CQ Summer 2016

Currents Quarterly
Summer 2016
— Max Lucado
from More to Your Story
C l e a r L a k e P r e s by t e r i a n C h u r c h • 2 8 1 . 4 8 8 . 6 7 3 1 • C L P C . o r g

Made by
Someone Else
— Laura Huebel
Ready to Pitch In
—Katrina Pennington
Gideon
& Me —Dolores Westerlund
Update on
Haiti —Corbyn Small
A Lesson on
Surrender —Steve Oglesbee
Deeper Faith
Through Grief
—Jo Lynn Anderson
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Do you have a story to share? Email mystory@clpc.org.

H
ave you ever experienced eating a sandwich
prepared by a friend in their home and
thought “Oh my, this tastes so much better
than the sandwiches I prepare?” I love being
asked to have lunch at a friend’s house, away from my
refrigerator. The turkey, mayo, lettuce, and tomato sandwich
made lovingly by a friend tastes like a gourmet delicacy,
rather than the same old same old sandwich that I
make!
I think that going on a retreat is much like eating a sandwich
made by someone else. There is something about
being away from home or work…away from the phone,
TV, carpool, and the routine. Away at a retreat, there is a
freshness and a richness to the day that isn’t the same
old same old. A retreat setting allows us to open up
space for God to make His presence known to us.
I am a huge supporter of retreats because there I have
experienced the rich awakenings of God’s presence, the
awakenings that come from my willingness to “set aside”
my routine, my busyness, and my agenda, and in so
doing, giving God space to show up in my life. On a
typical day, I’m pretty good at squeezing God in here and
there, but I am sure God desires more of me. He desires
for me to “Be still and know that I am God,” (Psalm
46:10). Retreats provide those opportunities for me,
opportunities to linger in His presence.
By opening my eyes and ears to the surroundings,
retreats also heighten my awareness of God’s creation,
bringing me great joy. When I reflect on my retreat
experiences, I lovingly recall the picturesque landscape of
nature and beauty-- the delicacy of creation that I typically
don’t see on routine days. I cherish hearing the wind
caress the leaves, seeing the majestic serenity of a
sunrise, and smelling the hypnotic aroma of pine.
In addition to the gifts of God’s sweet presence and my
heightened awareness of His creation, I have been
blessed with lifelong relationships with God’s people that
I have met on retreats. Deep, rich friendships have been
birthed that lasted 30+ years, even if distance has separated
us. These friends continue to be present during
both the good times and the challenging times of my life.
I simply can’t imagine life without these relationships!
I am definitely planning to attend our All Church Retreat
on September 16-18 at Trinity Pines Conference Center
on Lake Livingston. I anticipate God’s presence will show
up in each of our lives…. no matter our age….bringing a
fresh and rich experience that isn’t the same old same
old. We will have time to share stories and build relationships.
Actually, I have one story of a retreat event that
was transformational in my life, but I don’t have space to
include it here. I hope to meet up with you at our upcoming
retreat and tell you all about it!
—Laura Huebel
CLPC member since 1994
Interested? Register for the All Church Retreat by visiting
clpc.org/churchretreat.
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Ready to
Pitch In
T
his is our fifth year to offer a free sports camp to kids in the Clear Lake area. It started as a partnership between
Clear Lake Presbyterian and Clear Lake Baptist, but now there are five churches participating, and it takes all five
churches to pull it off, because we have over 300 campers every year.
Not many kids from our churches actually attend. The camp is mostly attended by the folks who live near the rec center, in
the apartments.
We have offered a variety of sports including baseball, softball, basketball, flag football, volleyball, soccer and cheerleading,
and we never seem to have enough adult volunteers to make it work. SO, I was delighted last year when a gentleman
approached me to say that he was “ready to pitch in wherever I needed him.”
He became the basketball coach for the youngest group of kids, and as the week progressed we had the opportunity to
talk and get to know one another. As it turns out, he and 70 other folks from his mosque had heard about the camp and
wanted to participate. What a joy it was to have them join us and hear the story of Jesus every night. Pray that they will
join us again this year and be overwhelmed by the love of Jesus.
— Katrina Pennington
Associate Pastor at CLPC
For more information on the COA Sports Camp (June 6-9) and/or to register, visit clearlakecoa.org/sports-camp.
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I
knew I felt the nudge to join the R&D initiative, but I wasn’t
sure what community I should join. I thought, “Why
don’t they just tell me where I am needed and then I
don’t have to decide?” I could see myself serving in any
one of them. Bacliff interested me because I am very dedicated
to healthy eating and there was mention of a community
garden. Maybe I will try the Bacliff one.
My first experience at Bacliff was helping with the Houston
Food Bank distribution on the second Tuesday of the month. I
entered the park and said a prayer for God to be with me and
to let me know if this is where He wanted me to be. I, like Gideon,
needed a sign from God. I helped out that day by pulling
a wagon for those who needed the help picking up the food
and unloading it in their car. I was surprised by the huge
amount of food each person received. I helped a sweet lady
and her young son because they had just brought a small red
flyer wagon. When we finished the food line, I asked Ellen (not
her real name) where she parked her car. She said she had
walked from her house. We both looked at her small wagon
knowing there was no way. I offered to take her home so we
loaded the food, the red wagon, and my two new friends in
my car. When I got to their home, we unloaded the car and
the little boy, Max (not his real name) took me on a tour of
their house, proudly showing me his room he shared with his
brothers and the new refrigerator someone had given them.
They gave me a hug and I left knowing God had given me a
sign that I could be His servant in Bacliff.
At the next Sunday worship service, several in our group had
met a woman named Ellen and her son Max sitting in the back.
I never saw them, but I am sure they were the new friends I
had met. I looked for Ellen and Max at the next two food distributions
but they were not there. I began to be concerned
about them and really wanted to see them again. I drove to
their house on a rainy Tuesday and a light was on. Should I
stop? I really tried to find a reason why I shouldn’t. I wasn’t
invited. It was rainy. I really was uncomfortable stopping.
I passed up the house the first time, then turned around
and pulled in. They were glad to see me and I hugged them
and went on my way.
I haven’t seen them since, but I know God gave me two sweet
friends to show me not to be afraid to step out and show His
love. I hope it will be easier for me the next time and maybe
God will ask me to do something even riskier for Him. I know,
though, He was pleased that I took a baby step.
– Dolores Westerlund
CLPC member since 1987
Want to read some more Research & Development stories?
Follow this link to our Missional Communities Stories blog:
missionalcommunitystories.wordpress.com
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There's so much to celebrate in Fonds Verrettes, Haiti over the last three years of partnership! Since 2013, CLPC has enabled Plant
With Purpose in Fonds Verrettes to grow from working in 14 communities to 25! And to nearly double the number of families we
work with, increasing from 750 families to 1,455 families! Three years ago when we kicked this partnership off, there were only five
savings groups in Fonds Verrettes and today there are 48! The team has increased the number of churches that they're actively
coming alongside from three to ten.
The impact of these increased activities are apparent; 90% of partnering families actively saving money vs. only 50% of the comparison
group in the area. Participating families have seen an increase in household size/quality, increased crop diversity and soil quality.
In just 3 years they've planted over 200,000 trees in the region and reached 10% saturation in the Fonds Verrettes area. Because
families take what they've learned and teach their neighbors, our hope and goal is to reach 30% of the people in the area over the
coming years.
We also talked about how between 2017 and 2020 we would be seeing many of the 14 communities we've worked in for more than
7 years graduating our programs and allowing us to start work in new communities! This is something that we are very excited about!
A gift for Guy
For more info, visit www.plantwithpurpose.org.
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It was the epic family adventure of my
Junior year of high school. Over the
course of four weeks, we would drag our
twenty-three-foot travel trailer behind
the family Buick some 5,000 miles from
our home in northern Indiana down to
beaches of Acapulco, Mexico and back.
Others may have taken an airplane or
searched for a destination closer to
home. The dunes and shoreline of Lake
Michigan were less than 200 miles away.
But such a tame excursion would not
suffice for the summer of 1980.
We crossed the border into Mexico at
Brownsville, TX. The Mexican patrol
searched the trailer inside and out; once,
twice, three times. As they began a
fourth search Dad realized their thoroughness
was not just a matter of curiosity.
With incentive from his wallet we
were quickly on our way.
After a few days touring Mexico City
(Yes, we actually found an RV park in
Mexico City!) we began the drive down
to Acapulco. The locals warned of the
danger traveling that road and strongly
cautioned us to find lodging well before
sundown. That stretch of highway was
known for thieves preying on unsuspecting
tourists.
Many of the roads we had traveled thus
far were barely paved and full of potholes.
The highway on the way out of
Mexico, however, was a reasonably wellkept
two-lane freeway. Having been in
the country for several days, our confidence,
and our Spanish, was improving.
Everything was going great. That is until
late afternoon when we hit a large dip in
the road. The Buick went nearly airborne.
The trailer jostled. We heard a
screeching noise along with the smell of
smoking rubber. Dad maneuvered our rig
to the side of the road and we inspected
the damage.
The bounce had broken the springs on
passenger side of the trailer.
Before I go further, you have to understand
that my Dad is one of those guys
who can fix or repair anything. He did all
the engine work and tune ups on our
automobiles. When we lived in Pennsylvania,
Dad was a volunteer firefighter in
charge of maintenance on all the fire
trucks. More than once I’d seen Dad take
an impossible fix and make it work. I
could see his mind turning as we stared
at our broken trailer, but I had little
doubt that he would figure a way out of
this one.
I handed him tools and held the flashlight.
(Sadly, this remains the extent of
my automotive repair abilities.) He tried
several approaches. However, each one
failed. With every attempt he grew more
frustrated until finally he said, “Son, we
need to pray.” I couldn’t believe that Dad
was surrendering to mechanical defeat.
We bowed in prayer asking God for help.
Then we waited. The late afternoon sun
was quickly fading as car after car passed
by our stranded trailer.
Finally, one car slowed and pulled to the
side of the road. The license plate was
from Texas. The young man, traveling
with his wife and children in their small
station wagon, approached us with a
kind smile and asked if we needed help.
Did we ever!
It turns out the man lived in the town
just over the crest of the next hill. He
soon returned with the local mechanic
who, with the proper tools, was able to
secure the axle enough for us to limp
into town. We spent the night in our
trailer behind the fenced-in lot of the
repair shop. It was impossible to order a
new spring for the camper, but the mechanic
had a friend in another town who
was able to custom make the part. Two
days later, we had a new spring and the
trailer was ready to go.
Our family has fond memories of the
hospitality we received from the warmhearted
people of that little village. The
rest of our Mexico trip went smoothly.
The sandy beaches of Acapulco were
amazing and I have many fond memories
of the all the things we saw and did.
As a middle-aged man, what I cherish
most about that trip today was witnessing
the power of surrender to an unsolvable
problem. Today, I know surrendering
to God’s care is not a last resort. It’s
the starting place for facing all of life’s
challenges.
— Steve Oglesbee
Lead Pastor at CLPC
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7

A
pril 29, 2014, my life changed in a way no parent
dreams of. My youngest son, James, at age 31, passed
away suddenly from a heart attack. James, my baby,
who was always talking about exercise and healthy
food, died from the #1 cause of death in the U.S. Shock set in –
sleep would not come and questions abounded. Why would God
take such a young man in the prime of life?
When there are no answers, the only thing that you can do is
turn to God and rely upon your faith that God has a plan for each
of our lives, and none of us know when the time comes for the
plan to be completed on this earth. I never broke down, and I
began to wonder if there was something wrong with me – that I
could not grieve like others around me. I remember talking to
Pastor Steve about my seeming lack of visible grief. His answer
was that God gives us strength in times when we need it the
most. Certainly I was devastated, but as I sat that night, what
came to me were answers to things that James had experienced
that made no sense at the time they happened. I began to see
that these things were all part of God’s plan for his life. He had
more experiences in his 31 years than many folks who live longer.
And he touched more people than most older adults.
I turned to prayer and scripture to get me through not only the
memorial and the graveside services, but writing thank you
cards, talking to his friends, comforting others. I could do these
things only because God was comforting and supporting me.
Everyone has a different grief journey. And the length of this
journey seems unending. In a recent bible study, we talked about
what a person does when they encounter a hindrance. James’
death was my hindrance and I took that and turned it into a passion
– a passion to educate people on heart disease, and heart
attack symptoms. That passion, coupled with the assurance of
eternal life, has guided me these last two years and my faith has
deepened. There are periods of immense sadness, tears abounding.
But, there are also periods of thankfulness to God for the
time I had with James and the light his life brought to me and so
many others.
— Jo Lynn Anderson
CLPC member since 1997
1511 El Dorado Boulevard | Houston, TX 77062-3499
281.488.6731 | www.clpc.org | info@clpc.org
CQ is a quarterly
newsletter that
features stories from
our people. Our hope is
that these stories will
inspire you to share
your story with others.