The Worth of a Woman

When I was in college I was involved with a group now known as CRU. One Valentine's Day the men positioned themselves strategically around campus (mostly outside of the girls' dorms). We had a buckets of carnations with a note attached and handed it out to EVERY girl that walked by until we were out of them to ensure as many women as possible got a flower on Valentine's Day. While most people who read this today are not in college, I think the message on the note was timeless and have posted it below. May you read it and feel loved and blessed:

Today, you are hearing many messages from the world. You are hearing that your value and worth is dependent upon your success, your physical appearance, your relationship status, and even in the question, “Do you have plans for Valentine’s Day?” You might be experiencing several emotions: From feeling lonely to feeling connected; from frustration to satisfaction; from feeling rejected to feeling accepted; from feeling unattractive to feeling beautiful; from feeling unappreciated to feeling valued…

However, your identity is not tied up in who you are or aren’t dating… your identity is not tied up in how the world tells you to view yourself… How you might feel today does not define who you are. On this Valentine’s Day, may this flower serve as a reminder to you that Jesus loves you – so much so that God has declared you to be “fearfully and wonderfully made”. You have been created to bear the image of God and to know Him personally. Today, you can believe Jesus as He says “You are beautiful, you are infinitely valuable to me, and you are eternally special…I love you.”

If you are at a place where you needed to hear this message or want to know more about its meaning and how Jesus loves you unconditionally, please feel free to message me and I would be happy to follow up to talk, listen or answer any questions. Otherwise, know the message to be true and feel loved today even if no one verbally expresses it to you.

-Kevin

Raising Support for My Mission Trip

Dearest friends,

I have been a member of Church at Charlotte for three years but have considered it my faith community for over six years. One of the reasons I appreciate my church is because they hold partnerships with sister churches in four targeted countries: China, Costa Rica, Cuba and Ethiopia. We not only pray for these churches and try to raise financial support for them but we also send long and short term missionaries to help them as they reach out to their own communities.

In March, I have the opportunity to join Church at Charlotte as they send a group of 10 short term missionaries for a week to help out our partnered church near San Jose, Coast Rica. The Evangelical Free Church in Costa Rica has been working with a local school to provide for and meet their needs. In December, our church set a goal to raise $60,000 to replace the 100-year old roof on the school and build handicap accessible bathrooms. We were able to raise $120,000 and it was immediately decided to invest the extra $60,000 into other needed projects at the school and in the community where the children reside.

During my trip to Costa Rica we will be buying sports equipment and developing a PE program for the students. It is my understanding that because of the condition of the gym roof, they have not been able to have a program in several years. We will also be leading parenting classes, marriage seminars and working with the local youth group. I am excited for two reasons. First, I loved PE when I was a kid and look forward to sharing games like dodge ball and just teaching about general physical fitness. The second reason is, I have a degree in Counseling. Through our initiatives, I will get to work in the lives of youth and parents and put practical application to what I learned with my degree.

Most importantly, Prayer support is needed for the safety, wellness and unity of our mission team, for the Evangelical Free Church of Costa Rica, and for the people that we will be reaching while we’re there. Financial support is needed for the airfare, food and housing during our stay. Each of us going on this mission trip must raise/pay around $1300 by early March 2012. Yes, that is a lot of money in a short amount of time, but I know it is God’s plan for me to go, so I am confident He will provide the money.

I wanted to let you know what I will be doing in March and to provide an opportunity for you to let me know if and how you’d like to support me and our group in prayer and/or financially on this trip. If you’d like to do either of these, you can email me at Kevin.Lock@gmail.com or contact Church at Charlotte using the directions below. I am excited to see what God is going to do – thanks for taking the time to read this!
In Christ,

Kevin Lock

If you would like to financial support me on this trip, you can mail checks directly to:
Church at Charlotte
ATTN: Outreach
2500 Carmel Road
Charlotte, NC 28226

Please indicate with a small note that it is for Kevin Lock - Costa Rica. All payments are tax deductible so make sure to include a return address.

Or if you would like to donate via PayPal and don't mind not claiming it on your taxes, you can click the button below. Thank you so much for your support.