Thank you!Thank you to the 50 servants who deep cleaned at Century, Kellogg, and John Adams public schools on December 17, 2011. We'll see you on Saturday, June 16, for CareFest 2012! |
CareFest 2011…becoming His masterpiece!

You served the Lord Jesus with excellence and grace. Most of our projects were completed with even a few extras; our leaders are making plans to wrap up the remaining ones soon. If you'd like to help, please email us. The region received scattered rain throughout the day--except on our 97 worksites! We praise our Almighty Creator who alone is sovereign over all things!
(Psalm 103:19)
The residents of the Zumbro Valley and Rochester thank you!
Please plan now to join us on June 16, 2012 for our next CareFest!
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. ~ Jesus (Mark 10:45)
2011 CareFest Recap
by Pastor Larry Orth, CareFest Coordinator
On a brisk February Sunday evening, a group of Zumbro Valley community leaders and residents gathered to brainstorm possible solutions to jumpstart their rebuilding process. Five months earlier, the flood of the century had devastated their community; government resources were scarce and buyouts were uncertain. The sea of volunteers that had come to their immediate aid had all but dried up and hope had faded. Many families had lost everything and dozens remained homeless.
That evening, the Lord began to move among His people. CareFest leaders sensed God’s call to get involved and, within a month, a two-phased event was planned. According to Lutheran Social Services relief coordinator Craig Richardt, new life was injected into the whole relief process. “Before CareFest showed up, volunteer and financial support had really diminished. I could feel the urgency that if something didn’t happen soon, the relief efforts would die and there was a lot left to do [$1.3 million].” He continued, “CareFest was the ‘shot in the arm’ that was needed to bring renewed awareness of the ongoing needs of the flooded region. CareFest brought a new level of credibility and trust to encourage other organizations to rally alongside the relief efforts. For example, United Way, Rochester Builders, and Salvation Army released designated flood recovery funds to us because they knew the money would be leveraged to do the most good for the victims. Immediately we started to build momentum and strength for a long term recovery process.”
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