F A R E W E L L
5
O L Y M P I O N V B S 6
C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S
Do Workcampers tend to exag-
gerate? I have asked myself
that question many times. As
we traveled back from our re-
cent mission adventure in West
Virginia, I actually got to sit in
the van for a bit and read my
care cards (thank God for extra
drivers). It seems to always be
the case that at least one of
these notes of affirmation from
a camper says they had the
“best week of my life”. Such
responses makes the enormous
amount of work, organizing,
recruiting, fundraising, planning,
and praying that have gone into
our camps over the years worth-
while.
If you look at the photos on this
page and the next, I hope you
see what all we packed into a
week immersed together in our
life in Jesus. We hope you will
join us in 2017 for “The Road”,
our next Workcamp adventure.
Because no, they are not exag-
gerating. :)
Page 2 F U L L Y A L I V E !
W O R K C A M P M I S I S O N 1 6 : “ T H E B E S T W E E K O F M Y L I F E ” ( C E D A R G R O V E , W V )
Page 3 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S
Come on out and join us for our
first annual Holy Cross campout.
Everyone is welcome.
It will be held at Chester Woods
park on September 16th - 18th.
There are still spots open to
camp. If you are not a camper,
don't worry, you are also wel-
come to come for any or all of
the activities. The goal is to get
to know other Holy Cross fami-
lies in a relaxed, fun setting.
Here is the schedule:
Friday night—bring your roasting
stick, lawn chairs, a s'more item,
and a story to share around the
fire.
Saturday Anytime—Come out
anytime for hiking, games, and
fun. Bring a game to share.
Saturday 6:00 pm- Potluck.—
Bring a dish to pass and your
own drink. Plates, napkins, sil-
verware provided.
Sunday 9:30 am- Outdoor wor-
ship—Bring your lawn chairs.
This event is being planned by
Ernie & Kathy Freudenburg, Jay
& Diane Gatzlaff, and Ken &
Lorrie Langford.
Contact anyone of them with
questions or suggestions.
See you there!!!
On Thursday evening, July 14,
2016, POBLO / International
Friendship Center hosted
a Farewell & Goodbye Ban-
quet at Holy Cross for POBLO’s
Director, Kristine Murray, her
husband, Dave, and daughters,
Juliana and Ella. POBLO Volun-
teers, a few POBLO ESL stu-
dents, and Holy Cross friends
gathered to break bread and
pray for God to bless the Murray
family as they prepared to move
to Oklahoma City. They will be
greatly missed. POBLO wel-
comes new Director, Katrina
Meyer, who has hit the ground
running! Please pray for God’s
continued blessings on the min-
istry of POBO.
On Tuesday, July 19, 2016,
POBLO held the first of this
year’s series of cooking classes
at Holy Cross for international
students. Attending were wom-
en from China, Korea, Thailand,
and Iran. Holy Cross member
Karen Kelle and her sister-in-
law, Betty Lindberg, taught the
women how to make home-
made pizzas, dinner crepes, and
dessert crepes. The women
enjoyed discussing differences
in cooking from their native
countries, including what spices
they use, how they wash fruits
and vegetables, and what kind
of pans they use for different
tasks.
Betty shared Jesus’ words in
John 10:10 with the women as
an introduction to Jesus and the
abundant life that He offers to
us. The Holy Cross Ministry
Team got to take a break from
their work to sample the deli-
cious foods at the close of the
class.
In the second week of class,
Karen and Betty took the wom-
en to Trader Joe’s, which sup-
ports POBLO with weekly dona-
tions of food and flowers; Peo-
ple’s Co-op, to discuss spices
and the olive bar, and HyVee, to
show the international foods are
offered for sale there. Subse-
quent cooking sessions will
cover homemade soups, pastas,
casseroles, roasted vegetables,
pies, cookies, and everyday
meals.
Please pray for Karen and Betty
as they move forward, building
relationships with the women,
and planting seeds of God’s
love. And please pray for the
students, that they would come
to know Jesus as their Savior.
H O L Y C R O S S C A M P O U T
P O B L O A T H O L Y C R O S S
Page 4 F U L L Y A L I V E !
Join us for the first annual Holy Cross Campout!
P O B L O F A R E W E L L B A N Q U E T F O R T H E M U R R A Y F A M I L Y
( S e e P O B L O a r t i c l e o n p a g e 4 )
Page 5 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S
P O B L O C O O K I N G C L A S S
( S e e P O B L O a r t i c l e o n p a g e 4 )
O L Y M P I O N V A C A T I O N B I B L E S C H O O L
Page 6 F U L L Y A L I V E !
Be strong and
courageous. Do
not be terrified;
do not be
discouraged, for
the Lord your
God will be with
you wherever
you go.
Joshua 1:9
Coach Lisa St. Peter shows OlympiOns the torch they will make.
Head Coach Fran preparing OlympiOns for Joshua 1:9 Calisthenics
Coach Zeke Green leads Recreation. Coach Shelley DeYoung gives instructions for creating Olympic-themed snacks.
OlympiOn Praise Team on Day 1
Page 7 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S
O L Y M P I O N V A C A T I O N B I B L E S C H O O L S O N G S
The OlympiOn VBS children
worked hard memorizing Bible
verses during the week, helped
in part by the fact that two of
the songs they learned were
verbatim from scripture. The
songs, “Hebrews 12:1” and
“Joshua 1:9,” are from an excit-
ing Scripture Memory series,
G.T. and the Halo Express,
which includes seven fun stories
where Bible truths come to life.
Here’s a note from Billy Graham
about G.T. and the Halo Ex-
press:
“I highly recommend to parents
and grandparents this God's
Word for Today's Kids series
[G.T. and the Halo Express] as a
wonderful approach to Scripture
memory for children.”
G.T. and the Halo Express CDs
are available at ww.gthalo.com.
Other songs that were sung at
VBS include “God is on the
Move” by 7eventh Time Down,
“Alive” by Hillsong Young & Free,
“After All” by David Crowder
Band, and “My Lighthouse” by
Rend Collective. We hope to
continue the use of these songs
on Sundays in worship, so feel
free to look them up on Youtube
and/or purchase them for your
own music library.
Coach Kevin Kelle helping the children memorize and apply God’s Word.
OlympiOn athletes in training!
More training!
August Issue of Fully Alive!
2703 9th Avenue NW
Rochester MN 55901
Phone: 507.289.1354
Fax: 507.289.4815
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.holycross-church.org
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Rochester MN 55901
Holy Cross children and youth
have been actively engaged
this summer! See inside
for photos of some of
the ways God is on the
move!