May 2009 Kramertribe update

well, the month of may flew by and it is hard to believe it is june already! in the NCAA world they talk about March Madness, but we think in Source it would be more appropriate to talk about 'May Madness.'

Mayday
The first Sunday of May is a big day for Minneapolis. Every year Heart of the Beast Theater hosts the Mayday Parade and Festival. Picture this: 20-30,000 people, around 100 floats made of various materials and no motors allowed, puppets, activist groups, families, punks, homosexuals, trans-gender folks, pagans, Wiccans, art, music, theater, venders, etc. Got it? This is MayDay. We are one of the only Christian groups invited to participate. We are part of the parade and then host an interactive art area with mosaics, face painting, mask making, a puzzle mural and drumming.

This year we went with the theme of Trouble. We build a Trouble board float and collected prayer requests of what is troubling people. It was a really great day and gave us the chance to invite people to the Fallout and to conversation about the kingdom.

Below is a video from MayDay




24/7 prayer gathering
This year we had the privilege of hosting the national 24/7 prayer gathering in Minneapolis. Dana put in a ton of work to help host and feed about 50 people before the gathering. There were around 150 people total who joined us for the actual gathering. It was a really encouraging week as we got to fellowship together with people from England, Tulsa, Grand Rapids, Kansas City and several other places.

The gathering was focused on communion with Jesus and all that means. There was a big focus on being family together and not just working with or managing one another. The worship was powerful and we had the honor of having Ben Pasley from Enter the Worship Circle lead the main worship sessions. Dana and I also had the honor of helping lead the Prayer Track for the weekend. It was a great time of teaching, fellowship and of course prayer. For the Friday night of the gathering we hosted a mini-art fest at the Fallout. This was a great way to share the heart of the Source Boiler Room with other 24-7 prayer communities. There was live music, live drama, a puzzle mural, drum jam, worship and lots of food. We also got to share about our Homeless Youth outreach, B4-48. More on that later...

B4-48 (homeless youth outreach)
There is a shocking statistic about homeless youth in America. That statistic is that within 48 hours of being on the streets a homeless youth will be approached and propositioned by a gang member, drug dealer or pimp. We have taken up the slogan, 'Before 48 (B4-48) in our homeless youth outreach. What if, in those first 48 hours, the homeless youth encountered Christians who cared?

As part of this we have just finished a compilation CD from those who have been homeless youth or are advocates for them. They are available for a $10 donation that will all go towards our homeless youth outreach. If you want one please email us and we can ship one to you. Please be praying for us as we seek to help homeless youth.

One couple that we met during a recent outreach are Joe and Melanie. They spent the night at the Fallout, had a great time with some of the staff and have stopped by several times since. They are at a place in their lives where they want to lay down some roots. They seem very open to learning about the kingdom. Please pray for us as we love them and wait to see what the next step is in our friendship.

Kramers
We are doing well. We celebrated 3 years of marriage May 27th. Woohoo!! These months are crazy busy and go by really fast. We continue to grow in our areas of leadership at Source. One highlight of this month was helping to lead the Prayer Track during the 24/7 prayer gathering. On one hand it is not that big of a deal but on the other it is. We were significantly younger than others who were co-leading and some of those who were part of the track. But regardless God has given us favor and grace to impart to others his heart for prayer. We love sharing stories and hearing stories of others who are part of 24-7 prayer.

Our house is going through transitions as we wait to see what will happen with roommates. We have hosted a lot of people in the last few months but no one has moved in. There are several who are seriously considering moving in and we need a lot of prayer for wisdom. We got to plant our second garden at our house this month too! Yay! Thank you so much for your prayer and support. You are part of all we are doing here. We love you!

Tim and Dana