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	Dear Dustinbarrington, Hello! Here's a quick note... I hope that you are doing well. Testing a new Email delivery system With all of the exciting things that are happening with SMC, we have recognized the need to communicate well. This is the first email we are sending with a new system provided for FREE to Non-Pofits by VerticalResponse. Thanks VR! We are under the impression that you actually WANT to receive these updates. If this is not the case, we apologize for any inconvenience... You can easily "unsubscribe" using the link below. If you see this through Facebook and would like to be added to our "Super Cool" email update list please contact me at: dustin@ywam.org Thank you so much for being a part of what we do! Sincerely, Dustin Barrington

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SMC North America Director Dustin Barrington 334 East Oak Street Fort Collins, CO 80524 Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

Barrington's June Update

Barrington’s June Update

 

Hello again!  The months are just flying by!

 

Here is the JUNE nutshell…

1.    Student Mobilization Centre is now a 501(c)3 (registered non-profit organization) in Colorado and we have a clear strategy for SMC North America!

2.    Brazil was awesome… It is all “green lights” for us as SMC to partner in existing community development projects in the “favelas” (slums) of Rio de Janeiro!

3.    We will be at the University of Wisconsin from January to March to help run a SMC “School of University Ministry and Mission.”

 

…and JULY’s coming attractions…

1.    Our NINE70 van outreach at BREWFEST is going to be featured in a national level magazine called “Outreach.” Look for the July edition next week at WWW.OUTREACHMAGAZINE.COM with the title “Want a ride?”

2.    We might have to move again!  UGH!  (The house we lease is being auctioned on 7/1.)

3.    Fundraising! Or should we say “fun-raising”?  We love talking to all of our friends!

 

Thanks for all your prayers and support!  We love you!

 

Dustin and Denise

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

THE REST OF THE DETAILS FOR THE COURAGEOUS!

 

SMC 501(c)3

The IRS is really clamping down on non-profit organization registrations.  Without getting into details, it is really good news that we are now registered as a non-profit organization in Colorado!

 

 

SMC NORTH AMERICA STRATEGY

We have been praying about the direction of SMC in North America and we feel that God has given us a very clear and simple strategy from Judges 6-7.  We are calling out 300 young leaders to directly engage leading universities in the United States and Canada.  Following the example of Gideon, we intend to involve over 32,000 people in reaching the social and cultural center of the next generation’s leadership. 

 

Our Strategy is: call out 300 young leaders, supported by the resources of 10,000 and the intercession of 22,000.  As the SMC Director, I am setting an example by personally calling out for 33 resource supporters and 73 intercessors to join me. Denise and everyone working with us will do the same. We will be contacting soon to see if you are willing to become one of our 300 or 10,000 or 22,000.

 

 

SMC BRANDING

A huge part of successfully calling out 300 young leaders will be having the ability to cut through the “noise” in order to communicate directly with them.  This is the purpose of what marketing professionals call “branding” (the right message, look, feel, etc… to capture the attention of our specific target audience).  Please pray that as we go through our branding process that we get God’s message for 300 young leaders of the next generation. 

 

 

SMC “COMMUNITY BRIDGE” IN BRAZIL

I recently spent a very productive week in Brazil.

 

In only one week I renewed my Brazilian Permanent Residency Visa (like a US “Green Card”), visited family, and spent 2 days with the leaders of YWAM Rio de Janeiro laying the ground work for a partnership with SMC.  For over 15 years, one of YWAM Rio’s primary activities has been community development in “favelas” that surround the city, resulting in YWAM health clinics, daycare centers, after school and vocational training programs, sports camps, etc. 

 

YWAM Rio would like to partner with SMC in establishing a “Community Bridge” to provide volunteer internships for university students to create and implement community development projects in Brazil that make a tangible difference among the poor.  Setting up this “Community Bridge” will probably require us to spend a few months in Brazil later this year.

 

 

SMC SCHOOL OF UNIVERSITY MINISTRY AND MISSION (SUMM)

We will be staffing a 12-week SUMM at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) from January through March of 2010.  We are very excited about this opportunity because it is through this training program that we will be equipping some of the 300 young leaders we intend to send out.  Denise is not excited about the weather forecast! BRRRRRRR!!!

 

 

TRAVEL

In August I travel to Kona to teach at the University of the Nations on Missions Research & “Best Practices” and meet with leaders from the different colleges about partnering with SMC.  ($1,000 already paid)

 

In September I travel to one of the four UofN Workshop locations to be officially installed as the SMC North America Director and to recruit students for our upcoming SUMM. (Switzerland $700, Ukraine $1,000, Egypt $1,200 or South Africa$1,400)

 

In October and November we will possibly travel to Brazil to set up the SMC “Community Bridge” with YWAM Rio and raise support in Brazil. ($2,800)

 

In November we will travel back to Colorado for a missions conference and support raising. ($??)

 

In December we will travel to St Louis for the Urbana09 Missions Convention to recruit leaders and staff. ($500)

 

In January we will travel to Wisconsin to staff the SUMM. ($500)

 

As you can see, we have about $6,000 in travel expenses coming in the next few months…  could you please pray about helping us?

 

 

MASTERS THESIS

Some of you have been asking…   “What was it about?!” The simplest answer is “Jesus.”

 

The next simplest answer is not as simple.  The generation that will determine the fate of Christianity in America for the next century are influenced strongly by postmodernism.  This presents a real problem for Christians that can only make sense of their faith by using the “orthodox” categories of systematic theology developed by the Early Church Fathers in the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries.  Since most Christians fall into this category, the only way to reach the next generation is through a “cross-cultural missions” approach. 

 

Where do we start??  Well… Understanding Jesus in His original Semitic context paints a refreshing picture that, oddly enough, is very compatible with postmodernism and most non-western thinking (where the church is growing the most).  Therefore…

 

My thesis is about the message and praxis of Jesus.  His words and actions, in their original context, were directly related to the moral and ethical tradition of Israel’s prophets.  His prophetic interpretation of the Law informed His responses of compassion and confrontation and was what put Him in direct contention with religious and civic authorities. It was His confrontation of their injustice and exclusion that ultimately resulted in His death.  Living as He lived produces non-violent positive change, and often, conflict.

 

I believe this perspective is a more accurate representation of Jesus as He actually was.  It is a message that will resonate with the postmodern generation and it will ignite a movement in the next generation like the “Jesus People” of the 1970’s. 

 

What you understand about Jesus influences everything! 

 

If you read this whole thing I congratulate you!!  Wow! That was  a big one!

 

We love you and thank you for all your support.

 

Dustin Barrington

Have a great day!

 

FW: Josh and Kesia's Moped Accident

Thank you for praying for our friends!

 

Josh and Kesia are in Honolulu receiving orthopedic medical attention.

 

Here is a forwarded update from our friend Angie Amstutz (Josh’s Mom).

 

As a former EMT, I can tell you that femur fractures only occur with massive blunt force trauma.  The fact that these young friends of ours were not more seriously injured or killed is nothing short of miraculous.

 

God is good!

 

Dustin Barrington

Have a great day!

 

From: Don and Angie Amstutz [mailto:donandang@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 2:36 PM
To: Don and Angie Amstutz
Subject: Josh and Kesia's Moped Accident

 

At midnight last night, Josh Amstutz and Kesia Nonoa were in a moped accident following Makua Lani’s graduation and parties. They are miraculously okay. A pickup truck made a left turn and hit them while they were going straight through an intersection. The truck hit their left legs, breaking Josh’s femur and Kesia’s femur, tibia, and fibula (2 bones below the knee). Josh fell on his face breaking his nose. Kesia has some deep cuts on her forehead that required stitches. Other than that, they have a few scrapes.

 

Here are some of the amazing facts:

*The moped was under the front of the truck

*The kids were not launched nor did they skid across the pavement

*Before Josh rode Kesia, he offered her his helmet. She declined and said “Jesus will take care of me”. Man, did He! The doctor asked me how I got a 17 year old to wear a helmet and told me that Josh would be dead without it. Neither of them even had a concussion!

*Josh was driving beside Ryan Orvis’ car going through the intersection at Queen K Hwy and Nani Kailua. Ryan was able to slam on his brakes when the truck turned in front of them, Josh wasn’t. There were about a dozen YWAM and Makua Lani teens around at the time of the accident. They heroically called the police and us and provided a prayer shield around Josh and Kesia.

*The paramedics immediately put Kesia’s leg in traction. But they only had one traction machine in the ambulance (island medical care!) so Josh didn’t get in traction for about an hour, causing him tremendous pain throughout the night. Kesia had little pain through the night, praise the Lord.

*Kona doesn’t have an orthopedic surgeon (!) so both kids were flown to Queens Medical Center in Honolulu at 7:30 this morning. Both will undergo surgery today. Josh will also see an ear, nose, and throat specialist (also, none in Kona). I just heard that Josh will have a pin placed down inside the bone and will not wear a cast. Kesia is still being evaluated.

*They had to be ambulanced to the airport because the medical helicopter couldn’t land at the hospital due to the vog (what the volcano has been spitting out for the past 2 years). So, both had to be moved around a lot, which was really painful.

*Don and Ali (Kesia’s mom) are with the kids. I will fly out this afternoon and join them.

 

Here’s how to pray:

*For wise surgeons

*For peace to rule in their hearts. Josh is reliving the trauma over and over in his mind which is keeping him tense.

*Kesia’s dad, Ben, is in New Zealand. Kesia is the oldest of 4. Pray for them.

*Pray for all the logistics to be worked out this last week of school for our other children

And join us in THANKING the Lord for his miraculous protection. It could have been…should have been…so much worse. Oh the deep deep mercies of God last night!

 

I've attached a pix of the moped. God's grace.

 

Thank you for all your prayers, texts, phone calls, and offers to help! We love y’all!

Angie

 

May the Lamb receive the reward for His suffering.....through me!

Check out our blog at http://amstutzadventures.blogspot.com

Write us at
The Amstutz Family
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy #118
Kailua-Kona, HI  96740

--
May the Lamb receive the reward for His suffering.....through me!

Check out our blog at http://amstutzadventures.blogspot.com

Write us at
The Amstutz Family
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy #118
Kailua-Kona, HI  96740

Special Prayer Request for Josh and Kesia

Hello Friends.

 

Please pray with us.

 

A truck ran a red light and struck Josh Amstutz and Kesia Nonoa a few hours ago as they were riding on a moped on the big island in Hawaii. 

 

Both of them have broken left legs from the impact.  As I am typing this, we are getting text messages from the hospital saying they are setting Josh’s broken nose and suturing a large cut on Kesia’s head.  It is a possibility that one or both of them will need to be flown to Honolulu for leg surgeries.

 

Josh is the son of Don and Angie Amstutz, YWAM missionaries at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. They worked with us on the 4K project for 2 years. 

 

Kesia is the daughter of Ben and Allie Nonoa, YWAM missionaries who oversee YWAM discipleship programs in the Pacific region. 

 

 

Please pray that God will protect them from further harm, heal their bodies and minds, comfort them and their families and use this situation for His glory.  We would be happy to relay any message you may have for them. (They are all on Facebook and would probably appreciate knowing that you are praying for them.)

 

Thank you for standing with us and our friends!

 

Dustin Barrington

Have a great day!

 

FACEBOOK, NEW JOB, MASTERS DEGREE, TRAVEL, THANKS!!

Hello!

What an amazing Spring this has been!

 

FACEBOOK

If this is the first time you are hearing from us in a LONG time, you might not be on our newsletter list.  Let us know what you’re up to! We would love to be your FB friends!

 

YWAM SMC

After seeing our work here in Fort Collins, we were recently invited by the YWAM Student Mobilization Centre to become their new North America Directors.  This is a good fit that finally brings together the many aspects of our ministry into a single package.  We feel that we have found our “place.”

 

MASTERS DEGREE

Since I finished my Master’s course work in 2004, I have been looking for the “perfect” thesis topic to write on. 

I finally found it! (ask me about the key to reaching the post-modern generation…)

 

I will be graduating from Emmanuel School of Religion with a Master of Arts in Religion, with an emphasis in Christian Doctrine on Sunday, May 24^th at 3pm in Seeger Chapel at Milligan College in Johnson City, Tennessee.  Whew! (If any of you are in the neighborhood please feel free to attend!)

 

TRAVEL

I will be traveling to Brazil to work on my permanent residency documentation and to develop prayer support for our new role. I will be there from June 2^nd to 9^th.  Please pray for safety.

 

In September I will be traveling to one of four University of the Nations workshops (Switzerlnd, Ukraine, Egypt or South Africa) to be officially installed as the SMC North America Director. Please pray for finances.

 

From October to December we will be helping to lead a 12 week ‘School of University Ministry and Mission’ (SUMM) at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Please pray for wisdom.

 

THANK YOU!

We love saying “thank you” for your continued support through your prayer, finances and most of all, your friendship.

This new SMC role is going to require us to build a much broader network of volunteers and supporters. Please keep praying!

 

We look forward to working with you to see God’s plans and purposes for university students and the world become reality.

 

 

Dustin Barrington

Have a great day!

 

LRHS Diagnosis

I am doing much better now that I am recovering…

I have known for a long time that something was wrong with me, and a while ago I was diagnosed with condition called “LRHS.” It is a surprisingly common and destructive ailment also known as “Little Red Hen Syndrome.” It generally develops from a pre-condition of pride or fear, often found in those who try to use achievements or the acceptance by others to validate their self worth. LRHS sufferers consistently perceive the most reliable solution to any challenge as being, “I’ll do it myself.”

The only remedy developed so far is an intensive therapy that emphasizes the primary value of people and relationships over tasks, duties, schedules, obligations, events, resources, etc…

With the support of my wife and some close friends I have been able to transition into a new way of living which will help me overcome “LRHS” and hopefully avoid a ‘mid-life crisis’ involving tanning salons, hair implants or purchasing a fast car.
The story of most “LRHS” survivors typically recognize that lazy dogs, sleepy cats and noisy yellow ducks are to be found on many farms, but this doesn’t mean that there are not more admirable and productive barnyard animals to partner with. I believe that the hen was stopped asking for help to soon. She could have gone to the milk cow, the draft horse or even the farmer himself!

I do apologize if my “LRHS” announcement caused you any anxiety. (I use humor to ‘soften the blow’ when I have to deal with my personal character flaws.) James 5:16 says, “…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

This Little Red Hen anecdote is my way of confessing that I have not valued and trusted relationships that God has put in my life. I have also leaned on accomplishments to increase my sense of self-worth rather than dealing with my pride or fear. Would you be willing to pray for me, so I may be healed?

Please consider this a personal invitation to become a member of our “LRHS” Support Group… Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Merry Christmas Eve!!

Merry Christmas!

We are so happy that we have friends like you to share our holidays with!
It really has been such a wonderful year. Last Spring we moved to Ft Collins to start a brand new YWAM ministry called “Catalyst.” Our focus is on helping young people tap into their potential for positive change in local communities. In May we made the big jump and haven’t had time to look back since!

FAMILY
It is so great to be close to home. We are making up for lost time. We stayed at Teresa and Kelly’s house during the summer so that we could find a nice place to live that would fit within our budget. We did! We leased a great older house right across the street from the Public Library in the heart of Old Town! It is an awesome place for ministry and we have been hosting Bible studies ever since!
Becca and Jessica spend almost every Friday night over at Aunt Teresa’s house with their cousins Kelsey and Brant (Kort and Bobbie’s kids). They come back worn out with and full of great stories! On days off from school, Grampy and Grammy usually take them on some educational adventure.

SCHOOL
We decided to try out public school this year and the kids are doing great! They have both been featured in school assemblies for their good behavior and achievements. Jessie is in the violin program and she can make Kona, our golden retriever, howl like no one else! Becca was selected for the district honor choir. It is so nice to see the investment we have made in their character paying off in the way they treat classmates. They are growing like weeds and having a lot of fun along the way!

BANK
Denise went to work at the 1st National Bank where she had worked when we lived here in 2000. The extra income and health benefits have been very helpful. She has quickly been given a number of responsibilities and she was even featured on the FNB internal website for her customer service skills!

NINE70
Over the summer we integrated into the young adults ministry at Timberline Church (called “nine70”) where made about 250 new friends. In partnership with nine70 we have started:
• a campus organization at Colorado State University.
• an outreach team focused on reaching students at CSU.
• an intensive discipleship program for college students and young professionals.
• a leadership development course for about 25 young leaders in nine70
• meeting one-on-one for ‘life coaching’ with various young adults
All of this dynamic stuff is happening trough the context of a local church!

TIMBERLINE MISSIONS CONFERENCE
One of the reasons we move to Ft Collins was to develop stronger relationships within our home church. Less than three weeks before the annual Timberline Missions Conference an unforeseen situation occurred and the church leaders asked us to take over coordinating the whole event. It was a mad scramble but with the help of 50 volunteers on 8 different teams we ended up pulling off the best event ever! It was a full weekend event with a dozen represented ministries and international guests… ending with a catered banquet for over 850 in multiple venues with streaming live video!! Crazy! What an opportunity to establish new relationships! Since then we have been invited to be on an advisory team to help determine the future direction of Timberline Missions and Outreach programs. Really crazy!!

ONE
We have been mentoring a small group of campus organization leaders who run an event called “ONE.” This semester’s ONE brought about 400 Christian students together from various campus orgs for a night of worship and prayer focused on unity. There were 9 ministries represented in the worship band alone! It was AMAZING!

YWAM
In addition to this we have continued to work with YWAM, mostly helping with communications teams and research. Denise did thousands of dollars worth of free translations for YWAM Latincom.
We have three CSU students that are interested in doing internships with YWAM Catalyst. One young lady is working on a BA in organic agriculture and wants to work with sustainable nutrition in developing countries. We may already have a project in Sierra Leon in the works and she has recruited another organic ag major and a nutritionist to help too! We have a young man doing a BA in business who is interested in helping us with Organizational Development and another is interested in an internship doing construction management. We also looking into working with a PhD candidate in Environmental economics who has experience in sustainable agriculture in developing countries.

THESIS
There isn’t much time to add anything else in, but it is in there anyway. I am working on the research for my Master’s thesis which needs to be finished next spring. I have looked into a PhD program focused on “Religion and social change” at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, but may have to wait another year.

RECESSION
I know that this is a worrisome time for many of you. As a family walking by faith, we can tell you that GOD IS FAITHFUL. No matter how crazy the economy seems, God is able to take care of you.
We have also noticed a drop in our financial support in the past few months. If you would be interested in joining us as a financial partner, we sure would appreciate it! We are in the process of redefining how we do financial support so that we can be much more relational. Exciting changes are coming soon!

Have a very "Merry Christmas!"

We love you all!

Dustin, Denise, Becca and Jessie