2009 Year-End-Letter

Hello Family & Friends!
As we close out this year and enter into a new decade we want to say that we are very grateful to have you in our lives. We look forward to hearing how you are doing. Here are some updates on each of us:

Mark ~ He still wears 3 primary hats (in addition to husband & father):

1) Pastor of Cornerstone Community Church - Mark really enjoys learning, reading, studying & preaching/teaching and he had the opportunity to travel to FL & IL for conferences this year. He is also required to take at least one class each year. He just finished his class a couple weeks ago on Trinitarian Theology by Dr. Gary Deddo and got an A. He loved it and we’re very proud of our A student!

2) Shift-supervisor at the Starbucks in Lemon Grove - Mark has really enjoyed working at Starbucks for the past 2 years. He has especially enjoyed getting to know some great people and getting a free pound of coffee every week but the 4:30 a.m. shift is taking its toll and he is hoping that sometime by the end of 2010 the congregation will be able to afford to pay for his benefits plan and he’ll be able to quit his second job. (That’s why he picked up the job at Starbucks, because they benefit their employees at 20 hours/week.) We’ll see what God has in store…

3) Co-Director of SEP So Cal Youth Camp – (See the update below.)

Anne ~ I am still wearing many hats in addition to my role as wife & mother:

1) Worship Director, Youth Pastor & Admin Staff at Cornerstone – I have the wonderful opportunity to play the keyboard & lead the worship band each week at Cornerstone and am working on raising up new band members and worship leaders; I love working with the youth and young adults in our congregation. My deep desire is to help them see how loved they are by God and to live out of that centered and secure place of being loved. In addition, I strive to instill hope in each one of them to make a difference in their world and to ‘Break-the-Cycle!” (The Admin part is just goes with the territory–paperwork, website design & admin, bulletins, flyers, emails…etc.)

2) Homeschool Teacher for Camden who is in 6th grade – this is his final year being homeschooled through the La Mesa public school Home Independent Study Program and then he will be attending the same Charter School where Megan is enrolled. We’re having a good year so far & I hope to finish strong in preparing him for Jr. High.

3) Co-Director of SEP So Cal Youth Camp – (See the update below.)

4) Founder of SoulJourners – I create a contemplative, interactive Prayer Journey mainly for camps around the U.S. each year. I haven’t had time to really put into marketing this product but you can find out more about it at http://souljournersprayerjourney.com.
We celebrated our 20th Anniversary in July at a beach cottage in Oceanside, CA while the kids were visiting family in CO. It was so relaxing and refreshing! We realized that we had not taken a ‘real’ vacation that was not tacked on to a work or ministry related trip since before the kids were born, so we decided we would not wait another 15 years to do it again!

SEP SO CAL: As most of you know, about 4 months of our year is consumed with planning and directing a one-week youth camp called SEP So. Cal. which is held in July at Cedar Lake Camp in Big Bear Lake, CA. In March, Mark & I travelled to Texas for an annual Camp Director’s conference to receive more training and to learn from the other camp directors from around the U.S. In July, we had a fantastic camp with around 70 volunteer staff and 180 campers. We had a graphic designer create our first ever theme logo (“Oasis”) as well as a new SEP logo. This year was probably our most collaborative/team based year we’ve had so far. We had so many sacrificial, passionate, hard working staff who shared their talents, ideas and resources. And because of the financial generosity of many of the staff & other donors, we were able to scholarship dozens of kids who would not have been able to attend. We’re looking forward to SEP 2010! www.sepsocal.org

CORNERSTONE: This past summer we had the privilege to host pastoral intern, Chelsea Hunt, from Oklahoma City, OK at both Cornerstone & SEP. It was a great experience for all involved. God continues to confirm that we are called to reach out to youth and their families – both in our congregation, in our community, online and at camp. This past year we have seen a number of new families come to call Cornerstone their home church and we are excited about the upcoming year as we focus on raising up leaders. http://cornerstonecommunityonline.net.

Megan turned 14 this past June & is in the 9th grade – yes, she is a High Schooler now! She is continuing her education at River Valley Charter School which requires 2 full days on campus of the 4-core required classes (& any electives) and then 3 days of independent study at home each week. She is doing great in her studies, is learning Spanish and has some good friends there. This year RVCS (8-12 grade) received a silver award rating from U.S. News & World Reports for academics & enrollment. This past summer was pretty monumental for Megan’s personal development. In July, she served on a 2 week missions trip in the Bahamas and grew soooo much from the experience and helped make a difference in the life of many Haitian refugees. She has been accepted to go back in August of 2010 and will be even more effective since she is older and has been there before. (If you desire to support her with prayer or finances, please email her at jesus.loves.megan@gmail.com.) In August, Grandma Joan and Grandpa Ken, flew Megan and Camden out to CO for a week and they travelled all by themselves for the first time. Megan has enrolled in a Leadership Challenge track in our youth group, is raising money to help fight Malaria and is taking an active role in teaching the young children in Kids Church. She has started singing on the worship team and even had a solo part in our Cornerstone’s first choir concert. You would never know that Megan used to be super shy. J She is blossoming into a gracefully confident leader (one who loves facebook as many of you know!)

Camden turned 11 in May and is enjoying his final year (6th grade) of homeschooling as he prepares to enter Junior High next year. He continues to play the bass (and occasionally the drums) in our Worship Band and has been taking guitar lessons from a church member since July. He was able to debut his new skills by playing a duet with his guitar instructor for Cornerstone’s Fall Variety show and then recently played in Cornerstone’s Christmas Concert. This year, Camden took up the challenge to reach youth between the ages of 8-12 with the deadly truth about cigarette smoke. He’s written a couple papers on the topic and has put together a plan to start speaking to groups of kids in the community. He even made contact with the grandson of R.J. Reynolds (owner of the 2nd largest tobacco company in the U.S.) and got permission to use some of his anti-smoking video clips when speaking to the children. C.J. is still letting his hair grow out and hasn’t decided how long he wants it to be. (I did talk him into letting me give him a trim before the end of the year.) Right now, he is in a Pokémon phase and I am simply amazed at how many codes, phrases, rules and names he can memorize. Kids can do a lot of incredible things when they are motivated!

Pets/Petcare: Megan and Camden just said goodbye to their final hamster, Cheez, so we no longer have any pets at home – except for the local cat, Indi, who thinks he lives at our place and spends half his waking hours on our porch – which works for us. J And the kids are still active with their pet care business http://www.freewebs.com/mcpetcare/
(photos by Mary Bauer, November 2009)

We are very grateful for where God has us and we look forward to participating with Him in what He’s doing in 2010. As you journey through this upcoming year, may you know that God not only loves you, but He is especially fond of you…and so are we!

With all our love, Mark , Anne, Megan & Camden