D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1

W e don’t think anything of driving five,

ten or fifteen miles to go to church. It just

isn’t a big deal in our highly mobile society. It

isn’t quite the same for our sister-church

(ASV) in Pitesti, Romania. When God began

giving them a heart for the people of

Razboieni (a neighborhood across town from

the church), the leaders of the church knew

that people wouldn’t make the trip to

participate in church activities.

Though it is only 5-6 miles apart, the distance

might as well be another world altogether.

The culture of Razboieni is radically different

from other parts of Pitesti. It is poverty

stricken, known for violence and marked by

unemployment. It is a place of desperation

and hopelessness.

Simply stated, sharing the gospel with the

people of Razboieni would require leaving the

comfort of the church building and existing

ministry. They would have to take the

ministry on the road to Razboieni.

And so on the road they go. Several times a

week, people from ASV make the journey to

Razboieni. And God is moving! Our ministry

team was able to see first-hand how the folks

of ASV are generously giving of themselves,

their resources and their abilities so that

others might come to Jesus. As we watched

this ministry in action, we saw dynamic

worship, the gospel presented and people

building relationships.

The term for what they are doing is

Incarnational Ministry. It means they

deliberately set out to live among the people.

There is another word that describes this idea.

Christmas. When God looked out over creation

and history, He saw a sin-laden world that

simply would not or could not come to Him. His

heart of love for us, an unlovable and rebellious

people, compelled Him to come to us.

Christmas is a celebration of the incarnation of

God among men. The image of the baby Jesus

portrays God leaving the glory of heaven to

dwell among us so that we might know Him

and His life.

The folks of our sister-church get that. They are

willing to be incarnational so that others might

know the Christ who lives among us. That is a

proper response to the generosity of God

sending us His Son.

My prayer for all of us is to comprehend the

incarnation, to know the depth of what Christ

has done for us. My prayer is also that we, like

our sister-church in Pitesti, would practically

model the incarnation of Christ to a world that

needs to see Jesus. May our lives and our

worship reflect the generosity of God this

Christmas season!

May our lives

and our worship

reflect the

generosity of God

this

Christmas season!

P A G E 2

In our quieter moments, we ponder the depths of God's love

for us and it is truly amazing. Yet, too often, those moments of

meditation are consumed by the noise and pace of daily living.

When that happens, two dynamics come into play. First, the

depth of God's love becomes something we take for granted. We sing about it in

worship, proclaim it to others, but in our own hearts it somehow loses its profoundness.

At the same time, the world begins to cast a shadow over our thoughts. Our mind and

heart are infiltrated, albeit subtly, with the views and perspectives of the world around

us - a world that does not know the wisdom of God.

Jesus speaks to these misunderstandings in very direct ways. As we move toward the

celebration of Christmas, we will peer into the astonishing generosity of God and then

seek God's wisdom as to our proper response to it.

Week 1 - 12/4: The Great Misunderstanding

Week 2 - 12/11: The Gift of Sustenance

Week 3 - 12/18: The Gift of Light

Christmas Eve - 12/24: The Gift of Presence

Christmas Day 12/25: The Gift of Life

We’ve just completed an exciting project in our church basement...replacement of our

HVAC system for that area. The previous system was called a transite; hot air was

pushed through pipes under the floor to the basement registers by two furnaces off the

Youth Room. With time, the system started to leak and fill with ground water. Air

running through the pipes became saturated resulting in a “tropical” basement. This

problem has accelerated to the point that the furnaces had failed. To keep them

running, thousands of gallons of water were pumped out just last winter.

It would have been expensive to repair the system under the floor and this would not

have solved the moisture problem. Instead we utilized a small room off the gym that in

the original plans was to house a divider system. It has now been converted into a

furnace room. In this design, we lost less space and most of the vents are hidden in the

ceiling. The units also have air conditioning, providing comfortable summers and

assistance with mitigating moisture. A door will soon be added to the new furnace room.

The result will be a quiet, comfortable environment, safe from moisture issues.

Thanks to Lee Armstrong and Quality Heating for the great service and excellent

installation. A very special thank you to our own Greg Swanson, who dedicated many

after-work hours modifying the building for the new system— literally providing

thousands of dollars of expert labor; what a blessing to our church!

P A G E 2

A big thank you to our family at Valley Free for your continued

support of the Jon "Just Get 'ER Done" Memorial Motorcycle

Ride on September 23, 2011. Your prayers, financial

contributions, delicious salads, and help in the kitchen and with

clean up are tangible love gifts used by God to bless us and

pastors on the other side of the world.

Approximately 75 motorcycles safely took part in the 110-mile

ride on the glorious late September afternoon - probably the

best weather that we've ever had for the ride! All funds raised

from the motorcycle ride are used to purchase motorcycles for

indigenous pastors. These motorcycles are crucial in enabling

these pastors to reach remote tribes and people groups with

the love of Jesus. An amazing $14,935 was raised!! This should

be enough to purchase somewhere between 5-10 motorcycles

for indigenous pastors, depending on the country.

We were blessed this year to have Rex and Melinda Guynn

(missionaries to Uganda) join us for the ride. They have been

part of at least nine of the motorcycles presented in Jon's

memory and shared from first hand experience how these

motorcycles are being used in these remote places - planting

churches, leading Bible studies, helping HIV patients, and even

bringing a pregnant woman for medical help who had been

laboring for days in her village. We are so grateful and

humbled at how God continues to write Jon's legacy through

these motorcycles that are being used to impact lives for

eternity. In His graciousness, He continues to turn our grief

into a blessing for pastors around the world.

We'll keep you informed as we find out the number and

placement of the motorcycles from this past September's

ride. Thank you again for your love and prayers - we are so

very blessed to have a family like Valley Free!

It is always a joy to visit our sister-church, Adunarea

Speranta Vie, in Pitesti, Romania. God just seems to

be vivid and powerful in their midst. Recently, a team

of four journeyed to Romania to participate in the 15

year anniversary of the church. Jayme and Candace

Wisely, along with Pastor Mike and Sandy, made up

the delegation from Valley Free. The team

participated in home visits, worship, Bible studies

and, led by Jayme and Candace, presented a seminar

on marriage and parenting for the families of the

ministry. God is on the move in Pitesti and we can be

very proud and encouraged by the faith of our

brothers and sisters there.

Children’s Ministry

Speranta Vie is effectively reaching out to the kids in Razboieni. Thanks to short-term teams from World

Race, they have a beautifully decorated facility for

ministry. And the kids are loving it! They are hearing

the gospel, learning about worship and learning what

it means to live with Jesus as our Lord.

Marriage and Parenting Seminar

Jayme and Candace Wisely led a group of

approximately 30 people through a seminar on

God’s Design for Marriage and Parenting. Both young

families and couples with older children enjoyed

hearing about God’s wisdom for a variety of issues

facing families.

Step Up Café The teens of Adunarea Speranta Vie have started a

coffee-house ministry to the neighborhood. Florin

and Avery, youth ministry directors, served us coffee

and shared their vision for ministry with us.

Friends

The week in Pitesti meant seeing old friends and

making new ones. Meeting the folks of Speranta Vie

and the new church family at Razboieni, was a

highlight of our time in Pitesti.

P A G E 4

Britta

Palmquist

Britta is a student

from Prairie Hill

Evangelical Free

Church who is giving

10 months to the

ministry in Pitesti. Life

is not easy for a young

college student on her

own in another

culture, but God is using her in wonderful ways to

bless the kids of Razboieni.

Covrigi It looks like a pretzel,

but it’s called Covrigi

(Co-vreej). No

matter how you say

it, we couldn’t walk

past the stand

without buying one.

The chocolate filling

was especially

tempting.

Rex

It’s always a good

idea to be best of friends

with Rex the

guard dog.

Car Rides

Four to the back

seat isn’t a big deal,

actually quite cozy (after you get the

doors closed)

Life stories

If you look closely at these

pictures, you can see the

fingerprint of God on each story.

These

young men are

just

some of the reasons the

team felt they had a front

row seat to watch God at

work.

Pastor Cristi and Cami Pastor Cristi and his wife, Cami, play key roles in

what God is doing in and

through our sister-church.

They are passionate to see

the gospel lived out and

proclaimed in their city.

They also have three

wonderful kids, Bianca,

Dennis and Marcus. They

stole our hearts the moment

we met them! And yes, the

movie was based on the life

of Dennis. We kept quoting

the line from the movie,

“That’s our Dennis!”

P A G E 5

P A G E 6

In Casanare, Colombia, a little boy arrived to an

Operation Christmas Child shoe box distribution after 2

days of walking. The little boy was hobbling because he

had problems with his legs. He and his mom told the

distribution leader that they had been praying that God

would provide special shoes for him. When he got his

shoe box, it wasn’t the prettiest box. When the little boy

opened his box, they had orthopedic shoes inside IN HIS

SIZE! These boxes are divine and are sent by the Holy

Spirit to answer prayer!

The Greatest Journey is the new OCC discipleship

program, where kids are invited to participate after they

have received their shoe boxes. It is a 12 lesson study of

the Christian faith led by a trained teacher where kids

learn the basics of the Christian faith. For example, there

is a lesson on God creating the earth, a lesson on who

Jesus is and why He died on the cross, and a lesson on

walking everyday in relationship with Jesus. Once the

kids complete all 12 lessons, they ‘graduate’. When they

graduate, they receive a certificate of graduation and a

New Testament in their language.

29 boxes

from

Children's

Sunday

School

A Total of 742 boxes

(donated by Valley

and the

surrounding community)

were taken to the

processing center

in Mendota Heights

TH 1 7:00 PM WORSHIP TEAM REHEARSAL

SU 4

8:45 AM 10:00 AM 12:30 PM

6:00 PM

SUNDAY SCHOOL/SMS WORSHIP SERVICE G3 SHOOTING/HUNTING EVENT CRUX

M 5 7:00 PM MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

TU 6 6:30 PM MISSIONS OUTREACH TEAM MEETING

TH 8 7:00 PM 7:00 PM

WORSHIP TEAM REHEARSAL WEB TEAM MEETING

F 9 9:30 AM MORNINGS 4 MOMS

SA 10 7:30 AM MEN’S MONTHLY BREAKFAST (Perkins)

SU 11 8:45 AM

10:00 AM 6:00 PM

SUNDAY SCHOOL/TOWN HALL MEETING WORSHIP SERVICE CRUX

M 12 12:30 PM

7:00 PM WHITE CROSS MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

TU 13 6:45 PM 7:00 PM

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY ELDER BOARD MEETING

TH 15 7:00 PM WORSHIP TEAM REHEARSAL

SA 17 8:00 AM PACKING AND DELIVERING OF CHRISTMAS DINNER GROCERIES WITH LOVE INC

SU 18 8:45 AM

10:00 AM 6:00 PM

SUNDAY SCHOOL/SMS WORSHIP SERVICE CRUX

M 19 7:00 PM MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

TH 22 7:00 PM WORSHIP TEAM REHEARSAL

SA 24 5:00 PM CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE

SU 25

10:00 AM

NO SUNDAY SCHOOL/SMS WORSHIP SERVICE NOCRUX

M 26 12:30 PM

7:00 PM WHITE CROSS MEN’S BIBLE STUDY

TU 27 6:45 PM WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY

TH 29 7:00 PM WORSHIP TEAM REHEARSAL

See bulletins for weekly updates/changes to this calendar

P A G E 7

GREETERS—starting January 1, 2012—Couples or

singles welcome! Volunteers will be put in teams of 2

or 3 to greet those coming to our Sunday morning

worship service. Contact Jim Bentson at (952)448-

4697 or j.a.bentson@gmail.com.

BOUNTIFUL BASKET—A great opportunity for a

family or small group. Responsibilities include taking

donations from the church to the Food Shelf at the

beginning of each month and checking the donation

area regularly to ensure that it isn't overflowing.

Contact Shirley Carlson at 952-448-3717.

UN-DECORATING DAY—Perfect service

opportunity for a small group, Bible study group, etc.

Help tear down the Christmas decorations in the

worship center and foyer. Contact the church office

at office@valleyfree.org or 952-448-6144 to let us

know you’ll help!

BREAD MINISTRY—Cultivate your servant heart by

helping with this ministry to needy families in and

outside of our church. Contact Kristin Westland at

krwestland@yahoo.com

NURSERY VOLUNTEERS for Sunday Mornings—

Have a grateful heart? A love for kids? Then contact

Jan Schmit at jschmit@valleyfree.org or 952-448-

6144, ext. 204 for more information on our needs in

this area.

NURSERY SUPERVISORY TEAM for Sunday

Mornings. For more info and/or to volunteer contact

Jan Schmit at jschmit@valleyfree.org or 952-448-

6144, ext. 204.

PACKING CHRISTMAS DINNERS for needy

families- Saturday, December 17—8am-Noon at

VEFC. Sign-up in foyer!

BUNK BED MINISTRY - Looking for volunteers to

deliver and set-up bunk beds on an as needed basis.

Contact Gary Kozicky at glyaz@chaska.net or

952-448-9873.

SNOW BLOWING & SHOVELLING TEAM—

Contact Ron Schmit at ron.schmit@gmail.com or

952-378-0109 to sign up to be part of a team to help

in this important area. Your team will be assigned

one week every 4-6 weeks approx.

952-448-6144

Fax: 952-448-5119

150 Engler Blvd

Chaska, MN 55318

Christmas Eve 5pm- The Gift of Presence -We invite the entire family to

worship together on this evening. Childcare will not be provided.

Christmas Day 10am—The Gift of Life—Worship with the Johnson

Family of Jaspers Family Theatre.

No SS on Christmas or New Years & No Children's Church on Christmas Day

December:

PEANUT BUTTER!

Goal: 40 jars!

Sunday,

December 11

8:45 am

Fellowship Hall

Updates on

Small Groups &

New Vision

Learn more about Valley and how you can become a member Saturday, January 7, 2012 9:00 am-1:00pm Lunch Provided

NEW SMALL GROUPS

BEING ADDED SOON!

JOIN NOW!

CONTACT THE OFFICE AT

OFFICE@VALLEYFREE.ORG

TO GET YOUR NAME ON

THE LIST!