For Lent, the 40 days before Easter, I 'fasted' from my 3 ...



|For Lent, the 40 days before Easter, I "fasted" from my 3 biggest time wasters: listening to podcasts, watching Youtube, and reading |

|news articles. Although none of those things were "bad", in fact they are all "good" things, I noticed that my mind was too distracted |

|and too overwhelmed with all the content I was consuming. Because of that, I knew that I needed time away from those three things so my|

|mind could really focus on the things that mattered. Now that we are 36 days into Lent and 4 days away from Easter, I have to say that |

|this has been the most powerful fast I've ever taken part in! Instead of listening to podcasts during my free time, I began praying |

|more. Instead of watching TED talks on Youtube, I spent more quality time with my amazing wife and 8 month old cutie pie, Jazzani. |

|Instead of spending countless hours keeping up with the news, I spent more time reading books. I realized that in order for me to do |

|what I really want to do, I need to let go of things that ultimately don't really matter to me. In a culture that is "too busy," we |

|need to pause, reflect, and let go of certain things so that we can do the things that we really care about. I will be fasting more |

|regularly because, for me, it's so good for my soul. That is what God has been teaching me. Now on to the update! |

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|Below are a few highlights from FEBRUARY 2016: |

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|"THIS ISN'T LIKE ANY CHURCH I'VE BEEN TO..." |

|A man quietly sat down in the back row. He was by himself so I greeted him and welcomed him to Roots. He didn't have too many words at |

|first but by the end of our worship gathering, he began sharing his story with us. He told us that a few years ago he lost everything: |

|his wife, his job, his children and eventually his home. He was experiencing homelessness and saw that our doors were open, so he came |

|and worshipped with us. After the worship gathering, some people from Roots went to have lunch together and he was invited. Later he |

|told me, “This is not like any other church I’ve been too. Y’all really seem like a family. Y'all seem to really care. Thank you for |

|caring.” I am truly blessed to be a part of a church family that cares for one another. |

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|MIDWAY BINGO AND GAME SHOWS EVENT |

|On Saturday, 2/27, we hosted the Midway Bingo and Game Shows Event where we played Bingo, Jeopardy, Family Feud, and Who Wants to be a |

|Millionaire? It was a fantastic event where families could connect and have fun together. We look forward to doing something similar to|

|this again in the future! |

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|DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE: FORGIVING |

|One of the most encouraging things for me has been seeing and hearing about how lives are transformed because people are actually doing|

|something about what they are learning at Roots. In February, we continued in our Emotionally Healthy Spirituality sermon series. On |

|one particular Sunday, we had a message called, "Grow into an Emotionally Healthy Adult" where we engaged with this question, "How do |

|we love people who have hurt us?" The very next day, I received this message: |

|"Thank you for your words yesterday at Roots. God has just really spoken in my heart to forgive and reconcile with some people in my |

|life lately and I am going to do it because He would want me to and I know it will heal me too. God is good!" |

|Later on, she updated me and told me that she DID reach out to a two particular individuals who had hurt her deeply in the past and, by|

|God's grace, they have been reconciled. How awesome is that?! |

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|The best way to really know what is happening at Roots is to join us sometime! The following are UPCOMING EVENTS: |

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|EASTER |

|This Sunday is Resurrection Day! We will celebrate our Risen Savior as well as explore God's invitation through Jesus' victory over |

|satan, sin, and death. If you want to see how Roots is doing, Easter is a great day to check us out in person! |

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|ROOTS 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! |

|On Sunday, 4/24, we will be celebrating Roots' 2nd birthday! We'll worship God together, sharing stories of God's faithfulness |

|throughout the past year, and we'll be having a tasty and multicultural potluck lunch together! Feel free to join us at 10am. |

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|PRAYER REQUESTS FOR MARCH 2016 |

|In April, each of our small groups will receive money from our Bless Fund so that they can creatively bless others. For us, to bless |

|another person means that we leave others better than when we found them. Pray that God will lead our small groups to do creative and |

|meaningful acts of love so that we can bless others with dignity. Our small groups will get to share their experience with us on the |

|first Sunday of May. |

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|Mykou, Jazzani, and I are ready to plant "roots" in the neighborhood and are hoping to get into a house by the summer. We are getting |

|closer and closer. We have an eye on a home but it won't be available till May or June. Please continue to pray that God would open up |

|doors, figuratively and literally!, for us to buy a home where we can bless others. |

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|Please pray for my mom as she continues to wait for a new kidney. She has been on the waiting list for about 5 years now and she's |

|pretty depleted. The kidney failure, dialysis, and medication is taking it's toll on her body. May God provide a new kidney for my |

|mom so that she can be healthy again. In addition, pray that she would place her trust and faith in Jesus.  |

|If you'd like a print out of our March 2016 Prayer Requests so that you can put it on your refrigerator to pray for us regularly, you |

|can find a Google Doc version of the requests HERE. |

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|Thank you for praying for us and with us. We are able to do what we do in ministry because of your prayers, love, and support. Thank |

|you from the bottom of my heart. |

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|Peace, |

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|Touger Thao |

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|To find our events and get more info about Roots:  |

|To view photos and updates of what we are doing: rootscov |

|To connect with us on Twitter: rootscov |

|To hear past sermons: sermons |

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|Copyright © 2016 Roots Covenant Church, All rights reserved. |

|“You are receiving this email because you wanted ministry updates on Roots Covenant Church.” |

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|Our mailing address is: |

|Roots Covenant Church |

|PO Box 4097 |

|St Paul, MN 55104 |

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