March 2011

Cowboy Fellowship News

March 2011 E-News

Issue 22

Inside This Edition

Word From Pastor Scotty

Letter From an American Hero

The Acts Report

Parent Link

Boost Registration

And so much more!

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Word From Pastor Scotty

Lonely & Lost, Hurt & Confused

I experienced many things throughout my life. Being an only child only compounded the situation even more, plus we lived way out in the country as well. At times I turned to talking to my best friend which was my dog. I stopped that after he died and I started spending large amounts of time talking out loud to God, even though I did not know him well at the time. I do know that as a child I was taught that He was our God and that we should pray to him. At nine I accepted the grace that Jesus has to offer so I could go to heaven and not burn in Hell. But still something just didn’t seem quite all there for me. Through all the circumstances I experienced as a child, and as a young adult, I called out to him, cried, and sought him on some specific things as well as on some things that were frivolous I am sure. Even though I did not understand it. My senior year of high school was where things really started to get stirred up. Until then I had not ever really had to think about forgiveness and how it impacted my life. But it was during this time that I had my first taste of sharing forgiveness with someone else and the reason I had realized it was because I know that God had forgiven me so I needed to forgive them. That took a serious conversation with God. When I took that first serious step in forgiving someone that had wounded my soul, that is when things started to change in my life. I will let you know right then and there the war was on! Not for me as a person that be-came some kind of super Christian and I was waging this war against Satan.. ahhh no way.. I was not even thinking about that at all, that was the furthest thought from my mind. But because I had started to take a step in a direction that I had never been before … though Satan did not want me to go any further. He was out to mock my decision and to keep me from doing anything else that required that kind of commitment, that kind of faith, that kind of strength. No way was Satan happy with that at all…. That is when I started feeling loneliness at its deepest level; I had no direction, not any hope, and no ambition of what I should do with my life. Everyone else had that and knew what they wanted, but not me. I was severely oppressed and depressed. During that time Satan really dug in. He dove into my personal life, my addictions, my hope, and my inadequacies all the way across the board. He sought to make my life utterly hopeless in every aspect. He did that so that I would not try to live, or even want to live, for a period of time throughout my life. It was relent-less it seemed that time stood still forever and ever. That I was never going to grow old, this was never going to stop, I would always have this feeling, I would be stuck, miserable, what seemed to be unwanted, lonely, hopeless, and futureless. I share this not that you would sympathize for me. No… by No means do that please, but for you to know how dark life can become for someone, anyone, and me a young man who did not have this most one most essential thing that I so des-perately needed. It is this one thing that started to change everything for me. There is one thing even though it was painful, even though it’s the one thing that scared me to death at times. It was that one thing though that was constantly pulling me out of the darkness and more

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Word From The Pastor ~ cont~

into the light. It worked for everything, and I mean everything; my relationships, my addictions, my hopelessness, my loneliness, my isolation, and my strength. It’s didn’t happen overnight but over time. I came to know it, to trust it. I came to know that it would never let me down, it is the one thing I could always count on, and it is the one thing that has always been consistent. You know what that one thing is? God’s word! If you are afraid and your heart is troubled God can

give you a peace that comforts you. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. There is so much more as well that if you will take time to see what God’s word says about the love that he has for

you. He even talks about your enemies what you should do to them! Luke 6:27-36 27"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34And if you lend to those from whom you ex-pect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your re-ward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. So much more can be discovered as you read through God’s word. I know, I know, you don’t want to read those things. Most people get hung up with this line of thinking, “I do not want to forgive them, I do not want to let it go, I don’t even want them to find forgiveness in God.” There is not enough time to go into all of this, but I want to encourage you just to start. Start reading the Bible and come to an un-derstanding of how much he has forgiven you. Grasp it, take a hold of it, drink it in and relish the thought of the forgiven life for the rest of your life that sweeps you into the presence of God. Fall in love with that, drink it up, devour it and savor that Love that has been lavished on you. Then prayerfully as you read on and become entwined with the story of forgiveness and sacrifice He has made for you and the home he has prepared for you, it will inspire you to let go, not to worry, but to be at peace to totally en-trust God with every small or great thing. God’s word will stir you so much that it will sweep over you and empower you in a way that you cannot even begin to imagine. I pray that you will not miss out on the life you can have because your not brave enough to embrace the word of God. It will not be easy, but I

know you can do it. Proverbs 24:16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Even though you might fall down, get back up, try again, and don’t give up.

Pastor Scotty

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life

for his friends.

Please continue to pray that all our service men and women will come home safely and soon. I hope

that you will use the link below each week to send a letter. It takes less than 5 minutes of your time

and means so much to someone so far from home and family. I post a new soldier (or two) every

Monday.

Click Here

Love in His name,

Sue Johnson

Ministry Assistant

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Helping Hands ~ Helping Soldiers

Psalm 18:29

With your help I can advance against a troop ;

with my God I can scale a wall.

Each month the Helping Hands ministry, led by Liz Crabb, comes together to pack boxes for your

soldiers that are deployed overseas. The members of this team bake cookies, bring books and dvd’s,

and fill the box with personal items and goodies. Sometimes, this one small box is all that soldier

gets.

Thursday, February 24th, Helping Hands invited me to come and speak about the soldiers and how

important it is that our soldiers receive these boxes, letters, and cards. I spoke of the emails I receive

from those that receive our boxes and told them that the one thing they all have in common is that

they all say how much these letters and cards boost their morale, put a smile on their face, reinforce

their faith, and how unbelievable it is that a group of total strangers would do this for people they

don’t even know. I also encouraged the Helping Hands team to become more involved, write letters,

fill out a card, or go to the website and use the form there to send a letter to a soldier, then the next

time they meet, just drop them in the box. Several members of the team suggested that we get the

word out to more of our congregation to let them know about the soldier letters, after I explained that

each week our soldier for that week averages 3 letters. 3 letters from a congregation of almost 1000

people. So we decided that the best way to get the word out was through an announcement in the

Saturday night and Sunday morning bulletins and through our monthly Enews. Please, if you attend

church at Cowboy Fellowship take the time to sign a card or write a short note and drop it in one of

the milk cans. Or go to our website using the link on page 4 to type a few lines and hit submit. It’s that

simple. It takes less than 5 minutes but can mean a world of difference to a lonely soldier so far from

home.

The team also decided to start following up on the boxes that they mail out. Going back and send-

ing a letter now and then to the recipient of one of our boxes or sending them a box of homemade

cookies.

Several of the team members adopted one of the soldiers they had just packed a box for, because

he has no family. He will soon see that family has nothing to do with blood, but every thing to do with

love! I encourage you to contact Liz and speak to her about helping out on her team. They can al-

ways use another pair of helping hands. Please contact her @ 830-769-3419 or email her at

ecrabbart@yahoo.com.

Serving Him,

Sue Johnson

The Acts Report

Wow! What a month

February was for Mat-

thew 25:35! We donated

heaters to 3 families that

were in need during the

cold spell, we delivered

clothing and household

items to CAM in Poteet,

we took a load of toys to

CASA to give the chil-

dren in foster care on

their birthdays, and we

had a crew of over 20

people show up to help

work on The Refuge!

Over the course of 4 days

we installed a handi-

capped toilet and sink,

trimmed out where the 2

halves of the double wide

join together, installed

doors, did electrical work,

and a lot of other miscel-

laneous odds and ends!

Our ministry would like

to thank everyone for

generously giving of your

time and donations to

these worthy causes!

If you would like to be-

come a part of Matthew

25:35 please call

Odis White

(210) 275-9800

Jerusalem ~ Atascosa County

Judea ~ Texas

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Matthew 25:35

Facebook Link

(Must log in to access)

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Samaria ~ United States & Mexico

Good Morning Friends:

Another powerful day we've been given to worship the Savior.

This letter brings a simple request:

3 children and myself are traveling to Nuevo Laredo tomorrow evening on

the bus

appts with immigration and registrar for our new board of directors in Mex-

ico

please pray for our protection

may there be a window of opportunity to share the salvation message

please pray for Armando as I speak with officials to bring him back with us.

If this is what the Lord has for him I will gladly receive him.

safety and protection for the children at the home Reyna and the chauffer

Don Marcos who transports the children to and from school everyday.

Thank you for holding us up in prayers, it is definitely because of your prayers

that we can rest assured knowing our Lord is watching over us and has us cov-

ered Psalms 91 is the chapter we carry with us in our hearts.

Lord bless each and every one of you. May you have a wonderful day.

Karen & Family

Lic. Karen Renee Salinas

NON-PROFIT U.S. TAX EXEMPT 501 (c)3

RENATA'S LEGACY LIFE CENTER, INC.

PO BOX 633

LAREDO, TX 78042

956-206-0377

"Remember how easy it is if you 'Only Believe' in Jesus"

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Ends Of The Earth ~ Europe, Asia, & Africa

Pete and Renae,

I hope you all are doing well and blessed as you serve God in Atacosca County. Life in Kotido is good and we are fresh off

of a short family break in which we went down south a few hours from here. As you know we’ve been working with the

widows and disadvantaged families here in Karamoja since we got here. We have 11 families in our Mercy Ministry and

could add many more if we were able. We do not see the Mercy Ministry as a long term viable option for supporting peo-

ple with food, medicine, etc. We find that this type of program, while beneficial, if allowed to support someone for too

long creates dependency issues in them. All this to say, we have been exploring business ideas for these widows to be

able to do. We would train them, provide them with supplies, and buy their products at a rate in which they could live.

Because Karamoja is a semi-arid desert region we’ve had a hard time coming up with something to do in which we could

utilize local resources. So, what we’ve come up with is a leather business. Cows are everywhere here and cowhides can

be bought at $5 a hide and goats at $2 a hide. We could then teach them to make a few items like journals, leather bound

bibles, etc. that we would buy from them. So, the reason I am writing you is because we need someone to come and do

some training in tanning leather and making a few leather crafts we could sell. I figured in a church the size of yours, and

with the “Cowboy” demographic you are reaching, there might be one or two leather workers who could come and train.

So, I am writing your church as a shot in the dark of hoping to find someone with this set of skills that might be willing to

come on a short term trip and train us in working with leather. Let me know what you think, if this is possible and we’ll

see what happens.

In Christ,

Kenneth and Kristi Williams

www.williamsinthewilderness.com

k1nneth@yahoo.com

0785758033

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Ends Of The Earth ~ Europe, Asia, & Africa

Quito Ecuador

Pastor Pete will be leading a team of church members to Quito Ecuador this summer

for a 9 day mission trip. The team will be working with two of the missionaries that

Cowboy Fellowship supports..Larry and Amanda Castro. Our team will be doing con-

struction work at a church that also has a school for underprivileged children. We will

spend part of each day interacting with the kids through Bible games, crafts, and other

activities. If you are interested in going on this trip you should contact Pastor Pete ASAP!

The dates for this trip are June 10th through the 19th. If you feel called to serve in the

missions field here is a chance to get your feet wet! You can contact Pastor Pete at

830-769-3733 or email him at pete@cowboyfellowship.org.

Quito’s Flag Ecuador’s Flag

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Ends Of The Earth ~ Europe, Asia, & Africa

Hello Hesbon! Karibu Cowboy Fellowship - Kirefu ndani ya moyo wa Texas!

(Hello Hesbon! Welcome to Cowboy Fellowship - Deep in the heart of Texas!

Last month Cowboy Fellowship had the distinct pleasure

of welcoming special guest Hesbon Agwuma from Kenya

Africa. Hesbon has been a long time friend of Pastor Pete

and plays an active role in our mission work there. Hes-

bon spoke at our Saturday night and Sunday morning ser-

vices and really enjoyed meeting everyone here at the

church. Pastor Pete and Abby took him to the San Anto-

nio rodeo and stock show and in Hesbon’s words: “It

was magic! We see the rodeo stuff on television and we

say it must be magic because no one can be thrown

from a bull like that and survive. But I saw it with my own

eyes! He flew up into the air, landed in the people and

stood up and was shaking hands and smiling!” I think he

really must have enjoyed the rodeo! Hesbon said he looks forward to coming back one day to visit

with all of us again and invites and encourages all of us to come to Kenya. In his words, “It will

change your life”. God bless and God speed Hesbon!

*The following are reoccurring

events that take place each

week/month at the same time

unless otherwise denoted:

Church Services - Saturday

Night @ 7:00 PM ; Sunday: @

10:45 AM

Discipleship Classes - Every

Monday - 6:30 PM

Children’s Play Group Every

Tuesday from 10 - 11:30.

Adult High School - Begins

Sept. 7th and continues until

May 20th ~ Every Tuesday @

6:30

CAMO - 2nd Tuesday of each

month ~ Lone Star Lodge 6:30

CFY R.E.A.L.M. - Every

Wednesday @ 7:00 unless

otherwise noted.

2nd Saturday Clean Up @ 8:00

Breakfast Provided

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

Every 3rd Saturday

@ Stage Stop - 8:00 AM

Please Go To Our Website For

Times And More Information!

www.cowboyfellowship.org

Don’t forget to move your

clocks forward on Saturday

night March 12th!

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 Play Group 10:00 AM

AHS 6-8 PM Portable A

2

CFY 7:00 PM

3

Living Hope 6:30

4

5

Services 7:00 PM Baptisms Potluck

6 Services 10:45 AM Baptisms Potluck

7

Discipleship 6:30

8 Play Group 10:00 AM

AHS 6-8 PM Portable A

9

CFY 7:00 PM

10

Living Hope 6:30

11

12

2nd Saturday Clean Up 8:00—?

Services 7:00

13 Services 10:45

Saddle Up 6:00 PM

14

Discipleship 6:30

15 Play Group 10:00 AM

AHS 6-8 PM Portable A

16

CFY 7:00 PM

17

Happy St. Patrick’s

Day

18

19 Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

CFY @ Spurs 6:00 PM

Services 7:00

20

Services 10:45

Saddle Up 6:00 PM

21

Discipleship 6:30

22 Play Group 10:00 AM

AHS 6-8 PM Portable A

23

CFY 7:00 PM

24

25

26

Angel Food Pick Up 8 AM Services 7:00

27

Services 10:45

28

Discipleship 6:30

29 30 31 Helping Hands

10:30 AM

Living Hope

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,

do all to the glory of God

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Have you ever heard the story of the shamrock and the Trinity? Legend has it that St.

Patrick was responsible for ridding the Emerald Isle of snakes; but more importantly, it

is said that Patrick used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the Trinity to Unbelievers,

i.e., how God is One God in Three Persons. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, bap-

tizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew

28:19). Patrick would hold up a shamrock and challenge his hearers, "Is it one leaf or

three?" "It is both one leaf and three," was their reply. "And so it is with God," he would

conclude. "19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God

hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of Him from The Creation of the

world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His Eternal

Power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20). Of course,

doctrines such as the Trinity or the Divinity of Jesus Christ can only be received by will-

ing hearts, who have committed themselves to obey whatever the Spirit reveals from

the Scriptures. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine" (John 7:17).

St. Patrick, no doubt, was careful not to confuse pagan idolaters with the idea of Poly-

theism, i.e., the false notion that there are many separate gods; but, his dependence

upon the Holy Spirit to give him the illustration of the shamrock to illustrate the Trinity,

gave him success in preaching the Gospel. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of

Christ: for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew

first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Therefore when you go looking for

luck..skip the four-leaf clover. Pick a regular old 3 leaf clover to remind you where your

luck lies...in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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THANK YOU!!!!!

Cowboy Fellowship Family,

Thank you so much for the prayers, hospital and home visits, and phone calls during my recent hospi-talization. The Lord has blessed me greatly through each of you. I am so grateful to be a part of this caring church family.

Love in Christ,

Adam

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Leaders for

the following

ministries!

Connection Partners

REWARD!!! (see Matthew 16:27)

Email Us For More Information

info@cowboyfellowship.org

Please call the office for more information or to sign up!

830-769-3733

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Cowboy Fellowship

P.O. Box 68

Pleasanton, TX 78064

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