In loving memory...Hallie Beth Gravelle!

You stole my heart over 5 yrs ago when I first held you in the hospital room and now you have taken a piece of my heart with you to Heaven. You lived a great life and blessed everyone around you with awesome memories that will last a lifetime.

Hallie, you fought the good fight & ran the race you were given; I am SO proud of you my friend! Don't dance too much with Jesus; I don't want Him to be too worn out by the time I get there.

You will be missed & cherished forever...until we meet again!

I love you! I love you! I love you!

Hallie Beth Gravelle: February 9, 2002 - November 11, 2007

PARTY PARTY!!!

Our Blue Sushi class for the fall of '07 is winding down and now it's time to party...at the Tanner's this Saturday night. If you need directions to the party, please call Kari at (225)266-6657. We have enjoyed 10 great weeks of class & outreach; learning a variety of things from living a life of excellence & integrity to learning what it means to be a servant. We were able to go downtown Baton Rouge to serve it up at both of our Dream Center campuses & we also had the priviledge of serving at The Heart House (where some of our most dedicated got poison ivy...ouch!)

These 10-12 yr olds are now more equipped to face the world head on with the boldness of God's love/grace & knowledge of the Word. If your reading this (parents & friends), please remember to lift up our Blue Sushi warriors in prayer...they are going to face battles in their schools & communities and they need us to stand in the gap for them as they go to war against the enemy. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Blue Sushi remember that you are not the church of tomorrow but the church of today! So stand up and live boldly. I am SO proud of each and every one of you!

By His Grace,
Ms. Kari

Get ready for Saturdays!

We just finished our Sunday classes and now we are movin' on up to Saturday classes & outreaches, only four more to go!! I am so excited about the next four weekends because I truly believe that when we step out of our comfort zone and serve others (with love & humility), God will do a work in our lives and truly change us from the inside out.

Blue Sushi, I challenge you to come expecting God to do great things in & through you!!!

Revised Schedule:

Week 7, October 20: What It Means to Be a Servant & Outreach
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
We will meet at the Highland Campus KIA room for class (8:00-9:00) and then we will leave to go to our new Dream Center facility on Winborn Ave for a church wide clean-up day. Please bring a sack lunch!

***No class on October 27th due to Live the Dream Women’s Conference***

Week 8, November 3: Having the Heart of a Servant & Outreach
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
We will meet in the Highland Campus Foyer and then we will leave to go to the Heart House. The Heart House is a home for young, unwed mothers and is located on Old Jefferson Hwy near Hoo Shoo Too Rd.

Week 9, November 10: Living the Life of a Servant & Outreach
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
We will meet in the Highland Campus KIA room for class and then we will leave to go to the Baton Rouge Dream Center.

Week 10, November 17: Blue Sushi Wrap Up & Party
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
We will be having our Blue Sushi Party at the Tanner’s house.
Call Kari @ HPC for directions!

753-2273 ext: 293

Vision Night

I just want to remind all of you that we are having Vision Night this Sunday, Oct 14th at 6:30 (pre-game is 6:00 p.m.). Pastor Dino & Delynn have been given a great vision for HPC's future that they would like to share with all of us. So, please make it a priority to come out and experience the great things God has in store for us, as we partner together to do everything we can to be "a Healing Place for a Hurting World."

Giving it your best...

We had a great class this past Sunday, where we learned about living a life of Excellence & Integrity. It is so important that we learn to give it our best in everything we do, & to do it with good attitudes (no complaining people).

Rebecca Monsour, who was apart of our first Blue Sushi class over 2 years ago, helped teach the lesson this week and did a fantistic job! She has taken what she learned and put it into practice at school, home and church! I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming...GO BECCA!!

Here's something we learned:

A person of Excellence and Integrity...
1. Goes the extra mile to always do what is right.
2. Keeps their word even when it is difficult.
3. Works hard in school & in life, and gives it their best each day.

4. Applies the best of themselves to every assignment and task.

5. Has an excellent spirit, which shows up in their quality of work & in their attitude.

Colossians 3:23-24 says...
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is Jesus Christ you are serving."

Austin working on some homework questions...
Team Work-that's what it's all about (Abby & Taylor)...
These boys are concentrating hard on their work: CJ, Dakota, and Chrsitian... Chelsea is determined to get her pen to work... The two Destiny's are pretending to work so I can snap a picture! Haha...

Donuts Anyone??

We are going into our 5th week of class and having a blast. Every week we have different parents bring breakfast and here are some pictures of the kids loving some donuts...

Here's George about to enjoy his second donut of the morning... After class the kids decided to go back for seconds and thirds....

Aren't donuts the best? Donuts may not be the most nutritious food on the market but they sure taste good early in the morning when you have to be in class for over an hour. The sugar from the donuts gets these young bodies good and ready for the Word of God; that is really why we do what we do.

Kids these days can practically go anywhere to eat donuts, but we want to make sure they are "filling up" their hearts, minds, and souls with the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus has to be our number one source in life. Which reminds me of a story in the Bible (John 4:7-15) where Jesus is sitting at a drinking well with a Samaritian women and they begin to have a conversation, let's read the story together...

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."

The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"

Blue Sushi it's time that we stop wasting our energy trying to draw water from the wells of this world that leave us thristy. Let's commit to filling up our lives on Jesus Christ and ALL He has for us!

Live bold & stay strong!

class started...

Our Blue Sushi class for Fall 2007 is now underway with our first class complete and nine weeks to go!! I am so pumped up about this new class. We had 27 new Blue Sushi kids show up bright and early on Sunday morning for the class & they were all smiles (with a few yawns here and there).

This Sunday we are going to be diving straight into the Word of God and learning about Heart & Soul! That really means we are going to be learning about making intentional connections with others and living a life of holiness (being set apart - being "in" the world but not "of" the world).

If you are currently taking the class then please remember to be at the Annex II at 7:45 a.m. this Sunday with your Old Testament books of the Bible memorized and ready to say!!

Have a great day and remember that you are light in this world, so shine brightly on your campus today!

Reaching the World by Serving One...

Ms. Kari

Blue Sushi Class Starting Soon...

Here is a letter that is being mailed out with the new Blue Sushi Class schedule...

What’s up?

I am very excited to inform you of our new Blue Sushi Class. Blue Sushi is a 10 week course combining curriculum based learning and hands on experiences. You will need to complete a Blue Sushi application & are only permitted to miss one of the ten classes in order to complete this class.

Blue Sushi Schedule:

The first 6 weeks will be curriculum based learning and will be held on Sunday mornings from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. in the Annex II classroom.

Week 1, September 9: Blue Sushi Orientation
Week 2, September 16: Heart & Mind
Week 3, September 23: Soul & Strength
Week 4, September 30: What It Means to be a Christian
Week 5, October 7: Being a Person of Excellence
Week 6, October 14: Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts

The last 4 weeks will be, not only curriculum based learning, but also hands on experiences that are intended to change the way we reach the world, by serving one. These classes will meet on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. at the Highland Campus, upstairs in the 5 yr old classroom.

Week 7, October 20: What It Means to Be a Servant & Outreach
No classes on October 27th due to Live the Dream Women’s Conference
Week 8, November 3: Having the Heart of a Servant & Outreach
Week 9, November 10: Living the Life of a Servant & Outreach
Week 10, November 17: Blue Sushi Wrap Up

If you haven’t done so already, please pick up your Blue Sushi application from HPC Children’s Ministry office. The deadline to turn in the application is September 2, 2007!!

By His Grace,

Kari Smith
HPC Children’s Leadership


If you have taken the class already and would like to help, please give me a call and I will hook you up with a place to serve. Have a great day and remember to shine bright on your campus!!

Blue Sushi Camp

We just got back from Lake Forest Ranch in Macon, MS and we had a great time. We brought 24 Blue Sushi graduates and another 4 who are about to take the Blue Sushi class (starting the second Sunday in September). The kids were able to do a variety of activities such as the zip line, climbing a rock wall, tubing, horseback riding, swimming, archery, riflery, etc. We not only got to participate in great activities, we were also able to hear great teachings by Scott Humston & see him do some amazing majic shows.

Here are some pics from the weekend!!

Trip to Cambodia

I had the awesome priviledge of being apart of Hope Cambodia—30 Days of Hope which has one purpose: to reestablish hope for a nation’s future.

Below is an email that I sent out while I was in Cambodia a few weeks ago.

"Today we went to the new orphanage and no one really knew what to expect. All we knew is that we were going to be painting an orphanage that now houses around 48 children. As we pulled up we saw the children sitting in the shade, and as soon as they saw our vans they jumped up and came running. All of their beautiful faces greeted us with huge smiles and friendly welcomes. It was great; and just what I was waiting for…kids always equal fun in my book!!
We split into two groups, one group painted while the other group stayed and played with the kids; can you guess what group I was on? The Kids group of course. I started up a game of toss which quickly turned into a game a made-up volleyball; it was so stinkin’ hot but tons of fun.
Then I saw a young girl carrying an infant, so I made my way over to her…she was taking care of her four month old nephew, he was so cute! She let me hold him and after a few minutes he placed his little head on my chest and fell asleep. As I sat there holding this precious little boy I couldn’t help but think about his future and the question came to mind, “How could he be born in such horrible conditions?” As I sat there I realized that because of people like HPC, Life Church, Celebration Church, Joyce Meyer Ministries, and so many others, an orphanage was now built and being dedicated to show the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. This child may not have much, but because of Jesus and people all over the world who love Him, this child now has a chance to share in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope has been brought to his little world, and his life will never be the same. He now has a chance to know God and His great power.
Today I saw lives being changed, and hope brought to a generation who once had no hope. Today these children have been given a chance to live in the same joy, peace, and love that we freely live in each day. "

Me eating a cricket from the street vendors!

One of the only people I saw over the age of 40.

One of the many children who attended the Festival of Hope in Battambang, Cambodia.

On the streets of Battambang...

from the orphanage...

Thank you for your prayers and for supporting Hope: Cambodia. You are changing an entire generation!"