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Dear Friends,
As another semester begins at OU, we wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on how God has been at work here this past year. Once again, we see how He has been at work both in and through us.
We want to say "Thank You" again for your partnership with us. We hope you enjoy this e-mail.
LOVE WINS.
Dave & Rhonda Kyncl
Craig and Anita Shepperd |
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House donation tops 2009 ministry news
 By David Kyncl
For the past 11 years, I have paused each January to reflect on how God has been at work in and through the ministry known as the OU Nazarene Student Center and the 2:8 House. Every year, I am reminded of God's faithfulness. Every year, I am also reminded of the faithfulness of our family and friends who have joined with us in this strategic ministry. To God be the glory great things He has done.
2009 was a year of significant milestones for our family and ministry. Here is a quick sampling:
Rhonda completed her work and graduated with her doctorate in English Composition, Rhetoric and Literacy in May. She was hired as the assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at OU in September.
In April, I had the opportunity to arrange a business lunch with two of my "discipleship group" alumni. John, who graduated in May with a degree in Industrial Engineering, met with Chris, who owns an injection molding company in Oklahoma City. John and I met Chris for lunch, and then Chris provided a tour of his manufacturing facility. Chris also reviewed John's resume, and they discussed the job interview process.
In June, Rhonda and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a trip to Longboat Key, Florida, the week following General Assembly. We stayed in the same condominium complex where we spent our honeymoon. This time we were joined by Mary and Jonathan and Rhonda's parents, Nana and Papa.
In August, we were asked to host a welcome dinner for new international graduate teaching assistants at OU. Students from 70 countries participated in the on-campus training, and many of those students joined us for an American barbeque at the house.
In October, the Nazarene Foundation presented the ministry with the deed to the house. The local ministry now owns 700 Chautauqua Avenue without any debt!
Throughout the year, we experienced significant growth in our Tuesday lunches. We finished the spring semester with about 180 students sharing in the lunch. During the fall semester, we saw as many as 250 students join us. After a semester of special prayer and fasting, we decided in November that we would no longer provide a weekly free lunch for students, after the semester ended in December.
Awareness of this strategic minstry continued to increase. We were featured in the Nazarene MIssions International book, Strangers No More, by Aimee Curtis. The Nazarene Communications Network published a story and photos of the donation of the house from the Nazarene Foundation. In December, the "Fort Morgan Times" published a feature article on our family and our book, Listening Inside Out. The ministry is also featured in a new online magazine for Nazarene World Missions. You can read the "Engage" article here.
This also marked the first full year with the help of Craig and Anita Shepperd serving as associate directors. Craig continues to serve at Norman Community Church of the Nazarene as the pastor for young adults and discipleship, and Anita serves as a teaching assistant in a special needs class at a Norman elementary school.
I continued to teach a section of the Gateway to College Learning class on campus, and Craig continued teaching Strategies for Success. We met several new students though these classes.
Thank you for joining us as we seek to make Christ-like disciples in the nations at the University of Oklahoma. LOVE WINS. |
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Open doors evident throughout 2009
By Craig Shepperd
 Anita and I continue to develop friendships around the campus of OU. This past year at the 2:8 has been one of open doors. Let me just highlight a few of those:
In April, the 2:8 House hosted a special day for youth pastors. Our hope was to help familiarize them with the ministry of the student center, as well as make some connections with students attending OU. We enjoyed a good meal, the red and white spring football scrimmage, and great fellowship.
Spring '09 and fall '09, I began teaching on campus in University College, which is the freshmen college at OU. I thoroughly enjoy it, and it has opened so many opportunities to build relationships and engage in some very significant conversations.
Anita and I have developed a significant friendship with an international couple. We have taken turns visiting each other's apartment, gone out to eat on occasion, played volleyball at church, and shared a holiday together. We believe God has something special in store, and we continue to pray for His love to be shown.
Lastly, throughout the year we have had the opportunity to be in several churches in order to build our network of ministry partners. We have shared how others can get involved through their time, their prayers and their giving. This has also served as a team building experience for the 2:8 staff. Each visit has been an encouragement.
We are excited about the direction God is taking the student center. We know He has placed us here to be a reflection of His love. How we do that at the 2:8 is always an evolving process. Sharing life together is both exciting and challenging. Our prayer is that God will help us see with His eyes and hear with His ears so that His love will be evident in each relationship and every conversation. |
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2009 Financial update
Once again, God has provided for the needs of this ministry through the generous support of individuals and families and Nazarene churches and districts.
Here are the 2009 financial figures:
1) Income: $93,828
$10,342--Balance Forwarded from 2008
$20,832--Donations received from churches
$48,293--Donations received from individuals and families
$11,500--Donations from Northeast and Southwest Oklahoma Districts
$2,861--Income from apartment rental and parking
2) Expenses: $91,245
$50,178--Salaries and related expenses
$12,498--Food
$9,267--Utilities
$6,444--Promotional expenses (includes OU football tickets)
$4,567--Insurance
$4,280--House maintenance and repair
$1,729--Office expenses
$1,437--Travel
$845--Other expenses
Donations in 2009 were received from:
Churches--Bethany First, Broken Arrow First, Chandler First, Choctaw, Lawton First, Lawton Heights, Marlow, Mustang, Norman Community, OKC First Korean, OKC Trinity, Pauls Valley, Regency Park, Silver Creek, SouthPointe, Walters and Yukon.
Individuals and families--Matt Allison, Jim and Joyce Allman, Gary and Linda Banz, Michael Bell, Bill Bumpus, Lisa Blankenship, Kenneth Brown, Keith Clingman, Duane and Linda Cox, Barry and Jen Dean, Mitch and Charlene Dietz, Vic Diffee, Diffee Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Chris Ely, Gary and Nancy Gilles, Mildred Gish, Brent and Amy Hardesty, Rebekah Husted, John and Carolyn Jensen, Jerry Johnson, W. Talmadge and Genell Johnson, Brent Jones, Gene and Rhonda Kesselhuth, David and Rhonda Kyncl, George and Eleanor Kyncl, Darrell and Myrna Latham, Jim and Stephanie Lawler, John and Margaret Martin, David and Tami Martyn, Phyllis McArthur, Robert and Donna McArthur, Melvin and Jeannie McCullough, Meloni McDaniel, Martin and Donna Moses, Mitch Mullen, Patrick and Teri Walls, John and Nancy Porter, James and Shirley Posey, Mae Pugh, Red Logic Communications, Don and Connie Reed, Elmer Shellenberger, Craig and Anita Shepperd, Don and Earlene Shepperd, Faye Simpson, Rick and Linda Short, Irvin and Bonita Simmons, James and Evelyn Stevens, Mike and Beth Sykes, Jim and Brenda Weaver, John and Edna Westmoreland, Michael and Janet Whittenberg, and Kenneth and Melody Wright.
Districts--Northeast Oklahoma and Southwest Oklahoma.
LOVE WINS. |
| Ways to join the 2:8 House ministry team
We are often asked by individuals, adult Sunday School classes or pastors about ways to become more involved in the 2:8 House. Here are a few of the possibilities:
- Pray for our students and ministry--Every week we meet new students. As our friendship grows and we share each other's personal stories, we believe that God will be glorfied. We also believe He will continue to draw students to Himself.
- Organize a 2:8 Support Group in your local church--We are beginning the process of recruiting individuals and/or couples who would be willing to organize a support group within their local church. These leaders would help us identify others in their local congregations who would be interested in learning more about our ministry at OU. This might begin by developing a list of e-mail addresses of people who might be interested in receiving this newsletter. We also would be willing to host a dinner for memers of a particular church who are interested in learning more about our current ministry and our vision for the future.
- Introduce us to a student-- If you know an OU student, bring them by so we can meet them.
- Join our Century Club--We believe that God will provide for the needs of this ministry through the faithful giving of 100 individuals, churches and districts. Our current monthly donations range from $50 to $620 while our periodic donations have ranged from $5 to $10,000.
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| The Way of Love
1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love 1 Corinthians 13
from The Message | |
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| Deuteronomy 32:1-2 (The Message) |
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Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you.
Attention, Earth, I've got a mouth full of words.
My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain, my words arrive like morning dew,
like a sprinkling rain on new grass, like spring showers on the garden.
For it's God's Name I'm preaching--
respond to the greatness of our God! |
| Contact Information |
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700 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman, OK 73069
405-447-7027
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