West Texas Missioner: June 2015

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Teichert Family Prayer Update

The family of Karl and Jenny Teichert are serving the Lord as missionaries with OC Africa, in South Africa. They moved to Johannesburg in November, 1997 with their four children; Ann, Scott, Stephen and John. Karl serves as the Southern Africa Director of the Southern Africa Regional Team. Their vision is to see a healthy, Bible-based church established in every unreached village and community in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and beyond. Their strategy is to partner with key African church leaders to research, train, and mobilize the body of Christ to complete the Great Commission. They are striving to equip local leaders in Southern Africa to reach their nations for Christ and send missionaries into other countries as well.

Teichert Family Prayer Update

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

Dear Prayer Partner,

Trust you are well and growing in God’s grace and truth. We are sincerely grateful for your faithful prayers for our family and ministry here in Southern Africa. God is transforming lives and communities toward the vision of multiplying disciple-making churches.

Thank you for your prayers for our recent requests. Here is how God answered:

• John successfully passed his road test and received his temporary SA driver's license last Friday. Praise the Lord! We now have six drivers in our family. Please continue to pray for God's protection for all of us on the roads.

• The meeting with the South African Revenue Service last Friday did not go as planned. The SARS agent was responding to objections we had with our 2012 tax return, which was successfully closed two years ago. We were hoping to address objections with our 2014 return, but they were not prepared to respond. This was another lesson in patience-building for us. Please continue praying for quick response and successful resolution of our 2014 SA tax return. God is in control!

• The Coaching Workshop was a great success! Fourteen leaders participated from diverse denominational and geographic areas. Each person was better equipped to assist others to grow and fully live out God’s calling. Three of the leaders were even interested in becoming certified as trainers with us in the future. Please pray that God would use each of the leaders to effectively develop others around them.

Please pray for the following:

• Karl has been invited to participate in the Africa Evangelical Alliance General Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe this week. Church leaders from every country will be meeting to address the challenges and opportunities to accelerate the spread of the gospel across the continent. Please pray for God’s leading and effective collaboration to multiply Christ-like disciples and churches.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer! God is on the move.

For His glory,

Karl and Jenny

OC Africa is an interdenominational ministry committed to developing, equipping, and mobilizing church leaders to multiply healthy, Bible-based churches in every community in Southern Africa and the world. OC is a faith-based mission who depends on the Lord to provide committed, financial supporters and partners. The contributions from these individuals help generate ministry opportunities around the world, impact missionaries and their global work, and provide a means for the International Mobilization Center to function. CLICK HERE to learn how YOU can be a part of mobilizing church leaders around the world by donating to OC.

Invitation to Prayer: TOMORROW Night at True Lite

In light of the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina, please joins us for a Community Prayer Service and Communion at True-Lite Christian Fellowship, 3001 N. A Street in Midland, on Wednesday, July 1st at 6:00 p.m. Pastor Ray Smith and Judge Rob Junnell will lead the service.

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "Uganda 2015 - By the Numbers"

After much preparation, packing and prayer, a team of our brothers and sisters in Christ - men, women and children from West Texas - will be at work in the east Africa nation of Uganda as part of an ongoing, annual Christian mission effort. The 2015 Uganda Mission Team from First Presbyterian Church-Midland will be posting reports from Uganda - along with photos, videos and more - on the Uganda Mission Team 2015 blog.

Uganda 2015 - By the Numbers

Our team is currently at the Entebbe airport in Uganda. We are ready to get home but have a long set of flights ahead of us ...

... As we close out our time in Africa, I thought it might be interesting to give you all a few statistics from this year's trip to Akalabai. These are very rough numbers, but they are in the ballpark and will give you an idea of just how much God has been doing ....

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

In the News ... "Churches provide options for same-sex marriage ceremonies"

MRT Photo by Tim Fischer

• Unitarian Universalist among those where couples can wed

By Brandon Mulder, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Gay couples seeking to marry in Midland churches may face minimal barriers to finding a wedding altar. Many local churches are enthusiastic to offer their ministerial services. Others are exercising their religious freedom to preclude same-sex ceremonies ...

• read the rest of this MRT report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Sin

[The demon Screwtape writes:] Even of his sins the Enemy does not want him to think too much: once they are repented, the sooner the man turns his attention outward, the better the Enemy is pleased.

• From The Screwtape Letters
• Compiled in Words to Live By

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer. How often have you wondered, where are the young adults in the PC(USA)? Wonder no longer. The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is devoted to the theme of young adults in the church. Its stories, many told by young adults, lift up how Presbyterians of all ages are engaging and joining with Presbyterian young adults in reforming the church for Christ’s mission.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 30, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF MINNESOTA VALLEYS - The relationship between the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys and Occidente Presbytery in Guatemala has proven an exercise in mutual benefit. After years of shared exploration, a formal partnership agreement was signed in 1999. Since then, through delegate exchanges and network conferences, we have together sought God’s direction for shared mission ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, June 29, 2015

From ChinaAid: "Pastor's wife attacked, limbs bound with packing tape by Shenyang police"

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Pastor's wife attacked, limbs bound with packing tape by Shenyang police
Distributed by ChinaAid, May, 2015 ...

SHENYANG, LIAONING, CHINA – Police in China’s northeastern Liaoning beat a woman in her home yesterday for no apparent reason and videotaped the attack while her husband, with whom the Shenyang Domestic Security Protection Squad (DSPS) had arranged a meeting for the following day, was away from home ...

• more on this story from China Aid

Invitation to Prayer: Wednesday Night at True Lite

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "You are the branches"

You are the branches

Today was the very last day for us in the village. The worship had already begun as our vans pulled up and our team joyously searched for where we might be able to fit into an already packed church ...

... Tonight, we are packing up all of our things, deciding what to donate and what to bring home, what to give and what to take away. Our hearts are trying to figure out the same thing ....

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

In the News ... "A Tale of Two Churches"

OA Photo by Mark Sterkel

• Iraan First Baptist in demolition process
• Odessa's Rose of Sharon to open in fall

By Billy Jean Louis, Reporter
Odessa American

IRAAN/ODESSA, TEXAS - Nearly two months after worshipers watched the Iraan First Baptist Church burned to the ground, the church is gearing to enter the demolition process.

But [Odessa's] Rose of Sharon Baptist Church that was also destroyed by a fire—a year ago— might open its doors early in the fall ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

“I say—where’s Edmund?” There was a dreadful pause, and then everyone began asking “Who saw him last? How long has he been missing? Is he outside?” and then all rushed to the door and looked out. The snow was falling thickly and steadily, the green ice of the pool had vanished under a thick white blanket, and from where the little house stood in the center of the dam you could hardly see either bank. Out they went, plunging well over their ankles into the soft new snow, and went round the house in every direction. “Edmund! Edmund!” they called till they were hoarse. But the silently falling snow seemed to muffle their voices and there was not even an echo in answer. . . .

“What on earth are we to do, Mr. Beaver?” said Peter.

“Do?” said Mr. Beaver, who was already putting on his snow-boots, “do? We must be off at once. We haven’t a moment to spare!”

“We’d better divide into four search parties,” said Peter, “and all go in different directions. . . .”

“Search parties, Son of Adam?” said Mr. Beaver; “what for?”

“Why, to look for Edmund, of course!”

“There’s no point in looking for him,” said Mr. Beaver.

“What do you mean?” said Susan. “He can’t be far away yet. And we’ve got to find him. . . .”

“The reason there’s no use looking,” said Mr. Beaver, “is that we know already where he’s gone!” Everyone stared in amazement.

“Don’t you understand?” said Mr. Beaver. “He’s gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all.”

“Oh, surely—oh, really!” said Susan; “he can’t have done that.”

“Can’t he?” said Mr. Beaver, looking very hard at the three children, and everything they wanted to say died on their lips, for each felt suddenly quite certain inside that this was exactly what Edmund had done.

• From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 29, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - The bitter cold of Wisconsin winters is even harder on those who live in alleyways or wooded river beds or have overstayed their welcome on a friend’s couch. Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church, in the urban Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, saw just how few resources were available to folks on the southeast side who needed a safe, warm place to sleep during the sometimes deadly winter cold.

Pastor Karen Hagen recalls the conversations that led the 60-member congregation to start the Divine Intervention mission. “We could have organized a planning committee and talked about reasons why we shouldn’t do it and why it might not work out,” says Hagen. “Instead, we saw it as an opportunity with dignity and service at its core. And we went for it” ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Invitation to Prayer: Wednesday Night at True Lite

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "The Hope of Glory"

The Hope of Glory

Today was a very special day of celebration here in eastern Uganda ...

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

In the News ... "San Angelo Bishop Issues Statement on Same-Sex Ruling"

• "I believe it is possible to dwell together peacefully in a society alongside those with whom we agree to disagree.”

Courtesy Photo

Staff Report
KOSA-TV

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS - The following is a statement from Bishop Michael J. Sis, Roman Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, on the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage:

“The Supreme Court of the United States ruled today that the Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. The redefinition of marriage according to civil law does not change the understanding of marriage in our faith tradition. The position of our Church is that marriage is a natural institution that predates any government ..."

• read the rest of this KOSA story

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

On Self-Sufficiency

They [Adam and Eve] wanted, as we say, to “call their souls their own.” But that means to live a lie, for our souls are not, in fact, our own. They wanted some corner in the universe of which they could say to God, “This is our business, not yours.” But there is no such corner. They wanted to be nouns, but they were, and eternally must be, mere adjectives.

• From The Problem of Pain
• Compiled in Words to Live By

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 28, 2015

MINUTE FOR MISSION: ACTIVE LIFE - If God is infinite, then why does a sick woman in need of healing reach out to touch Jesus? When a girl needs healing, why does Jesus come to her bedside and hold her hand? For these people, Jesus’ presence and gentle touch were transformational, both spiritually and physically. Today, he calls us also to seek physical and spiritual wellness for ourselves and others ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "Whatever You Do"

Whatever You Do

Our last full day in the village of Akalabai was very bittersweet. Nobody from our team went on the trails today because all hands were needed for the gigantic crowd that was waiting for us at the medical clinic ...

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

In the News ... "Community Rallying, Praying for Peace"

KOSA Photo

• Peace is exactly what True-Lite Christian Fellowship will be praying for

Staff Report
KOSA-TV

ODESSA/MIDLAND, TEXAS - Negativity stemming from the Charleston shooting can be felt right here in west Texas. People on both sides of the Confederate flag debate sending threats to each other.

CBS 7 spoke with Gene Collins, the coordinator of the NAACP of west Texas, about this very issue. He says if people can find some sort of commonality and focus on that, then we could see a positive change that everyone can agree on ...

• read the rest of this KOSA story

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Screwtape offers more techniques for confusing the Patient:

I have been writing hitherto on the assumption that the people in the next pew afford no rational ground for disappointment. Of course if they do—if the patient knows that the woman with the absurd hat is a fanatical bridge-player or the man with squeaky boots a miser and an extortioner—then your task is so much the easier. All you then have to do is to keep out of his mind the question ‘If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?’ You may ask whether it is possible to keep such an obvious thought from occurring even to a human mind. It is, Wormwood, it is! Handle him properly and it simply won’t come into his head. He has not been anything like long enough with the Enemy to have any real humility yet. What he says, even on his knees, about his own sinfulness is all parrot talk. At bottom, he still believes he has run up a very favourable credit-balance in the Enemy’s ledger by allowing himself to be converted, and thinks that he is showing great humility and condescension in going to church with these ‘smug’, commonplace neighbours at all. Keep him in that state of mind as long as you can.

• From The Screwtape Letters
• Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 27, 2015

JOHN KNOX PRESBYTERY, WISCONSIN/IOWA/MINNESOTA - Since 2008, Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC) in Madison, Wisconsin, has been building a church without walls. Under the leadership of senior pastor Dale Chapin, our congregation is reaching out in a new direction through our international outreach ministry. Responding to the unique needs of internationals and their families, this outreach, which I have the pleasure of leading, promotes in-depth cross-cultural exchange between Americans and internationals. The ministry reflects CPC’s broader commitment to global engagement and allows us to show God’s love for those at our doorsteps ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, June 26, 2015

From ServLife International: "Trading Tarps for Tents"

ServLife International is a movement defined by values of God’s kingdom, not programs built around human efforts and activities. The reign and rule of God should be made apparent to every person on the planet, despite their religion, race or socioeconomic status. We believe that issues of justice are inseparable from the good news that Jesus Christ came to proclaim. ServLife exists to take the gospel of Christ and the hope of a better, more just, world to the lives of people we touch. This happens through individual contributions of time, creativity, resources and dreams.

Trading Tarps for Tents ...

Flying low on final approach I could see beautiful dots of color scattered all over Kathmandu. Orange, blue, green all popped amidst an otherwise drab and dusty background. But as we got closer to the ground I realized these colored dots were the makeshift tents people now call home. These are a necessity for some because their homes were destroyed. For others, like the children in ServLife’s care, staying overnight inside a building is too frightening and with aftershocks continuing, probably unsafe ...

Read the rest of this story ...

Thank you,

Adam Nevins

From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.

Join Our Mission

ServLife International propels reconciliation and justice by building global community to plant churches, care for children and fight poverty. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, we seek to care for the spiritual, physical, social, and economic areas of life in northern India and Nepal. Learn more about our latest news, featured stories, and how to get involved at servlife.org


Support a Pastor Our church planters spread the love of Christ in some of the most difficult environments in the world. • Support Them ...	Sponsor a Child For only $30 per month you can help give a child food, education, care and, most importantly, hope. • Sponsor Now ...	Fight Poverty The HOPE Fund, our micro-finance program, provides start-up funds for a small business, paving a way out of poverty for families in need. • Learn More ...

ServLife International, Inc.
P.O. Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220
USA

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "The Body of Christ"

The Body of Christ

Thursday looked a little bit different in the village of Akalabai, Uganda. Our entire team (yay togetherness!) went straight to the village in the morning and set up for the medical clinic. We met a Ugandan team of doctors and nurses, hauled a large amount of medicine, and systematically prepared for a full day of providing medical care to a large crowd of people.

The people of Akalabai (and neighboring villages) were waiting for us as we arrived. And the line of people continued until we shut down for the day late in the afternoon ...

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: "Wings for Lotus Blossom"

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission

is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

Friday Story: "Wings for Lotus Blossom"

Greetings, and Happy Friday!

It was 14 years ago this year when I was on a plane headed for India. I was going on a mission trip with my church and had brought a few of the first GEN_1 wheelchairs I had developed with me hoping to find people who needed them. Little did I know, that one girl’s smile would pave the way to thousands more wheelchairs for people in need. That little girl’s name was Kumudavalli, which in English means Lotus Blossom and this is her story ...

• read the rest of this story ...

Want to take one of these wheelchairs for a test drive? During normal business hours, visit the lobby at the Texas Street entrance of First Presbyterian Church-Midland, at the northwest corner of Texas and A streets, on the west side of downtown Midland. You can give the gift of mobility. The cost of $72.00 is a bargain to us ... but it is a life-changing gift to impoverished and disabled recipients ... and there are times when your contribution will be matched, reaching not one - but TWO, and sometimes FOUR recipients. Please note on your check "Wheelchair Gift."

In the News ... "Midland singing group makes impact"

OA Photo

• ‘Shout God’s praises from the mountain.’

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

MIDLAND, TEXAS - A praise team at Golf Course Road Church of Christ has recorded 19 albums since the early 1990s and supplied music for churches in two dozen states and a number of foreign countries.

Led by Senior Worship Minister Ken Young, Hallal Worship sang a cappella from 1989 to 2008 but since then has alternated a cappella with instrumental accompaniment. “Our group is never quite the same at any one event,” Young said ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

TO EDWARD LOFSTROM: On his need to think less and to fulfill his daily duties with charity and justice.

8 March 1959

I very much doubt if any book, least of all a book by me, would much help anyone in the condition you describe. For a book can offer only thoughts and thoughts are not what such a person, perhaps, needs most. One can argue against egoism, but then egoism is not his trouble. If he were a real egoist he would be either bliss- fully unconscious of the fact or else fully convinced that egoism was the rational attitude. You, on the other hand, suffer from a more than ordinary horror of egoism which you share with us all. And therefore, as you will see, the thing you need is not to think more or better about it but to think less: to act unselfishly—that is, charitably and justly—and leave the state of your feelings for God to deal with in His own way and His own time. And this of course you know better than I do.

But how to do it? For the very effort to forget something is itself a remembering of that something! I think, if I were in your shoes I should try to regard this sense of self-imprisonment not at all as a sin but as a mere tribulation, like rheumatism, to be endured in the same way. It has no doubt its medical side: diet, exercise, and recreations might all be considered. And, though this is a hard saying, your early upbringing may have something to do with it. Great piety in the parents can produce in the child a mistaken sense of guilt: may lead him to regard as sin what is really not sin at all but merely the fact that he is a boy and not a mature Christian. At any rate, remember: ‘I cannot turn one hair black or white: but I can brush my hair daily and go to the barber at regular intervals.’ In other words we must divert our efforts from our general condition or frame of mind (which we can’t alter by direct action of the will) to what is in our power—our words and acts. Try to remember that the ‘bottomless sea’ can’t hurt us as long as we keep on swimming. You will be in my prayers.

• From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
• Compiled in Yours, Jack

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 26, 2015

HOMESTEAD PRESBYTERY, NEBRASKA - “I really needed counseling for my depression, which was affecting my whole family, but did not have the money to pay for it. Thank you.” Such was the response of a caller who had received support from the Nebraska Rural Response hotline.

In 2001, I began representing Homestead Presbytery’s 52 congregations on the Farm Crisis Response Council (FCRC), which operates the Nebraska Rural Response hotline for counseling and referrals.

The FCRC has been a ministry of Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska for almost 30 years. The number of folks who have been helped is staggering ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Teichert Family Prayer Update

Teichert Family Prayer Update

Dear Prayer Partner,

Trust you are well and growing in God’s grace and truth. We are sincerely grateful for your faithful prayers for our family and ministry here in Southern Africa. God is transforming lives and communities toward the vision of multiplying disciple-making churches.

Here are several urgent prayer requests we would like pass your way:

• God’s wisdom and favor during a meeting with the South Africa Revenue Service this Friday, 26 June at 10:00am (1:00am PST). Karl and our accountant are appealing several incorrect and significant judgments regarding our 2014 tax return.

• God’s peace and strength for John as he takes the road test for his South African driver’s license also this Friday, 26 June at 10:00am (1:00am PST).

• Understanding and fruitful response to the Coaching Workshop that Karl and a colleague are facilitating this week from 23-25 June at our office. Fourteen leaders from various parts of the country are receiving the training to better develop others around them.

• God’s wisdom and strength for Ann as she transitions into a new job and apartment next week in Los Angeles. She is also discerning God’s timing to visit South Africa later in the year.

Thank you for your fervent intercession to our Heavenly Father on our behalf. May you know the love and grace of the Lord in a deeper way today.

For His glory,

Karl and Jenny

FPC-Midland Uganda Mission 2015: "Unto the Lord of All"

Unto the Lord of All

The women’s conference was a huge success! Over one hundred churches were represented, with women from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. When we arrived, the church was full of women singing and worshiping. They were split up into four different groups and rotated through the classes that we had prepared for them ...

• read the rest of this post, and enjoy more photos ...

In the News ... Gifts of the Holy Spirit are key"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• "... we can still act in the presence of this moment"

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Seeing his mother making communion bread for Episcopal churches in Fort Worth was the main determinant in Father David Mossbarger’s decision at age 12 to become a priest.

“We played outside while our little bitty congregation, St. Elizabeth’s, made the bread to raise money,” said Mossbarger, rector of St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church at 4141 Tanglewood Lane.

“They dried it with a waffle iron and broke it into pieces. That part of the life of the church, even something as natural as bread turned into wafers, was a way to remember Christ” ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

C.S. Lewis Daily - Today's Reading

Presented by Bible Gateway

Today's Reading

Then Peter, leading Caspian, forced his way through the crowd of animals.

“This is Caspian, Sir,” he said. And Caspian knelt and kissed the Lion’s paw. “Welcome, Prince,” said Aslan. “Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?”

“I—I don’t think I do, Sir,” said Caspian. “I’m only a kid.”

“Good,” said Aslan. “If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not. Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts.”

• From Prince Caspian
• Compiled in A Year with Aslan

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 25, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF EAST IOWA - The Holy Spirit is upon the Presbytery of East Iowa, where congregations and presbytery ministries are creating networks of mission.

A budding parish nurse network has emerged, as has a network of congregations addressing the needs of people living with disabilities. Many congregations are partnering with local schools in weekend feeding programs, while others have begun gardening and nutrition programs for at-risk youth with local schools and grocery stores. One congregation has opened an after-school tutoring and recreation program for early dismissal days, another has started a quilting fellowship group, and five of the 12 congregations hosting homeless families through a local interfaith hospitality network are Presbyterian.

The most amazing part of all this networking is that the resources needed to do the work were already in place ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

WAW Wednesday: "Update from Belize!"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

Update from Belize!

Scenes from the area known as The Jungle

Many children live without much adult supervision in this community in the heart of Belize City. Phillipa and her husband, Derrick, have been called to ministry here (Phillipa has been pouring herself into these children for 13 years when she's not working her "day job")...this past week a group from Pascagoula joined them in their work. They hosted a Sunday afternoon picnic and worship; tutored children in the afternoons; and worked on signage for the newly named Exodus Church (formerly Pickstock Church).

The group also worked on the Ministry Center in Western Paradise where we are prayerful First Stone Church will be planted by Phillipa and her leadership team.Floor joists are completed and flooring went down as well. A roof will connect the top layer of containers to make a worship space.

While Over in the Burial Grounds

Our returning team from Baton Rouge was happily working on the Ebenezer Church when Kenny made them aware of a family of 4 (Oscar, Elda & 8 month old twins girls) whose house was filling up with water due to the heavy rains (2-feet overnight!). The team spun off a crew that began setting the pilings and laying out the flooring for a new home...and the group from Pascagoula finished up the job ... God is glorified by this incredible partnership!

Meanwhile in the Valley of Peace

Our friends from La Jolla returned to Belize and blessed the Valencia family with a home. The Valley of Peace Partners worked side-by-side with the team to complete their new house, strengthening their relationships as well. This team also hung out with the girls at Marla's House of Hope while performing electrical repairs. John O. returned with supplies to bless the Belmopan Humane Society as well. We ended the week with a big party - God really is good!!

But the story doesn't end there! One of the daughters (age 8) had been sleeping in a crib, without a mattress, all of her life; the team chose to offer her a big bed in her new home (and her brothers received bunk beds)...turns out it's universal ... give a kid a bed with a mattress ... they are going to jump!!

The bunk beds that the boys received were on a shipping container that several of you helped to fund - thank you! That container also carried the solar panels for King's Children's Home so the blessings just keep going!

Our warehouse is overflowing and we've got enough donated goods to fill at least 2 more containers immediately ... would you like to partner with us to make a fund these? Contact Tim Hagen!

Prayers for this Week:

• Lisa H - new volunteer planted at Tango 1 at Belize City Prison.
• Outreach and planting of First Stone Church in Western Paradise.
• Valencia and Diaz families living in their new homes.
• The Vine Community Church Team on the ground working at King's Children's Home and in the village of St. Margaret's.
• Seven teams serving in Belize in the month of July! We praise God for His people ... we ask for stamina, strength, and patience for our staff serving these teams!

Blessings
TT (Tim Tam) The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!