When I say... "I am a Christian"

When one of the kids at my work came back from a visit with his mom, he showed me this poem that she gave him by Maya Angelou. I really enjoyed the poem and wanted to share it with you guys. It's pretty cool. I love when these children are exposed to the love of god through many different sources. And the amazing and wonderful thing is that these boys hunger for Christ. They are always asking for me to read the Bible to them. They are always asking for Bible verses to be read. It's amazing. Please keep these children in your prayers. They need it daily. So, here is the poem. I hope you enjoy it:

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting, "I'm clean-livin'."
I'm whispering, "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far to visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner,
Who received God's good grace, somehow.

~ Maya Angelou

Lend A Helping Hand

Hello Everyone,
I just want to share a brief invitation, perhaps even a challenge, for all of you. Taylor & I recently met a homeless couple that we have been helping out. We actually met them through my father because he found them sleeping on the church grounds where he works. My dad then introduced them to Taylor who allowed the guy (Rick) to work with him almost everyday to earn some money. Anyhow, the couple is not married but they have a child on the way (in about 3 months). Rick has recently given his life to the Lord. He has repented of his ways and felt called to turn himself over to the authorities for the things of his past. During the couple of months that he was in jail, all of his housing bills were not getting paid which resulted in him coming back to house that he could not live in due to nonpayment. So, as of February he has been living on the streets with his pregnant girlfriend (who he does plan on marrying). He has been working with Taylor for about 2 weeks now. And as of today (Thursday 5/22) they will be staying at our apartment for a couple of days.

Now, that I have given you a little background, here is the invitation that I extend to you. I invite you to seek God's guidance in helping to get this couple back in their home. The debt that has accrued while Rick was in jail was just over $1,600 and I am inviting you to join with Taylor & I as we work towards helping this couple back in their home. We are asking if you would be willing to graciously give of your finances to help this couple get back on their feet. Any little bit that you could contribute would be more than appreciated by them. In addition, if you know of any services that would be beneficial to this couple while they are still homeless, that would also be appreciated. Any little amount that you would be willing to spare would be more than a blessing to them.

If you feel led to give to them, please send any money (CASH would probably be easiest since they are homeless and have no bank account. Although if you feel more comfortable writing a check to Taylor & Me that is also an option.) to the following address:

Rick & Cassandra
C/O: Terecita Heppenstall
P.O. Box 1712
Redlands, CA 92373

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or email at anytime and I would be more than happy to answer any questions (if I can):

Home #: 909-798-5547
Cell: 909-528-1712
Email: tntheppy@gmail.com


Much Love To You All!!

An Interesting Turn of Events

Most of you know that Taylor is one of many adopted children in his family. Taylor was adopted when he was a baby and has had absolutely no contact with his birth mother...until now. Just a couple of days ago, Taylor's birth mother contacted his family to get information about him. Taylor's mom wrote down all of her contact information and gave it to Taylor to decide if he wanted to contact her or not. Pretty crazy, huh? Well, Taylor decided this morning to send her an email. She quickly responded and sent some pictures. It turns out that Taylor also has a blood brother that is about one year younger than him, as well as two step brothers and a step sister. As I am typing this, Taylor is speaking to his brother, Brandon, and he has actually been on the phone with him for over two hours now. An amazing similarity that his brother has is that he has taken over his grandfather's tree-trimming business. Weird, huh? I guess it runs in the family. Taylor is extremely excited about this and we are hoping that we can plan a trip out to see them at some point. They all live in Texas. As we embark on yet another journey in our lives, we ask that you would continue to pray for us. We continue to seek God's guidance and we definitely appreciate any prayers lifted up on our behalf. We have no idea what is in store for us with this extension of Taylor's family so please, please keep us in your prayers.

Red Bull Air Races

This weekend, Taylor & I drove out to San Diego so that we could attend the Red Bull Air Races. Our friends, Jon & Emily, were so hospitable and they allowed for us to stay at their place. We are always truly grateful when they open their home to us. We also attended their church in San Diego, called Ethnos. We see God doing great work through their church and they are truly trying to reach the masses. I felt amazingly blessed while their worship band was playing all these songs that I have never heard. It was wonderful. After the service we packed up and went out to the Air Race. We, actually decided to drive out to Coronado and watch from the opposite beach so that we didn't have to buy a ticket for $25.00 each. But in Coronado there is a huge problem with parking - especially since we weren't the only ones who had the bright idea to go to Coronado for the air race. Once we finally got to the air race, it was very enjoyable. The weather was wonderful, the air race was entertaining. I was thoroughly impressed with the pilots cause I know I wouldn't have the guts to do it. Anyhow, just wanted to share a touch of the Red Bull Air Race in case anyone is interested in going next year. Also, a little FYI, we were only able to attend the Sunday races with the Super 8 racers, and Jon informed us that the Saturday qualication rounds are way more entertaining because there are way more racers and they accidentally would clip the pylons (markers that they raced around) with their wings or propellers. Anyhow, enjoy the few decent pictures that we were able to take.