Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

Midland youth held a bake sale this weekend, raising funds for Presbyterian Church USA Disaster Relief

If you have concerns over where your contributions to Haitian earthquake relief efforts may actually be going, you can - to borrow a phrase from the environmental movement - think globally and act locally.

There are no lack of local groups - made up of your friends and neighbors, their kids, their schools, their churches - that are connected with legitimate national and international organizations already on the ground and hard at work in Haiti, providing invaluable first-hand feedback on what resources are most needed, and where they are best applied.

Here is just a small sampling ...

First United Methodist Church of Midland, for example is seeking financial and in-kind contributions to assemble health kits. Each kit costs about $12 to put together. United Methodist is asking that all items be new, and don't include anything else in the kit that's not on the list. All kits must be handed in to the United Methodist Church in Midland before February 1st. CLICK HERE for complete information on assembling a kit. You can also make financial contributions, 100% of which will go directly to aid those in urgent need through United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

The Catholic Diocese of San Angelo has also called upon its churches across West Texas to step up and help Catholic Relief Services. In a statement released last week, Bishop Michael Pfeiffer is asking every parish and mission of the Diocese to send a donation, or take a collection, to help earthquake victims, and has promised that all funds will go to their relief, especially through CRS.

Buckner International is well known for it's humanitarian support around the globe. But it also has a local office working to get your relief contributions to where they are needed. Last week it was reported that the local division is planning to play a huge role in supplying the people of Haiti with basic needs - shoes and socks. And this is just one of the efforts under way at Buckner.

Not the same kind of local ... but there's also efforts under way by the Indianapolis, Indiana-based ServLife International, which was founded by Joel Vestal ... there are many in the Tall City who know Joel, and probably many more who remember his grandfather, Daniel. Recently, ServLife announced it had the ability to fly directly on a military-cleared plane directly into Port-au-Prince, Haiti and deliver Emergency Medical Packs as part of their Strategy for Relief and Response to the Haiti Earthquake.

Like I said, just a sampling ... I'm sure you'll find plenty of organizations out there you can trust to put your contributions to the good use you intended.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I would have linked you to the website for the local chapter of the American red Cross, but that site was having trouble this weekend. You can contact their local office at: 9601 Wright Drive, Midland, TX 79711, (432)563-2267, or visit the national organization's website at www.redcross.org

In the News ... "Crestview to host Graham for 'Get Growing Conference'"

By Megan Lee Buck
Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - For the past three years, the Loving Arms Ministry at Crestview Baptist Church has sought to bring comfort and healing to people facing obstacles such as depression, addiction, family issues and more.

“We reach out to those who are hurting and broken,” ministry leader Sherry Thomas said of the volunteer-based support group program.

When Kathy Webster, another leader in the Loving Arms Ministry, read an article about Ruth Graham and Friends Ministry, she and Thomas set out to bring the group — headed by the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham — to Midland.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

Mercy Trips Uganda Mission:January 23/The Big Day

Partnering with local healthcare workers and churches in medically underserved countries, Odessa, Texas-based Mercy Trips Healthcare Outreach provides free medical clinics and surgical care as an outreach of Christian love for our fellow man.

January 23/The Big Day

Hello everyone, The big day has finally arrived. Check in at the Midland airport was a little hectic but the employees of Continential were very helpful, it just took a little while since we had 16 people and 32 bags. Each person has a personal suitcase then they each have a suitcase with medical supplies. There was a little changing around of supplies from one suitcase to another so they were under the 50 pound limit ... (more)

CLICK HERE to visit Mercy Trips' blog.

In the News ... "New pastor wants to teach his church to live the gospel"

By Megan Lee Buck
Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Life-long Lutheran Tim York, of Odessa, recently started attending services at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Midland. Led by the Rev. Steve Mohr, Our Savior is an independent Lutheran church and a member of the Alliance of Renewal Churches. For York and his family, the congregation and Morh’s style of leading worship stand apart from churches they’ve attended in the past.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

The Great Emergence:Pt. 3, The Conversation

“'The Great Emergence' refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”

So begins Phyllis Tickle’s extraordinary new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. In this much-anticipated book, Tickle brings her encyclopedic knowledge of American religion to bear on the current shifts in the Christian landscape.

In the News ... "Local Church Gives Relief To Haiti"

Shelley Childers
Reporter
KOSA-TV

ODESSA-MIDLAND, TEXAS - The UN is now calling the Haiti disaster their worst loss of life ever, but locally West Texans are trying to make a difference and at one local church it's relief you can count. Saint Ann's Catholic Church in Midland is not unfamiliar with donating towards disaster relief.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

Faces of Children: Prayer Requests

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Prayer Concerns for the week of 01/20/10

Haiti
• Please keep the children and people of Haiti held close in prayer following the worst earthquake in 200 years - a devastating 7.0 magnitude - on January 12. Pray that rescue teams can reach survivors in time. Pray that God will provide the resources and people needed to quickly help survivors.
A report from alertnet.org
A report from the New York Times
• Pray for the children and staff at New Canaan Orphanage and for those at For His Glory Orphanage in Haiti.
A quake relief update from For His Glory

Burma/Myanmar, United States
• Give thanks to God for the work of Partners Relief and Development in providing emergency supplies for families being chased by the Burma Army; housing for children orphaned by this conflict; and training for teachers and healthcare workers. Pray for the hundreds of children blessed by this organization's outreach and generosity. Pray for children who do not have access to this kind of help and support.
• Thanks be to God for the Partners' art therapy program that helped children and youth share their life experiences and that is now providing a window into those experiences through the exhibit Hope for the Child of War-art and stories from Burma's conflict zone. Please pray that many people will attend the art show events in California this winter and spring and lift Burma's hurting, hunted children in prayer.
A report from partnersworld.org

India (Sahaara Charitable Society www.sahaarasociety.org/)
• Give praise to God that these daughters of trafficked women-Sonali, Muskan, Sanya, and Mamta have secured admission in a prestigious school! Pray that their transition into this new learning environment will go smoothly and that they will be successful in their studies. Pray that God will be with all of the daughters of trafficked women at Sahaara Charitable Society's Anandalay Centre.
• Thanks be to God for the Christmas programs conducted in all seven children's observation homes and for the almost 2,000 children blessed by this outreach. Give thanks to God for the local Mumbai churches that also provided each child with a personalized gift hamper.
• And thanks and praise to God for the Christmas programs that brought cheer to ten slum communities-pre-primary children performed skits and dances that depicted the Christmas story.
• Please keep Babu Pareb and Raisha held close in prayer and pray that God will provide these children of trafficked women a place of refuge.
• Pray for all of the children with whom the staff and volunteers of Sahaara Charitable Society interact on a daily basis. Pray for their emotional, physical, and psychological health. Pray that God will provide them with all they need to grow strong and empowered-to be all God intended these precious children to be.

Sudan
• Pray for the children of Sudan as tensions and conflicts increase between the north and south five years after the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement was signed. Pray that this fragile peace will be maintained despite the rising violence, chronic poverty, and political tensions in this region.
A report from alertnet.org
A report from the BBC

United States
• Please pray that God will provide healing for 9-year-old Lauren
who is critically ill at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Pray that, with God's help, Lauren's physicians and hospital staff can reverse her condition-Lauren's organs have begun to fail. Please keep her parents, siblings, and friends held close in prayer, as well, and that Christ's peace that surpasses all understanding will sustain them through this crisis.
• Continue to keep the children and young people at Children's Hope Residential Services held close in prayer. Pray that God will bring healing to these emotionally disturbed children. Give thanks to God for the staff at this residential facility that care so deeply for these children and young people. Pray that God will sustain them in this difficult and demanding ministry. Pray that God will provide the resources needed to expand this ministry so it can help even more children.

Faces of Children
• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.

In the News ... "First United Methodist-Midland to Help Haiti, Donate Health Kits"

Stephanie Sobic
Reporter
KMID-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Here in the Permian Basin, the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church is offering it's support to the people in Haiti. First United Methodist Church of Midland is serving as a collection point for donations toward health kits.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KMID story.

Word from Uganda: "Keep Praying"

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

Keep Praying
"Update on Nellie ... I hear that she was sent into the 'theater' = operation room around Noon and didn't come out until around 10- 10:30 pm. I just talked with Edward and asked him how things went. He said 50/50.”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

_____________________

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

From ServLife International ... "Ability to Fly Directly In to deliver Medical Equipment and Meds"

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.

"Ability to Fly Directly In to deliver Medical Equipment and Meds"

We have the ability to fly directly on a military cleared plane directly into Port-au-Prince, Haiti and deliver Emergency Medical Packs.

Emergency Med Packs for Haiti: (content of packs listed at bottom of this post)
The Cost is $500
Value of meds and supplies: $13,000
Our Goal = 25 packs

You can give online or mail your donations to the ServLife office at:
ServLife International
PO Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220 USA
(Please mark "Haiti" on your donation)

January 17, 2010: Field report from Port au Prince

"Tent cities filled with hungry people...dead bodies stacked in hospital courtyards ... makeshift clinics in large tents crowded with beds ... people suffering without anesthetic ... horrible disfiguring wounds that have not been treated ... dirty bandages ... flies ... little children too fatigued and too hopeless to cry ... limbs swollen with gangrene ... arms and legs being amputated ... doctors and nurses working around the clock ... some being treated for dehydration and exhaustion themselves ... people groaning, wincing, or screaming in pain...a human tide of misery."
Team members, Dr. Jennings, Dr. Hogan and emergency relief specialist Al Nixon

MEDICAL EMERGENCY PACKS LIST YOU CAN HELP US GET IN
Each pack will provide between 500-700 treatments. Packs contain no expired medicines. Some products may be short dated

Antibiotics
• Amoxicillin 125mg/5ml & Clavulanate 31.25mg/5ml, Augmentin Powder for Suspension
100ml BT quantity:12 11/30/2010
• Amoxicillin 250mg/Clavulanate 125mg, Augmentin 30tab BT quantity: 6 3/31/2011
• Cefdinir 250mg/5ml, powder for reconstitution, Oral Suspension, Strawberry Flavor,
• Omnicef 100ml BT quantity:12 5/1/2010
• Cefuroxime Axetil 125mg/5ml Oral Suspension, Ceftin 100ml BT quantity:6 1/31/2011
• Clarithromycin 250mg , Biaxin Film Tab 250mg 60tab BT quantity: 2 7/17/2011

Antihistamines
• Brompheniramine Maleate 1mg, Dextromethorphan 5mg, Phenylephrine 2.5mg,
• Dimetapp Cough & Cold, Grape Flavor 118ml BT quantity: quantity:3 9/30/2011
• Loratadine 5mg/5ml Oral Solution, Children's Claritin, 2years and older, Grape Flavored
• 120ml BT quantity:6 7/31/2010
• Loratadine 10mg, Claritin Reditabs 30tab BX quantity: 12 6/30/2010
• Loratadine 10mg, Claritin, Non-Drowsy Liqui-Gels 24 Hour 24cap BX quantity:12 10/31/2010

Analgesic and Antipyretic
• Acetaminophen 325mg/Dextromethorphan HBr 10mg/Guaifenesin 200mg/Phenylephrine
• HCI 5mg, Tylenol Cold Head Congestion, Daytime 50 x 2caplets BX quantity:2 7/31/2010
• Acetaminophen 325mg/Phenylephrine HCI 5mg, Tylenol Sinus Congestion & Pain,
• Severe 50 x 2caplet BX quantity: quantity: 2 7/31/2010
• Acetaminophen 500mg, Tylenol Rapid Release Gels 24gel cap BT quantity:12 9/30/2010
• Acetaminophen 650mg , Tylenol Arthritis Pain 290cap BT quantity:2 2/28/2011
• Ibuprofen 50mg/1.25ml, Infant's Advil Concentrated Drops 15ml BT quantity: 6 12/31/2011
• Ibuprofen 200mg, Advil 200mg 100tab BT quantity: 6 5/31/2012
• Anti-infectives Butenafine Hydrochloride 1% Antifungal Cream, Lotrimin Ultra 24gm TB quantity:6 3/31/2012
• Clotrimazole 1% Anti-Fungal Cream , Lotrimin AF 1% Cream 30gm TB quantity: 6 1/31/2011
• Clotrimazole 1%/Betamethasone Dipropionate 0.05%, Lotrisone Cream 45gm TB quantity:6 9/30/2010
• Clotrimazole 50mg (1%), Gyne-Lotrimin 7 Day Treatment, w/Applicator 45gm TB quantity: 3 5/31/2011
• Tolnaftate 1%, Tinactin AF Cream 30gm TB quantity: 12 4/30/2011

Antitussives
• Acetaminophen 325mg/Chlorpheniramine 2mg/Dextromethorphan Hbr
• 10mg/Phenylephrine HCI 5mg, Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Day & Night Formulas
• 24caplets BX quantity:6 10/31/2010
• Acetaminophen 325mg/Chlorpheniramine Maleate 2mg/Dextromethorphan
• 10mg/Phenylephrine 5mg, Tylenol Cold Head Congestion Daytime & Nightime 72cap BX quantity:6 10/31/2010
• Dextromethorphan 15mg, Robitussin Cough Gels 20cap BT quantity:6 10/31/2011
• Phenylephrine Hydrochloride 2.5mg, Children's Sudafed PE Nasal Congestion 118ml BT quantity: 4 9/30/2010

Expectorants
• Acetaminophen 500mg/5ml, Dexomethorphan HBr 15mg/5ml, Doxylamine 6.25mg/5ml,
• Coricidin HBP 296ml BT quantity:3 7/31/2010
• Anti-inflammatory Mometasone Furoate 0.1% /Topical Use, Elocon Ointment 0.1% 15gm TB quantity: 12 10/31/2010
• Montelukast Sodium 5mg, Singulair, Chewable 30tab BT quantity:12 1/31/2011
• Antacids and Adsorbents Rolaids Extra Strength, Tropical Punch, Chewable 100ea BT quantity: 6 8/31/2010
• GI Medications Famotidine 20mg, Pepcid 20mg 100tab BT quantity: 8 7/31/2010
• Famotidine 40mg, Pepcid 40mg 100tab BT quantity: 4 7/31/2010
• Miscellaneous Vitamin A & D Ointment 42.5gm TB quantity: 6 N/A
• Multivitamin Preparations Multivitamins, Centrum Kids Chewable 60tab BT quantity: 6 9/30/2011
• Multivitamin/Mineral, Centrum Advanced High Potency 130tab PK 6 4/30/2011Multi-Vitamins + Iron 1000ea BT 1 12/31/2011
• Quinolones Norfloxacin 400mg, Noroxin 20tab BT quantity: 12 7/31/2010
• Adrenals Prednisone 10mg 100tab BX quantity: 10 6/30/2010

• Supplies Bandage, Ace Elastic 6", Antimicrobial 1ea BX 3 N/A
• Bandages, Nexcare Tattoo Waterproof, 1 1/16' X 2 1/4" 20ea BX quantity: 6 N/A
• Replacement Preparations Calcium Carbonate 600mg with Vitamin D, Caltrate 600+D 120tab BT quantity: 3 3/31/2011
• Oral Rehydration Salts 1scht EA quantity:25

In the News ... "Buckner International Provides Shoes in Haiti "

Tatum Hubbard
Anchor/Reporter
KOSA-TV

ODESSA-MIDLAND, TEXAS - Buckner International is well known for it's humanitarian support around the globe.

The local division is planning to play a huge role in supplying the people of Haiti with basic needs - shoes and socks.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

Authority on missional work coming to West Texas

Darrell Guder, noted author and authority on missional work, is coming to West Texas Friday and Saturday, February 19-20, at First Presbyterian Church-Midland.

Guder is Princeton Theological Seminary’s Dean of Academic Affairs and the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, he served as a student outreach pastor and as a faculty member of the Karlshohe College in the German Lutheran Church. His writing and teaching focus on the theology of the missional church.

Guder's publications include the seminal work, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, which one reviewer described as, "one of the better books currently available introducing church leaders, pastors and lay ministers to ecclesiology from a missional perspective." Another reviewer labeled it, "after the Bible, the best book I've read all year ... this book was a partial answer to a prayer that I've had for years, 'God, What are you calling us to become, because it seems clear that we can't continue with the Christendom models.'"

For more information, and to be a part of Guder's visit to West Texas, please contact First Presbyterian Church of Midland at (432) 684-7821. Registration forms are available at the church's reception desk, at the Texas street entrance. First Prez is located on the northwest corner of Texas and A streets, on the west edge of downtown Midland.

Invitation to Prayer

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Be Surprised By Joy
A message from Chris Laufer, Coordinator, Faces of Children

"You will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy."
John 16:20

"Learn the discipline of being surprised not by suffering but by joy. As we grow old, there is suffering ahead of us, immense suffering, a suffering that will continue to tempt us to think that we have chosen the wrong road. But don't be surprised by pain. Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain."

"With a heart trusting that we will get what we need, and a spirit always surprised by joy, we will walk through this valley of darkness performing and witnessing miracles."

"O God, may our daily discipline and devotion help us to move beyond our pain and suffering to the joy your redemption gives us."

Living in Hope: Advent Meditations from the Writings of Henri Nouwen
compiled and edited by James E. Adams

Greetings, Faces of Children Prayer Partner,

OK, I promise this is the last Advent devotion until next year! Reading Nouwen's words about being surprised by joy reminded me of something I saw on the way to church last summer. Out in the deserts of West Texas (where Faces of Children is based), the summers can be brutal. The intense heat of this long season dries most vegetation out to a crisp. As I pulled into the church driveway that summer morning, I happened to look at the vacant field next to the church and was stunned to see a vibrant, but tiny, reddish-orange blossom poking up out of the dusty, dried weeds in the lot.

How is it that a theologian who has been dead for several decades is able to speak to me so clearly? How is it that his words can evoke this almost-forgotten memory of joy found in barrenness? I am amazed and grateful that God's Holy Spirit can reach places in my mind and heart in the most wondrous ways. I find myself praying that the children of our world who suffer such incredible pain on a daily, hourly basis might know this joy that Jesus Christ offers, even in the midst of their great suffering. Will you pray this prayer with me this week? That they might be surprised by joy, trusting God to provide for them in ways we cannot?

This coming Wednesday, January 20, 2010, we will come together in community around the promise of Jesus’ love and presence among us. We’ll meet at 11:30 a.m. in the Bride’s Room at First Presbyterian Church, Midland to pray for the children of our local and global community. Please join us for this time of prayer and afterwards for lunch ($5) and fellowship.

Thank you for caring deeply about the children of our world and for devoting time and energy in bringing them before God in prayer. If you have prayer requests about children or those who care for them, please send them to me at claufer@facesofchildren.net or give me a call. Thank you for keeping the children of our communities and our world held close in prayer!

Celebrating this surprise,

Chris

In the News ... "Catholic Churches Reach Out To Victims of Haiti Earthquake"

Diane Tuazon
Reporter
KWES-TV

ODESSA-MIDLAND, TEXAS - As those heartbreaking images of destruction continue to come out of Haiti, people around the world are scrambling to help out.

Here in the Permian Basin, Catholic Relief Services are asking parishioners to open their hearts and their checkbooks.
CLICK HERE to read/watch the rest of the KWES story.

Midland Group Reports Uyghur Christian Persecuted for Religious Conversion

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.

Midland Group Reports Uyghur Christian Persecuted for Religious Conversion

Released by ChinaAid, December, 2009 ...

"XINJIANG, CHINA – ChinaAid received breaking details on the case of Alimujiang Yimiti, a Uyghur Christian who has been illegally detained and held in prison for almost two years. On December 7, 2009, in Kashgar, Xinjiang, Lawyer Li Dunyong of the Beijing Gongxin Law Firm received notice that Mr. Alimujiang Yimiti had been sentenced by the Kashgar District Intermediate Court to a fixed-term imprisonment of 15-years, for the charge of “unlawfully providing state secrets to overseas organizations.” Alimujiang's family members were barred from seeing the verdict paper,. However, ChinaAid was able to access the document through a reliable inside Chinese government source, one who sympathizes with the unjust treatment of Mr. Alimujiang"
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

From ServLife International ... "Our Strategy for Relief and Response to Haiti Earthquake"

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.

"Our Strategy for Relief and Response to Haiti Earthquake"

On Tuesday, January 12, an earthquake measuring a 7.0 magnitude struck Haiti near its capital city of Port-au-Prince. The damage to this country is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the thousands, perhaps the hundreds of thousands. ServLife International is part of an on the ground network that is bringing emergency supplies to survivors of this catastrophe.

Our strategy is working through and with local Christians and churches. In keeping with our commitment to collaboration and partnership, ServLife always determines what other organizations - whether churches or mission agencies - have capacity to receive donations and implement aid. In Haiti, we have secured an extensive network of relationships/contacts with 12 groups (missions, churches and other organizations).

ServLife is committed to a holistic approach in helping heal the world. With this in mind, our efforts are designed to meet the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual needs of those impacted. In Haiti, our implementation of this commitment will look like:

1. Encouraging ServLife's constituency to donate or fundraise among their groups for Haiti Our capacity of impact is determined by the funds we can help distribute to local, indigenous groups who may lack international contacts or access to government or large-scale aid. Rather than recruiting and dispatching specialized personnel, ServLife most often works through funds offered via the organization's supporters. We believe disaster response should be strategic and streamlined; aid in the form of extraneous, though well-intended, human resources, can severely strain local initiatives and impede productivity.

2. Assessing and researching ServLife will partner with at least five, and no more than ten groups, churches and Christian organizations to help provide monetary and personnel support for rebuilding efforts. Following an information-gathering trip (possibly multiple), phone conversations and other correspondence, we'll begin working with teams who share our commitment to Christ and proven abilities in post-disaster rebuilding. Shared worldviews and integrity is imperative as community rebuilding is a ten to twenty year-long process that offers critical new foundations for a society. It's our aim that these Christ-centered initiatives will promote lasting hope and healing for future generations.

3. Prioritizing our response initiatives and seeking partnerships in the following areas:
a. Groups working with children and teams offering post-traumatic counseling for children who have lost a family member.
b. Groups supporting immediate living needs - Working with local churches that are often neglected by larger aid groups, ServLife determines how to provide resources for community distribution. For example, practical post-earthquake items might include large numbers of hygienic supplies, basic kitchen utensils, medical equipment and first aid supplies and other essential materials that may have lost during the earthquake. Again, our capacity to deliver is contingent upon donor support.
c. Local church assistance in building/reconstruction efforts and distribution of supplies, Bibles, etc.
d. Micro-financing - As funds allow, we establish a ServLife Hope Fund that provides micro-financing opportunities to the local community. This is implemented at least six months post-disaster as initial remediation response is complex and time-consuming.

PLEASE NOTE: ServLife may support teams with specific expertise in providing relief services. These possible teams include:
• Trauma counseling
• Medical personnel
• Clean-up and reconstruction builders (as opportunities present)

ServLife Financial Goal: $100,000.00
Meeting this goal of $100,000.00 enables ServLife to generously respond to the devastation in Haiti. We ask that you pray and ask God how you can help.
ServLife will follow the same pattern in Haiti as it has undertaken for sixteen years; we will work with and through the grass-roots efforts of indigenous Christians.

Please join us in praying for the children and families devastated by the earthquake in Haiti. And please send a generous gift to help them today.

We have immediate opportunity to get medical Packs.
Cost: $500 each. They are of $13,000 value of medical equipment and medicines. We have a goal of providing 25 packs to our medical contacts on the ground in Haiti.

You can give online or mail your donations to the ServLife office at:
ServLife International
PO Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220 USA
(Please mark "Haiti" on your donation)

In the News ... "Midlanders rally to provide support for Haiti"

By Kathleen Thurber
Reporter

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - With few options to physically provide relief to victims of Haiti's 7.0 earthquake, Midlanders are coming together to gather funds they hope will bring food, medical supplies and some semblance of hope to those left in the ruins of Port-au-Prince.

“When people need our help we're called to step up and help them," said Associate Director of Public Relations for Buckner International Jenny Pope. "Haiti is our neighbor so we want to be there to help them."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

Saturday Morning Devotional:Looking Into Tebow's Eyes

Saturday mornings this time of year find me working the floor of the gymnasium at our church in Midland, offering halftime devotionals during Upward Basketball games. I was inspired to prepare this week's devotional by looking into the eyes of a Heisman Trophy-winning, All American college football quarterback, Tim Tebow.

Upward, one of the the world’s largest Christian sports program for children, was created with a vision to provide the best sports experience possible for every child. An estimated 1-million people around the world play, coach, referee or volunteer in some way to support Upward sports activities, hosted by more than 2,600 churches - there are four churches here, in Midland, including my own First Presbyterian.

The organization notes that, "anyone – children and volunteers of any faith or no faith – can participate in Upward sports. Specifically designed for children in K5- sixth grade, Upward aims to bring out 'the winner' in every child – regardless of the game’s score."

Really, not a bad venue for discussing someone like Tim Tebow. At the moment, he is one of the most well-known college athletes in the nation, and some are suggesting he will be the #1 pick in the upcoming pro football draft.

Those of you who watch college football on TV, have probably noticed those patches of eye black he wears during games, and the references to Bible passages written in white letters on that eye black … one of them is Hebrews 12:1 ...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (NIV)

I suggested at Saturday's devotional that it was nice, really, to have someone like Tim Tebow out there. Is it me, I asked, or are there too many sports headlines out there devoted to guns in the locker room, marital infidelity, dogfighting, coaching scandals and steroid drug use. I wondered, can one embrace sports at any level – whether it’s in the church gym, the local ballpark or a major pro sports stadium – and still embrace Christian values? Answering my own question, I said, "yes, I think so." Tim Tebow, I noted, did it every Saturday afternoon … and these Upward kids are doing it right here, every Saturday morning.

By the way, whoever you are and wherever you are, we would love to have you on our team! If you're the parent of a youngster who wants to play basketball, soccer, flag football or cheer, chances are Upward has a league or camp near you. What? No kids? No problem ... Upward programs always need volunteers to coach teams, to referee games, to operate game clocks, to rustle-up snacks for the kids, or offer devotionals at halftime.

I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday morning.

The Great Emergence:Pt. 2, A Global Movement

“'The Great Emergence' refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”

So begins Phyllis Tickle’s extraordinary new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. In this much-anticipated book, Tickle brings her encyclopedic knowledge of American religion to bear on the current shifts in the Christian landscape.

Mercy Trips Uganda Mission: Update #1

Partnering with local healthcare workers and churches in medically underserved countries, Odessa, Texas-based Mercy Trips Healthcare Outreach provides free medical clinics and surgical care as an outreach of Christian love for our fellow man.

Prologue/January 11, 2010

The 2010 journey to Uganda is about to begin. With 28 team members there will be more patients seen than on any previous trips. Of course the more patients the more medicine and surgical supplies are needed. Mercy Trips has been blessed with many donations including those raised at our annual New Year’s Eve gala.

The task at hand may seem a little overwhelming but God has prepared the way for the team. The clinic sites have been chosen, the patients needing surgery are being screened. Due to the short amount of time the team can spend in Uganda only a small number of people will be able to have surgery. Many of the patients have been waiting for the American doctors to arrive. A few things to pray for are…the team members as they finalize details before their departure on January 23rd, for Dr. Patrick and his wife Helen as they make preparations for the arrival of the team. Pray for safe travel, not only while on the airplane but also while they are in the country as they take vans to the hotel and the hospital and clinic sites each day.

Each day I will post an update of the daily happenings. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like and I will pass them on to Craig and he will then pass them on to team members. Thank you for all your prayers. May God bless.

CLICK HERE to visit Mercy Trips' blog.

In the News ... "Jesus House continues to feed the homeless"

Shelley Childers
Reporter
KOSA-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - The cold this week drove the homeless to shelters across West Texas, many we're filled to capacity.

Jesus House in Odessa reports seeing more than 70 homeless during the arctic blast this past week.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

Reports From Lulwanda: December, 2009

Every month, Lulwanda Administrator Edward Mukiibi provides an update on Lulwanda Children's Home in Uganda – how the children are growing and learning, how the staff is developing, and any ongoing needs that may arise.

December, 2009
"December 2009, we mark five years of Lulwanda Children’s Home opening. It is God who has worked through different people to enable us reach this far. It has been your consistent generosity and prayer that we are what we are. You have blessed us materially and spiritually, comforted us and given us courage as each day we face a new hope and future"

CLICK HERE to read the rest of his December, 2009 report.

Faces of Children: Prayer Requests

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Prayer Concerns for the week of 01/13/10

Malawi
• Please keep in prayer the 78,000 children, some as young as 5, who work on tobacco plantations in Malawi. Pray for those who work up to 12 hours a day for less than a penny an hour in hazardous conditions. A British-based international children’s charity reports that child tobacco pickers are exposed to high levels of nicotine poisoning, the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day. Pray for better enforcement of existing child labor and protection laws in Malawi. Pray for solutions to the root problems—like poverty—that keep children in this dangerous work.
A report from alertnet.org

Mexico
• Give thanks to God for the Protect Children in Tourism (PCT) project and its partnership with local communities along the Mexican coastal state of Quintana Roo (includes the prime tourism destinations of Cancun and Cozumel). Thanks be to God for the work of this partnership in preventing this beautiful vacation spot from becoming a child sex tourism destination. Pray that more tourism communities around the world would work to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of their children and establish protective environments for them.
A report from ECPAT-USA
Another report from ECPAT-USA

North Korea
• Pray for the children and people of North Korea who suffer deeply because of the totalitarian regime and the recent currency revaluation. Pray for those who have little access to food, medical care, or education.
A report from The Washington Post

Tajikistan
• Please keep in prayer the 20,000 children and people of this impoverished Central Asian nation left homeless by a strong earthquake early in the New Year. Pray for those who lost everything and are facing freezing winter conditions with little shelter. Pray that assistance will be able to reach them all soon—the mountainous terrain and earthquake damage may hinder quick aid. Give thanks to God there was no loss of life.
A report from Yahoo News

United States
• Please continue to keep 10-year-old Dallas held close in prayer. At the beginning of the school year, he was having difficulty adjusting to his new medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Now Dallas and his mother, a recovering alcoholic, are going to be evicted from their apartment because pets aren’t allowed. Dallas was given a dog at Christmas by the mom’s boyfriend.
• Pray that Dallas and his mother will be able to find pet-friendly housing soon.
• And please pray that God will guide his mother—that she will make better decisions for her small family. Pray that she will accept responsibility for her actions and behave with maturity.

Zambia (Lubasi Home Orphanage www.lubasihome.org/)
• Give thanks to God for the caregivers and volunteers at Lubasi Home Orphanage in Livingstone, Zambia as they provide vulnerable children with food, clothing, shelter, love, and spiritual guidance. Pray for the children at the Lubasi Home, many of whom have lost a parent to HIV/AIDS or their families are unable to care for them anymore. Pray that God will provide the resources necessary to care for these children and even more. The home has space for 60 children, but can’t take that many due to the lack of resources.

Faces of Children
• Thanks be to God for the new intercessors that recently joined with Faces of Children in praying for children at risk following a Compassionate Christmas event in California. Praise God for Natalie’s vision and enthusiasm in opening her home to friends and neighbors during the holiday season and sharing about children at risk.
• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.

In the News ... "Trip to Lima"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Victory Life Church takes its philosophy from the Scripture, inviting people addicted to drugs or experiencing other problems to get help directly at the church. Church Pastor Albert Flores recently went further than the streets of West Texas, taking the mission to South America as part of a conference in Lima, Peru.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Word from Uganda: "Prayer"

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

Prayer
"Many of you remember about a year ago when I asked you to pray for Nellie, our administrator's daughter that had emergency brain surgery due to an infection that got out of control. AND I hope you remember the MIRACLE that our loving Father did in keeping her alive!!!”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

_____________________

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

Authority on missional work coming to West Texas

Darrell Guder, noted author and authority on missional work, is coming to West Texas Friday and Saturday, February 19-20, at First Presbyterian Church-Midland.

Guder is Princeton Theological Seminary’s Dean of Academic Affairs and the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, he served as a student outreach pastor and as a faculty member of the Karlshohe College in the German Lutheran Church. His writing and teaching focus on the theology of the missional church.

Guder's publications include the seminal work, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, which one reviewer described as, "one of the better books currently available introducing church leaders, pastors and lay ministers to ecclesiology from a missional perspective." Another reviewer labeled it, "after the Bible, the best book I've read all year ... this book was a partial answer to a prayer that I've had for years, 'God, What are you calling us to become, because it seems clear that we can't continue with the Christendom models.'"

For more information, and to be a part of Guder's visit to West Texas, please contact First Presbyterian Church of Midland at (432) 684-7821. Registration forms are available at the church's reception desk, at the Texas street entrance. First Prez is located on the northwest corner of Texas and A streets, on the west edge of downtown Midland.

In the News ... "Census launches faith-based initiative"

By Megan Lee Buck
Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS -
With U.S. Census Bureau workers estimating Texas will gain two representatives following this year’s population count while Midland County likely will be launched into a new population category, they say its crucial for citizens to respond to their questionnaire.

So while Census Day, when all responses are due, won’t arrive until April 1, local workers already are preparing to reach Midland’s population groups. It launched a faith-based initiative outreach Friday asking local churches to urge members to participate in the Census.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

Midland Group Responds to World Evangelical Alliance's Statement on Their Visit to China"

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.

Midland Group Responds to World Evangelical Alliance's Statement on Their Visit to China

Released by ChinaAid, December, 2009 ...

"After much prayer and discussion with members of fellow evangelical organizations, ChinaAid issues the following response to the statement issued by the World Evangelical Alliance concerning churches in China, on Wednesday, November 24th. (ChinaAid does not claim to represent the entire evangelical community, but is compelled by our calling to speak truth in love to our Christian brothers and sisters)"
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

Invitation to Prayer

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Prayer is ‘Coming Together Around a Promise’
A message from Chris Laufer, Coordinator, Faces of Children

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."
Acts 2:42

"Family and community are about support, celebration, and affirmation where we lift up what has already begun in us. The visit of Mary to Elizabeth is one of the Bible’s most beautiful expressions of what it means to form community, to be together, gathered around a promise, affirming what is happening among us."

"This is what prayer is all about too. Prayer is coming together around a promise. This is also what celebration is all about. It is a lifting up and rejoicing with what is already there. This is what Eucharist is about. It is saying, ‘Thanks’ for the seed that has been planted. It is saying, ‘We are waiting for the Lord, who has already come.’"

O God, may our prayer in community open us to the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the depths of your redemptive love for us.

Living in Hope: Advent Meditations from the Writings of Henri Nouwen
compiled and edited by James E. Adams

Greetings, Faces of Children Prayer Partner,

I am still finding it hard to believe that we are more than midway through November and well on our way into the Christmas season. So in celebration of that, and the fact that the first Sunday in Advent fast approaches, I've included an Advent devotion by Henri J.M. Nouwen with the prayer list this week. May his words bless your time of preparation and waiting for the arrival of our Savior.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2010, we will come together in community around the promise of Jesus’ love and presence among us. We’ll meet at 11:30 a.m. in the Bride’s Room at First Presbyterian Church, Midland to pray for the children of our local and global community. Please join us for this time of prayer and afterwards for lunch ($5) and fellowship.

Thank you for caring deeply about the children of our world and for devoting time and energy in bringing them before God in prayer. If you have prayer requests about children or those who care for them, please send them to me at claufer@facesofchildren.net or give me a call. Thank you for keeping the children of our communities and our world held close in prayer!

With deep gratitude,

Chris

In the News ... "Midland Church Turns 50"

Jennifer Samp
Reporter
KOSA-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Every seat was filled at Saint Ann's church in Midland to celebrate the building of this church in 1958. Some members say it's literally the design of the church that allows it to grow.

James Zentner had no clue his first gig as a church architect would have such an impact on the community so many years later.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

The Great Emergence:Pt. 1, What is it?

“'The Great Emergence' refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”

So begins Phyllis Tickle’s extraordinary new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. In this much-anticipated book, Tickle brings her encyclopedic knowledge of American religion to bear on the current shifts in the Christian landscape.

In the News ... "Odessa Churches Working to Make a Difference for Kids in Uganda"

Jennifer Samp
Reporter
KOSA-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - Odessa churches are making a big difference in families across the world with sports equipment.

The Crossroads Fellowship Church and the Odessa Bible Church has joined together in a project called “Project Replay.” That’s where you can free up some closet space and donate your old sports equipment to kids in Uganda.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KOSA story.

In the News ... "A Buffet of Faiths"

Cierra Putman
Reporter
KWES-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Many know the term "blended family," but a new national study out shows thousands of Americans are blending their faith and views from other religions.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life talked to just over 4,000 Americans across the country via phone and learned they're brewing up a concoction that's molded to their desire. But a local man of the cloth says that trend hasn't quite hit the Permian Basin yet.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the KWES story.

Lingering Over Christmas, Hanging With the Wiseguys

In many respects, Christmas is just a memory, now. Variations of “How was your holiday?” are disappearing from our conversation, depleted shelves of Christmas goods (at dramatically-reduced prices) are giving way to shelves stuffed with Valentine’s Day goods, and the ‘fridge has been cleared - one way or another - of the last ripening remnants of Christmas dinner leftovers.

Considering that we’re only now, finally regaining our breath and our our sanity from Hectic Holiday Hustle 2009, is this any time to talk of lingering over Christmas?

Well … yes, actually. It just might be, as was suggested this past Sunday at church, and will again be suggested tonight - ‘church night’ here, in this part of the country - during a special Epiphany Celebration Dinner, an evening of food and fellowship, prayer and praise … and gifts!

Some will suggest that tonight’s gathering is something of a stretch for us … westerners, Protestants - Presbyterians, no less. But, deciding not to turn-off the spirit of the season like a string of lights at 12:00:01 December 26, we instead chose this year to linger over Christmas, joining with other western Christians in celebrating the revelation of God-made-Man in the visitation of the Biblical Magi - the original Wiseguys - to the Baby Jesus.

Relying solely upon the Bible, there’s not much we actually know about the Wiseguys. Less than twenty lines in the Book of Matthew - a few facts, and the basis for some strong assumptions, and that’s it. Really, most of what we ‘know’ about them comes from various traditions over the last 1,500 years, and a 19th-century Christmas carol.

But we do know that, whoever they were and from wherever they came, they came bearing gifts. And that is a tradition we will honor tonight, with gifts for babies and toddlers - cans of formula, jars of baby food, boxes of cereal, diapers and wipes - which will be distributed to our church’s mission partners who serve young children.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful evening. I also expect to come away with the thought that I might find ways to continue lingering over Christmas, and hanging with the Wiseguys, throughout the year ahead.

Won't you join us? It's tonight - Wednesday, January 6 - at 5:30 in Lynn Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church-Midland, on the northwest corner of the intersection of A and Texas streets, on the west edge of downtown Midland Everyone eats free!

In the News ... "Student Ministry"

Veronica Sandate Craker
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Walk by faith, not by sight. This message can be seen on shirts worn by members of the UTPB Catholic Student Association.

Coincidentally the message — from 2 Corinthians 5:7 — reflects the exact situation the group finds itself in, as members work to create a Newman Center at the university.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.

Word from Uganda: "Swimming in December"

Missionary teacher Natalie Rolfe writes, "'When He calls me, I will answer ... I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.' My call was Mbale, Uganda and that is where I have returned to serve for another year. Specifically, I am teaching phonics at Lulwanda Children's Home, an orphanage and school for 90 kids." Natalie also keeps an online journal of her service at the weblog, When He calls me, I will answer ...

Swimming in December

"One of the many really great things about living in Uganda is that it is always nice weather. Never too cold. Never TOO hot (though the sun is quite intense). AND it is swimming weather all year round- so plans are never interrupted based on the month.”

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Natalie's post

_____________________

If you are interested in supporting LCH by sponsoring one of the 90 children, go to www.ugandaorphans.org If you are interested in financially supporting Natalie in her mission, you can send checks (with "Natalie Rolfe" in memo) to: Midland Bible Church, 2800 North A Street, Midland, TX 79705

In the News ... "Camp Aims to Give Youth Self-Worth, Deter Teen Pregnancy STD's"

By Megan Lee Buck
Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - As a retired youth minister from First Christian Church, the Rev. Pamala Vannoy has seen the faces behind the statistics on teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

“The statistics are very alarming,” she said. “I’ve been in youth ministry for 20-something years and it seems about every five years the kids start getting sexually active earlier.”

To make a dent in those numbers and to encourage youth to make informed decisions, Vannoy has accepted the position as director of CLER Ministries’ camp program.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the MRT story

Midland group shares Chinese House Church Alliance's troubling "Year in Review for Persecuted Churches"

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.

Midland group shares Chinese House Church Alliance's troubling "Year in Review for Persecuted Churches"

Released by ChinaAid, December, 2009 ...

"BEIJING, CHINA – Following the World Evangelical Alliance's visits with TSPM leaders in China and their positive verdict on church life and religious freedom, members of the Chinese House Church Alliance remember the cases of intense Christian persecution of 2009."
Read the Rest of the Report from ChinaAid

In the News ... "Tending to His Flock"

Roy Waggoner
Staff Writer
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - He has to preach from a stool, but that doesn’t stop the Rev. Michel Johnson from leading his congregation at Caprock Baptist Church just south of town.

He tends to his flock, leads Bible studies, preaches sermons. But, in the midst of encouraging his congregants, he is battling a terminal illness that makes it difficult to breathe.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the OA story.