Thieves Try to Seal Christmas

Janine is from grand rapids. She works really hard to make ends meet, and has done a good job of providing Christmas for her family. She has a sweet Downs syndrome daughter who is 17, and has a tight knit loving family.

On the night of December 20, 2009, her house was broken into. The thieves stole all her daughter's Christmas presents. They destroyed her Christmas tree. They stole her computer that she saved up for a year to buy, and they smashed her furnace as well. No one knows who broke in, and it seems like there's not going to be much of a Christmas for them.

Can you help this family? The items that were stolen were things like educational toys for her daughter, movies on DVD, and size 8 clothes for her daughter. Matching fleece outfits and sweatsuits are things that her daughter really likes.

We are only a few days away from Christmas, but we need to try to help Janine and her family. You can send these items or other Christmas presents to:

Realtime Church
2951 Coppergrove Dr.
Grand Rapids, MI 49525

You can also drop the presents off. Call 616-322-2498 to set up a drop-off time.

E-mail help@realtimechurch.com for more information.

Eric, Amy, and Fam

A simple ankle issue turned into multiple blood clots in the lungs and hospitalization for Amy, wife of Eric and mother of five young kids. Eric has missed weeks of work, and in this economy that means disaster. Normal daily activities for Amy have turned into tons of time in a walker and lifelong daily blood thinning shots.

Like so many others this Christmas season, this Hudsonville family isn't going to have much of a Christmas. But we can do something about it.

• One of their biggest needs in this cold weather is simple... blankets, sheets, and pillows. All five kids sleep in twin beds.

• The family also needs several Rubbermaid-like laundry baskets, and towels of any kind.

• Small gift ideas for the girls -- Twilight movie on DVD, arts and crafts supplies, simple earrings, girly blankets and pillows

• Small gift ideas for the boys -- Spiderman stuff, cars, trucks, guns, new or used video games of any kind

We can't make Christmas better for everybody this December, but we can sure do a lot for this one family.

Even if you feel like the items might not get here by Christmas, send them anyway. We will make sure the family gets everything.

You can mail or deliver any of these items to:

Realtime Church
2931 Copperrove Dr.
Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Please call 616-322-2498 to set up delivery.
E-mail help@realtimechurch.com with questions








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Furiniture Needed In Kalamazoo

There are several families that Realtime Church is working with that have been hit with unemployment this Christmas season. This is a common story in West Michigan this year. One of these families doesn't have enough furniture to fill their house. We need your help.

Do you have a spare dresser sitting around? Do you have a small dining room table and or chairs? Do you live in the Kalamazoo area? If you want to donate one or some of these items, e-mail us at help@realtimechurch.com and tell us what you want to donate.




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Christmas Soapbox

Ah winter is in the air... and along with it gluttonous consumerism and excessive political correctness. This year, not only do we have to hide baby Jesus and the camels, we really don't see candy canes or Santa Claus as much. Forget Christmas songs, we're not even teaching our kids holiday songs. I think that this Christmas season correct thing to say is, "happy winter." Lame.

But at the same time, if December 25 is just a day for giving our kids an XBOX 360 in addition to their Playstation 3, Wii, Gamecube, American Girl Doll, and 3 bushels of Legos, maybe Christmas isn't such a good idea after all. Go to any Kohls or Bed Bath and Beyond and you will see mountains of merchandise -- 87 different kinds of single cup coffee makers -- all expertly marketed so that we feel inadequate without them.

Even with all the baggage, Christmas is pure magic for most of us.

But Christmas can be a time of pain for so many. If you have the Internet and are able to read this, chances are you have at least a roof over your head and food to eat. But this Christmas there are millions and millions of people that don't have very basic necessities. Who is taking care of them? Who should be taking care of them?

Big nonprofit organizations, missions boards, sad little pink and blue flyers, and burnt church coffee all play their role in helping the less fortunate. But can we get a little more grassroots than that? Can we get a little more aggressive than that? Can we mount up and imagine for a second that we are going to punch hunger in the face?

You think that's intense, but in Isaiah when people are whining because they don't feel God has noticed them fasting, God describes what he wants like this,

to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Loose, Untie, Set Free, Break, those are all pretty intense words. And they are proactive. We are not supposed to make the poor and the broken come to us. We need to go to them.

This Christmas season, do something. Get a simple gift for someone you don't have to. Make a meal for someone. Find a low-key way to help a hurting person or family you know. Volunteer at a mission. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Get intense.

Bridget Albert

Bridget Albert is a 20 year old junior at DePaul University in Chicago. On Sept. 15 She was walking down the sidewalk on the way to an internship when she and another girl were struck by a car. Bridget suffered severe head trauma and was taken to Northwest hospital in downtown Chicago. After head surgery to remove a bone flap, she was in ICU for more than 3 weeks, and has since been in RIC (rehabilitation institute of Chicago). She continues to progress but has to learn to use her arms and legs all over again. She has a feeding tube and has begun talking again. Her memory is not fully back together, but she seems to have a deepening understanding and her personality is flourishing.

Please keep Bridget in your prayers. She may be headed away from home for further rehabilitation. Stay tuned for ways you might be able to help

Kate Gets Her Swingset!

Kate got her swingset!

Thank you all for your encouragement, effort, contacts, and donations! Where there was no playset, there is now a simple joy for a girl going through so much. This is the reality of what Realtime Church can do when we try to be Christ's hands and feet! Without all of you, this never would have happened.

Here is a description in Holly's (mom's) words-

"...her mouth dropped open when she opened them and saw the swing set. Immediately she asked 'who in the world bought this for me?' She was ecstatic and said she would only play on it for a few hours that night, even though it was already dark... Thank you to those of you who helped make this possible- our friends who wanted Kate to smile and enjoy the days she does get at home. Thank you for making Kate your first recipient through Realtime Church.. and to those of you who funded this endeavor!! All 3 kids enjoyed it immensely today... and Kate was even able to swing in the special swing it has for her (she doesn't have to hold on with both hands).... again thank you! She says that now 2 of her dreams have come true." [a dog being the other]



The picture to the right is Kate in the playset on the first night.

There is still a little bit of work to be done. In order to maximize Kate's time on the playset before her next round of chemo, we put the playset in before the yard was prepped for it. Some teams still have to do some work before the playset is put in its permanent place. Please keep the remainder of this project in your prayers, and let us know if you have an idea on how you can help. And of course, keep this sweet little girl in your prayers as she still has some fighting left to do.





This is the playset the day before Kate got home. The kids are Kate's brother and sister.





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Other Projects

There are several different projects in different parts of the country that Realtime Church is working on (as of 12-18-09).

Due to people's privacy, we can't reveal some of these projects untill the timing is right.

Please check back often to see what's up in the RTC world.












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Ellie Orosz

Ellie is headed home!!!

>>7:40pm- 11/12/09- Amazing news! Ellie is headed home! She was released today, and is headed home for some normal life. The family has relayed thanks to the Realtime Church community for all the prayers. The doctors will do some tests in a couple months to see how she is developing.

Ellie is a little girl born to Nate and Annie Orosz on Friday the 2nd of October in Columbus, OH. After a normal pregnancy, the umbilical cord ruptured when Annie's water broke. There was significant blood loss and a shortage of blood to Ellie's brain.

>>1:38pm- 11/10/09- Good news! Ellie is off all her feeding tubes and breathing tubes. She should be going home in a week or two! >>5:19pm- 11/1/09- It may be weeks before we know if there has or hasn't been any negative impact on sweet Ellie's brain. Stay tuned and we will post any info we get as soon as we get it.

>>9:00am- 10/20/09-
Ellie is off the vent!!! She is only on oxygen. She is back down to 9 lbs so that means she is definitely ridding her body of extra fluid. Some of her kidney function is still in question so that still needs lots of prayer. The biggest concern right now is little Ellie's brain. We are unsure of the details but know that her medical team is trying to establish how her little brain is functioning. So good news, and still more to pray about...

>>7:45 pm- 10/13/09-
Ellie's mommy and daddy got to hold her for the first time. See the pic!


>>4:45pm- 10/10/09-
Ellie will be seeing a kidney specialist today. We'll update you as we get more information.

>>1:45pm- 10/9/09-
Ellie just had a very wet diaper!! Your prayers are working. Please keep on praying for more pee and also for her brain. More info to come.

>>7:30pm - 10/8/09 -
The doctors are still waiting for Ellie to pee. They need her to do this to get rid of the extra swelling. If they cannot get this under control, they may have to look at other options. So, pray for PEE!!! Also, Ellie's parents have family in town who are staying in hotels. They are in the Columbus, Ohio area. Anyone have any connections in this area? E-mail/FB/Twitter RTC.

>>5:00am - 10/8/09 -
No news yet.

>>8:20pm - 10/7/09 -
They really need her to pee.

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Playset for Kate McRae

Most of the play set project is in place. There is some work left, so we still need your help! Sod has been donated. In ground sprinkling is going in soon. Companies are donating their time. In the next couple weeks, we should see an amazing finished project where there used to be empty space.

The company that has designed Kate's playset also designed the

one here. Kate's will look similar.

Many of you have already read about Kate McRae. If not, click >>RTC<< or caringbridge. This sweet, five-year-old girl from Phoenix was just recently diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and is currently finishing her fourth round of chemo. She has recently expressed how much she wants a play set, and we would like to surprise her with one when she gets home.

We have been in close contact with Kate's parents, and this is something that they would love to see happen. There is even a specific kind of swing that she likes to use. There is so little that we can do for her other than pray. This doesn't change everything, but it might make life at home a little more enjoyable.

Here is a picture of the space that we have to use. We can use the whole dirt area. The area is 20' x 30', and in addition to the playset, we need to cover it with sod and sprinkling.

• We need sprinkling materials. If you have sprinkling material contacts in the Phoenix area, please get in touch with us.help@realtimechurch.com

• We need donations. We are working with a 501(c)3 organization in Grand Rapids called Word Investments Inc. Donations are tax-deductible, and you will get a receipt at the end of the year. 100% of every donation goes directly to the McRaes. We need your help!

Make checks out to:

Word Investments Inc.

Mail to:

2951 Coppergrove Dr. NE

Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Lets make this happen right now! This is the least we can do for this amazing family going through such terrible heartache.

Keona Shearer

Little 5 year old Keona Shearer has chronic kidney failure. She is in need of a transplant soon. Fortunately, her father, Justin, is going to donate. They just need to do some final testing and schedule the surgery. Jessica, Keona's mom who works two jobs currently, will have to take time off of both to be with Keona after the surgery.

Some of their close friends are organizing a benefit dinner/concert and garage sale to help raise money for Jessica to help support her during Keona's recovery.

If anyone in the Fort Wayne, IN area would like to attend the Benefit, check the flyer or Facebook page

Complaints Welcome (Wed. 11-4)

We need your help, and it's not what you might think.

We are all about projects. Most of the projects that we are working on right now are from people that we here at RTC already know. We want more projects! We want projects from people we don't know!

Do you know someone in a critical situation - serious health issue, house fire, or other tragedy? We might not be able to solve every problem, but when we join forces, we can help a lot of people.

What are the crises going on around you? Let us know! When else does somebody want to hear you complain?

Twitter

Facebook (make a wall post at the Realtime Church page or send a message)

E-mail--- help@realtimechurch.com

Prayer Requests

Please post any prayer request you might have as a comment. The Realtime Church leaders and community will pray for you. If there is anything of a highly personal nature, send it to

help@realtimechurch.com




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Projects

CRAP

All of the crap that happens in your life and the lives around you! The Realtime Church community wants to come together to help. But first you have to let us know what critical situations are going on! Please, let us know! We want more projects!

help@realtimechurch.com
http://twitter.com/realtime_church

Communications are 100% confidential.

So we've been doing Realtime Church for about a month and a half. There are a handful of projects that we've had the privilege to be a part of in the past six weeks.

Some are big and dramatic like the playset that we built for Kate MacRae.

Some are top-secret and we still won't be able to tell you about them for a couple weeks!

But whether it is keeping you up-to-date on a sick little girl like Ellie, or whether it is letting you know about a benefit concert like Keona’s… we are doing just what we work hoped to be doing.

Thanks for all your help.

Kate McRae

Kate is a five year old bubbling blondie from Phoenix, Arizona. She loves High School Musical, playing with her brother and sister, and Jesus. Kate has a brain tumor, a very aggressive form of brain cancer. She is in the midst of chemotherapy. She began her third round on September 29. This is where Realtime Church comes in.

Kate wants a swing set. Her mom and dad would love for her to have one, but the logistics and cost are not feasible at this time. Kate will be in the hospital for approximately 3-4 weeks. We would like the swing set to be completed by the time she returns home from this round of chemo. This is where you come in.

Do you have any connections in the Phoenix area? We are in need of a new playhouse/swing set, and a special swing so that Kate can swing without assistance.

Do you want to make a charitable donation towards the swingset? E-mail RTC for more information. Do you know someone in the Phoenix area who would donate/get us a good deal on a swing set? E-mail RTC. Have some other contact that is pertinent to this project? E-mail RTC. There will be lots of other details to come.

Browse

Each situation has its own needs. Here's where you need to be creative. As you read through the current critical needs/situations, be thinking not only of things you can offer such as: meals, housing, transportation, childcare, physical needs, etc.

Also be thinking of people, organizations, or churches in the area of the critical need data may be able to provide these things as well.

We are doing a little reorganizing. Soon, current needs will be divided up into "Projects" and "Prayer Requests".

Projects

Prayer Requests

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Gossip

Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

Even if there aren't any ways that you can help with the current critical needs, you can still talk about them. Pray about them. Blog about them. Chat about them around the water cooler. Let more and more people know about them.

In the past of four or five years, many people who have experienced illnesses, tragedies, and other traumatic experiences have been able to gather incredible followings on their blogs. This is fantastic! When we learned of a blog like this, we will post it.

Also, Caringbridge and Care Pages are great resources for families with loved ones in the hospital. Whenever someone we are following has a Caringbridge page, we will post links to it here.

Be the First

This is the "guts" of Realtime Church.

It's not every day that someone you are close to is in a traumatic event, so you probably won't be uploading things to Realtime Church every day. But you do check Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail every day... probably more.

If you sign up to follow Realtime Church, you will be the first to know what traumatic events are going on in the Realtime Church world. Does this make you amazing? Yes. Does this make you a little nosy? Probably. Does it also make you available to the needs of hurting people all across the country? Absolutely. And that is the point... awareness of the needs going on all around us.

Follow Realtime Church by:

>>Twitter (you must have a twitter account)

>>Facebook (join the group!)

>>E-mail

e-mail address

Upload

This is where realtime church starts.

If you or someone you know has just had a traumatic event, please send a explanation and your contact information to one or more of the following places...

Twitter (please send a direct message)

Facebook (make a wall post at the Realtime Church page)

E-mail--- help@realtimechurch.com

>>>Please include your name and phone number. We will call you.

After you upload the situation, we will call to verify exactly what has happened. If the story checks out, and it is a situation that Realtime Church can help in, we will then send out a blast on all our Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail channels, looking for people that can help.

Privacy

Privacy is very important to us. With the amount of correspondence coming in and going out of here, we are trying extra hard to keep e-mails safe. That is why we are using

It's a bit annoying, and it's one extra step in signing up for e-mails. But we think it''s worth it.

receive e-mails

Receive e-mails on critical needs across America:

e-mail address

Contact

After you have browsed through the current needs, and you feel that you have a specific way you can help, get in touch with us through one of the same three channels:

Twitter (please send a direct message)

Facebook (make a wall post at the Realtime Church page)

E-mail--- help@realtimechurch.com

>>>Please leave your name and phone number. We will call you.

About Us

Josh & Shelly Buck

Test

My house is full of germs. Germs everywhere. I should invest in some more Lysol and try to get rid this virus. Josh has been running a fever since Friday (he seems on the upswing) and now Noah has it.

Noah is one of the most hyper boys you will ever meet. He finds trouble- EVERYWHERE. When I was in NYC last weekend, he nearly ran himself over with my dad's truck. He was unsupervised for a total of about 30 seconds (according to the adults present) and still managed to get into this much trouble. So, when this little boy is as quiet as he is today, you know he's sick. He just wanders around, waiting, I'm not sure for what. Josh let know use the electric leaf blower which would normally make his day, but he only wanted to do it for about 2 minutes and then was done. Makes me feel bad for the little booger. He's sleeping next to me on the floor right now so I don't have to worry about his fever getting out of control.

God's been teaching me some new stuff that I am looking forward to sharing but just don't have anything solid in my mind to say. Hope all you friends are well.

Nighty-night.

Anatomy