How would you answer the

above question? From my per-

spective there are only two pos-

sible answers:

YES! or NO!

We know the answer because

our bodies will tell us by how we

feel and maybe even look. The

Bible talks about the importance

of taking care of our bodies.

Paul reminds us that our bodies

are temples of the Holy Spirit. In

his first letter to Timothy he

states: Physical training is of

some value! (1 Timothy 4:7)

By now, we all should know the

basics of keeping ourselves

physically healthy. But, what

about your spiritual health: are

you in shape spiritually? What

are the basics when it comes to

being in good spiritual shape?

This is critical because Paul goes

on to say: Train yourself to be

godly because godliness has

value for all things, holding

promise for both the present life

and the life to come. (1 Timothy

4:8)

Right now I can think of at least

75 people who know the basics

for staying spiritually healthy.

These are the children, youth,

and adults who participated in

our OlympiOn Vacation Bible

School during the last week of

July. Here are the basics for

good spiritual health:

STEP 1 - Listen to God &

God’s Word!

STEP 2 - Trust God – Take

God at His Word!

STEP 3 - Obey God – Do

what God says!

STEP 4 - Confess to God –

When you fail, admit it

and receive God’s for-

giveness!

STEP 5 - Follow God’s Way –

Courageously live the

life God has called you

to live for Him!

It is a simple training regimen.

Like all good training regimens, it

promises great benefits.

And, like any good exercise pro-

gram, the time to start is now.

Not sure? Then, take Step One

right now and listen to God: Be

strong and courageous. Do not

be terrified; do not be discour-

aged, for the Lord your God will

be with you wherever you go.

(Joshua 1:9) You know what to

do from there. So, go ahead and

follow the steps. You have al-

ready taken the first.

Helping People Become Fully

Alive in Jesus!

Pastor S

(See OlympiOn VBS pictures on

pages 6 and 7 of this issue.)

A R E Y O U I N S H A P E ?

A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Fully Alive! I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

W O R K C A M P 2 0 1 6

2

C A M P O U T 2 0 1 6 4

P O B L O F A R E W E L L

5

O L Y M P I O N V B S 6

C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Do Workcampers tend to exag-

gerate? I have asked myself

that question many times. As

we traveled back from our re-

cent mission adventure in West

Virginia, I actually got to sit in

the van for a bit and read my

care cards (thank God for extra

drivers). It seems to always be

the case that at least one of

these notes of affirmation from

a camper says they had the

“best week of my life”. Such

responses makes the enormous

amount of work, organizing,

recruiting, fundraising, planning,

and praying that have gone into

our camps over the years worth-

while.

If you look at the photos on this

page and the next, I hope you

see what all we packed into a

week immersed together in our

life in Jesus. We hope you will

join us in 2017 for “The Road”,

our next Workcamp adventure.

Because no, they are not exag-

gerating. :)

Page 2 F U L L Y A L I V E !

W O R K C A M P M I S I S O N 1 6 : “ T H E B E S T W E E K O F M Y L I F E ” ( C E D A R G R O V E , W V )

Page 3 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

Come on out and join us for our

first annual Holy Cross campout.

Everyone is welcome.

It will be held at Chester Woods

park on September 16th - 18th.

There are still spots open to

camp. If you are not a camper,

don't worry, you are also wel-

come to come for any or all of

the activities. The goal is to get

to know other Holy Cross fami-

lies in a relaxed, fun setting.

Here is the schedule:

Friday night—bring your roasting

stick, lawn chairs, a s'more item,

and a story to share around the

fire.

Saturday Anytime—Come out

anytime for hiking, games, and

fun. Bring a game to share.

Saturday 6:00 pm- Potluck.—

Bring a dish to pass and your

own drink. Plates, napkins, sil-

verware provided.

Sunday 9:30 am- Outdoor wor-

ship—Bring your lawn chairs.

This event is being planned by

Ernie & Kathy Freudenburg, Jay

& Diane Gatzlaff, and Ken &

Lorrie Langford.

Contact anyone of them with

questions or suggestions.

See you there!!!

On Thursday evening, July 14,

2016, POBLO / International

Friendship Center hosted

a Farewell & Goodbye Ban-

quet at Holy Cross for POBLO’s

Director, Kristine Murray, her

husband, Dave, and daughters,

Juliana and Ella. POBLO Volun-

teers, a few POBLO ESL stu-

dents, and Holy Cross friends

gathered to break bread and

pray for God to bless the Murray

family as they prepared to move

to Oklahoma City. They will be

greatly missed. POBLO wel-

comes new Director, Katrina

Meyer, who has hit the ground

running! Please pray for God’s

continued blessings on the min-

istry of POBO.

On Tuesday, July 19, 2016,

POBLO held the first of this

year’s series of cooking classes

at Holy Cross for international

students. Attending were wom-

en from China, Korea, Thailand,

and Iran. Holy Cross member

Karen Kelle and her sister-in-

law, Betty Lindberg, taught the

women how to make home-

made pizzas, dinner crepes, and

dessert crepes. The women

enjoyed discussing differences

in cooking from their native

countries, including what spices

they use, how they wash fruits

and vegetables, and what kind

of pans they use for different

tasks.

Betty shared Jesus’ words in

John 10:10 with the women as

an introduction to Jesus and the

abundant life that He offers to

us. The Holy Cross Ministry

Team got to take a break from

their work to sample the deli-

cious foods at the close of the

class.

In the second week of class,

Karen and Betty took the wom-

en to Trader Joe’s, which sup-

ports POBLO with weekly dona-

tions of food and flowers; Peo-

ple’s Co-op, to discuss spices

and the olive bar, and HyVee, to

show the international foods are

offered for sale there. Subse-

quent cooking sessions will

cover homemade soups, pastas,

casseroles, roasted vegetables,

pies, cookies, and everyday

meals.

Please pray for Karen and Betty

as they move forward, building

relationships with the women,

and planting seeds of God’s

love. And please pray for the

students, that they would come

to know Jesus as their Savior.

H O L Y C R O S S C A M P O U T

P O B L O A T H O L Y C R O S S

Page 4 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Join us for the first annual Holy Cross Campout!

P O B L O F A R E W E L L B A N Q U E T F O R T H E M U R R A Y F A M I L Y

( S e e P O B L O a r t i c l e o n p a g e 4 )

Page 5 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

P O B L O C O O K I N G C L A S S

( S e e P O B L O a r t i c l e o n p a g e 4 )

O L Y M P I O N V A C A T I O N B I B L E S C H O O L

Page 6 F U L L Y A L I V E !

Be strong and

courageous. Do

not be terrified;

do not be

discouraged, for

the Lord your

God will be with

you wherever

you go.

Joshua 1:9

Coach Lisa St. Peter shows OlympiOns the torch they will make.

Head Coach Fran preparing OlympiOns for Joshua 1:9 Calisthenics

Coach Zeke Green leads Recreation. Coach Shelley DeYoung gives instructions for creating Olympic-themed snacks.

OlympiOn Praise Team on Day 1

Page 7 C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D C E L E B R A T I N G T H E M I S S I O N A N D M I N I S T R I E S O F H O L Y C R O S S

O L Y M P I O N V A C A T I O N B I B L E S C H O O L S O N G S

The OlympiOn VBS children

worked hard memorizing Bible

verses during the week, helped

in part by the fact that two of

the songs they learned were

verbatim from scripture. The

songs, “Hebrews 12:1” and

“Joshua 1:9,” are from an excit-

ing Scripture Memory series,

G.T. and the Halo Express,

which includes seven fun stories

where Bible truths come to life.

Here’s a note from Billy Graham

about G.T. and the Halo Ex-

press:

“I highly recommend to parents

and grandparents this God's

Word for Today's Kids series

[G.T. and the Halo Express] as a

wonderful approach to Scripture

memory for children.”

G.T. and the Halo Express CDs

are available at ww.gthalo.com.

Other songs that were sung at

VBS include “God is on the

Move” by 7eventh Time Down,

“Alive” by Hillsong Young & Free,

“After All” by David Crowder

Band, and “My Lighthouse” by

Rend Collective. We hope to

continue the use of these songs

on Sundays in worship, so feel

free to look them up on Youtube

and/or purchase them for your

own music library.

Coach Kevin Kelle helping the children memorize and apply God’s Word.

OlympiOn athletes in training!

More training!

August Issue of Fully Alive!

2703 9th Avenue NW

Rochester MN 55901

Phone: 507.289.1354

Fax: 507.289.4815

Email: info@holycross-church.org

Website: www.holycross-church.org

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Rochester MN 55901

Holy Cross children and youth

have been actively engaged

this summer! See inside

for photos of some of

the ways God is on the

move!