Greeting!

Mother Teresa said, ‘There is more hunger for love and appreciation in the world today than for bread.’ Never has this been more true than here in Omaha today. Food is not so hard to find, in fact there are many services provided in Omaha, but love and appreciation are rare and valuable commodities. MCD desires to be a safe place for all to come and experience love, appreciation and compassion. Whether our volunteers are taking the time to help a young child learn to read, offering friendly conversation to a homeless man whom is scorned by society, or reaching out to a Hispanic community confused by a new land and a new language, it will be done in love and with compassion. This is how we touch those who are hurting and provide the healing that changes lives and the society we live in. This change is effected more quickly and lives shaped more significantly the larger our mosaic grows. You can have a part in the mission and mosaic of MCD – what is your piece?

Matthew Smith (Executive Director)

Life Transitions

It is so amazing how our Father shapes us and those we are in relationship with. We are learning more about ourselves and those we may serve with Life Transitions through good times and sufferings. In the end we understand that we are in control of nothing and the hand of the Lord will move us in any direction He chooses. I know this may sound a bit cryptic, but this best describes the last month with Life Transitions. Things are going real well, and we are continuing to develop our services and focus into November. Thank you all for all your prayers, time, and encouragement.

Tony Jackson (Life Transitions Coordinator)

Spotlight on Service

As our name indicates, we are a ‘mosaic’ of people who selflessly and generously give of their time and resources to serve and be amongst the poor and disenfranchised of our city. This month we wish to highlight our volunteers as a whole instead of one individual. We do this to recognize the significance of each piece as it composes a whole mosaic movement that touches lives. At the heart of MCD is a desire to be with those who are forgotten by society and demonstrate the love of Christ in a relational capacity. All of our volunteers are committed not only to providing a useful service that benefits the community, but more importantly they take time to value those they encounter in service. Our mosaic of volunteers loves to hear stories of those served and share their own. It is in this effort to be with those who are suffering that we serve in the most significant ways.

Al Lado De

Thank-you for your continued interest in the Al lado de program! As we continue to redevelop the program and research into the community, we have several dedicated volunteers who are currently teaching the English classes at Perk Avenue Café. Every week they come and give of their time to serve the community in this way. We would like to thank them for their dedicated work!

Research into the community is going well, as we are currently conducting a survey to determine the greatest needs. We have also spoken to several organizations about the possibility of partnerships. Things are starting to happen! Thank-you for your prayers on our behalf.

Suzanne Hofer (Al Lado De Director)

Creative Educational Center

What a fun month we had in October! Our kids had a great time learning disgusting things with Grossology, the Gross Science of the Human body at the Omaha Children’s Museum as well as getting to do some pretty grotesque educational projects at the the Center. Everyone had a blast at the Halloween/Harvest party. We decorated pumpkins, shared in an extra slimy story, and got to spray each other silly for the mummy wrap contest. The kids got to work on their planet pictures for the Children’s Hospital and came up with some astronomical creations.

Special Events

We’re hosting more events in November!

Friday, November 11, 2005 @ 7:00pm

Andrew Penke and Paul Hamilton

will be playing in an acoustic benefit concert for LOB (other artists tba)

Also, we are organizing an art show and silent auction, and a movie/discussion night with guest speaker David Churchill (unconfirmed). Check our website for up to the minute details on these events, or contact us at mosaicstaff@cox.net if you would like to be a volunteer for these events.

Blessings

“The world is more generous than bleak” — Rebecca Rotert . I saw this quote on a bench as I was driving home last week. My thoughts about this concept are capable of changing on a regular basis depending on circumstances – Did someone cut me off in traffic? Did I get a compliment from a co-worker? Did my computer freeze up on me when I had a deadline? It’s easy to get caught up in interpreting the world this way. As I thought more about this concept, I realized that the world does not make things generous or bleak. It simply contains imperfect people, who are capable of love and hate, interacting with each other.

I saw an example of this a few days ago when two of the children at the Center had an argument. One of them said some unkind things and the other responded defensively which produced hurt feelings for both of them. When trying to decipher what would be the best course of action I realized that love is what makes us capable of generosity and forgiveness. I could not force the kids to care about each other but I could shine a light on how the other person was feeling. I would like to say that after I spoke with them that they instantly forgave each other and were friends again, but that did not happen. Instead they stayed mad at each other until the next day at which time it was announced to me that they were friends again.

These two children are just starting to learn what loving others is about. I’m sure that there will be more arguing and forgiving but ultimately I hope they learn that loving people is a blessing. I think we all need to remind ourselves of that from time to time.

Christy McGinnis (Creative Educational Center Director)

Poverty Discussions

We wanted to continue to encourage all who are interested to join us in our bi-weekly poverty discussions down here at the Mosaic Community Development office. This is really a great opportunity to voice your thoughts about our topics, or any “poverty related” questions you may have. Here are the dates and topics for this month’s Poverty Discussions:

We meet the first and third Thursday of every month at 7:00pm.

Life of the Brick

Life on the Brick (LOB) has been meeting on Monday nights (5:30 pm- 7:30 pm) and Saturday mornings (10:00 am – 12:00 pm) and has been steadily growing in numbers of guests and also amounts of donations.

LOB has hosted four benefit concerts since September and will be hosting several more into the new year. We continue to work on meeting or exceeding our budget for this year and next as our dinner guests grow in number. (Check the news on our website to stay up to date.)

In addition, as the cold weather comes the need for warm coats, clothing and sleeping bags increases. If you’re cleaning out your closets for winter and find yourself with more coats, clothes, blankets or sleeping bags than you need, we would be happy to pass them on to our guests. Thank you for your donations.