2008 Highlights / New Year Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy 2009!

Thank you all for your prayers and support this last year. You all are definitely one of our 2008 highlights. It is literally impossible for us to do what we do here without you. 2008 has been a crazy year for us. There have been some amazing joys and some deep sorrows. We know that without the strong support of our family and friends we could not have made it through this last year.

There are a lot of highlights from our first year at Source. We cannot share all of them but will share some of them in this letter. We have included picture highlights first then we have written more in detail about the year below that.

Prayer
2008 has been a great year of prayer at Source. We were able to do 3 full weeks of prayer plus two weekends of prayer. Along with this we also kept a rhythm of morning, midday and evening prayers at the Fallout. All of this praying is dangerous though because we soon realize that God wants to use us to answer our prayers to feed the hungry, invite the homeless into our homes and be the voice of truth in our world.As the prayer coordinators we had the privilege of bringing the body together to set up the prayer room, maintain weeks of prayer, as well as the daily prayer rhythms. We also had the privilege of praying with people from other faith backgrounds in our Urban Prayer Room. Hosting a permanent prayer room at the Fallout has given us the opportunity to be available for people in crisis, people seeking to understand God and other believers in need of encouragement. We continue to see prayer as the foundation for everything else we do at Source.

Leadership
One of the surprises of 2008, which is also a highlight, is our crash course in leadership. It has been a somewhat reluctant acceptance of this truth over the last year or so. But whether we do it reluctantly or willingly, God is developing us into leaders at Source. The result has been all sorts of challenges, frustrations, responsibilities and really good stories! We have both had the chance to teach, lead small groups, be in charge of volunteer groups, outreach teams, etc.

We have been humbled as people have expressed their gratitude for our godly leadership as well as their appreciation for what we do around Source. We have also learned that leadership is a lot less about recognition and a lot more about faithful obedience to serve God and people.
Part of this crash course of leadership was leading 11 interns as well as helping host 6 students from Crown College who helped us for 2 weeks. You can read more about it in an article that they wrote afterwards. The link is: http://www.crown.edu/about/bridge/ministering-through-art.html.

Joshua House

In August of 2007 there was only one person living in the Joshua House. Now, a year later, it is full and has stayed full consistently for months. There is a great group of men there who are growing together in Christ through community living, meals, Bible study and lots of fun.

27 years old: never done laundry,
never had a drivers license, and never paid a bill…

Chris has had a very rough life including losing his little brother tragically when he was 4, living a life of drug addiction and crime leading to years spent in treatment and jail. As a result he found himself at age 27, graduating from a drug treatment program and not knowing where to go next. Thankfully he heard about the Joshua House and moved in.

At the Joshua House Chris has been given the opportunity to grow and succeed. Along with learning how to do his laundry and personal financial management, - goal setting, mentors, living with peer role-models, connecting with a cross-generational community (seeing families, moms, dads, and children), Biblical foundations, attending school, working, getting his first drivers license, and cooking his first turkey have all been part of Chris’s experience at the Joshua House.

Pray for Chris along with the current and future young people in the Transitional Homes Program. Pray for opportunities to succeed, growth in their relationship with God, practical life skills, a community / family to be nurtured in, and a future women’s transitional home.

Homeless Youth Outreach
We saw a great response to God’s challenge for Source to step up our involvement with homeless youth in 2008. We began by spending a lot of time praying and then began to make changes such as: starting a ‘free store’ in the Fallout basement, going out on regular outreach in search of homeless youth, letting some travelers crash at the Fallout and personally we let two of our friends, Jeremy and Val stay at our house for a month this fall. We are excited to see God continue to move in this area of Source in 2009. Part of this excitement comes from a local church college group that will be joining us for some training and outreach this winter.

Our excitement increased even more recently as 12 of us got to go on a homeless youth outreach trip to Ocala, Florida. Some of the highlights of this trip were hosting a prayer tent for 5 days, serving 3 meals a day to hungry hippies and getting to pray with many individuals. We will have more about this trip in our January update so definitely check that out.

Kramers
We want to give you a wee update on us as well as everything at Source. 2008, as mentioned previously, was a year of great joys and great sorrows. Some of the joys have been seeing God move in Minneapolis, our house and our lives. Some of the joys have been seeing young people give their lives to the Lord and continue to grow in him. Some of the sorrows have been two miscarriages and the grief, confusion and disappointment of suffering. Some of the sorrows have been beginning great friendships only to see those people move on or fall back into drugs. Overall, the result has been growth in our trust of God and our love for him and one another. We are so grateful for our families, friends and the body of Christ that has stood with us, here and from a distance, throughout this whole year.

In December and January we had a few appointments with doctors regarding our recurring pregnancy loss. They ran some tests which all came back negative. It seems that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with us that is causing the miscarriages to occur. So, for now we are trusting God and trusting his timing for us to have children. The doctor is very optimistic and we are very hopeful. Thank you so much for your prayers and support during this difficult year. Please continue to pray for us as we wait on God for healing, direction and grace in regards to being parents.
We would also love your prayers for our house. We have had 5 roommates move out in the last year and as of right now it is just us and the Howards (Andrew, Sara and Zeke). We are seeking the Lord so we can know his heart and purpose for the house in this season. Living in community has been such a joy and has brought about immense growth in us. We look forward to growing more this way in 2009. The Lord has really knit our hearts together with the Howards and we look forward to more of that great work this coming year. Please pray for our relationships, for direction in this season and for the right roommate(s) in 2009.

Financial Update
Finally, a financial update. We are so grateful for the support that we receive and are humbled by God’s provision through you all. We have been surprised over and over by God’s faithfulness and provision.

We are doing well with monthly support though we are still taking out a little more from our account than we take in each month. Our rent may also have to go up if we don’t find any roommates who can pay rent in the next few months. We know God is providing as we seek his kingdom first. Thanks again everyone for your faithful support financially and through prayer.

We love you all very much! May the Father bless you richly this year!!
Tim and Dana Kramer

November 2008 Kramertribe Update

Tim chillin' with Tanner and Chris (guys from the Joshua House)

Immigration Art Show

November 7, we had an art opening entitled, “Immigration,” at the Fallout. It featured different pieces of art, clothing, decorations, etc. from about 7 countries. The hope of the show was to celebrate the incredible diversity we have in Minneapolis. We hosted an open mic along with the art opening which had songs from Holland and Thailand. Our friend Mohamoud had four new paintings featured in the show as well.

Baha’i update

A few updates ago we talked about some of our friends who are part of the Baha’i Center. During our last open mic one of our friends told Dana she was reconsidering Christianity again. She had been gone for a few months. During this time she stayed with her dad who is a pastor. She told Dana that she thinks she is coming back to her senses. She longs for fellowship and wants to visit some churches. We are really excited to walk with her through this process. Please continue to pray for our friends and all those of the Baha’i faith.

Fall Benefit

Every November Source hosts a Fall Benefit that gives highlights from the previous year, introduces new people to Source and gives us an excuse to dress up nicely. This year we did things different in hopes that it would be more informative and inspiring. We had lots of yummy food, great music and then gave people the opportunity to choose three areas of Source they wanted to know more about. As staff we divided into 6 different stations that highlighted: transitional housing, prayer, outreach, training, development and our Fallout arts initiative. Dana and I led the one on prayer. The response was great and we are thankful for another opportunity to share Source with folks.

Bethany Group

The Monday before Thanksgiving Dana and I, with the help of some other staff, hosted a group of 9 students from Bethany College of Missions who were experiencing a homeless excursion in Minneapolis. They were given envelopes with assignments and times at which to open them. They had no food, bedding or money. We brought them to two different free meals in order to meet homeless people and hear their stories. We then came back and prayed for individuals we had met by name. They slept on couches at the Fallout and helped us with various work projects Tuesday morning. The students learned a lot from their experience and God revealed more of his heart for the poor.

Holiday Season

We got to go to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Tim’s brothers, sister-in-law and nephew. We are in Minneapolis for two weeks before we leave for a much needed trip to Bartlesville and Albuquerque to be with our families. The end of our vacation will be a homeless youth outreach trip in Ocala, Florida, January 2-11. We definitely still need prayers as we continue to grieve and try to figure out why we have had miscarriages. We are hoping that our time off will provide opportunity for God to heal and teach us. We truly could not do this without all of your prayers, encouragement and support. Thank you!!!

Tim and Dana Kramer

Minneapolis

We love this city a lot.
Fall/Winter or Falter has arrived. Gone are the unusually warm days of late October/early November.
Snow. Ice. Sleet. Freezing Temperatures.

I love Falter. In Arkansas or Missouri you experience a kind of Falter, but not quite the same as Minneapolis. Here the leaves change, Fall is present and beautiful. Then a few days later the temperature drops quickly and it begins to snow. And is stays this way, only getting colder, until March, April or May.

The temptation is to withdraw inside yourself and inside your house. The temptation is to not interact, go outside or do much of anything. But this is not good. We need to be outside. We need to be with people. All the same, I feel this is a season for solitude. I hear God speaking to the depth of my soul to come be with him and only him. I awaken earlier in the mornings naturally because i go to bed earlier. It is dark here by 5:30pm. Rather than being down about this i choose to embrace the natural season changes.

I am reading John 15 a lot lately. Along with it i am reading Andrew Murray's Abide in Christ. If you have not read this book, or any book by Andrew Murray, i strongly recommend it. This particular book is broken up into 31 short chapters. The idea is that you read one a day for a month. This is what i am hoping to do. The chapters are short but profoundly deep. One thing is for sure, Jesus never called us to a one-time 'salvation prayer.' He called us to a life of deepening abiding in him. It has to be constant! If we stop abiding for a second we die because as the True Vine, he is our only life source.


So, this winter, or Falter, as we have right now in Minneapolis, listen for God's voice calling you away from busyness, distractions and lesser loves. Respond by setting aside time each day to be still, to pray, to reflect, to read. He will meet with you. He will strengthen you. He will break you. He will set you free.

Peace be with you.

Did you vote today?

no, i am not mistaken on what day it is. the question i am asking you is did you vote today? you see, voting is not some right or entitlement that you use once a year and are free of your duties. voting is something you do every day. you vote with your wallet, you vote with your clothes, with your time and resources. you vote by what your allegiance is to. who or what are you voting for today?

me? i'm voting for Jesus. why? because he is the only hope we have for change in this earth. why? because he is both God and man, he is the only Mediator. if he were only a man, no matter how great of a man, he would not be able to be our only hope for change. he would be great, but he would be man, he would fail, he would let us down. But he is both fully God and fully man. Because of this he is our only hope. Because of this he is the only true King.

So, what does it mean to vote for Jesus?
It means our allegiance and obedience is to him. It means we look to him for leadership, peace, joy, hope and freedom. To have him as our president/king is to give all honor, glory, power, tribute to him and him alone. To vote for Jesus means our lives are fully dedicated to him. It means laying down our rights and entitlements for his sake. Voting for Jesus means dignity, equality and compassion for all our fellow humans. It means a cross on which we die rather than by which we kill others. It means eradicating competition with generous compassion. It means 'Election Day' is every day of the year. It means being peacemakers and those who hunger for righteousness. Jesus as our King means the works of evil are being destroyed. So, November 5th is just as important as November 4th. Go to the 'polls' tomorrow, the next day and each day. Go to the throne of grace boldly to receive mercy and grace in your time of need.

Today, tomorrow, each day 'vote' for Jesus as King. He already is so 'voting' really means complete submission to him as your only Lord. The more people who 'vote' for Jesus, the more peace, hope, change and freedom there will be.

I hope this provokes you to thought. if you disagree please let me know, let's talk and pray about these things. Now is the time to arise. Now is the time for the body of Christ to stop hiding behind the governments but actually be the body of Christ. Jesus' plan was never for the state to take care of the poor, sick, homeless and needy. It has always been his plan that his children would do what he did. Wake up, O bride of Christ! Arise, for your light has come!

Peace be with you all.

October 2008 Kramertribe update

Another month has come and gone! This month has been a lot different than we could imagine both in the sense of joy and of sorrow.

Loss/Grieving

For those of you who have not heard, we had our second miscarriage of the year October 19th. Everything had been going great with our pregnancy until Saturday, October 18. We had heard the heartbeat the week before and everything seemed to be great. Then some bleeding started and didn't stop. A trip to the ER revealed that our baby's heart was no longer beating. The next day Dana passed the baby. We never thought we would experience this once let alone twice in one year. It has been a shock and disappointment to say the least.

We took last week off to grieve, rest and just be together. We were able to go on a lot of walks and a few dates. Last Thursday we made a short trip to Stillwater, MN, which is a beautiful town on the St. Croix River. We had a wonderful day there which included a hike and lunch at a bistro. We are easing back into things at Source this week. Though we are sad, disappointed and confused we are holding on to God's faithfulness and goodness. Please keep us in your prayers during this season.

Homeless Youth

This month we have seen a very encouraging increase in outreact to homeless youth. Every Friday night and two Tuesday nights of the month some of our staff are going out in search of homeless youth. A few weeks ago we cooked a big pot of soup, grabbed some coats and a few pastries and headed to Uptown. Unfortunately, the police had been cracking down on people that week and we didn't run into any homeless youth. Nevertheless, we shared the soup, coats and pastries with some other local homeless men and women.

We have definitely seen in increase of contact with homeless youth, travelers and older homeless people this month. The energy and momentum is growing as college students and others join us on this outreach nights. We have been able to host a few homeless couples and travelers at the Fallout for a night or two this month as well. Please continue to pray for the homeless youth, not only in Minneapolis, but in the world. Please pray for us and the other Source staff as we seek God's direction and creativity in reaching these young people.

Human Trafficking
Some of you may be aware that there are currently an estimated 27 million slaves in the world. This is more slaves than any other time in history! Much of these slaves are bought, sold and trafficked illegal to other countries. This last month God has burdened our hearts to pray and get involved in stopping human trafficking. A few of our staff and volunteers were able to attend a conference this month as well as a showing of the film, 'Call and Response.' The national and international 24/7 prayer family is also beginning to get very involved with stopping human trafficking. We are excited to see how God leads us and the doors he opens up in the coming months. To learn more about Human Trafficking please check out the following websites:
http://www.callandresponse.com/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.humantrafficking.org/

This is one of the major 'issues' of our time and the church must respond! If you want to know more about human trafficking please email us and/or check out the websites above.

Our House
This month our house has gone through a lot of transitions. At the end of September our housemate, Kelsey, moved out after living in our house for 1 1/2 years! We were sad to see her go but knew that God had her in another season. After she moved out we felt the Lord leading us to leave her room open as a hospitality/prayer room. Within a few weeks of her moving out we ran into our friend Germ who was at our wedding. He, his girlfriend Val and his puppy, Dream have been staying with us for the last 2 1/2 weeks. They are both homeless travelers. It has been great to practice hospitality, share meals with them and just hangout with them. Though it can be straining at times it is worth it. Please pray for Germ and Val to know the Lord of Jesus. Also prayer for them as they will both be leaving to travel within the next week.

Our house also had the opportunity to go on a camping trip together this month. We headed up north to the Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth. The leaves were still vibrant and it was a beautiful weekend. It felt so good to get out of the city, to be in God's creation and to be together as a house. We continue to be so blessed by the relationships in our house. We are especially grateful in seasons like this when we are going through a lot of hardships. Everyone at the house has been so supportive and helpful. We know it would be nearly impossible to endure what we have without close brothers and sisters. Please pray for our house as we continue to seek to love God and to love our neighbors.

some thoughts for election time

Christ for President


Let's have Christ our President
Let us have him for our king
Cast your vote for the Carpenter
That they call the Nazarene

The only way
We could ever beat
These crooked politician men

Is to cast the moneychangers
Out of the temple
Put the Carpenter in

Oh it's Jesus Christ our President
God above our king
With a job and pension for young and old
We will make hallelujah ring

Every year we waste enough
To feed the ones who starve
We build our civilization up
And we shoot it down with wars

But with the Carpenter
On the seat
Way up in the capitol town

The USA
Be on the way
Prosperity bound

Song by Woody Guthrie.

Probably one of the best songs i have heard. Hmmm.

Spectacular September update

Hello again dear family, friends and fellow bloggers. Another month has come and gone in the life of Tim and Dana Kramer.

We are doing well and enjoyed a month of vacation in August. Upon our return we had a Source Boiler Room retreat. It was a lot of fun and included: our own Olympics (see picture), lots of great worship, fellowship, teaching and of course food. It was a nice way to gather ourselves together as we begin the Fall/Winter season at Source.

This month has been a lot of readjusting to work and praying/planning for the Fall and Winter. We are really excited to be back in the full swing of things and for our relationships to keep growing.

An update on Mohamoud
We have not seen Mohamoud in 2 months due to our travels and because he is an assistant art teacher! You may remember that Tim wrote him a letter of recommendation in the Winter for an art teacher position. While he did not get that position, he was hired as the assistant art teacher. Mohamoud has been very excited and busy with his job. We hope to see him again soon.

24/7 Prayer week
September 20-27 we hosted a week of nonstop prayer at the Fallout. As a community we try to host one of these every 3 months. This week of prayer we focused on praying for homeless youth, human trafficking, Muslims during Ramadan and families/marriages. It was a great week! During the week of prayer we had 4 traveler/homeless youth come through our building, two of which spent the night! What a quick answer to prayer!

Another neat experience during the week of prayer was a trip with friends to a local mosque. We went to prayer walk around the mosque Thursday night. The atmosphere went from peaceful to tense quickly. A security person told us it was private property and that we could not be there. We began walking around the mosque. As we approached two more young Somali men with security guests i wanted to greet them with the Muslim greeting, "Assalamu Alaikum," which means may peace be upon you. Instead they asked us to answer a question. "Are you from the university or mission?" We said we were just on a walk and they said thank you. "Assalamu Alaikum,' said Tim as we walked away. They responsed, "Aleykum As-Salaam...Wait! Are you Muslim?" It opened up a great conversation but then the first security person spotted us and explained why the tension was there. Some people had been assaulted near by that week and they didn't know who we were or what we are doing. They asked us to leave immediately. We came back to the Fallout and prayed for Muslims.

Gretchen
A few weeks ago as we were getting ready for midday prayer two young ladies walked into the Fallout. Peter and Jeff talked with them and told them what we do at the Fallout. They then invited them to stay for midday prayers and they said yes even though one, Gretchen, had stated that she was of the Baha'i faith. She enjoyed the Celtic Daily Prayer and asked if she could say a healing prayer from the Baha'i faith for her sister and others. It was a beautiful prayer. She told Jeff that we were the first Christian place to invite her to pray. She has been back several times, gotten in great conversations and gratefully received a Bible to read. The B'hai faith blends all major religions together and believes they all are from God. Though she spoke of Moses and Jesus, she had never actually read the Bible. Please pray for our relationship with Gretchen and for her as she thinks about who Jesus really is.

Opal
Opal is an 85 year old neighbor of the Fallout who has lived there since 1935. We had the opportunity as a community to patch a hole in her ceiling, paint her kitchen and paint her entire front porch. It was part of a Compassion Service weekend that our house church community is doing once a month. As we worked at her house we were able to hear her story, give her some company and begin a relationship. She said in all the years she has lived her she has had no good neighbors. What a testimony to God's love that we were able to serve her in this way. Please pray for our new relationship with Opal to grow. Also pray for Opal as she feels lonely and we have many people who could simply be a listening ear. Here is a picture of Libbie, one of the staff, with Opal in her newly painted kitchen.