Weekly Prayer Request, June 26, 2011

Hi NGL partners,

PRAYER NEEDS:

1. Pray for the "Getting New Clown Suit" project. Some have offered to give donations for clown suits and some have offered to make clown suits. We are needing a lot of suits and wigs. Thanks for those who have given and pray for more people and churches to help in this needed project.

a. Pray for Betty Braswell and Abby Emling as they head up this project.

2. Pray for Common Ground's outreach at Fair St. Louis over the July 4th weekend.

BLESSINGS:

1. Roger Lipe has returned from mission trips to Honduras and Italy. He will be sharing with our Board next month on those trips.

2. Some churches and individuals have already pledged to help on our "Getting New Clown Suit" project.

a. Some of our suits have been used for over thirty years and our wigs as well. David Deik said this project is "LONG OVERDO!"

NEWS:

1. Our son in law, Craig, is being transferred to Rapid City, SD for the last two years of his military career. That is tough for my wife, Jan, as she is very close to our daughter and granddaughter.

2. Sarge and Sue McDonald are home on furlough from Viet Nam. We are so proud of the work the Lord is doing through them. They are available for speaking engagements during the next few months. You can contact them through our office.

3. Marvin Steinke of "Feed My Sheep" ministries is heading off to Honduras on a mission trip.

4. Our Men's Retreat will be coming up September 24-25!!!!!

Love ya's and thank you for your prayers and support,

Fred
Philippians 1:3, (The Message (MSG)) "A Love That Will Grow"

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present.

Clown Ministry Call for Help!

Calling for HELP!!

I started witnessing in 1962 while I was in Bible School in Buffalo, New York. We witnessed at skating rinks, nursing homes and prisons. Later I witnessed in festivals here in the US and at the Communist Festival in Berlin, East Germany. We were giving it our best.

In 1976 at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois, I saw something that helped changed the way I did witnessing. I was being harassed by a cult group and not having much success with regular people. Then I saw a group of "clowns" putting on a drama. I noticed that people loved the clowns and were attentive to their "message."

When I got home from the fair, I met with my friend, Fred Starkweather, to see if he could make some clown suits. In 1977, we went to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans with a "new" way of witnessing. I had a clown trainer named Rick Heneberry from Decatur, Illinois come to our Men's Retreat and teach us some basic clown skits with salvation messages. We went to parades and the people along the parade routes loved the clowns. Thus the clown ministry of No Greater Love was born.

As the years passed, many of us had clown suits made. We have continued to collect clown suits and get wigs for the clowns. Every year, during the off season, we have a group of people mend the clown suits that need mending. However, many of our suits are just too old and worn out to mend. We have about 100 suits, but most of them need to be replaced.

It costs between $40 and $60 to make a suit. Here is what we need:

1. People who will make some suits.

2. People who will buy material for the suits.

3. People who will donate money for suits and wigs.

Clowning is the best method we have ever used to help men get started being effective witnesses for the Lord. Pray about being a part of getting our clown ministry back up to par.

Let us hear from you soon (you can contact our main office at the NGL website: http://www.nogreaterlove.org) so we can use this summer to get us back on track.
Thanks for your help.



Love ya's,
Fred

1 Corinthians 3:6, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."

Weekly Prayer Update, June 21, 2011

Hi prayer friends,

We had a great NGL Board meeting last Friday night at Christ UMC in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Bernie Kneale and Marvin Steinke hosted us. Bernie had the meal catered. It was great. I find that meetings and food go hand in hand. If the food is good, the meeting will be also. We had 21 men with us.

It was good to have Jimmy Murphy with us again as he will be heading back home to Wyoming. Craig LeQuatte will be leaving for Rapid City. South Dakota with the Air Force for the last two years of his military career. Roger Lipe was in Italy. Marvin Steinke is heading for Honduras. Bob Gay is also on a trip.

Dan Vawser led us in praise and worship. Then we reviewed the evaluations from the Indy 500 Outreach. The evaluations proved out that it was the best outreach we have had in years. The prayer walk on Friday night set up the entire weekend. We were all in one camp and that gave us the best leadership possible. I had more fun and feeling of accomplishment than I have had in years. Mark Jordan ran a great camp with all the leaders helping out. The food was served by Ron Kuhnert and Jeff Pursley. The biggest problem was that we didn't have "headsets" for the march.

I am spending time now with my brother in law, Mervin Hampleman, and my cousin, Joan Kuhnert in the hospital in Carbondale, Illinois. Please remember them in your prayers. Pray also for Sarge and Sue McDonald as they are back on furlough from Vietnaam.

Thanks for your friendship, prayers and support.

Love ya's,
Fred

Psalm 119:66

Weekly Prayer Request; June 13, 2011

Hi friends,

Thanks for your prayers and support. It sure means a lot to me.

This week Jill, Craig and Josie are staying with us as the military came in last Friday and moved their furniture for their move to Rapid City, SD.

We will have our monthly Board meeting this Friday at Christ UMC where we will be looking through the evaluations from the Indy 500 and we will look ahead to the Men’s Retreat in September.

Please pray for the NGL Clown Ministry. Many of our suits are very old and need replacing. Betty Braswell has agreed to head up the project to get new suits made for the coming year. We have found through the years that being a clown at our events is easiest and best way to break in new people in witnessing to others. People love clowns and that helps a lot.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Love ya’s,

Fred
Psalms 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."

NGL Indy 500 Recap

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your participation and prayers for our Indy 500 Outreach. It was a blast. It was the most fun I have had at an event for many years. Our leadership team led by Mark Jordan did a superb job. I could really relax and just share the things that are very important to me with the men at our total group meetings.

We had 89 men registered. Covenant Baptist Church has hosted us for over 25 years. It always feels like home. The weather was good. The food was good. The worship was good. The fellowship was awesome. It was my NGL highlight of my year.

Wowsers! God is so good!

Love ya's,
Fred

Isaiah 26:2