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teen Challenge of the Midlands 1teen Challenge of the Midlands

teen Challenge of nebraska2916 n. 58th st.omaha, ne 68104

Phone: 402.551.2322fax: 402.551.2357email: nebraskainfo@tcmid.orgweb: www.tcmid.org

Helping P eop le Who Hurt

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDOmaha, NE

PERMIT NO. 1021

Mailing label goes here

October, 2013

New Boy’s Center Director On Board

Teen Challenge of the Midlands is happy to announce that Dan Meinert has joined our team as the Executive Director of our Adolescent Boy’s Center in Alliance, Nebraska. It is such a blessing to see the excitement that he brings to this position, and we are anxious to see how the Lord uses him!

Dan is originally from Wisconsin, where he served as a high school teacher, coach, and athletic director. In 1982, Dan went to Ohio State University to pursue his PHD in athletic administration and business. He was hired by the Ohio State Department of Athlet-ics in 1983, and served there as Assistant Athletic Director. In 1989, he accepted a position at the University of Minnesota as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics, and in 1993 accepted the position of Director of Athletics at Western Michigan University.

For the past 16 years, Dan and his wife, Kathy have lived in Jacksonville, Florida where Dan begin a career as a teaching golf

professional, and served as the Director of Instruction at The Palencia Club. Dan directed many Fel-lowship of Christian Athletes camps, clinics, and seminars throughout his tenure at Palencia, and he utilized the game of golf as his ministry to reach students and families. Dan and Kathy were members at Southpoint Community Church where he was very active in the leadership of the men’s ministry.

Dan is excited to come on board at Teen Challenge of the Midlands, “The privilege of being a part of the Teen Challenge team is truly a dream come true! The opportunity to work with young men and their families as they face the challenges of drug and chemical addictions is, for me, the ideal way to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Making a difference in their lives, and giving a new sense of hope is a priceless opportunity.” If you would like to contact Dan, or get involved in any way at our Adolescent Boy’s Center, you can e-mail him at d.meinert@tcmid.org. Please pray for Dan as he begins raising funds, and making contacts to grow this ministry!

We received several phone calls and e-mails after our September Colfax Newsletter was mailed out last month. We are so SORRY if you received an empty envelope from us! If you would like to see last month’s newsletter, please check it out on our website at www.tcmid.org. We are sorry for any confusion this caused, and we will be careful to ensure that it

doesn’t happen again!

Dan Meinert

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Giving Back!Set Free: A Testimony of God’s Saving Grace! I began using drugs at a very young age. I started slow-ly with marijuana, but that quickly spiraled into using metham-phetamine. I completely lost myself in drugs, and I didn’t think I was ever going to get out. I made many poor decisions with my life, which ultimately led me to jail. Like many people, the same night I went to jail, I looked up to the sky and asked for help. A month later I got invited to a group to learn about Jesus Christ. It was in the service that something inside of me broke, and I realized my need for God. It wasn’t until that night that I realized being in jail was the only way God could help me.

I’d been in and out of jail since 2011, and people often mentioned Teen Challenge to me, but I didn’t want to hear it. I kept getting in trouble, and I knew that I had to change, or I’d be going away for a long time. That time came; I was sitting in court, waiting for the judge to give me my sentence to spend time in the state penitentiary. Teen Challenge was brought up again, but this time it wasn’t someone else mentioning it, it was me. I didn’t even know what I was saying. The Holy Spirit was with me that day, giving me the words to say. Thank-fully the judge granted my request, and sent me to Teen Challenge.

I arrived at Teen Challenge on September 4th, 2012. God has changed me completely. Before, I struggled to love people, but

now I find myself loving people for no reason. I’ve learned to have compassion for others. The Lord has shown me how to have patience, and He’s given me wisdom. God continues to renew my mind, and re-fine me every day. But the best thing of all is that He has forgiven my sins, and continues to make me into His new creation. God has truly done a work in me that no one else could have. I’m excited to be com-pleting Teen Challenge on October 5th, 2013, and I’ll be going back to my family in Sioux City. I thank God every day for restoring my life, and all of my relationships; especially my relationship with Him.

Erin; completed Teen Challenge of the Midlands October 5th, 2013!

Needs List

- Metal T-posts for border fence - Barbed wire for border fence

- Gravel for parking and drives - Meat for the food service

- Portable projector for church services and meetings

On Saturday, September 28th, our Omaha Re-Entry students and staff helped out at the Convoy of Hope Outreach in Omaha, Nebraska. Convoy of Hope is a nonprofit organization that has served more than 55 million people throughout the world through international children’s feeding initiatives, communi-ty outreaches, and disaster response. Our Teen Challenge Omaha guys enjoyed a great day of ministry, and over 4,200 people were impacted by this outreach. Those who attended enjoyed a concert, lunch, haircuts, family portraits, shoes for kids, games, and more; all free of charge! 35,000 pounds of groceries were also given to Omaha families! The day is best summed up by what our Omaha Director overheard a little boy in attendance exclaiming, “This is the best day in the world!”

Two of our Omaha students at our Teen Challenge booth.

Just some of the thousands of people who were impacted through this outreach!

Omaha Director, Adam Nordstrom (L), and Re-Entry stu-dent, Scott (R) pause from working security for a picture.

Re-Entry student, Jimmy, enjoying the day despite the weather!