West Texas Missioner

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Welcoming PCUSA leader to Midland: TOMORROW

Heath Rada, Moderator of Presbyterian Church USA, will be here at First Presbyterian Church-Midland on Wednesday, February 11. Dinner will be at 5:15 p.m. in Lynn Hall. Worship and a Q-and-A session will be in the Sanctuary at 6:00 p.m.

In the News ... "Candid, comedic approach to marriage counseling"

• Sought after speaker is leading the laughter-filled program

Staff Report
Odessa American

MIDLAND/ODESSA, TEXAS - Rather than taking a deadly serious approach to marital problems, a generous application of humor may be more effective, according to a Green Bay, Wisconsin, minister who will conduct a Pour Into Your Marriage" seminar February 20-21 at Mid-Cities Community Church .

This year guest speaker Mark Gungor is leading the laughter-filled program from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. February 20, and 9:00 a.m. to noon February 21 ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA - Tapestry: A Presbyterian Youth Collective, which grew out of the collaboration of two San Gabriel youth pastors, provides hands-on experiences of compassionate and prophetic discipleship. Four years ago, Rev. Rocky Supinger and Rev. Becca Bateman planned a mission week for junior high students. Each day the students learned about mission opportunities by serving at a different site in the greater Los Angeles area. After the first year’s mission week, they added a retreat at the Big Bear Presbyterian Conference Center for youth from congregations in the presbyteries of San Gabriel and Riverside. And last summer, 42 senior high students participated in Ghost Ranch’s Youth Service Corps program, in which they learned about the cultures of northern New Mexico while serving at Ghost Ranch and in the community ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, February 9, 2015

ChinaAid: "China Aid president participates in human rights discussion hosted by The Heritage Foundation"

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.

China Aid president participates in human rights discussion hosted by The Heritage Foundation
Distributed by ChinaAid, January, 2015 ...

China Aid File Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – China Aid founder and President Bob Fu participated in a forum on human rights hosted by The Heritage Foundation on Thursday, during which he summarized religious persecution endured by several religious groups from the time the Chinese Communist government came to power in 1949 to current persecution ...

• more on this story from China Aid

Welcoming PCUSA leader to Midland: WEDNESDAY

In the News ... "A career leading worship"

OA Photo by Edyta Blaszczyk

• Longtime FBC Odessa music minister Curtis Brewer looks to finish strong, eyes retirement

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - For a man who has been in Odessa since 1982 and made his career as a music minister here, Curtis Brewer was awfully uncertain about it.

“When I first saw Odessa, I said it was the ugliest place on earth,” said Brewer, whose title at the First Baptist Church in Odessa is associate worship pastor. “I turned it down three times. Then I said to my wife Marilyn, ‘I can’t get Odessa off my mind. God is beating me to death over it. I can’t get any peace.’

“And she said, ‘I can’t, either.’ ”

So they moved from Montgomery, Alabama, and are happy they did ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF SAN FERNANDO, CALIFORNIA - In the fall of 2010, Rev. Dayro Aranzalez, executive secretary of Central Presbytery in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, visited the Presbytery of San Fernando to propose a partnership that would encourage mutual understanding and assistance. After several return visits, Elder Lisa Patriquin is now working directly with Central Presbytery as coordinator of community outreach projects. Lisa helps Central connect to international organizations, churches, and individuals that support its mission. Current community projects focus on children and youth in Bogotá and Medellín neighborhoods that have high rates of substance abuse, unemployment or underemployment, and prostitution. Many come from families who have suffered multiple forced displacements because of the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

MINUTE FOR MISSION: CAMP AND CONFERENCE MINISTRIES - What is it about camps and conferences that prepares us to forge life-changing connections? Why does God choose to use camps and conference centers to bring about profound changes in us? Perhaps it is because we allow ourselves to be more exposed and vulnerable when away from the comforts of home. We find ourselves surrounded by new people and are liberated from some of the worries that surround us in our everyday lives ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

In the News ... "Sharing the love"

OA File Photo

• Respite, support care for special needs children, their families

Staff Report
Odessa American

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Join for the annual SHARE (Sharing Hands, A Respite Experience) Valentine’s Day Party on February 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at First Christian Church in Midland ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Human rights advocate to visit Midland TOMORROW

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief and Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. Their mission is to demonstrate, through holistic action, God’s love to children and communities made vulnerable by war in Burma.

This Sunday in the Bridge, we welcome Oddny Gumaer as our guest preacher. Oddny, along with her husband Steve, founded Partners and Development in 1995 to provide help for people affected by the conflict in Burma. Oddny is a writer, graphic designer, and runner. Her books and speeches have moved many people to engage with the people of Burma and refocus on the big issues of our day rather than the trivialities that often consume us. Her primary role is working in advocacy, getting the information out about the victims of war through writing, meeting politicians and policy makers, and speaking at uuman rights meetings.

1st Presbyterian Church of Midland, is located at 800 W. Texas Avenue, on the northwest corner of N. A Street and Texas Avenue, on the west side of downtown Midland. You can also enter the church from Illinois Street, across from the main entrance of Midland High School. The Bridge Service - comfortable and encouraging for all ages - will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the church's Lynn Community Hall.

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: February 7, 2015

PRESBYTERY OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - The Presbytery of San Diego is blessed with a wonderful location and climate. But it’s not all sunshine here. San Diego has the third-largest homeless population in the United States, trailing only New York and Los Angeles. Among students in the San Diego Unified School System alone, between 5,000 and 13,000 are homeless. And one person in six does not know where the next meal will come from.

The presbytery’s response to these challenges is Presbyterian Urban Ministries (PUM), which began in 1968 and today operates out of the Golden Hills neighborhood. PUM has grown from a crisis center meeting immediate physical needs (food, hygiene, clothing, etc.) to a true resource center. Through partnerships with other agencies, PUM makes a big impact despite its modest size, connecting clients to shelter programs, ongoing food resources, and organizations that help them train for jobs or recover from addiction ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, February 6, 2015

ServLife International: Full Of Life

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.

Abisekh is vibrant, even for a toddler ...

At almost three years old, he is very small for his age, but is still full of energy - chasing his adopted siblings through the house and keeping every one of them wrapped around his little finger.

Looking at him today, no one would ever guess at the journey that brought Abisekh to ServLife's children's home in Kathmandu, Nepal. Abisekh's mother passed away when he was only 26 months old. She suffered a heart attack due to complications from a medical treatment for swelling in her leg, possibly a result of poor medical infrastructure in the remote area of west Nepal where they lived. Being the only child of his parents, Abisekh was left with his grandmother while his father sought work to support their family. Unfortunately, tragedy struck again when three days later Abisekh's grandmother also passed away suddenly. This was understandably very difficult for Abisekh's father, losing two close family members and caregivers for his son so abruptly. He continued to look for work and struggled to care for Abisekh on his own, wanting to keep his beloved son close, but found the strain of both providing for their family and looking after Abisekh to be too much. He went seeking aid, and a friend in Kathmandu referred him to the ServLife children's home.

When Abisekh first arrived at the children's home he was underweight and malnourished. He had not yet learned to speak well and did not like to move or play much. The full time staff and the other children at the home accepted him as their son and brother and began build up his strength with proper healthcare, nutrition, and love. Now, his new family says that Abisekh pretty much runs the house. His older sisters dote on him, and he is always the center of attention. He has gained weight, is speaking in full sentences and running and playing like a normal 2 year old. This happy ending to a difficult journey would not have been possible without the staff and children at the children's home, along with Abisekh's ServLife sponsor in Indianapolis. Thanks to their diligent care, generosity and love, Abisekh is full of life.

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

Human rights advocate to visit Midland this Sunday

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA - Through PC(USA) mission coworker Kristi Van Nostran, (Joining Hands Network El Salvador), the presbytery has in recent years built an international partnership. A mission trip to El Salvador in 2012 brought us into contact with the network of churches, community organizations, small farmers, cooperatives, and educational institutions united to address root causes of hunger and share best practices in agriculture and conservation. Kristi has built relationships through her itineration, and a second trip was undertaken in summer 2014.

Back stateside, the small congregation in Cathedral City has begun a story time with Spanish-speaking children from a mobile-home neighborhood nearby. The congregation has designated part of the church’s property for a children’s garden, where these new friends can plant, water, and then witness the miracle of growth in the barren desert. Congregation members are forging relationships with the children and their parents, who also are hearing the stories of Jesus ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Faces of Children: Prayer Concerns for This Week

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 02/05/15

Iraq

• Give thanks to God 14-year-old Adeba and her 13-year-old sister Chenar were recently reunited after both were able to escape from Islamic State (IS) militants. The sisters were abducted from their village in the Yazidi heartland in northwestern Iraq along with 16 other relatives who are still being held.
• more on this request ...
• Pray for these sisters as they try to find their mother and sisters. Pray God will provide for their most immediate needs while they are living in the Shariya refugee camp in Iraq with two brothers and other relatives.
• Please keep in prayer the more than 700,000 refugees living in 21 camps in Iraq’s Dohuk area. Pray God will provide for their needs, especially as they face harsh, wintry conditions in the camps. And pray God will calm the fears of those who continue to be frightened by the threat of further violence.
• Pray for the safe release of all Yazidi girls and women who’ve been captured by IS militants. Pray for those who have been raped and tortured, and for those who’ve been forced to convert to Islam and marry IS fighters.

Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria

• Please continue in prayer for the more than 620,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan. Pray for children and families struggling to survive in Jordan. Two-thirds of these refugees live below the national poverty line and one in six Syrian refugee households lives in abject poverty.
• more on this request ...
• Pray God will provide for the most immediate and deepest needs of Syrian children living in Jordan and other host countries. Pray for those whose homes have no heating, functioning toilet, or reliable electricity during this brutal winter. Please pray children will be able to stay in school and not have to drop out to help support their struggling families. Pray for children who are at risk of exploitation because of their vulnerable situation.
• Pray for the 1.16 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the 1.6 million in Turkey. Pray God will provide for refugee children struggling to survive in these host countries.
• more on this request ...
• Pray the international community will increase its support for these very vulnerable children.
• Please pray for peace in Syria and throughout this region.

Thailand, Burma/Myanmar

• Please pray for the Rohingya children and adults who were trafficked from Burma to southern Thailand last month. Forty-two children under the age of 14 were among the 98 Rohingya trafficking victims. Pray God will provide for these vulnerable people who were very thin and tired when they were rescued. Pray they will be treated fairly by the Thai government.
• more on this request ...
• Pray for all Rohingya children and families who have been exploited by trafficking gangs in Thailand.

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea

• Give thanks to God the Ebola outbreak in West Africa seems to be slowing down. The deadly hemorrhagic fever has killed more than 8,400 people and infected about 21,200 in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea since it was detected last March.
• more on this request ...
• hanks be to God for the change in patterns of behavior that have helped curb the transmission of the Ebola virus. Give thanks there are facilities available everywhere to treat people; scores of burial teams all over that provide safe, dignified burial services; and multitudes of rapid mobile response teams that can set up temporary treatment facilities where needed.

United States

• Pray God will bring comfort to 3-year-old Penny whose life is in turmoil right now. Penny’s father committed suicide last year and her mother, who has a history of mental illness, is fighting Penny’s paternal grandparents for custody. Pray God will provide Penny with the best possible placement for her at this time in her life. Pray for Penny, her grandparents, and extended family as they mourn the death of Penny’s father.

Faces of Children

• Please keep close in prayer Faces of Children prayer partner Marilyn Stone as she grieves the loss of her husband Mike who died December 26, 2014. Pray God will comfort her with the peace that surpasses all understanding in this season of loss and sadness.
• Please keep the members of the Faces of Children visioning team in prayer as they seek God’s guidance for this ministry. Pray God will bless them with a clear vision for the ministry and its future.
• 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.

If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to Chris Laufer, FOC Coordinator, at claufer@facesofchildren.net

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF THE PACIFIC, HAWAII/CALIFORNIA - “The only solution is love,” says Dorothy Day, cofounder of the Catholic Worker Movement dedicated to offering hospitality and service to the poor and homeless. On any given day on the campus of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, you will see neighbors who live on the streets accessing services. You will also see a young woman floating through the crowd, greeting each person by name. They light up at the sight of her. Her name is Amie Quigley, and she is truly one of Pacific Presbytery’s compassionate, prophetic disciples of Jesus. ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

WAW Wednesdays: Praises!!

"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."

Praises!!

Greetings from Belize, Friends,

There's much to be grateful for in today's message ...

One of our areas of focus in Belize is providing resources for those providing medical care in this under-resourced country.

This includes shipping life saving medical equipment and supplies (see below).

Another aspect of this is bringing our partners together like 26:12 (the mission-focused arm of Accolade Home Health in the US) and Belize Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation ... right now volunteers are preparing for at least 125 caregivers, physicians, nurses, and public health workers who will attend a 2-day conference at Banana Bank.

This is a big deal and we're really grateful ...

We also work to coordinate care for devastating medical cases that might otherwise have no hope. Talk about GRATEFUL...we've just received word that Gabryella's tests came back showing no tumor in her thigh bone! Instead, a nasty infection has been discovered...left untreated at the rate it was developing Gabby might not have made it through - but thanks to God's swift movement, she will be treated here, and both life and limb will be saved. Thank you for your continued prayers ... this is REALLY good news!

And then there are our Ministry Associates ...

Maybe you'd like to join this merry band of bargain finders who assist us with gathering items needed desperately by our numerous partners in Belize? I'm highlighting a few items here...Our warehouse is practically bursting as we work to get the last $1000USD needed to ship the next container. We'd love to ship 8 containers this year - praying God will provide the resources to make that happen.

   • Stoves for feeding programs all over Belize
   • Commercial grade sewing and serger machines for factories born out of Christians Sewing Partners of Belize
   • Portable dialysis and sonogram machines for clinics and hospitals

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!

Thanks for your partnership in our mission.

Tim Tam
The Word at Work

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!

In the News ... "Program aims to help people struggling with divorce, marital separation"

Photo by Nubia Eisenlohr

• To guide those dealing with separation or divorce through that difficult period of time

By Steve Kuhlman, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - For those struggling with divorce or marital separation, several local churches are offering support groups sponsored by the international organization DivorceCare to help lend a hand during the arduous process.

“The program is designed to guide you to either heal after the end of the divorce process, go forward with your life or, at the same time, the principals that we learn — love, forgiveness, acceptance — also help you to reconcile with your spouse if you’re separated,” said L.E. Sawyer, one of three leaders in First Presbyterian Church’s DivorceCare class ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF LOS RANCHOS, CALIFORNIA - The Little Brown Church was founded in 1905 as a Presbyterian presence in downtown Long Beach. For many years, the church remained viable. But neighborhood change saw members move farther away and die off. During this time, the church continued to focus on former members rather than engage the changing neighborhood.

During 2013, with my arrival as a missional pastor, a small group of people created a plan to refocus the congregation’s mission toward the changed neighborhood. Jesus was calling the Little Brown Church to become the Little Brown Mission, an ecumenical partnership for the kingdom of God ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Invitation to Prayer: TOMORROW

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).

Praying with Hope

“Only if you pray with hope can you break through the barriers of death. For no longer do you want to know what it will be like after you die, what heaven will look like exactly, or how you will be eternal. You don’t let yourself be distracted by daydreams in which all your conflicting desires are satisfied in a wish-come-true hereafter. When you pray with hope, you turn yourself toward God, trusting fully that God is faithful and makes all promises real.

This hope gives you a new freedom that allows you to look realistically at life without feeling dejected. This freedom is expressed through the words of another student who wrote:

     Hope means to keep living
     amid desperation
     and to keep humming
     in the darkness.
     Hope is knowing that there is love,
     it is trust in tomorrow
     it is falling asleep
     and waking again
     when the sun rises.
     In the midst of a gale at sea,
     it is to discover land.
     In the eyes of another
     it is to see that you are understood …
     As long as there is hope
     There will also be prayer …
     And you will be held
     in God’s hands.

Thus every prayer of petition becomes a prayer of thanksgiving and praise as well, precisely because it is a prayer of hope. In the hopeful prayer of petition, we thank God for God’s promise and we praise God for God’s faithfulness.

Our numerous requests simply become the concrete way of saying that we trust in the fullness of God’s goodness. Whenever we pray with hope, we put our lives in the hands of God. Fear and anxiety fade away, and everything we are given and everything we are deprived of is nothing but a finger pointing out the direction of God’s hidden promise that one day we shall taste in full."

With Open Hands by Henri Nouwen

A message from Chris Laufer, Coordinator, Faces of Children

Greetings, Faces of Children Prayer Partner,

This will be my last prayer list and email so I’d like to leave you with words of hope and encouragement from the writings of Henri Nouwen. Please remember that your prayers for children matter! And if or when you feel so overwhelmed by the immense suffering of children that you struggle to pray, I hope you will come back to Nouwen’s words of encouragement. I hope you will remember to put your fear and anxiety in God’s capable hands and “trust in the fullness of God’s goodness.”

The Midland prayer group will continue to meet at 11:30 a.m. each Wednesday in the Family Life Center conference room at First Presbyterian Church.

The Midland Faces of Children prayer group will gather this coming Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center conference room at First Presbyterian Church-Midland, Afterwards, we'll share lunch ($5) and fellowship.

Grace and peace,

Chris

In the News ... "Concert looks at stories behind old hymns"

MRT Photo by Tim Fischer

• Free event will be 6:00-8:30 p.m. February 7 in the GCR Worship Center

By Steve Kuhlman, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - While for a time more contemporary Christian music has held favor in many churches across the nature, Ken Young, senior worship minister at Golf Course Road Church of Christ, said classic hymns are making a comeback with big-name Christian artists like Casting Crowns producing the older songs with a modern twist.

Following the trend, Golf Course Road Church of Christ is set to host the Hallal Music’s Hymns event featuring the live performance of several classic hymns, the stories of their origins and their writers ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

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: February 3, 2015

HANMI PRESBYTERY - The Presbytery of Hanmi was dissolved by action of the 221st General Assembly (2014) in Detroit effective June 21, 2014. The congregations and ministers of the presbytery are being transferred into the geographic presbyteries where they are located within the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii.

Please pray for these Korean-speaking members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as we move forward with the transitions ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, February 2, 2015

ChinaAid: "Sichuan police raid gathering of house church members, detain 9"

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.

Sichuan police raid gathering of house church members, detain 9
Distributed by ChinaAid, January, 2015 ...

Pastor Li Ming

NANCHONG, SICHUAN, CHINA – A house church gathering of more than 70 Christians in China’s southwestern Sichuan province was raided by police officers on Tuesday, and more than 20 people were taken into custody, among which were two pastors and two missionaries ...

• more on this story from China Aid

Invitation to Prayer: WEDNESDAY

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

MINUTE FOR MISSION: SOUPER BOWL OF CARING - The math and the money weren’t working out. That’s what 30 youth of First Presbyterian Church in Hastings, Nebraska, were finding out as they wheeled their shopping carts through the supermarket aisles. Each had hoped to raise raise enough money to feed a family of four for a week. By carrying cooking utensils about before Sunday services and placing a soup kettle on the Communion table, they had raised $3,500—about $120 each.

The students had been carefully instructed by their leaders and an extension nutritionist about food prices and the type and volume of food a family of four would need ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.