FHL Week

Giving through receiving – the paradox of the Kingdom

July 22, 2013 Merlin Gonzales FHL Week

Shofars start the celebration

So many things had transpired since I last wrote my last blog 3 days ago. This blog will be a little different in a sense that I will use YouTube links to tell you what had happened at the official start of FHL Week and the different projects. This way you can feel and hear the passion and emotions of the people involved.

The FHL Week normally starts with the Blowing of shofars. It was followed by welcoming the partners, volunteers and recipients of services. Then the declaration of the Kingdom through praise and worship.

Thanks to California Closet for allowing us to use their truck to move supplies to the storage place provided by CertaPro. Thanks, CertaPro!

We had many portions of the Prayer celebration such as a drama about the 10 virgins, different leaders praying for the major influencers of a society, drum circle and the vision casting of 24/7Indy and many more.

Cleaning, shoveling and weeding

Today, we have the major remodel going on by clearing the rooms for flooring, tearing the kitchen cabinets and clearing bushes. We had 30 youths from different parts of the country who worked on moving some of the FHL supplies to storage room and by cleaning a church workshop and a creek.

I would like to encourage you to follow us on Twitter and FaceBook for updated reporting of the mission trip right here in our own communities.

It’s not too late to sign up for projects; call 317-578-3370 or email me at [email protected]

Indiana Governor proclaims FHL for the state

July 19, 2013 Merlin Gonzales FHL Week

Governor Mike Pence proclaimed July 21 to July 28, 2013 to be Faith Hope and Love Week in the state of Indiana

Indianapolis, IN, July 19, 2013:

The proclamation from Gov. Mike Pence,

“Whereas, FAITH HOPE AND LOVE is a week-long period of volunteerism in our communities, starting with a celebration for this annual event;

Whereas, the vision is to mobilize out communities through active participation in improving neighborhoods and through facilitating meaningful service projects by helping those in needs;

Whereas, this event brings community members together in loving service and seeks to break down manmade walls between churches, races, social status, government and education to unite people to help our neighbors in need;

Whereas, Faith Hope and Love is about people participating in a joint effort to bridge the social, economic and spiritual gaps in our community;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Michael R. Pence, Governor of the State of Indiana, do hereby proclaim July 21-28, 2013 as

Faith Hope and Love Week

In the State of Indiana, and urge all citizens to duly note this occasion.”

Faith, Hope, and Love, International, Inc. will be mobilizing hundreds of volunteers during the 9^th Annual FHL Week. There are various projects and services that are planned all throughout the week such as home renovation, neighborhood clean ups, visiting nursing homes, food collections and many more.

Last Saturday, a project to help someone in need financially resulted in Project Fundraising in the Geist area. “Oh my! I’ve seen God come through and I’m still in awe”, exclaimed Sandy Hieser, a Project Manager for the home renovation. Although the official start of FHL Week is on Sunday, July 21 3p, a local grading/excavation company already pulled overgrown bushes and flattened the yard earlier part of this week. Tomorrow, July 20^th, a church in Martindale-Brightwood area will be visiting homes for their Re-connection Project.

For additional information about FHL Week schedule of project and services, contact Merlin Gonzales or visit FHL Week web site at www.fhlinternational.org

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2013 Indiana Prayer Celebration

July 18, 2013 Merlin Gonzales FHL Week

Contact: Merlin Gonzales

Phone: (317) 578-3370

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11 A.M. EDT, July 18, 2013

Prayer Celebration and 24/7Indy Scheduled For July 21^st, Shofars will sound beginning of Historic Prayer Event for the state of Indiana

Indianapolis, IN, July 18, 2013: Faith, Hope, and Love, International, Inc. will be leading a prayer celebration at Creekside Ministries, 10501 Hague Rd. Fishers, IN 46038 heralded by Shofar players and drummers at 3pm this Sunday. The Prayer Celebration is the kick-off event to Faith, Hope, and Love Week 2013. This event also launches the 24/7Indy Prayer-Worship, a non-stop prayer, praises and worship sustained for 168 hours.

Faith, Hope, and Love Week is described by FHL International, Inc., CEO, Merlin Gonzales, as a “mission trip without leaving home”. Volunteers are welcome and will be encouraged to sign up for scheduled community services during Faith, Hope and Love Week, 2013 – July 21-28.

The Prayer Celebration will begin at 2:30pm for volunteers on the open field at Creekside with drums, tambourines and praises. At 3pm, the Shofars, positioned inside the building, will sound the official beginning of the Prayer Celebration. Participants will then make joyful noise by a prayerful and joyful shout for the state of Indiana, its businesses and citizens. This will be followed by a Prayer Rally which will include worship and dance.

Faith, Hope and Love Week, is a ground starter for ongoing scheduled community service projects over the course of the year with a view to helping cities transform themselves through public outreach that is motivated by the love of Christ.

As stated on their web site, Faith, Hope, and Love International, Inc. “…seeks to break down man’s walls of separation between churches, races, social status, government and education to unite people to show the compassion we were all created to give one another.” By mobilizing community resources and local businesses, it seeks to improve neighborhoods and help those in need. Faith, Hope, and Love Week is an event that has been proclaimed by Governor Mike Pence and has been endorsed by and enjoyed participation from 1000’s of volunteers and numerous cities, including Indianapolis, Fishers, Shelbyville, and Ft. Wayne.

For additional information about Prayer Celebration at the Creekside or Faith, Hope, and Love, International, Inc., contact Merlin Gonzales; visit FHL’s web site at www.fhlinternational.org

The History of FHL Part 2

July 3, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, FHL Week, KIOM

Building a church, Costa Rica 2002

After more than two years of trying and failing to go back to the mission field, I had the thought that there must be many people like me who have the heart to go on a mission, but who don’t have the time or money to go. I thought, why not do something similar to taking people outside the country?—Why not have a mission week in our own neighborhoods that would be available to many community churches in the area? The verses in Acts 1:8 made sense to me that we should reach out first to our own Jerusalem, then to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

In February 2005, I contacted 35 pastors in two communities and invited them to discuss and explore having projects all around the neighborhoods for one week. I met with about 15 of them individually and proposed the neighborhood missions. In April 2005, several leaders from 12 different churches came for our first group meeting. I was surprised to see how many were interested since an associate pastor in my church told me it would be impossible to bring churches of different denominations to work together. It seems strange, but that’s reality.

Seven pastors from different denominations committed to do a week of outreaches in our neighborhood. We met on a regular basis identifying needs and resources in our communities. Once we narrowed down the needs list, we developed projects and then asked our congregations and the surrounding businesses to provide the resources needed. We did not have any budget so we worked hard to find resources around us. Seven churches and 200+ volunteers performed 10 projects for the first Faith Hope and Love (FHL) Week in Indianapolis.

I was very happy to see a vision became a reality. By November of the same year some of the pastors who joined us called me and asked what we would be doing the following year. I told them I was done. However, they shared with me that their congregations had a great experience and were already looking forward to next year’s local mission. So I developed a plan of action how to share the concept with other communities in metropolitan Indianapolis.

After prayers and encouragement, I shared the vision with several pastors in greater Indianapolis and asked them to be the area coordinators in their communities. The idea seemed very workable and the Lord gave me favor to recruit four more communities to do what is now known as “Mission Trip in Your Own Backyard.” The following year, we mobilized 50+ churches and organizations with 1,200 volunteers who performed more than 30 projects during the entire Faith Hope and Love Week.

To date, this ministry has worked with more than 200 different churches crossing denominational lines in central Indiana. FHL has year-round ministries such as planting self-sustained food pantries, Kindness Days and leadership training. It mobilizes more than 3,000 unique volunteers on an annual basis.

Update for FHL Week 2013:

FHL Week 2013 officially starts on Sunday, July 21 3p with Prayer Celebration at Creekside Ministries The Prayer Celebration is also the start of 24/7Indy More info to come regarding the FHL Week 2013, “The Year of Love”

The History of FHL Part 1

June 27, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, FHL Week, KIOM

Merlin with Bri-Bri Indian family, Costa Rica 2002

A new perspective

Most people like to read the beginning of an organization or a church; how it started, who was the visionary and its progression. In the next blogs, you can expect to read the simple but powerful history how God guided Merlin Gonzales, the founder of an organization that is now crossing denominational lines in expanding the Kingdom starting in local communities. FHL has now evolved in mobilizing thousands of volunteers on an annual basis, has helped plant 13 food pantries, encouraged hundreds of volunteers to pursue their passion and has been instrumental in the salvation of hundreds of people

The history was written by Merlin and was taken from his book, “The Kingdom in Our Midst” which is available at www.merlingonzales.com and at any major book retailers and distributors.

It is our hope that the story below would encourage you to pursue the seed of desire that God had put in your heart. Today is a good day to start pursuing your calling!

March 17-23, 2002, was the week my life was transformed and launched a ministry that is now reaching the churches, businesses, government and other sectors of our society. I was encouraged by my friend, Tim, to go for the first time on a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica. Our team would be constructing a church building in a community on top of a mountain with no running water or electricity. We would be ministering to the Bri-Bri Indians and we would be putting our tents in a clearing since the only building available to sleep in was the old church building with lots of windows and thousands of mosquitoes.

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to join the group since I didn’t have enough money to go. But as it turned out I was able to take vacation and raised enough money to join the team. The idea of tenting in a wilderness surrounded by mountain ranges and to interact with the natives gave me a sense of adventure. I felt it would give me a chance to help in construction and also practice my evangelism techniques. I thought that I could provide the natives spiritual answers that could change their lives.

It was an adventure to travel to a mountain with no running water and electricity. The pastor met us when we got to our final destination and we started the construction right away. It was hot and humid during the day, but cool during the evening. I will always cherish the memories of that trip—nights alone in my tent looking up at the starry sky while listening to the fascinating sounds of insects and the wild, or the morning when I was awakened by a loud scream from one of the missionaries as she was about to go into the outhouse and discovered a large snake on the roof.

Almost every day it rained hard, making the clay road up and down the mountain very treacherous to navigate. However, it was refreshing to have rain in a hot and humid place. On our third night, we invited the community for a night of worship. The attendees came walking up the dark, unpaved road; some had walked for two hours just to join us that night. The worship was great and it seemed like it went for a few hours. We were able to pray for everyone. I started to develop friendships with my fellow missionaries and the natives. Somehow, I gained the trust of the natives and their children. It was great to interact and play with the children.

As the days went by, we had accomplished very little construction and I was feeling like we hadn’t really done what we came to do. Then, our last night there turned out to be very special. I felt like the Holy Spirit visited us as we prayed for people. Most of them were weeping and were sweating bullets during the prayer time. It was very special to me to see how the natives worshiped the Lord with reckless abandon. One of the natives who assisted in the construction and whom I befriended accepted the Lord in his heart.

Saying good-bye was very hard and I promised the pastor I would be back. When I returned to the states I was a changed man. It seemed like God had provided me new sets of ears and eyes. The things that were important to me in the past had lost their significance and were replaced by a new zest for my life. My perspectives changed and my priorities were rearranged. My heart was altered and my mind was renewed. I started to hunger for God and wanted to go back to the mission field right away.

I was very excited when my church planned a second trip there. However, I was not able to go with them because I couldn’t afford it moneywise or timewise. I was very disappointed; I waited until the next trip, but the same thing happened.

Stay tuned for the continuation of the story. God bless you!