April 2009 Kramertribe update!!!!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!

Disgrace
Every year we do a Good Friday service called Disgrace. This year we had the help of several students from Crown College. Disgrace consists of 17 stations of the cross depicted by visual art in our gallery as well as a performance that goes with each station. We had around 150 people come this year and it is a wonderful night. Dana painted an oil painting for the gallery and Tim performed some spoken word. It was a powerful and stunning night. It was a great way to re-experience the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The picture is of Studio 3 in our Co-op building where we hosted Disgrace.

One of the interactive stations we do every year is a mugshot station. The mugshots represent the station of the cross where Jesus is condemned to die. We have each person get their mugshot but don't tell them what it will be used for. Then, during the performance we flash up every person's mugshot. The connection is made that we are all condemned to die but Jesus took our place. So, here are our mugshots!

April 24/7 week
We did another week of prayer April 18-25. Some of the themes we prayed about included: the kingdom of God, abiding in Christ, God's provision and the tragedy of fatherlessness. It was a good week of prayer. There seemed to be less people around for this week of prayer but it was still a really good time of abiding in Christ. We practiced a day of silence on Monday of the week of prayer. It was challenging for some who have never done anything like it before. It was a great way to practice being still before the Lord as a community.

One highlight was at the community night that wrapped up the week of prayer. We had a time open for people to share what God had been teaching them through the week of prayer. Two people shared who had not been a part of the week of prayer. They both have some social awkwardness and took a long time to say a little bit. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. It was very raw. And it was good. In order to be a kingdom community we need to be inclusive and welcome people. The fact that people feel safe enough to sit in front of strangers and tell a story is a great thing.


Homeless youth outreach
In January through March we had a group from North Heights Lutheran Church come to the Fallout to participate in Homeless Youth outreach training. In April we picked 6 people to lead teams and they went out for the first time during our week of prayer. They connected with several homeless folk a few of which are youth. There are more travelers and homeless coming back up north for the summer.

It is great to have leaders and teams who can step up for homeless youth outreach. As much as it is our heart and a passion of ours, the reality is that we have a lot of things to do at Source. These leaders are a huge answer to prayer and we are excited to see God at work through them.

Jimmy
One of the guys who has been at the Joshua House for the last few months is Jimmy. He just turned 18 April 30th and we threw what may have been his 1st real birthday party Wednesday night! He was kicked out of his house at age 15. He thought it would be for a few weeks but came back only to find his family had moved without telling him. He was homeless for 2 years before coming to know Christ last August. He is such a great joy and blessing to our community. Psalm 68:5-6 says God is a father to the fatherless and puts the lonely in families. We are honored to be Jimmy's new family.

He is finishing up high school and hopes to go to Crown College afterward. God is doing a lot of deep healing in his life as he is a part of our community. He is being built up, given a new identity as God's child and a new family that loves him. Connie, Peter's mother in law, recently asked Jimmy if he knew his grandparents. He said he did not. Connie asked him if she could be his grandma! That is the kingdom of God! Pray for Jimmy to be encouraged as he finishes school this fall and grows in Christ.

Kramers
Well, it's official, Tim and Dana are 50 years old!!! Ha! We each turned 25 on April 26th. For our birthday we went up north to a cabin for a rest. It was a really refreshing time to get out of the city and spend time together. The cabin was a huge blessing because they usually rent it out for $250 a night, but let us stay 3 nights for free!!! We got to go on a few hikes, enjoy the beautiful spring weather, read a lot and got a lot of sleep.

The crazy Source summer begins this weekend with MayDay parade and festival. We are feeling pretty rested and good about this summer. It will be busy but hopefully not too stressful. We are looking forward to attending a friend's wedding in May and celebrating Tim's mom's 60th Birthday in July. These should be nice breaks in the midst of our busy summer. Pray for God to be present in all we are doing. Pray for God to bring the lost to him in his great love. Pray for us to have a great balance of rest and work in the kingdom.



To the above right is a picture from a recent Friday night. We are enjoying a spring evening and one of our weekly community meals.



To the left is the painting Dana did for this year's disgrace gallery. It was her first oil painting and turned out amazing!