Summer 2024

Dear Friends,

Love in Action is what everyone experienced this year at camp!

Journey into the Process

- Preparations and actions for camp started months before with prayer and planning.

- Verbo Family Services held a garage sale, and Patty Cardona was able to order the CEF program "Diving Into God's Love" (the theme of this year's camp) with the proceeds.

- Then more action happened with appeals for funds and supplies. Letters went out to local businesses, and Trader Joe's and Chik Fil A both responded.

- Patty made repeated church calls for people to give up vacation time to serve at camp. These appeals produced twenty new young adult workers. Besides that two nurses from different hospitals came to teach Bible lessons.

- Patty's daughter, Fabby, created files of jobs for the 20 young adult leaders, and did training for them.

- As usual, former campers wanted to serve. Fifty came this year!

- Love in action included craft materials from another church as well as all decorations being donated.

- Patty Cardona's teaching on Hudson Taylor, miissionary to China, included visuals of scripture booklets on the table. Patty shared that Hudson Taylor always gave people scriptures wherever he went.

- Love in community action included churches again providing backpacks for each child, filled and lovingly packed by volunteers with the best school supplies. These were given when parents and campers returned for the Sunday church service.

- There is no doubt that seeds of love and truth were deeply planted to grow in these 110 children. They will never forget camp and what they felt and received all week long.

Patty Cardona states, "God always remembers us." Elaine Biser, board secretary, said, "It is important to remember what God has done over these 20 years. He has been faithful to provide." 

All of us are aware that this is God's work, and He is sustaining and expanding it as He wants in response to your heartfelt prayers.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Joyce Dueker

Founder of Project Lost Sheep

Spring '24

Dear Friends,

"Camp 20th is a big number." Patty Cardona told the Project Lost Sheep team. In a way it seems not so long ago that camp opened in Redwood City with only 40 children. Now camp hosts 100 elementary children in Redwood City at Verbo Family Services Church.

Over the years more than 1000 children have benefited from free camp in this inner city area. Camp continues to shine the light of the gospel in the most needy areas. This year Camp 20th will be held from July 22nd to 26th at that location and also the same week in Tracy, CA.

A new feature this year in Redwood City will be a memory verse program which Patty is adapting from her Sunday school experience to fit into camp. The Project Lost Sheep team believes it is vital to these children to have the scriptures inside them early.

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Camp 20th is indeed a big number, but I am looking for many more camps in the coming years.

Camp will always be remembered by these children. That is why around 50 former campers each year show up to help with camp!

My sincere thanks for your prayers and continued support.

Sincerely,

Joyce Dueker

Founder of Project Lost Sheep

Winter 2023

Dear Friends,
In Touchdown camp each year we encourage campers to stay in school. As a result, many more campers get motivated. Out of this emphasis on education blossomed the Project Lost Sheep leg up college scholarship fund. So far we are funded for one worthy student per year. We would like to greatly expand this fund to help more former campers attend college. Be blessed, reading the stories of two recent award winners.

Monserrat Munoz

Because of a childhood illness which caused her to be hospitalized, she decided to become a nurse. She said that the expert care of the doctors and nurses helped her to completely recover. She graduated magna cum laude in Allied Health at Cañada College in 2023. She will enroll in the College of San Mateo nursing program and then transfer to San Francisco State University for a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is determined to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse.

Said Gonzalez

Said will complete his associate degree in computer science at Canada College in 2024. He is currently applying to four-year colleges as a transfer student to continue his study for a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. Our college fund is helping him with the costly application fees.

Last summer, Said completed an internship at Stanford University, during which he created a software program for 3-D printers. In a Zoom meeting, our board members were very impressed by his PowerPoint slides summarizing his research work at Stanford University.

Said was a Touchdown camper in elementary school and then participated at camp as a staff volunteer during high school. One of his favorite activities was to prepare and give out Christmas food boxes to needy families at Verbo church in Redwood City. Said has worked hard at Cañada College and has been on the Dean’s List each semester.

Your prayers and gifts will make a lifetime difference. 

"Do not neglect to do good when it is in your power to do it."

100% of your donation goes to the next college scholarship recipient. Please mark “scholarship”on the memo line of your check and send your check to:

Project Lost Sheep

P.O. Box 2735

Menlo Park, California 94026

With gratitude,
Sue Stevick
Project Lost Sheep College Scholarship Fund

Summer 2023

Camp really ends each year on Sunday as campers and families are invited to the church service which spotlights camp. This year the church was filled with people, children, and some of us.

Pastor Orlando Cardona gave an inspired message to the parents to "be careful with the kids and come to church!" There was a great atmosphere of joy and celebration and welcome at the door for all who came in.

The theme for camp was LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS with excellent video lessons provided by CEF plus small groups to talk about what they saw.

Another regular feature of camp is the adult speaker series. This year a lawyer from LA, Sharon Ramirez, gave an excellent story of how her parents came from Guatemala but urged her to stay in school.

She brought a small gift for each child and showed them pictures of the courtroom where she worked. The children had many questions for her, and no doubt some of the children are now thinking about doing what she does.

There was Light in the camp! There was Truth! There was Vision given. There was Love.

"There was an amazing sense of the presence of God" according to Patty Cardona, director, who again worked with the team of volunteers to bless all these 110 little ones who did receive a heavenly week.

Rejoice with me!

Joyce Dueker
Founder

Spring 2023

Dear Friends,

Let's think together about the advantages of reaching at risk children. To draw a large picture, helping them is essential to the betterment of society.

When children grow up in poverty, they face challenges that can have long lasting effects on their lives. Poverty can lead to lack of education, malnutrition and poor health. This can lead to a vicious cycle which is hard to break.

Children are given the opportunity to receive at least a high school education, then they are more likely to break out of poverty. Education is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of poverty, and it is essential that at risk children are given extra help like free homework help. But, it is not just about education, it is about mentor helpers who can give them hope, love, and support. This shows the children they are not alone in the unimaginable challenges they face daily.

Every child deserves a chance to succeed regardless of background or circumstances. As members of society if is our responsibility to ensure that every child has the help he needs to thrive. We must act with empathy, compassion and love to help them overcome and see a brighter future.

Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to be swept into criminal gangs. They lack the resources and support needed to make positive choices. By providing these children with education, support, and resources, we can help reduce crime and create safer communities for everyone.

Giving to poverty, can also benefit the economy as the poor children grow up to be employed and contributing adults, rather than being unemployed or underemployed.

As we pull together for these children, we help promote social cohesion. When we invest in the well being of our community, we create a sense of belonging and solidarity.

Helping the poor is a moral obligation. We are to "remember the poor". It is our responsibility to do this consistently and persistently for the blessing of us all.

Sincerely,

Joyce Dueker

Founder of Project Lost Sheep

Winter 2022

 Dear Friends,

This is a time to rejoice that God has come to us as a baby to deliver the good news of peace and hope for all who believe in Jesus, his only son.

We in Project Lost Sheep have prayed and keep praying for the children in America and beyond.

Camp in Redwood City at Verbo was powerful and the good news was preached to 150 youth and I can tell you God worked in a wonderful, holy way to provide all provision for camp including workers like Fabby Cardona who led in place of her mother, Patty Cardona, who was ill in bed but praying for camp with us all. There was a huge move of God and 100 percent of children came to believe and families
from camp have now come into the church.

We, in Project Lost Sheep rejoice to see a new camp in San Jose, California Verbo with a strong tutoring program now and leaders trained at Verbo Redwood City.

Nothing is wasted. Every prayer counts. God hears, and we know the angels of children are before the throne of God.

Jesus said, "of such are the kingdom of God". Make room in your heart to pray for the children of a city you choose that they will hear the gospel at a young age and grow to become mighty servants of the most high!

Sincerely,

Fabby Alvarado Cardona 

Author of Newsletter for Project Lost Sheep

Spring 2022

Dear Friends,

Project Lost Sheep announces our college scholarship recipient for 2022. Monserrat Munoz was one of a small number of students on the Dean's List at Canada College.

From left, Patty and Orlando Cardona, Monserrat Munoz and her parents,
Sue Stevick, Monserrat's advocate.

She and her family have been involved at Verbo Church in Redwood City, CA for the past 12 years.

Monse recalls "I was part of Touchdown Camp as a kid. It was an impactful camp I always will remember. It was so much fun but it also brought me closer to God. I became a Sunday School teacher and am now part of the youth group leadership. My goal in college is to become a nurse. Growing up I was in and out of hospitals with a dangerous infected kidney. I remember how the nurses always made me feel safe and always made me smile. So I grew up wanting to be a nurse who would do the same for children."

For her academic success, combined with service to children at church and a focused goal for her life, we are very happy to provide assistance for her two years ahead at San Jose State University Fall 2022.

Sincerely,
Patty Cardona
President, Project Lost Sheep