Fall 2018

Dear Friends,
Summer was packed with travel as expected, culminating in spending a week at Touchdown Camp, held at Verbo Church in Redwood City.

Highlights from camp:
Strong Bible seeding in children using the Shipwrecked Series from VBS on the big screen with the theme JESUS RESCUES. Cynthia Cardona was lead teacher, and the average attendance was 110 children with 60 volunteers. 

On the last day, most children came forward to receive the Lord and were encouraged to share with their families. Sue Stevick, our chair for the college scholarship, was able to interview Jocelyn Pantaga, a former camper and active volunteer at camp. “She deserves this scholarship,” president Patty Cardona commented.

Jocelyn Pantaga, a former camper and active volunteer at camp, receives scholarship.

It was great for me to see a whole group of youth with the pastor and his wife from Rancho Cucamunga. They were enabled to come by a generous gift from a business man. And most of the group was there all week getting “on the job training” so they can start camp next year at Verbo Church, Rancho Cucamunga. Generous seed money, and your prayers, will make this camp happen. I am wishing all of you joy and peace as you receive this, and may we all continue to bless the children of America.

Sincerely,
Joyce Dueker
Founder of Project Lost Sheep

Summer 2018

Dear Friends,
Touchdown Camps are at the heart of what we do to serve children.  The main camp is in Redwood City and will be held for the 14th year at Verbo Church, Redwood City, Ca., on August 6th – 10th, 2018.

The church is located in a former warehouse that has been remodeled with a large auditorium where the 150 children, plus 40 volunteers, can gather. Music and Bible teaching happen there. Sports are held at a local school, and at the end of the week there is a barbeque in a nearby park with delicious chicken served by the men of Verbo.

An offshoot of this is Touchdown Kids Camp in Tracy, CA. Patty Cardona recycles crafts and t-shirts, along with providing helpers for the group. Tracy is a city that has much poverty and needs all the help we can give. This outreach and church are important, and Patty reports that “Camp Tracy is getting stronger”.

In some cases such as Verbo Church in Austin, Texas, which has a strong Vacation Bible School, some ingredients from Touchdown Camp are added to their program. In Austin, it is our “Stay In School” speaker series. At noon each day, a different adult comes to talk about their career so that children are given vision for their futures.

Then we have many camps “in process” where visitors to our camp have caught the vision, but the church is too poor to have enough space or has a very limited staff. We hope in God’s mercy that these will be able to birth camps soon.

Expansion is what we expect to see as we have more people get excited about this effective outreach that promotes the gospel.

Camp stirs hearts. These are real children and families who need the body of Christ around them, not only to survive but to thrive. Children can be children at camp and have the best week of their summer. Camp changes children, and it makes a difference in the communities in which we serve.

Sincerely,
Joyce Dueker
Founder of Project Lost Sheep

Spring 2018

Dear Friends,
Our theme for Project Lost Sheep this year is BE VISIBLE. As we know from the Bible (Mat. 5:14), “We are the light of the world”, and we are not to hide that light but bring glory to God.

A big way we are more visible is with our new website: http://www.projectlostsheep.com. This is the result of many hours of work with www.Shamikodesign.com doing the design. We have our programs clearly set out, and they can be seen across all mobile devices and platforms. We are introducing more ways to get involved, including volunteering, and are actively looking for people in the Bay Area to expand the ministry there.

At Touchdown Camp in Redwood City, we are again expecting a full camp of 150+ children. We will be engaging our team more so that the children can see us, and also so that the visitors from other cities can find out how they can draw from community support to help start new camps. I plan to be there to help this August 6th to 10th 2018.

Camp continues to make an impact that we can see on the high schoolers who come back to serve. This year we anticipate giving a scholarship for a worthy former camper who has been accepted to college or is entering college. We plan this to happen in front of all the campers as a visual encouragement and I hope help all to “dream big”.

My plans for this year include more travel to other cities and networking with other Christians who work in community. As God opens the doors, I will be flying in.

Let’s move forward together for the children.

Sincerely,
Joyce Dueker
Founder of Project Lost Sheep