Spring 2010 Graduations

Here’s a few snap photos from last months graduation.
Congratulations HSE 1&2 – welcome to the alumni family.

HSE has over 3000 alumni serving / changing the world since 1976

hse High School Edition

HSE HSE, (the high school mini HSE) has been off to an awesome start! One week done and three to go, God is working in the students lives as they came young, but ready and thirsty for the Word and eager to see God move! To see some of the students commitment to the Lord, prior to coming to HSE is inspiring, and encouraging. When i was interviewing one of the students, he told me how he had to take the bus for an hour on sundays just to get to church, something i have to ask myself if i would be willing to do, alone, much less at the age of 14! Now we leave for Wilderness tomorrow, and with the backpacks packed, and the students ready, we cannot wait to see God’s hand in all of it, as always, in mighty ways! Let no on despise you because of your youth!

Micah T.

come celebrate what the Lord is doing in the lives of our students

Today was filled with affirmations and after that an hse alumni from 86 spoke to our hearts

HSE ALUMNI Wes Bently shared from the heart about marriage, ministry, and Far Reaching Ministries.

Click here for more info

I believe when you have that pioneering spirit of wanting to reach new tribes and people, you have to be born to want God’s word preached so deeply within your soul and with such deep conviction that nothing will break the calling of Christ in your heart. A depth that is brought from understanding the consequences when people perish without Jesus as their savior. A desire for souls won so intense that nothing will deter you from going deeper, farther in search of the lost. It is like being on a masted ship in hurricane winds when the waves are breaking over the bow. Yet, you hold on to the wheel, pointing the ship into the storm, with no thought of turning back and a fear of the Lord that is greater than any fear of the seas. You cannot surrender or retreat; to do so would mean denying who God created you to be… wes bently

go to farreachingministries.org for to continue reading this post..

Hello & welcome to open house

Well we have obviously been home for a week or so now. Getting back adjusted to life in so cal. Mike has been pouring his heart out on sunday mornings (listen to the archives – horizonsd.org) and Evan Wickham has been preaching through the book of Mark on wednesdays at Chapter & Verse.

Again, we hope to be doing more updates weekly as well as keeping you in the loop with our upcoming graduates and what God is doing in and through their lives here in San Diego.

If your around today come check out Open House – formerly known as friend day..
Our good friend and alumni – Joseph Pfeifer will be leading worship
and the founder of HSE and some friends will be sharing from the heart.

Hope to see you here.. Godspeed.

click here to buy / Listen to Joseph’s Album Good company
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/good-company/id356304634

Horizon Brooklyn BBQ Sat.May 29 2010

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Saturday May 29 2010 was a beautiful day in Brooklyn NY, this day turned out to be a day of salvation for many children and adults who attended the church BBQ & Outreach for the community, there was plenty of food for everyone, hot dogs, bbq chicken, potato salad, chips, watermelon wow! All the fixin’s for a good ol time. The children got their faces painted, had a lot of balloon characters, jumped in the bounce house played basketball and they even got in a few swings on the three pinatas that were stuffed full with candy, Oh my what a fun time! The drama team from HSE performed a powerful skit for the audience, Tony Carigan shared his powerful testimony with the audience and gave a invitation to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, followed by Pastor John Connors as he shared from his heart with the people and thanked them for coming to the free event. Pator Roy was cooking hot dogs, Danny was eatin’ ice cream and Tony he was having fun sharing the love of Jesus. I leave you with this scripture Luke 15:7 Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentence.

Ernie Villavicencio

Sorry for the lack of posting

We assure you, that your kids are okay. Today we had a 3:30 am wake up call and a 5 am departure to beat the city traffic out of New York City.

The past few days have been greatly documented with hundreds of great photos from our old school lomo cameras to our iPhone cameras to our expensive dslr’s. Once we get back to campus we will sort through our photos and better update our blog.

Yesterday we had a free day and many of our students subway’d from borough to borough sightseeing, sharing our faith, and sampling the cities food.
From running into evangelist from the UN who were also handing out the books of John, to sitting silent at Ground zero, to praying at the Brooklyn tabernacle, or eating new yorks best pizza at Lombardi’s – all of the students family groups grew closer to the Lord as they grew closer to eachother while spending a solid twelve hour day walking the streets of NYC.

Were off again, good bye New York, we love you, we miss you, and we hope to serve you again.

Thank you to pastor John Conner’s and the warming concregation of Horizon Christian Fellowship Brooklyn.

Godspeed.

coney island

 

Marlboro Outreach

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Today was an amazing day as God allowed the school of evangelism team to minister to children and parents at the Marlboro Housing Project with food, fun & fellowship as many children and adults received Jesus as their Lord & savior. We were told that this was the first time anyone has done a outreach at their apartments. We were so blessed just to be there and have fun with them.

Ernie & vance checking the blog

As we speak.

Some snapshots from our freetime in the church before dinner

Another Message from Mike

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
Mark 1:35-39

In all four gospels, we rarely see Jesus alone. Everyone always wanted something from Him, either out of selfishness or out of faith, and He spent sunrise to sunset ministering to people. But in this passage from Mark, Simon found Jesus all by Himself, alone. “Everyone is looking for You,” he told Jesus urgently. And clearly, he wasn’t telling Jesus anything He didn’t already know. But the world could wait; prayer could not.

You see, Jesus knew the source of His strength and power was in prayer. When He was alone, did He watch television? Or play Wii? No, He prayed. Who knows how much rest our Lord got that night, but chances are it wasn’t much. He must have been exhausted after a long day prior, and still, we see Him rising up early in the morning, “a long while before daylight,” to pray.

Have you ever felt like everyone was looking for you? Like your cell phone never stops ringing, and the problems keep coming, and you don’t have a moment to yourself? May I encourage you today to take time alone… and pray. Without prayer, we are but robots going from task to task, slaves to the problems that constantly demand fixing. But there will always be tasks at hand, and there will always be problems to fix. How can we ever know God’s purpose for our lives if we don’t take time to pray? How can we become more than problem-solvers — “more than conquerors” as Romans 8:37 puts it — unless we commune with the One who is bigger than our problems? How can we but struggle from burden to burden unless we spend time in prayer? The world can wait; prayer cannot.

May I encourage you to spend time in prayer and ask Jesus to use you to start a revival in your life, in your family’s life, and in your community. No matter what you may be experiencing today, know that the Lord wants to bless you. I know that we all have pressures at home or at work that drain our souls. But just as Jesus was weary, He still made time to refresh Himself in prayer to His Father. Not only did prayer revive Him, it was His source of strength. When you are physically or emotionally weary, go to the Father in prayer — anytime — and He will refresh and strengthen your soul.

New Disciples. Vance’s Testimony: Friday, May 21.

Living in a community with other believers give me a glimpse of what it was like for the disciples. Like them, we eat, sleep, study, pray, praise, learn to lead, and learn to follow. Like them, we are discovering and developing our own uniqueness in the midst of our common goal. Though sometimes difficult, this communal environment is optimal for the death of self and the growth of love. My brothers and sisters see what I do not, both good and bad. They exhort me unto love and good deeds and I am changed by the Spirit of God through them. There is no place I would rather be than right here, right now.

Youthful Heart. Jackie F’s Testimony Pt. 2: Wednesday, May 19.

On Wednesday evening, some of us stayed here at the church for night-time service while others went with the youth group to an outreach in a park for the skater kids that skate out there.  I personally didn’t want to work with the youth because I don’t really have a heart for them.  Or at least I thought.  I honestly only wanted to go to the park to see the Columbine shooting memorial.  One of our drivers was dropping a group off at the park & then returning back to the church to pick up the youth.  So I thought, perfect I can go with him to the park, see the memorial & then catch a ride back to the church, that way I didn’t have to work with the youth.  Well when we arrived at the park the driver was told he needed to return back to the church right away.  That meant I either had to forgo viewing the memorial so I could get a ride back to the church or I had to stay at the park the whole evening with the youth.  So I stayed.  I was uncomfortable thinking about having to interact with the skaters.  They were just a bunch of rowdy punk kids to me.  God then reminded me that many years ago, I was one of those punk kids too.  Standing off to the side talking to Natalie, a 16 yr old girl comes up to us & asked if we could pray for her.  She shared that she just returned from Israel & really desires to live fully for the Lord.  But this afternoon she was with her boyfriend & was tempted sexually.  Immediately my heart broke for her, because I’ve been in her shoes time after time.  Only, no one ever reached out to me to encourage me to flee from the temptation until the damage was already done.  I shared with her my testimony & how God finally been convicted to live a pure life & why.  The whole evening God used me & my past to connect with these skater kids.  I finally felt that my shameful past of drugs, drinking, & sex was used to glorify God.  All around the park God was using HSE testimonies to minister to these kids.  You could see that progress was being made.  The walls built up against God in their hearts, are starting to fall down, slowly, but its happening.  Seeds were planted & I’m so eager to return to the park to water & plant more!  God is changing my heart towards youth & it’s awesome!

Loving Littleton. Lauren’s Testimony: Thursday, May 20.

The Lord has been using us HSE-ers in mighty and amazing ways. On Wednesday, we were sent out to be led by the spirit as to what he wanted us to do. We were given money, cleaning supplies, balloons and a lot of faith to do ministry with the community. Our group found ourselves serving at king supers for much of the day. At one point; Chrissie, Daniel and Chris Flores saw a young couple who were getting into some heavy arguments. They were screaming at each other. The entire situation yelled out for an intervention, but by the time we decided to do something, they had stormed out of the store. All we were left to do was pray. Thankfully, God is really good at getting rebounds. I prayed that the Lord would send another believer to talk to the couple. My prayer was answered when Monique ran into the couple when they had reached her part of the store with their argument. She poured compassion and understanding into the situation. Not only did she get to witness to them, but we all got to share and pray for them. How rad is that?!!!

A Message from Pastor Mike

Walking worthy of the Lord is something I desire to do with all my heart. I get very upset with myself if I have done something or said something that would displease the Lord. I want my whole life to be for Him and not for me. When I was in control of my life (before being born again), it was a mess, but since surrendering my heart and life to Jesus, my life has been a blessing and I am dedicated to try and please the Lord. Here’s the thing: I can’t do it alone.

As you read this, perhaps you are wondering how in the world you can walk worthy of the Lord, or be fully pleasing to Him? After all, you can get frustrated with the kids, or disappointed by your spouse; you are not perfect. But read on in today’s passage to see what comes next: “According to His glorious power.”

You see, as we walk in God’s grace and yield our lives over to the power and working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, He enables us to walk worthy, to please Him, to be fruitful, to increase in knowledge, and to be strengthened with all might. These are not things we can do for ourselves, in our own strength, but they are the byproducts of allowing His grace, power, and Spirit to work in our lives on a continual basis.

Today, may the Holy Spirit strengthen and encourage you, filling you with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord.

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:9-14

What Kind of World? Amy’s Testimony: Tuesday, May 18

She was 13 years old and looked to the ground when spoken to. She wore make-up around her eyes and fluorescent beads around her neck and wrists. When asked if she went to raves, she said, “no, but I want to.”

He was super-friendly helping us in 7-11 as he let us know he had come over from India and had attended “Missionary School”. When asked, “What do you believe then?”, he answered ”I believe in all gods”

She was stooped over in her chair; hair hanging to her side, CD player fallen from her pocket. She had a half empty gallon of  orange juice next to her. The manager of the establishment asked her if she was “okay” as the orange juice next to her was much more than just juice.

What kind of world do we live in where these situations and beliefs are seen as “normal”? Where a 13 year old girl seeks a false reality and is sad, yet common? Where drinking, while seen as an unhealthy way of coping is still seen as a way to cope? A world where measuring our goodness on our own scale has led us astray.

These were just three of the individuals I met today within a 2 1/2 hour period walking around Denver. God showed me today that we walk through life not really looking around at the people we cross and we are certainly not looking up. We do not see suffering because we are to involved in ourselves. God showed me suffering today, and in such a magnificent place where the sun shines strong one minute and a thunder cloud follows you the next. And within it all, God reminded me that He is faithful to every individual, not only here in Denver, but all of the Earth. I do not have all of the answers but He does. Hope for a world without suffering is only a reality through the Truth of God.

God’s Preparedness. Gino’s Testimony: Tuesday, May 18

Nothing can thwart the advancement of God’s kingdom. Not race, color, creed, age, time or space. The HSE body is so diverse and well equipped for any challenge it is aspiring to witness in. While coming along side URBAN Outreach Ministries in rural Denver, HSE must have knock on hundreds of doors and encountered a full gambit of human conditions. At many points, the response was “no speak English”, so our spanish speakers would step forward. One time in particular, the response was “no speak English” so the Spanish speakers stepped up, to which the response was “no speak Spanish”. We replied, “what language do you speak?” to which they said, “Arabic”, so our Arabic speaker stepped up. God is always prepared. Eventually, the Gospel was boldly proclaimed in Arabic to a Muslim no less. Wow, What an amazing God we serve.

Home-Front Hero

Please pray for Jackie Hernandez as she is staying in San Diego to do a local practicum. Pray that her kind soul will reach to all she comes in contact with. We love you Jackie. :)

Home With the Kids

Tony and Veronica have five children aged 5-15. So his wonderful wife Veronica has decided to stay home with them as Tony travels with us to spread the hope and love of Christ. Please pray for her though, she was admitted to urgent care yesterday for kidney pain and a intensive migraine. Keep Tony in prayer while he is separated and unable to physically for her in this trying time. Get better Veronica, Tony and all of us love you :).

Natalie’s Birthday!

Hey everybody, we have a student with a birthday today!!! Thank God for bringing Natalie Harman into existence. She is such a bright influence on everybody here with her joy and love for others. Happy Birthday Natalie :)

Welcome

Welcome to the practicum blog. We hope to capture the work which we are doing  in a beautiful manner and communicate that to you through this blog.

For more info on what HSE is – click here

Last semesters practicums where in Coachella and Israel – click the link to see their blogs

Also, for updated information on our last trip serving at the Festival of Life in Coachella click here.