We are all on a search. Thankfully not on a search for Hope. We've found Hope. We're not in search of inspiration or on a search for Love because we have those things blooming in our lives, overflowing really. We're not even on a search for a home. We have a temporary one here and a permanent one to look forward to.
It really sunk in that we had a home to come back to when a few of us went down to Texas on what was supposed to be a week long trip that ended up including a four day trip down there through what was dubbed "the blizzard of the century". Unbelievably icy roads and crazy weather conditions and to top it all of I (Jasmine) had a car accident with Aubrey, Jude and Cheydon all in the car with me. My car is totaled. So instead of relaxing when we arrived at Tracy's mom's apartment a couple of us headed out the next day to go car shopping and started the long process of getting things settled with the insurance. Not exactly what we were expecting. We are all OK and we all felt an incredible sense of relief that we finally had a home to go to after something like this happened. We didn't have to point our bus in a direction and end up in some place to park for the night. We came home to recover and it feels good.
So what are we on a search for? Ways to sustain our community and to make it so that we all have flexible schedules and way more avenues to reach out. We are looking forward to young people arriving this summer to be trained, to "gap year" and to be rehabilitated as young adults with a desire to seek out Christ. So we are leading by example. We are seeking the best way to be self sustaining because at this point there aren't any more options and since those are the circumstances we find ourselves in right now we know that Jesus has orchestrated them and is leading us in to new adventures that we are charging boldly in to this spring.
If you are interested or know a young adult who would be interested in spending the summer up here this year please get in contact with us. You can also read more about our "program" at www.FreedomSeed.org
Jasmine
Communications
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Parenting in community - staying open honest and willing
Parenting. It is an "interesting" subject to say the least in any context but it community we have some unique forms of "interesting".
Our toddlers are trying to work out some sort of pecking order. They love each other. They enjoy each other. They fight like cats and dogs. That would be interesting in and of itself but we add our differing parenting in to the mix. Thankfully we parent in similar fashion. We hold very similar values etc. At least we don't have huge conflicts. We respect each other as parents. But it doesn't come easy. Each of us have to take turns backing off and letting the other take charge of the situation. We have to trust that each one of us as parents love each others children and have their best in mind. We have to talk things out. Sometimes it isn't easy and sometimes it isn't fun. We have to be honest and open and willing to talk about how we feel and how we can compromise as parents while still staying autonomous.
Our toddlers are trying to work out some sort of pecking order. They love each other. They enjoy each other. They fight like cats and dogs. That would be interesting in and of itself but we add our differing parenting in to the mix. Thankfully we parent in similar fashion. We hold very similar values etc. At least we don't have huge conflicts. We respect each other as parents. But it doesn't come easy. Each of us have to take turns backing off and letting the other take charge of the situation. We have to trust that each one of us as parents love each others children and have their best in mind. We have to talk things out. Sometimes it isn't easy and sometimes it isn't fun. We have to be honest and open and willing to talk about how we feel and how we can compromise as parents while still staying autonomous.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Do it yourself.
Saturday is "do it yourself" night.
Our kitchen is the hub of our community. We love to eat. We love to talk. We love to cook. We love to get really close, sometimes really close. Have I mentioned that our kitchen it tiny? It doesn't stop us from putting half of the community in there all at one time.
Some amazing creations come out of that kitchen.
We take turns cooking. There are few people, those who work outside of the community, who bow out and do the dishes but everyone else takes their turn to cook one day a week. Baking is free game.
Once a week we go grocery shopping. Two of us usually go. It's normally the same two. We work with a fairly inflexible budget. We shop smart. We buy good food. We buy lots of fresh food. We buy organic as much as we are able. In the summer we grow things. We keep chickens. We like to buy as self sustaining as we can without tying us down too much to travel. It's a little complicated but we enjoy it that way, it keeps all these hands and minds busy and that is not an easy chore with this crew.
Saturday is "do it yourself" night. Sometimes there is leftovers that didn't get taken by the working people to lunch. People like to go to the local Chinese place on Saturdays. We're all bummed because it doesn't open until 4 p.m. anymore, it's a bummer because it used to be most of our favorite place for lunch, 4 p.m. makes for a late lunch. So people go out, people fix whatever or heat up leftovers. Strangely enough there were only three of us plus one toddler for dinner here tonight. It feels strangely lonely. Nice sometimes but very quiet. I'll be ready for the dinner activity tomorrow.
Our kitchen is the hub of our community. We love to eat. We love to talk. We love to cook. We love to get really close, sometimes really close. Have I mentioned that our kitchen it tiny? It doesn't stop us from putting half of the community in there all at one time.
Some amazing creations come out of that kitchen.
We take turns cooking. There are few people, those who work outside of the community, who bow out and do the dishes but everyone else takes their turn to cook one day a week. Baking is free game.
Once a week we go grocery shopping. Two of us usually go. It's normally the same two. We work with a fairly inflexible budget. We shop smart. We buy good food. We buy lots of fresh food. We buy organic as much as we are able. In the summer we grow things. We keep chickens. We like to buy as self sustaining as we can without tying us down too much to travel. It's a little complicated but we enjoy it that way, it keeps all these hands and minds busy and that is not an easy chore with this crew.
Saturday is "do it yourself" night. Sometimes there is leftovers that didn't get taken by the working people to lunch. People like to go to the local Chinese place on Saturdays. We're all bummed because it doesn't open until 4 p.m. anymore, it's a bummer because it used to be most of our favorite place for lunch, 4 p.m. makes for a late lunch. So people go out, people fix whatever or heat up leftovers. Strangely enough there were only three of us plus one toddler for dinner here tonight. It feels strangely lonely. Nice sometimes but very quiet. I'll be ready for the dinner activity tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Beautiful Chaos
We had a meeting last night. Surprisingly we don't have very many serious meetings around here. When things are rolling they are just rolling and there aren't many glitches other than the occasional growly day that someone might experience.
That is one thing. You always know when someone is having an "off" day. You can stay in you personal cabin all you want but sometime you are going to have to come out to eat or something and people are going to see whatever mood your in. We like to call it fish bowl living, I know, original huh?
Our meeting revolved around unholy vs holy and what does that mean? What does that mean in practical application? We don't like anything that we can't really dig our teeth in to, we want to be able to touch it, smell it and taste it. It all boiled down to is whatever you are doing or thinking of doing going to take you closer to Jesus or farther away? Is going to distract you? Distance you? And you standing there making the choice whether that thing is "good" or "evil" pretty much answers the question for you right there - there was one tree that was to be eaten from and that was the tree of Life not of the knowledge of good and evil.
Our meetings are always open forum. People are free to talk, cry, even get angry. Everyone is welcome to express their feelings and their frustrations or a bit of knowledge that they've picked up. We debate. We get emotional. And we all tough it out until we've discussed it from all angles and then we have coffee and some sort of baked good and someone cracks a joke (and believe me they are never the "so the chicken crossed the road" type) and everyone is laughing. And there are babies yelling, did I mention that?
Beautiful chaos filled Life.
That is one thing. You always know when someone is having an "off" day. You can stay in you personal cabin all you want but sometime you are going to have to come out to eat or something and people are going to see whatever mood your in. We like to call it fish bowl living, I know, original huh?
Our meeting revolved around unholy vs holy and what does that mean? What does that mean in practical application? We don't like anything that we can't really dig our teeth in to, we want to be able to touch it, smell it and taste it. It all boiled down to is whatever you are doing or thinking of doing going to take you closer to Jesus or farther away? Is going to distract you? Distance you? And you standing there making the choice whether that thing is "good" or "evil" pretty much answers the question for you right there - there was one tree that was to be eaten from and that was the tree of Life not of the knowledge of good and evil.
Our meetings are always open forum. People are free to talk, cry, even get angry. Everyone is welcome to express their feelings and their frustrations or a bit of knowledge that they've picked up. We debate. We get emotional. And we all tough it out until we've discussed it from all angles and then we have coffee and some sort of baked good and someone cracks a joke (and believe me they are never the "so the chicken crossed the road" type) and everyone is laughing. And there are babies yelling, did I mention that?
Beautiful chaos filled Life.
Monday, January 17, 2011
"Who will go for us?"
“And then I heard the voice of the Master: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I spoke up, “I'll go, Send me!”
Matthias made an amazing point this past Sunday during Freedom Seed's worship meeting. He siad that Isaiah overheard the Master speaking. The question wasn't directed at him. The Master was having a discussion, wondering out loud if you will, putting it out there for anyone to hear. And there was Isaiah, listening in. He volunteered, shouted out HERE I AM! Letting the Master that you wanted the job.
That's what we are doing. We have let you all in on our desire to continue to reach out and we are currently searching for ways to become self-supporting. We are taking steps to start up a mobile mini donut/coffee house as well as several other small businesses. We are still accepting interns during the summer and have been very excited to see how the Master has worked in their lives.
Tracy is graduating from midwifery school late this spring. We are all very proud of her.
We have an opportunity to connect the dots, or I should say to send a team to explore once again the possibility of connecting the dots. Oaxaca Mexico. Coffee. The best coffee we have had in Mexico. Also there is a brand new ministry started up that is in desperate need of midwives, you can see the ministry here: www.birthcenter.blogspot.com. They also need people to complete building projects.
As you all know Mexico is very close to our hearts and we continue to find a way to plant a base in another country, specifically Mexico or India, or even more maybe Mexico and then India.
We have overheard the Master and have shouted out “HERE WE ARE, SEND US!” and the Master has filled us with vision and purpose and a great passion.
We would like to send a small scout team to Oaxaca the second week of February to meet with the owners of the birth center as well as explore coffee options and the possibility of a business and base. We know how important it is to take our interns out of the country and we know that to keep ourselves moving forward we have to continue to connect and reach out.
If you are interested in supporting the exploratory team contact us by e-mail, letter or you can send a gift through pay pal on our website.
Please pray for our team!
Blessings,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd 3
Becida, MN 56678
(218)854-7327
info@freedomseed.org
www.FreedomSeed.org
Matthias made an amazing point this past Sunday during Freedom Seed's worship meeting. He siad that Isaiah overheard the Master speaking. The question wasn't directed at him. The Master was having a discussion, wondering out loud if you will, putting it out there for anyone to hear. And there was Isaiah, listening in. He volunteered, shouted out HERE I AM! Letting the Master that you wanted the job.
That's what we are doing. We have let you all in on our desire to continue to reach out and we are currently searching for ways to become self-supporting. We are taking steps to start up a mobile mini donut/coffee house as well as several other small businesses. We are still accepting interns during the summer and have been very excited to see how the Master has worked in their lives.
Tracy is graduating from midwifery school late this spring. We are all very proud of her.
We have an opportunity to connect the dots, or I should say to send a team to explore once again the possibility of connecting the dots. Oaxaca Mexico. Coffee. The best coffee we have had in Mexico. Also there is a brand new ministry started up that is in desperate need of midwives, you can see the ministry here: www.birthcenter.blogspot.com. They also need people to complete building projects.
As you all know Mexico is very close to our hearts and we continue to find a way to plant a base in another country, specifically Mexico or India, or even more maybe Mexico and then India.
We have overheard the Master and have shouted out “HERE WE ARE, SEND US!” and the Master has filled us with vision and purpose and a great passion.
We would like to send a small scout team to Oaxaca the second week of February to meet with the owners of the birth center as well as explore coffee options and the possibility of a business and base. We know how important it is to take our interns out of the country and we know that to keep ourselves moving forward we have to continue to connect and reach out.
If you are interested in supporting the exploratory team contact us by e-mail, letter or you can send a gift through pay pal on our website.
Please pray for our team!
Blessings,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd 3
Becida, MN 56678
(218)854-7327
info@freedomseed.org
www.FreedomSeed.org
Thursday, January 13, 2011
What's up with your summer?
Are you looking for a life change? A break from school? A break before you go back to school? Do you need some perspective? Some time to reflect? Some character building? Do you want to try something new? Be stretched and changed? Maybe the Freedom Seed base is for you this summer!
Sunday, January 09, 2011
The "A" Team
The Freedom Seed "A" Team is headed to Texas at the end of this month to be parking lot supervisors at the Superbowl! Our team is pretty excited and looking forward to seeing a little warm(er) sun for a week. This is a great opportunity for our logistics and event coordinators team to get their feet wet in another type of event.
We are excited to see how God is going to use our team for event planning in the future. They are great at it.
We are excited to see how God is going to use our team for event planning in the future. They are great at it.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Beginning of the Year Businesses
Dear Friends,
In this new year Freedom Seed is launching several businesses that will both compliment the ministry and fund it's operation.
We hope by your initial gift we will be able to eliminate the need for ongoing support.
The first venture is a food vendor bus that will put us in contact with thousands of people at festivals, fairs and events. Aromas Specialty Coffee and Doughnuts will have Freedom Seed flair while serving tasty treats for the mouth and soul!
All organic ingredients will be used in our doughnuts and rolls as well as in our “made from scratch” Indian chai tea and fair trade coffees and teas, this will be our niche. The aroma of these tasty foods and satisfying beverages will draw people so they may come in to contact with the most fragrant aroma for “We are the aroma of Christ.” 2 Cor 2:14-17
All organic ingredients will be used in our doughnuts and rolls as well as in our “made from scratch” Indian chai tea and fair trade coffees and teas, this will be our niche. The aroma of these tasty foods and satisfying beverages will draw people so they may come in to contact with the most fragrant aroma for “We are the aroma of Christ.” 2 Cor 2:14-17
The second business is a photography business. There are several other small businesses in the works.
Thank you for considering our “tent making” operation and for all of your prayer and support in the past year!
From His birth to His return, blessings!
Pastor Tony P.
(p.s. For more details please leave a comment or e-mail us, we'd be happy to share!)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A good excuse and a before Thanksgiving accident
The frozen Northland is having a hard time living up to it's reputation this year, we have yet to see sub-zero temps! On the other hand we did get a load of snow right before Thanksgiving.
We hope that your Thanksgiving was as great as ours was this year, food, family, extras, it was great. We were so happy to have Gabriel back with us for Thanksgiving, he is doing very well in school and enjoying life in Chicago, he is growing by leaps in bounds (yeah, I am outing you Gabriel ;-) Feel free to add your own two cents).
This year we were particularly thankful that Sharayah is not only still with us but ate Thanksgiving dinner without hardly a scab to remind her that a week before she was going in for a CAT scan. Here is what was left of her car -
The smallest detail was seen to in this accident as some good friends of ours gave Sharayah a car to replace this one, a reminder of how much our small lives mean to God in their tiniest detail.
Daughter of Exile played in Duluth on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was a bit much on all of us after our busy couple of days, I (Jasmine) actually forgot my guitar only to remember it when we were already half way to our destination which was three hours away, great, now what? Thankfully the crew at Amazing Grace, where we were playing, provided a loaner, the strings were a little old and it was a bit difficult keeping it in tune but it did work out. It was a good show. Music is such a good excuse to get out and meet people.
How was your Thanksgiving?
We hope that your Thanksgiving was as great as ours was this year, food, family, extras, it was great. We were so happy to have Gabriel back with us for Thanksgiving, he is doing very well in school and enjoying life in Chicago, he is growing by leaps in bounds (yeah, I am outing you Gabriel ;-) Feel free to add your own two cents).
This year we were particularly thankful that Sharayah is not only still with us but ate Thanksgiving dinner without hardly a scab to remind her that a week before she was going in for a CAT scan. Here is what was left of her car -
Daughter of Exile played in Duluth on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was a bit much on all of us after our busy couple of days, I (Jasmine) actually forgot my guitar only to remember it when we were already half way to our destination which was three hours away, great, now what? Thankfully the crew at Amazing Grace, where we were playing, provided a loaner, the strings were a little old and it was a bit difficult keeping it in tune but it did work out. It was a good show. Music is such a good excuse to get out and meet people.
How was your Thanksgiving?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Discussion
There are plenty of ways to get involved in discussing things, exchanging ideas and meeting new people by participating here on the blog or by visiting the Freedom Seed facebook page. You can also visit the Wikia page and make your own changes, it is a little more complicated than posting your comment on the blog or joining a discussion on facebook but it also has many more options.
And since we are in the page sharing mood you might as well check out the Freedom Seed Etsy page that is home to some cute winter gifts and will soon be hosting our CD! Speaking of CDs that is the last page I'll share with you all right now, the new Daughters of Exile page on facebook.
Please feel free to share all these sites, the more the merrier!
Hope to see you in a discussion soon!
And since we are in the page sharing mood you might as well check out the Freedom Seed Etsy page that is home to some cute winter gifts and will soon be hosting our CD! Speaking of CDs that is the last page I'll share with you all right now, the new Daughters of Exile page on facebook.
Please feel free to share all these sites, the more the merrier!
Hope to see you in a discussion soon!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
New Season
It's a new season! And we mean that in other ways than just the weather though it is getting progressively chillier.
First off we would like to introduce you to our newest member - Cheydon Michael Krueger, born Oct. 13 @ 8 a.m. weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces.
Everyone is busy adjusting to the new little body in our midst.
In other not so exciting news. MOst of our time and effort is being spent building Sharayah and Nathan a winter-worthy space to live and prepping our community for the cold months ahead.
We currently do not have any interns but will be welcoming a few in the spring/summer of this coming year.
We have changed the name of our band to "Daughters of Exile" (you can find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/daughtersofexile) and will be recording here in the next couple of weeks.
We have been sending small teams out about one to two times per month for a variety of events including art outreaches, concerts, inner-city, midwifery, school, childbirth education, photography and more.
Most of our crew is working full time at the moment. Over the course of the winter we hope to start several small businesses that would help our ministry to be self-supporting, freeing our crew up to be even more available especially for extended traveling and short notice ventures.
We are also working on new (to us) and innovative ways of reaching out using the internet.
For us there is no such thing as "down time"!
We welcome your questions and comments, ok, we more than welcome them, we really enjoy them.
Love from the whole FS crew.
Jasmine C.
First off we would like to introduce you to our newest member - Cheydon Michael Krueger, born Oct. 13 @ 8 a.m. weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces.
Everyone is busy adjusting to the new little body in our midst.
In other not so exciting news. MOst of our time and effort is being spent building Sharayah and Nathan a winter-worthy space to live and prepping our community for the cold months ahead.
We currently do not have any interns but will be welcoming a few in the spring/summer of this coming year.
We have changed the name of our band to "Daughters of Exile" (you can find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/daughtersofexile) and will be recording here in the next couple of weeks.
We have been sending small teams out about one to two times per month for a variety of events including art outreaches, concerts, inner-city, midwifery, school, childbirth education, photography and more.
Most of our crew is working full time at the moment. Over the course of the winter we hope to start several small businesses that would help our ministry to be self-supporting, freeing our crew up to be even more available especially for extended traveling and short notice ventures.
We are also working on new (to us) and innovative ways of reaching out using the internet.
For us there is no such thing as "down time"!
We welcome your questions and comments, ok, we more than welcome them, we really enjoy them.
Love from the whole FS crew.
Jasmine C.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
LifeLight '10
We had a great time at LifeLight this year. The attendance exceeded all previous years on the new piece of property, over 300,000 people attended over the three day festival. Our crew is just arriving home and everyone is completely wiped out. There was plenty of work to go around as Tony is the Festival Coordinator/Operations Manager. Our crew ran a kitchen to feed the whole ops. crew which turned out to be almost 100 for most meals.
Tapestry performed as well as Freedom Seed's drama team. Paul and Jasmine ran the 5k, Paul was 5th overall (170-something runners) and Jasmine placed 2nd in her age category.
Tapestry has an opportunity to go on tour this coming year so we are currently checking doors. If you are interested in having Tapestry play at your event please get in touch with us.
Sharayah and Nathan are in need of a cabin now and there is a lot of wood to collect for the winter.
Laura came up from Texas for the festival and made the trip to the north woods once again for another week, we are happy to have her.
We are now waiting for Aubrey and Paul's new arrival who is due to join the family sometime in the next few weeks.
There are a lot of things on the plate and we are looking forward to what God has over the next couple of months.
Tapestry performed as well as Freedom Seed's drama team. Paul and Jasmine ran the 5k, Paul was 5th overall (170-something runners) and Jasmine placed 2nd in her age category.
Tapestry has an opportunity to go on tour this coming year so we are currently checking doors. If you are interested in having Tapestry play at your event please get in touch with us.
Sharayah and Nathan are in need of a cabin now and there is a lot of wood to collect for the winter.
Laura came up from Texas for the festival and made the trip to the north woods once again for another week, we are happy to have her.
We are now waiting for Aubrey and Paul's new arrival who is due to join the family sometime in the next few weeks.
There are a lot of things on the plate and we are looking forward to what God has over the next couple of months.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
To Reach and To Touch
Our team just wrapped up a whirlwind weekend in Minneapolis playing music at Corner Coffee and staying with The Source/Fallout crew during their art festival. Tapestry played music twice, our crew helped set up and tear down and put on a performance as well as leading the drum circle. It was fantastic.
We have put together and performed for the first time at the Fallout art festival a new production. One of the biggest points of the production is touching, the power of touch to break through the "bubbles" of our lives, the human touch and the touch of the Divine.
I dug through the Freedom Seed archives and found some pictures that really struck a chord, that showed the power of touch through an expression or gesture captured, and here I would say "on film" but we all know that it is now all digital, so... captured moments.
We have put together and performed for the first time at the Fallout art festival a new production. One of the biggest points of the production is touching, the power of touch to break through the "bubbles" of our lives, the human touch and the touch of the Divine.
I dug through the Freedom Seed archives and found some pictures that really struck a chord, that showed the power of touch through an expression or gesture captured, and here I would say "on film" but we all know that it is now all digital, so... captured moments.
Paul connecting in Sweden
Tracy touching in Mexico
Andrew carrying in India
Sharayah taking a hold of life in India
Paul in India
Aubrey in India
Is it the bread or the touch that is life?
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Cornerstone Adventure - July News
Our Cornerstone crew was privileged enough to have an adventure on their way home. In small-town Iowa the small RV they were driving blew it's engine. Classic Freedom Seed. This is when everyone was glad that we have a home base and there were several of us here able to drive a few vehicles down and pick them up. 20 hours later we all arrived home in one piece and with our sanity, or what is left of it, intact. The RV on the other hand... it was safely laid to rest in a salvage yard.
Cornerstone was great for our team. There were ministry connections made for inner city ministry in Minneapolis. Our team will be headed down the end of this month to play music, put on a interactive art/drama presentation and lead drum circles at the Fallout art festival.
Tapestry will also be performing at a downtown Minneapolis coffee house the day before.
In the meantime we are busting our tails on getting things prepped for another winter, prepping art, drama and music as well as having people in and out all summer. Everyone is gearing up for the LifeLight music festival Tony will become more and more focused on getting this years festival on the ground in it's new location.
We are also praying about purchasing a business here in Bemidji that would allow us to work during the summer and get our team out in the nations during the winter. It would also free our people up to have small teams take turns going to all the events and ministries during the summer as it has been quite difficult with the corporate jobs. Difficult, but not impossible.
Make sure and check out our new web site.
One more big THANK YOU! to those who participated in the Get Well 2, you are consistently generous and it is gratitude that can't form itself in to words that is yours.
Blessings,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed Mobile Youth Church
Cornerstone was great for our team. There were ministry connections made for inner city ministry in Minneapolis. Our team will be headed down the end of this month to play music, put on a interactive art/drama presentation and lead drum circles at the Fallout art festival.
Tapestry will also be performing at a downtown Minneapolis coffee house the day before.
In the meantime we are busting our tails on getting things prepped for another winter, prepping art, drama and music as well as having people in and out all summer. Everyone is gearing up for the LifeLight music festival Tony will become more and more focused on getting this years festival on the ground in it's new location.
We are also praying about purchasing a business here in Bemidji that would allow us to work during the summer and get our team out in the nations during the winter. It would also free our people up to have small teams take turns going to all the events and ministries during the summer as it has been quite difficult with the corporate jobs. Difficult, but not impossible.
Make sure and check out our new web site.
One more big THANK YOU! to those who participated in the Get Well 2, you are consistently generous and it is gratitude that can't form itself in to words that is yours.
Blessings,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed Mobile Youth Church
Thursday, June 17, 2010
We Communed
Communion this year was great. We had a small and intimate group that remained for the entire time with several families showing up over the course of the weekend. God moved in people's lives bringing direction, refreshing and vision.
The communion projects this year were building a wood fired pizza/bread oven and roasting a whole pig. Both projects turned out great. We had amazing pizza, bread and pork. Everyone looks forward to communion food and it gives us a little reminder to be looking forward to the ultimate feast.
Pizza/bread oven
The communion projects this year were building a wood fired pizza/bread oven and roasting a whole pig. Both projects turned out great. We had amazing pizza, bread and pork. Everyone looks forward to communion food and it gives us a little reminder to be looking forward to the ultimate feast.
Pizza/bread oven
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Camp Changes in a wet May
Hey all,
It is another wet and gloomy day here in northern MN the bonus being that they most likely will lift the burn ban that has been on because everything around here was spontaneously combusting.
As we are coming to up on the end of spring here we are happy to have finished off many projects around the place as well as Damien and Andrew completing the EMT course. Tracy has attended several births and there are happy and healthy moms and babies who are very grateful for the schooling that she is receiving. Aubrey has a tiny little baby belly. The munchkins are growing like crazy and have their birthdays coming right up.
We have made a few changes to camp. We have changed it from 10 days long to 5 days with camp starting on June 9 and ending June 13. If you would like to register for camp please let us know. It is going to be a great time!
Sharayah and her husband will be moving to the base camp here in the next couple of weeks and still plan to head to Alaska for 2 months with Nathan's (Sharayah's hubby) Texas church. We have 2 young women from Texas coming to spend time in the woods. One of the young women and her family we have known and been friends with as well as them being supporters of Freedom Seed for years, we are excited to have her coming up to spend 3 weeks with us. The other young lady will be spending the summer with us to get a taste of something different and a little more Jesus. We also have a young man coming to spend 6 months, kind of a "gap" season for him. We are looking forward to the work that Jesus will do in their lives during their time here.
Our closing thoughts are those of summer and hoping that it comes soon!
Love from the team.
Jasmine C.
Communications
It is another wet and gloomy day here in northern MN the bonus being that they most likely will lift the burn ban that has been on because everything around here was spontaneously combusting.
As we are coming to up on the end of spring here we are happy to have finished off many projects around the place as well as Damien and Andrew completing the EMT course. Tracy has attended several births and there are happy and healthy moms and babies who are very grateful for the schooling that she is receiving. Aubrey has a tiny little baby belly. The munchkins are growing like crazy and have their birthdays coming right up.
We have made a few changes to camp. We have changed it from 10 days long to 5 days with camp starting on June 9 and ending June 13. If you would like to register for camp please let us know. It is going to be a great time!
Sharayah and her husband will be moving to the base camp here in the next couple of weeks and still plan to head to Alaska for 2 months with Nathan's (Sharayah's hubby) Texas church. We have 2 young women from Texas coming to spend time in the woods. One of the young women and her family we have known and been friends with as well as them being supporters of Freedom Seed for years, we are excited to have her coming up to spend 3 weeks with us. The other young lady will be spending the summer with us to get a taste of something different and a little more Jesus. We also have a young man coming to spend 6 months, kind of a "gap" season for him. We are looking forward to the work that Jesus will do in their lives during their time here.
Our closing thoughts are those of summer and hoping that it comes soon!
Love from the team.
Jasmine C.
Communications
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Freedom Seed Q&A
We have recently written out an informal Q&A about Freedom Seed that I have attached to the end of this e-mail. We hope it will give you a better insight in to what Freedom Seed is about and the methods we use to train people and why.
Learners are teachers.
What are the PEMS? The PEMS stand for Physical Emotional Mental and Supernatural. They are the way the Freedom Seed has chosen to verbalize the steps that we take to reach and share freedom in Christ.
Why do we use them? They give us practical steps to walk out on a daily basis and a way to clean up our “garbage”.
Where did the basis of how we learn/train come from? Both the 12 Steps of AA and the years that the Pembertons and later Freedom Seed spent traveling and serving.
What do we think about honesty? Honesty is essential. Both with God and with others. We can not stress enough how important honesty is.
How important is community to us? Community is the way we have chosen to walk out our lives so that we are able to practice on a daily basis the PEMS and to be continually challenged in our walk. It also gives us lots of room to practice service. Community is a growing place for us and our refuge. It is very important.
What goes to Heaven or what do you take with you? The only thing that you take with you are your relationships.
What do we think about manipulation? Manipulation in all it's forms is plainly and simply sin. It is not tolerated for any length of time in the group. Manipulation destroys relationship.
What is manipulation? The dictionary defines manipulation as: “To manage or influence skillfully, esp. in an unfair manner.” and “to adapt or change to suit one's purpose or advantage.”. Manipulation is using people to get what you want.
Responsibility and __________ go hand in hand. AUTHORITY!
Why? If you are not responsible with small things you can not handle larger things. The more responsible you are the more people will trust you.
How do chores show readiness for ministry? Once again if you are not able to do the small things you will not be able to do the larger things. Ministry is hard work and often involves a lot of menial jobs. Often times it is hard work that breaks the ice with people so we are able to minister to them. Chores prepare you for this.
Why do your leaders choose to stand aside and let people learn without direct supervision? We believe that natural consequences are often the best teachers. You will not constantly be supervised throughout your life so why start that way?
What kind of churches do we intend to plant? Circle style churches. Churches that function like our small community.
Why don't we have “traditional” teaching? Everyone has something to share and it is important that everyone is given a chance to share during a meeting. Different things touch different people.
What do we think about the “Church”? We love the Church and know that it spans through time and we are a vital part of that.
What do we think about the Bible? It is truth and inspiration. It is inspired.
Do we have any interest in becoming a status quo church? No.
What is our mission philosophy on how to reach people? Relationship, relationship, relationship.
Why do we choose to do this in community? In community we learn how to grow and maintain healthy, Godly, relationship.
How did Freedom Seed start? Freedom Seed started with a family knowing that there was something more. This family spent lots of prayer time and decided as a family to start doing. And they have done ever since.
How did the “Pembertons” become ministers? By stepping out and doing. The next thing. And then the next.
What is the FS mandate for the leaders? Serve!
Why do we share with other people? We share with others because it is what keeps us alive and vital. And it is selfish to keep silent about water in the desert.
Why? Without reaching out we do not have anything new running through our lives. We dry up.
What do we think about young people and children in ministry? They are a vital part of our lives and therefore our ministry. Young people and children can speak profoundly in to a ministry. They should always be included and listened to.
What do we think about the supernatural? It is very real and active in our lives.
What are some of the supernatural things have we have seen? We have experienced many spiritual things including healing, deliverance, multiplication... etc.
Why do we meet regularly? We meet on a regular basis to gauge where everyone is at and to check up on each other. We also meet to pray and worship. It is one of the ways that we stay connected with God and others.
How important is disciplin? Very. If you are not disciplined you will not be able to live in community or a foreign country.
Why do we care about people's motives in ministry? Motive is everything. There is no point in ministry if there is wrong motive.
Why do we have our potential teachers/leaders/church planters work the 12 steps over and over again? So in AA terms they “carry the message and not the mess”. Also so that they commit the Steps to memory so they are able to recall what they need to assist them while ministering to others.
What do we think about taking on other people's responsibilities? Why? It's not to be done. It becomes unhealthy when we take on responsibility that does not belong to us.
Do we think this is the only way to learn/teach? No. There are many different ways to learn and to teach. For some people there very well may be a better way.
Are we interested in another way? No. Though we choose to remain teachable and incorporate new things in to our ministry and lives we have established a way that works for us and are not interested in changing that.
What is the most important thing in our lives? Christ. And Him crucified. Christ in us and through us. Christ behind and before us. Jesus.
Learners are teachers.
What are the PEMS? The PEMS stand for Physical Emotional Mental and Supernatural. They are the way the Freedom Seed has chosen to verbalize the steps that we take to reach and share freedom in Christ.
Why do we use them? They give us practical steps to walk out on a daily basis and a way to clean up our “garbage”.
Where did the basis of how we learn/train come from? Both the 12 Steps of AA and the years that the Pembertons and later Freedom Seed spent traveling and serving.
What do we think about honesty? Honesty is essential. Both with God and with others. We can not stress enough how important honesty is.
How important is community to us? Community is the way we have chosen to walk out our lives so that we are able to practice on a daily basis the PEMS and to be continually challenged in our walk. It also gives us lots of room to practice service. Community is a growing place for us and our refuge. It is very important.
What goes to Heaven or what do you take with you? The only thing that you take with you are your relationships.
What do we think about manipulation? Manipulation in all it's forms is plainly and simply sin. It is not tolerated for any length of time in the group. Manipulation destroys relationship.
What is manipulation? The dictionary defines manipulation as: “To manage or influence skillfully, esp. in an unfair manner.” and “to adapt or change to suit one's purpose or advantage.”. Manipulation is using people to get what you want.
Responsibility and __________ go hand in hand. AUTHORITY!
Why? If you are not responsible with small things you can not handle larger things. The more responsible you are the more people will trust you.
How do chores show readiness for ministry? Once again if you are not able to do the small things you will not be able to do the larger things. Ministry is hard work and often involves a lot of menial jobs. Often times it is hard work that breaks the ice with people so we are able to minister to them. Chores prepare you for this.
Why do your leaders choose to stand aside and let people learn without direct supervision? We believe that natural consequences are often the best teachers. You will not constantly be supervised throughout your life so why start that way?
What kind of churches do we intend to plant? Circle style churches. Churches that function like our small community.
Why don't we have “traditional” teaching? Everyone has something to share and it is important that everyone is given a chance to share during a meeting. Different things touch different people.
What do we think about the “Church”? We love the Church and know that it spans through time and we are a vital part of that.
What do we think about the Bible? It is truth and inspiration. It is inspired.
Do we have any interest in becoming a status quo church? No.
What is our mission philosophy on how to reach people? Relationship, relationship, relationship.
Why do we choose to do this in community? In community we learn how to grow and maintain healthy, Godly, relationship.
How did Freedom Seed start? Freedom Seed started with a family knowing that there was something more. This family spent lots of prayer time and decided as a family to start doing. And they have done ever since.
How did the “Pembertons” become ministers? By stepping out and doing. The next thing. And then the next.
What is the FS mandate for the leaders? Serve!
Why do we share with other people? We share with others because it is what keeps us alive and vital. And it is selfish to keep silent about water in the desert.
Why? Without reaching out we do not have anything new running through our lives. We dry up.
What do we think about young people and children in ministry? They are a vital part of our lives and therefore our ministry. Young people and children can speak profoundly in to a ministry. They should always be included and listened to.
What do we think about the supernatural? It is very real and active in our lives.
What are some of the supernatural things have we have seen? We have experienced many spiritual things including healing, deliverance, multiplication... etc.
Why do we meet regularly? We meet on a regular basis to gauge where everyone is at and to check up on each other. We also meet to pray and worship. It is one of the ways that we stay connected with God and others.
How important is disciplin? Very. If you are not disciplined you will not be able to live in community or a foreign country.
Why do we care about people's motives in ministry? Motive is everything. There is no point in ministry if there is wrong motive.
Why do we have our potential teachers/leaders/church planters work the 12 steps over and over again? So in AA terms they “carry the message and not the mess”. Also so that they commit the Steps to memory so they are able to recall what they need to assist them while ministering to others.
What do we think about taking on other people's responsibilities? Why? It's not to be done. It becomes unhealthy when we take on responsibility that does not belong to us.
Do we think this is the only way to learn/teach? No. There are many different ways to learn and to teach. For some people there very well may be a better way.
Are we interested in another way? No. Though we choose to remain teachable and incorporate new things in to our ministry and lives we have established a way that works for us and are not interested in changing that.
What is the most important thing in our lives? Christ. And Him crucified. Christ in us and through us. Christ behind and before us. Jesus.
Spring Anyone?
Hello all,
We are hoping that cabin fever is not setting in for you all as it has begun to for us. It has not been terrible so far this winter as everyone has been quite busy but the tail end is always the roughest. Jude especially is ready to spend some time outdoors. We have been enjoying the Olympics this past week and that has eased the fever a bit.
Big news around here is that Aubrey and Paul are expecting baby #2! He or she is due at the beginning of October.
Plans for the Freedom Seed summer camp and coming together and we are hoping that you are thinking of joining us. We do need everyone who is planning on attending to let us know and have an initial payment of $100 in by May 30. This will give us time to get all of our supplies together for your arrival.
If you have any questions about camp please e-mail us or give us a call.
As always questions, comments and conversation is always welcome.
Love,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd. 3
Becida, MN 56678
218-854-7327
www.FreedomSeed.org
We are hoping that cabin fever is not setting in for you all as it has begun to for us. It has not been terrible so far this winter as everyone has been quite busy but the tail end is always the roughest. Jude especially is ready to spend some time outdoors. We have been enjoying the Olympics this past week and that has eased the fever a bit.
Big news around here is that Aubrey and Paul are expecting baby #2! He or she is due at the beginning of October.
Plans for the Freedom Seed summer camp and coming together and we are hoping that you are thinking of joining us. We do need everyone who is planning on attending to let us know and have an initial payment of $100 in by May 30. This will give us time to get all of our supplies together for your arrival.
If you have any questions about camp please e-mail us or give us a call.
As always questions, comments and conversation is always welcome.
Love,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd. 3
Becida, MN 56678
218-854-7327
www.FreedomSeed.org
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Summer Camp Details
Hello all!
Just wanted to start of by giving a big THANKS to the Lord for clearing up Sharayah's HUGE medical bills!
We hope you are all doing well and looking forward to it getting warmer, we are all happy since the weather has broken in to the 20's here for the last couple of days, we are laughing because we are going to be like the rest of the Minnesotans and be in our shorts and t-shirts as soon as it hits 50.
Speaking of summer I wanted to give you a few more details about our summer camp.
The camp title is PEMS* it will run June 4 - 13 the cost is $200 this will cover your food and drinks and maybe some s'more materials!
PEMS* is the way the Freedom Seed trains people and the way we live out our lives in a Christ-centered missional community and it is how we carry the message (and not the mess) to the field. During the 10 days of camp you will be immersed in this training, you will be challenged Physically Emotionally Mentally and Supernaturally and you will come out changed, strengthened, encouraged and empowered to do life.
We don't want to spoil the fun so I am going to be a bit vague but you will be participating in lots of these things: eating diverse foods, getting out in to nature, spending time with people, outreaching, worshiping, praying, sharing, working and playing, these will be carried out in unique and challenging ways.
You will be camping and it will be a bit on the primitive side, come geared up to smell like a camp fire for a few days!
This is going to be fun!
Please get in touch with us if you are interested so we can make sure and get you on our list.
Questions? Please don't hesitate to drop us a note.
We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon!
Peace,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd. 3
Becida, MN 56678
218-854-7327
www.FreedomSeed.org
Just wanted to start of by giving a big THANKS to the Lord for clearing up Sharayah's HUGE medical bills!
We hope you are all doing well and looking forward to it getting warmer, we are all happy since the weather has broken in to the 20's here for the last couple of days, we are laughing because we are going to be like the rest of the Minnesotans and be in our shorts and t-shirts as soon as it hits 50.
Speaking of summer I wanted to give you a few more details about our summer camp.
The camp title is PEMS* it will run June 4 - 13 the cost is $200 this will cover your food and drinks and maybe some s'more materials!
PEMS* is the way the Freedom Seed trains people and the way we live out our lives in a Christ-centered missional community and it is how we carry the message (and not the mess) to the field. During the 10 days of camp you will be immersed in this training, you will be challenged Physically Emotionally Mentally and Supernaturally and you will come out changed, strengthened, encouraged and empowered to do life.
We don't want to spoil the fun so I am going to be a bit vague but you will be participating in lots of these things: eating diverse foods, getting out in to nature, spending time with people, outreaching, worshiping, praying, sharing, working and playing, these will be carried out in unique and challenging ways.
You will be camping and it will be a bit on the primitive side, come geared up to smell like a camp fire for a few days!
This is going to be fun!
Please get in touch with us if you are interested so we can make sure and get you on our list.
Questions? Please don't hesitate to drop us a note.
We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon!
Peace,
Jasmine C.
Communications
Freedom Seed
Mobile Youth Church
44528 County Rd. 3
Becida, MN 56678
218-854-7327
www.FreedomSeed.org
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