Victory Outreach Church of North Long Beach

OK - so each place I visit is wonderful and alive and full of God's Spirit. My newest discovery is Victory Outreach of North Long Beach pastored by Brian Apodaca and his wife Tillie. We (my daughter-in-law and I) were greeted by smiling friendly people who were evidently very glad to be where they were and - so were we. You could feel the delight of the people and the delight of the Father in His people. This is a group of people who God has truly rescued from a life of addictions and failures and has set their feet upon The Rock. I don't know if this is true of each member of the congregation, but that's the way Victory Outreach was founded by Sonny Argonzoni who was an ex-drug addict and gang member. His story was put down in the famous book, The Cross and the Switchblade, and Victory Outreach grew from his efforts with other people like him.
Pastor Brian Apodaca is one of those people. His spiritual parents were visiting and gave testimony to how many times they answered his (Brian's) calls from jail, streetcorners and other places he found himself in the midst of his addiction. They knew he had a call on his life and stayed with him until the Lord really had hold on him and set his feet on his ordained path. He said when he introduced them, "You all know me like this (in a suit and all cleaned up), but they knew me when I wasn't like this, and I want you to hear from them."
Pastor Brian then went on to preach a solid, foundational message on prayer and spending time with God in relationship. He cares for his congregation and the church has so much going on that wherever one is in life and however busy, there's something at this church to plug into and receive good fellowship, prayer and teaching as well as ways to serve.
And did I mention the worship!? Their joy and exuberance as well as their wonderful talents were alive and anyone with breathe in their body had to begin to move and join in worship to our King.
I highly recommend a visit. One thing we didn't know that would have been good....they have valet parking, so you can drive to the front and someone will park your car (which is such a good thing as there is no place to park!) and bring you your keys - with a huge smile!
Let me know what you think.....

Dr. Mathews Appreciation for Math Madness Support

Here is a letter of appreciation from Gwen Mathews, Ph.D:

Dear Kingdom Causes,

I wanted to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to you for helping to make our First Annual District-wide Middle School Mathematics Competition a tremendous success.  Thanks in large part to your efforts, our students were treated to a first-class event to recognized their hard work in the classroom.  By providing valuable volunteer services, as well as nutritious snacks for this memorable day, your time, talents and treasures provided the foundation for an unforgettable academic competition for over 400 students and their families.

Our Math Madness competition was like no other in recent history.  Countless family members joined students, staff and community members to cheer-on our students.  While we have been fortunate to enjoy this high level of enthusiasm and participation for athletic events, I know you will agree that it is inspiring to see this type of support and encouragement for students who are determined to be champions in the classroom as well.

Thank you again for being an integral part of our district-wide middle school math competition.  This wonderful event simply could not have come together without the determination of dedicated people, such as you.  I am quite confident that the smiles on students' and families' faces, and the sense of pride that comes from participating in such a unique event, will remain with us all for a very long time to come.  We look forward to working with you again, as we continue to provide a world-class education for every student, every day.

Sincerely,

Gwendolyn H. Mathews, Ph.D

Assistant Superintendent

We, at Kingdom Causes, would like to reiterate Dr. Mathews' appreciation.  Thank you for coming along side us in supporting the school district.  Thank you for volunteering your time and loving on these students and their families!

..Grace does much more abound

At Kingdom Causes,one of our priorities is the Church of the City of Long Beach. To that end we host a prayer meeting for the pastors of the City on the first Wednesday of each month. We move from place to place in order to highlight local congregations and to hear the pastor's heart and pray for him and his congregation. This month we met at the Salvation Army on Spring Street.
Our first order of "business" was to address an issue of infidelity by a high-profile local leader and give the younger pastors opportunity to ask questions and the older pastors opportunity to speak into the situation. There were around 30-40 leaders in the room and I saw them rally around the church and family of the fallen leader to support them and make themselves available to them. A clear line was drawn that the Church in Long Beach will not tolerate the sin, and will not bless this brother in what he's trying to now establish in Long Beach. There was also an invitation from the older pastors to anyone who might be struggling with any of these issues to come and seek private counsel. We held hands and prayed for the church that has been left and betrayed, the family and the City. There were tears and pleas before the throne of grace for the restoration of the brother and a uniting in one accord around this issue. I (Judy) felt the tearing that happened when the wife and congregation found out they had been betrayed and abandoned and watched as others around the room sent their heartfelt requests to the Lord on their behalf.
As we moved into the second half of the morning we heard from Commander Glen Madsen of the Salvation Army. He shared about who the SA is and how they were started, and dispelled many misconceptions surrounding the Army. We really got his heart for the message of Jesus Christ for the lost and dying and his call to his mission. We also heard about the new Kroc center that is being built along PCH to serve the down and out population of Long Beach. What a blessing to our City this will be! And as I listened, I heard the scripture - "where sin abounds, grace does much more abound." Where one pastor has sown sin, betrayal and abandonment, the Lord's mercy for Long Beach has given beyond measure in this Center that will serve our City through the generosity of the McDonald's family and the dedication to excellence exhibited by Commander Glen Madsen of the Salvation Army. You will be hearing more about the Kroc center in months to come - look for it, you will be excited.
Yeah God!!!

Season of Repentance

A local pastor who’s been pastoring the same church for 25 years, Doug Richardson of Long Beach Christian Fellowship, has called his congregation into a season of repentance. It began March 24 and will go until Pentecost. You can go to www.lbcf.org to read his invitation. The church will have its doors open for a service each evening for the entire time. I went to one of these services and was thoroughly blessed. The presence of the Lord was there to gently remind me of the ways I was out of His will. It was a small intimate gathering where worship and prayer were the order of the evening. The atmosphere was inviting and there was no pressure to “do” anything except be there and pray, or not as you felt comfortable. The sincerity and humility of the people in the room was so refreshing that I came away knowing that I had been truly in the Presence of the Creator of the whole earth.

Personal note from Judy: I believe Doug has a voice for the City of Long Beach and I would ask you to consider joining him and his church in this season and see what our Father has for you...

Crazy for Math Madness

Math in general is difficult to do, but math in the morning is insane.  On March 1, 2008, middle school students from all 26 LBUSD middle and K-8 schools were challenged to Math Madness.  It is the first annual, all district math competition in Long Beach.  Gwen Mathews, Assistant Superintendent, asked KCLB to provide snacks for the students and volunteers for the event.  KCLB was able to make 450 snack packs filled with a water bottle, granola bar, and fruit snacks.  We also had many volunteers come to Math Madness to help with the breakfast for the parents and other tasks for the competition.  Thank you to all the volunteers who help welcome the parents and students and to make the event go smoothly.  I was impressed by the excitement of the students and the support of the parents and LBUSD staff (teachers, principals, and counselors).  All the students had a T-shirt representing their school at Math Madness.  It was great to see kids excited for math and were encouraged to study and to achieve in their math skills.  It was pretty intense.  The first round they narrowed down the group to three students representing their math level and grade level.  Proctors told me students wanted to continue to complete the math problems and practice their skills even after they were eliminated in the first round.  The Jeopardy round was also very impressive.  It was like real Jeopardy.  They even had real buzzards.  The students who place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd each received a reward.  Many of the students who participated in Math Madness found it to be a great experience and were looking forward to the next year's competition.  I am also excited for the next Math Madness.  I was a little envious of the students because I wished when I was attending Mary Butler K-8 school that I had Math Madness to look forward to.

An alive, vibrant church in our inner city

Oh my goodness! What have I been missing?! Sunday morning a friend and I visited Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Gundry and 15th. We were a little late arriving and couldn't find a parking place and as we were driving and looking, this smiling man in a van pulled alongside us and told us if we would park in the parking lot his van would take us to the church. The first thing I noticed about him was his genuine, from the heart smile. He and his little boy perform this service each Sunday morning for their church. I found out there are a lot of people like him at that place.... When we arrived the place was packed out and they were praying and worshiping and such music!!! They were having such a wonderful time praising their Lord and there was no way anyone could stay sitting down for it! (there will be a lot of exclamation points in this piece!) As the service progressed you could tell there was a real investment on the part of the congregation and they loved each other, their church and their pastor. His message on sin was one of the best I've ever heard, delivered from such a heart of love and care for his people and connection with God's heart for His people. He made his points with passion, conviction, clarity, humor and sound Biblical theology. The presence of God's spirit was evident and was experienced by both me and my friend! Pastor Wayne Chaney, Jr. has an annointing and a heritage in and to the City of Long Beach that's evident. He spoke about the job fair they were having after the service where business owners who are part of his congregation are in booths to advertise their services. Pastor Chaney said he was doing this because of the coming recession and he wants to care for his people by letting others know of their services. He asked us to go to them first and give them a try and if they don't deliver, go somewhere else, but give the "family" the first shot. This young man truly has a shepherd's heart!
The final thing he did that so impressed me was to interrupt his closing prayer by saying that God frequently tells him something about the congregation but this time showed him something about himself. He said he wants to continue to preach with integrity and honor and can't do it in himself and asked each member of the congregation to pray for him at least once during the day. He had spoken on the sin of David with Bathsheeba and was well aware of the pitfalls pastors are prey to and asked his people to stand with him in prayer to keep him in purity for at least the next 45 to 50 years.
My invitation to you is to keep this man of God in prayer as he asked and to visit his church and experience for yourself the love of God. Then either stay and participate or carry it back to your own neighborhood. You will be encouraged and refreshed.....

Prayer meeting at Covenant Presbyterian Church

One of the things I believe the Lord has put on my heart is to visit churches in the City during their prayer meetings and/or worship services. I’m not sure what He will do with that, but as I have prayed for many years for the Church in the city (whatever city I’ve been in) for pastors to come together I’ve also begun praying for intercessors to unite. Our web-page for prayer is one effort along those lines and blogging my visiting experiences is another. For me to effectively pray for unity, I probably need to come out of my comfortable “prayer box” and pray with others who converse with their Father differently than I. This blog is about the prayer meeting at 5:00 on Saturday for Covenant Presbyterian Church on 3rd Street in downtown Long Beach.
I first met Pastor Rob Langworthy at our morning City Pulse 2008 meeting. I fell in love with him first because at our 8:00 am meeting he was asking where the chocolate was since it’s one of the major food groups. I quickly brought it out and the chocoholics gathered…
As we spoke further I discovered him to be “the real deal” – sold out for oue Lord. He stood and “watched” as City Pulse went on and his presence was an open invitation to experience the love of Jesus. His church is a giving, vital presence in that corner of God’s world. Once instance of that is their tutoring program every afternoon M-Th for the neighborhood kids and the figure I heard was 250 kids in the program. About half of them attend Sunday School and most of them come without their parents (a point for prayer). On the other end of the age scale, they have a senior apartment complex next door where the residents are not only ministered to by Pastors Rob and Adele, but encouraged to minister outward themselves. I met one of the residents, who is a substitute tutor, at the prayer meeting I attended Saturday. That prayer meeting has been going for many years and the testimonies of ministry, healing and provision were inspiring. Praying with people of all different streams is a wonderful experience. It shatters my “right” way to pray and let’s me discover God’s magnificent creativity and diversity. We sat around a table with a wide mix of cultures, ages and walks of life, with a prayer list (I don’t do lists) and began to beseech the Father of Light in His heavenly courtrooms for “our daily bread.” I heard petitions for sons and daughters, for kids in their middle school program, for people they’re ministering to in their neighborhood, for missionaries in Africa as well as petitions for their local body among many other things. Pastor Rob led the meeting, but I heard that if he isn’t there, it continues under the capable direction of one of the women in the congregation. She is a seasoned intercessor and has been praying for unity among pastors of her denomination for many years. I came away blessed and encouraged at this living testimony to God presencing Himself in a life-giving way in the heart of our City. Personal note: I am so grateful for the prayer list because I can bring it with me to remember some of what we prayed for……
Their website is www.covenantlb.org. I encourage you to visit.

Kingdom Causes Emergency Prep Task Force at City Council

On March 11, we on the Kingdom Causes Emergency Preparedness Task Force presented our efforts to coordinate emergency preparedness among neighbors by mobilizing worship centers to be equipped and trained in the event of a large-scale emergency. This was one day after the 75th anniversary of the March 10, 1933 earthquake of 6.4 magnitude which caused millions of dollars in damage and tragically took the lives of 120 people. We have two local congregations fully invested in this effort which is our pilot project. They are The River and Glad Tidings. Representatives from both congregations spoke before City Council and gave their reasons for doing this and the effect it's having on their neighborhoods as well as their congregations. Councilmember Rae Gabelich from the Eighth District presented the item to go before City Council where it was received unanimously. We are preparing to go public with this effort and enroll other houses of worship that want to be trained, equipped and resourced with other City emergency services and the Red Cross to be a resource to their neighbors in a time of city-wide emergency.
Our Glad Tidings team showed out en-masse in full EP gear (they've all been CERT certified) and looked quite official and were an inviting presence to enroll others to be involved in this effort. The representative from The River spoke about their passion for Jesus as their reason for wanting to impact their neighborhood and was very effective in presenting the Christian posture of being salt and light for the city. Brad, as always, set up the room in an engaging manner and was enrolling in his invitation to the council to receive our report and to further coordinate efforts between houses of worship and the city.

I could lift a car!

During CERT we learned light search and rescue and cribbing.  They trained us how to properly search a building in the dark and with no flashlights.  We place our right hand on the wall to guide us around each wall of the building.  During our training,  we had to partner up and search a dark tower that they use in the fire academy to find "Jose".  Jose is a dummy made of rolled up hoses, hence the name "Jose".  It was really dark and scary because some of the assistant firefighters were hiding in the dark to see if we would find them.  We also learned how to safely lift up a car if a victim was trapped underneath.  The fastest way is to use your own strength and lift the car by pressing your back against the side of the car.  But we also learned cribbing as a technique to slowly but safely lift a car or any heavy object off a victim.  We use a bar and anchor to lift the car.  When the car is lifted, we place blocks of wood like a Jenga tower underneath the space one layer at a time.  We continue the same process until we have enough space to drag the victim out of the area.

They also taught us how to properly lift a victim out of a building.  They suggest having two people carry one body by using chairs, doors, or blankets.  There is a single lift.  I wanted to see if I would be able to carry a person just on my own, so I practiced on a dummy (see picture).  Just kidding Brad, I love you!  But, Brad if you need a hand just know that I am willing to carry you through.

Susana to the rescue!

One of the local causes KCLB is involved with is Emergency Preparedness.  There are four different levels of involvement.  Well one of the levels is to be CERT certified.  What is CERT you may ask?  It is Community Emergency Response Team.  The Long Beach Fire Department trains regular citizens how to react in the case of an emergency.  We are trained to help and not become part of the problem during a disaster.  So some of the KCLB staff decided to take the class together. We are learning how to organize ourselves into different roles, disaster psychology, fire suppression, search and rescue, triage, and more.  But the greatest thing about CERT is the fashionable gear you receive when you graduate the program.  Wouldn't you feel safe when you see a whole crowd of people wearing these?

Visiting local congregations

It's been a goal of mine to visit local congregations in the city and also prayer meetings. This week I was able to do one of each. The Lighthouse church on Studebaker has a prayer meeting on Thursday eve at 7:00 pm. I was welcomed into their circle. Pastor Theimens is heading up the WOW jam endeavor again this year and while we did pray over that, their heart was very much for other congregations and City concerns. He reports that more and more pastors are rallying around this very worthwile effort. Last year over 1014 filled out cards for being brand new believers. They couldn't count the rest because they ran out of cards!! The spirit in that prayer meeting was one of worship, humiity and faith to believe our Good God. They prayed for personal needs as well and want to be part of our 1000 intercessors praying in unity over our City.

This morning I had heard stories of healing coming out of The Light that meets at Alvarado School just across the street from our offices. David Hino is the pastor and the Lord is leading him to explore and minister in the area of healing prayer both for physical healing, but also emotional and generational healing. I had heard a report of two people being set free from their addictions after receiving prayer and I have a friend that is in a lot of pain so I took her. As they prayed they felt like they would like to pray again, so they're making an appointment to pray sometime this week for her - a congregation that cares and is willing to extend themselves to a stranger. After the service they were going to go into the park and minister to the people there. The Lord has been impressing me with the scripture about "open wide your mouth and I will fill it" and it seems this congregation of wonderful people is doing just that. I believe God will increase them and fill their mouths with faith.
It's exciting to visit new places in the City and see the different expressions of His love.

Second Saturday Prayer

Five of us gathered in the dark to pray - one a local pastor and one a local intercessor and we prayed. The intercessor wept, the worshipper led us in sweet, sweet worship and we prayed. We prayed over the pastor and his local congregation and his heart for the gang members in his area, and we prayed over him as stand-in for all the pastors in Long Beach. We declared Shalom over the City, and a spirit of reconciliation and unity....we prayed over two local congregations who have had sudden deaths recently and the grief and confusion that comes with that. We thanked our Lord for inviting us into His throne-room and the wonder of that. Praying from our vantage point overlooking the City really gives us a unique view of the city we're praying over. Kingdom Causes is having a "City Pulse 2008" meeting Tuesday to tell people what the possibilities are for local service, to connect with other Kingdom minded believers and to hear what we believe is God's heart for our City. We prayed over that.
These times of prayer are refreshing, faith-building and filling.
Try it - you'll come away refreshed!

Unite to Ignite

I want to make you aware of an event happening this Saturday, February 9th at 1pm. It's a gathering of different denominations, cultures and ages to seek God through united and passionate prayer, worship and fasting. It's being held at the church of one of our local pastors who is quite active in her community through Emergency Preparedness and other community services. She is Barbara Gilliam of the Glad Tidings Tabernacle, at 1900 E. South St., 90805. You can email her at BGilliam at GladTT.org for more information. The website for this event is jesusrevusa.com and a voicemail number is 800-850-8534

Local prayer gathering this evening

Here is the latest from Pastor Joe:

"I have a bit more news.

First, a correction. I am told that Isaac passed before any decision about his life support was necessary.

Scott knows about Isaac, and is understandably quite devastated. Andrea and Scott are in the same room, or "pod". Andrea was asked to move her toes and fingers, and moved them a little. I do not believe she is aware of the loss of Isaac at this time, but I do not know for sure.

I'd like to set up a time to gather for prayer this evening at the church. If you can't come, that's OK - you can pray with us wherever you are. If you can come, there is often comfort in being with God's people in difficult times. I'm thinking that we should make it about 6 PM. Assume that's the case unless you hear differently. There will be people in the office at church starting at 3; anyone who wants to come earlier than 6 is (of course) welcome. Please help spread the word."

"Rollover Crash Kills 3"

Here is the latest news release from this morning:

Rollover Crash Kills 3

LITTLETON, Colo. - Three people were killed when a van carrying six people to a church collided with another vehicle and rolled over several times.The crash happened on C-470 near Santa Fe Sunday. Two adults and a child died in the crash.Littleton police said the accident occurred when a man driving a Jeep had a medical condition that caused him to lose control. Investigators said the Jeep hit the Chevrolet van, which then rolled several times.Two passengers in the van remained in critical condition Monday. The van driver was hospitalized in stable condition. The driver of the Jeep and his passenger had minor injuries.

Good and Sad news...

"This morning Andrea wiggled her fingers and toes a little. She's stable and doing well. That's the good news, and it is very good.

The bad news is that they've made a decision to remove dear little Isaac from life support. I can hardly imagine how difficult this must be for everyone.

Please continue to pray."
--Pastor Joe

I talked with pastor Joe this morning and he said that it turned out that baby Issac actually passed away before they removed him from life support as he had mentioned in that email.

What a sad day. Let's all continue to be praying for this family and all those loved ones affected so deeply. I can't even imagine.......................

Come Lord Jesus, Come

Pray, pray, pray for the Swards!

I just recieved a horrible email from Pastor Joe Ginder! We need to pray! Lord have mercy!

One of the young leadership couples from Long Beach, Scott and Andrea Sward (Andrea was involved in 30 under 40), were involved in a horrible traffic accident while in Colorado for missionary training. Here is part of the email I just read:

"I'd like to ask for prayer for Scott and Andrea Sward and their 18-month old son Isaac. Next Sunday we were to commission them to go to Cambodia; they were to leave a few days after that. This week they were completing their final pre-field training at MTI in Colorado Springs.

This afternoon after our service we got news that they were in a terrible accident near Denver. They were were driving with 3 other missionaries to a church near Denver this morning. We don't know who the others were, but believe there were in training at MTI also. Two of the other missionaries were killed. Scott and Andrea are in critical condition, Andrea with really serious injuries including many broken bones , a punctured lung, and a spinal injury. She's out of surgery and stable. Scott is also out of surgery for internal bleeding and stable. Isaac is in extremely critical condition and was air-lifted to Denver Children's Hospital. You can read more about the accident and watch videos at Denver-area news outlets, like 9news.com, cbs4denver.com, myfoxcolorado.com, or denverpost.com. The accident was on C-470 and two were killed - that's enough to recognize the headlines and get to videos of news coverage. We're kind if in a state of shock; next Sunday was shaping up to be a really big deal in the life of our church. We trust God no matter what, and pray for their recovery - we're really concerned about Isaac, and it sounds like Andrea's in for a long rehabilitation to an unknown state of health. It's been a tough day.

Both Scott and Andrea's parents are already in Denver (they were on an airplane within 6-7 hours of the accident), and we have support from some sister churches in Denver helping them out. We also have someone from our church living in the Denver area who is able to be with them. Right now we're waiting for news and praying."

Kingdom Causes EARLY morning prayer

Prayer is a mystery to me. Why does God need me to ask Him to do something He already wants to do and scripture tells me that if He can't find someone who will stand in the gap, He will do it Himself? When I prayed for years for a living marriage and worked it every way I knew - and it still failed, why pray? I'm supposed to listen to what His heart is in any given situation, then pray and ask Him to do what He already wants to do???? Boy, I ask you, does that make any sense at all to my human mind? No! So why do I pray? Why do I love to pray? Why do I resist Him so when He's GOD? I don't know...I am learning - again - that prayer, being with My Father in conversation is what gives me life.

For a very long time my prayer life went "underground", about 10 years in fact. It wasn't that God was gone, in fact in many ways He was very present, but - I didn't pray like I used to - at all. He wasn't angry, He didn't throw me away, He just was there and available any time I wanted to come. I realize when I won't talk to or look at someone that I'm angry and mostly don't want to confront that anger in myself. His grace is amazing! He knew my anger even if I wasn't willing and helped me with it when I became willing.

Since working at Kingdom Causes and being more and more captured by the need and opportunity for prayer, things have shifted in me. Thank You Father...
I'm talking to Him now out loud in private again, I'm praying corporately again, (I love praying with the student leaders at CSULB) and am consistently bringing Brad and Kingdom Causes before Him. As I travel with KC through the City and encounter so many pastors, City leaders, church planters, and school leaders not only in Long Beach, but in the other KC cities as well, something happens in my heart to know I want to lift them into the courts of heaven to make sure my Father sees what I see and works in it as He sees fit. Jack Hayford calls it "partnering" with God in establishing the Kingdom. Me! a partner with God Almighty, the Creator of the whole universe! Amazing....

Which brings me to our KC Second Saturday early morning prayer meeting. Thank you to all who come regularly and thank you to those who have come some. There's something that happens; 1)early with God and 2)corporately with others who love Him enough to lose sleep to be with Him. There is a sweetness in the room that can only be Him and there is always an impartation from Him both corporately and personally. The common comment is, "I wanted to stay in bed, and I'm so glad I didn't."

I think prayer would be easier for people if they could see the results like you can when you hand someone some food or money or service. With prayer it's a totally hidden, faith exercise. I don't know where my prayer goes or what it accomplishes, especially when so many specific prayers haven't been answered according to what I had in mind. I just know that answering His invitation to "come" is the best and that I am always changed afterwards.

I'm extending an invitation to you to join us and be "changed into His likeness" "from glory to glory" whatever that means according to God's heavenly dictionary.
Love to you from Judy

My Weakness in Strengths Finder

The Kingdom Causes Long Beach Team doubled when I joined.  In October both Polin and I signed onto Kingdom Causes.  So we wanted to focus our roles within the team by finding out each person's strength.  It was my first time taking the test.  I was intrigued by how the process worked and whether it was reliable.  In less than thirty minutes I found out my top five strengths.  They are: Restorative, Learner, Relator, Responsibility, and Individualization.  When I read the list I thought they were interesting until I read the specific description of each.  Then I thought they were scarily true.  Restorative describes my desire to grow and challenge myself.  I easily notice my flaws so that I can improve upon them.  Learner illustrates how I love to gain a lot of knowledge and information especially when I make a decision.  I want to gain experience so I could learn from them.  As a Relator, I don't rush into relationships and have a few friends.  I value honest because I am honest with others.  People can confide in me and they know I care for them.  Responsibility really surprised me as a strength.  But after reading about it, I realized how much it is a big part of my life.  When I read the description I didn't really see it as a strength but more of a weakness or burden.  I am very reliable.  I do everything to fulfill my commitments, but because of that I volunteer to have lots of responsibilities.  I also look though every angle before taking action.  Individualization I really enjoy having this.  It describes how I see the unique qualities of a person.  I love to observe people.  It also shows how I love to work in details and can do tedious work.

It was fun finding out about my strengths.  But now I know them, I don't know what to do with them.  It just goes back to my restorative trait of focusing on my weakness. It just goes to show that even through the strength finder test I can still find my weaknesses.

Thanks from Lindbergh Middle School

We want to thank you for your generosity in providing the backpacks to Lindbergh. The backpacks are given to students with financial hardships and as incentives to motivate students. The school supplies inside the backpacks were an added bonus. Lindbergh serves a disadvantage neighborhood and we are grateful for the assistance you have so generously given to our students. Sorry for the delay in this letter. Lindbergh wishes you a happy and safe holiday season.

Sincerely,
Michael Conlon
Program Facilitator for Lindbergh Middle School