West Texas Missioner

Thursday, March 23, 2017

FBR Report: "Good Life Club in Al Rashidia"

The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement. They bring help, hope and love to people in the war zones of Burma (Myanmar) and the Middle East. Groups send teams to be trained, supplied and sent into the areas under attack to provide emergency assistance and human rights documentation. Together with other groups, the teams work to serve people in need.

FBR Photo

Good Life Club in Al Rashidia

Being in Al Rashidia, a neighborhood in northeast Mosul, with the Iraqi Army’s 36th Armored Brigade, gave us another opportunity to invite the kids living in a front-line area to a Good Life Club program, which we held at the school that served as both the 36’s HQ and their casualty collection point (CCP). We had already done several distributions, of food, water and kerosene, that had seen crowds of desperate people pushing and shoving to get what they knew were limited resources. We had been treating patients daily, many with primary care needs who had not had access to medical care for months, and others with trauma wounds from the ongoing attacks of a retreating ISIS who has not stopped lashing out, using armed drones, suicide cars and mortars ...

• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this FBR Report ...

• CLICK HERE to learn how YOU can get involved in FBR and its mission ...

In the News ... "Little Caesar's employee feeds homeless"

KWES Photo

• Does it for 'the man upstairs'

Eric Onyechefule, Reporter
• KWES-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - We showed you the picture on our Facebook recently of a man feeding a Midland homeless man while at work.

We caught up with the man who was feeding the man, who said he does it all for the man upstairs.

"Whenever I see them, the love just starts pouring out," said Little Caesars employee Gabriel Hernandez. "So I'm quick to just go reach."

Hernandez works at a Little Caesars in Midland, and was recently seen in a picture feeding a Midland homeless man.

He said this isn't the only time he's done this, and it's not for personal gain ...

• read/watch the rest of this KWES 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.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: March 23, 2017

ASSOCIATION OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH EDUCATORS - “There are times when God says to us, ‘don’t just sit there, do something.’ At the same time there are certainly times when God says, ‘don’t just do something, sit there.’ Be still, just a minute. Be still and know that I am God,” said the Rev. Jon Brown, pastor of Old Bergen Church in Jersey City, New Jersey—a union church of the Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He spoke at a worship service of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) annual event meeting held January 25-28 in Denver ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer ... "Day 17"

Presented by Bible Gateway

"Day 17"

"Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace as bargain-basement goods, cut-rate forgiveness, cut-rate comfort, cut-rate sacraments; grace as the church’s inexhaustible pantry, from which it is doled out by careless hands without hesitation or limit. It is grace without a price, without cost…

Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, as principle, as system. It means forgiveness of sins as a general truth; it means God’s love as merely a Christian idea of God. Those who affirm it have already had their sins forgiven. The church that teaches this doctrine of grace thereby conveys such grace upon itself. The world finds in this church a cheap cover-up for its sins, for which it shows no remorse and from which it has even less desire to be free. Cheap grace is, thus, denial of God’s living Word, denial of the incarnation of the word of God.

Cheap grace means justification of sin but not of the sinner. Because grace alone does everything, everything can stay in its old ways. “Our action is in vain.” The world remains world and we remain sinners “even in the best of lives.” Thus, the Christian should live the same way the world does. In all things the Christian should go along with the world and not venture…to live a different life under grace from that under sin…

Cheap grace is that which we bestow on ourselves.

Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the Lord’s Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ."

Biblical Wisdom

"What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." — Romans 6:15-18

Questions to Ponder

• Why is it that the church so often proclaims and dispenses “cheap grace”?
• What happens to the “saltiness” of disciples in a church that “conveys such [cheap] grace upon itself”?
• What does it mean to say that cheap grace is “grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ”?

Psalm Fragment

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit ...” — Psalm 51:10-12

Journal Reflections

• In your journal make a list of all the characteristics of cheap grace that Bonhoeffer identifies.• Do you find any of these characteristics in your own life or in the life of your community of faith? If so, reflect on them in your journal.

Intercessions

Think of the proclamation and practice of your community of faith and pray that they would be free of cheap grace.

Prayer for Today

Lord, you love me with an everlasting love. Deliver me from cheap grace that I may respond to your love with my whole life.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

WAW Wednesday ... "March Madness"

"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."

WAW Wednesday: "March Madness"

Hello Friends,

Taking a deep breath after a very full Spring Break in Belize -- which included a coffee spill on my computer -- thankfully I'm back online today and can share some of what our teams experienced while here. One thing is for sure, God is present and His blessings abound!

Our group from FPC Midland returned to the community of El Progresso last week and continued work on their Community Center...they also had a fun day with the bouncy house one of our partners from PA donated. By all reports the team had a great time and their long-term plant, Susie Mauldin, was also able to join them for their debrief! We love seeing God work through this relationship!

Lakeside Presbyterian Church out of Mississippi had a unique vision trip this spring break - Tim Hagen led the group North, South, and West to meet partners and discern God's leading as they've made a 10-year commitment to serving in Belize! (Lakeside's pastor is Tyson Taylor, a familiar face in Belize!) The team was also the answer to our friend A.H.'s prayer for a wheelchair ramp. A.H. is now able to drive his motorized wheelchair in and out of his home and we are so grateful!

Chepito led the team from FPC Arlington and they had a great time reconnecting with the girls and staff from Youth Enhancement Services (YES). The group brought craft and sewing projects and also re-painted the building. FPC leader Suzy McCoy shared that she helped put the first coat of paint on the building 10 years ago on her first trip to Belize, affirming how God honors relationships. The group had a field trip with the girls, taking them to Banana Bank for a day of fun. This team was able to join CPC Austin for a night of prayer and worship at Old Belize - we were reminded how big the Church is as we learned a couple of African worship songs from one of Arlington's team members! It was a great night.

We are so excited that CPC Austin and Ebenezer are gaining ground for the sake of the Gospel in the Burial Grounds of Belize City. The members of Ebenezer have been working hard to build their church and CPC Austin helped them gain major ground this week - on Thursday we were able to join them for their first night of worship in the new (nearly complete) building and it was beautiful! Soon the church will have a building to teach children about God's love, provide food and sewing classes and so much more. The team from Austin also made hospice visits, went door - to - door to invite folks to Ebenezer, participated in a feeding program near Port Loyola, and visited the prison where they had a special tour from John Woods.

This morning I caught up with Christian Sewing Partners of Belize's organizer Maria Perez, TWAW long-term volunteer Marilyn, and her guest Pat from Kansas, as they were loading up and heading North to share new projects with a sewing group -- they've been all over the country, in the prison, schools, and wherever God leads them. What an inspiration they are!

There's more friends - but I'm off to the next thing! Thank you for your prayers -- we're grateful to every team member that joined us for TWAW's March Madness and we're expectant for what God will do next!

Gratefully,

Mollie and the Staff
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!

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer ... "Day 16"

Presented by Bible Gateway

"Day 16"

“'You are the salt'․ not 'You should be the salt'! The disciples are given no choice whether they want to be salt or not. No appeal is made to them to become the salt of the earth. Rather they just are salt whether they want to be or not, by the power of the call which has reached them. You are the salt․not “you have the salt.” It would diminish the meaning to equate the disciples’ message with salt, as the reformers did. What is meant is their whole existence, to the extent that it is newly grounded in Christ’s call to discipleship, that existence of which the Beatitudes speak. All those who follow Jesus’ call to discipleship are made by that call to be the salt of the earth in their whole existence."

Biblical Wisdom

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” — Matthew 5:13

Questions to Ponder

• What are the qualities of salt that make it an apt metaphor for Jesus’ disciples?
• If Christ’s call to discipleship changes our whole existence, in what ways should the disciple’s life be different from those who have not heard or accepted the call?
• Is there any area of a disciple’s life that is exempt from the call to be the salt of the earth? Explain.

Psalm Fragment

“Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways ...” — Psalm 119:34-37

Journal Reflections

• How does it feel to understand yourself as the salt of the earth?
• How salty are you?
• List the ways in which you are salt in your family, workplace, and community.

Intercessions

Think of places in your community where “salt” is needed. Pray for your community of faith that it may be up to the call to be salt in those places.

Prayer for Today

Lord, in response to your call, I want to be who you have made me, the salt of the earth.

Grace in Nicaragua ... "A Poem in Closing"

This past month, members of Grace Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, were part of a mission team in Nicaragua, partnering with the the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Equal Exchange, getting a first-hand look at the coffee farming business in Nicaragua. The trip will provide Presbyterians who are involved or interested in fair trade to see how it works and meet face-to-face with those who grow the coffee.

Grace in Nicaragua ... "A Poem in Closing"

A cup.

A cup offered to you, to me, to us, and, from us, to others.

A cup of welcome.

A cup of invitation,

An invitation to share, to visit, to stay.

A stepping stone to a friendship, to a support system, to what matters.

A conduit for compassion, for consolation, for voicing concerns, for laughter, for sharing joy

In community.

What do you put in your cup?

Coffee, tea, water, milk, sugar, sweetener, honey?

Or sweat, hopes, dreams, determination and frustrations?

A cup.

So easy for us to fill to overflowing

At the expense of those we do not see.

It can be a cup…of salvation.

Much like what God offers to all, to us, to you, to me.

A cup filled with love, intentionality, respect, conscientiousness, and empowerment.

A cup--

Filled to the brim with such grace, can make a difference,

To a child, to a family, to a community.

Come join me;

A cup is waiting for you.

Judy Brown

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TODAY

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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).

Invitation to Prayer ... TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday - TODAY - at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. The church is not currently offering lunch service. If you'd like to have lunch together, please bring a sack lunch and we can eat together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

Dear Intercessors,

The headlines leave me breathless ...

• Nearly half of all refugees are children, says UNICEF ...

• Syrian children 'pushed to the brink' after worst atrocities since war began ...

• India's new welfare rules put rescued slaves at risk - activists ...

• Women and children being raped and slaughtered as South Sudan conflict worsens famine threatening millions ...

Tidal waves of sorrow, cruelty, and indifference seem to flood the entire world, threatening to swallow up everything in their wake. No matter where we sit - the waves wash over us like shockingly-cold waters and sometimes leave us numb.

I love the Pacific Northwest. It's a sacred place to me and the location of all of my happiest childhood moments. When I go to the Oregon coast in particular, I feel closer to God. I've often wondered why a sunny beach in Mexico doesn't have the same effect on me. Perhaps it's because in the craggy, mist-painted, chilly cliffs of the Oregon coastline, I see the immense power of a God who takes the rugged, sharp edges of life and makes them beautiful. He turns numbingly-cold waters into pools of beautiful life, filled with starfish and anemones - vibrantly alive in the harshest of places. He takes the whipping wind and saltwater spray and bends them out of His way, suddenly cutting through the dimness with shockingly bright streams of sunshine.

This world and our lives are more like the Pacific Northwest coastline and less like a tropical beach. Stretches of smooth sand broken by towering, impossible to scale cliffs. Pounding waves rather than gentle seas. Dangerous and sometimes dark, yes. But always incredibly beautiful.

So when we see the chilling headlines and feel overcome by the enormity of the waves of suffering, maybe it's time to step back and look for the beauty. In the coldest places, we will find Him. In the crashing waves, we will find Him. In the biting winds, we will find him.

• We see His beauty in children inviting other children to sit with them at lunch ...

• We see His beauty in 11 Indian boys and young men being rescued from forced labor in a small shoe factory ...

• We see His beauty in the faithful persistence of people working to help bring sex trafficking victims to freedom and restoration, even when it seems like success stories are few ...

• We see His beauty in the children and families of our church coming together to sponsor 379-and-counting chickens for families working to rebuild their lives in Iraq and Syria ...

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you."
Psalm 139:7-12, NIV

May we see Him everywhere -- in the crashing waves and in the rays of sunshine, in the coldest places and in the pools of life. And as we grow more aware of His unshakeable presence, may we turn our hearts to Him in prayer, carrying the children of the world with us as we go.

Praying with you,

Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

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 info@facesofchildren.net

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: March 22, 2017

MISSING PEACE: NEW WORSHIPING COMMUNITY IN FLORIDA - November 2016 will always and forever be a special month in the life of Missing Peace, a 1001 New Worshiping Community in Ormond Beach, Florida ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Partners Blog: "I will remember you"

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief and Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma, and now in the Middle East, as well. Their mission is to demonstrate, through holistic action, God’s love to children and communities made vulnerable by war in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other conflict zones.

Partners Photo

I will remember you

I worked with Partners Relief and Development for a year and a half. And yes it is was only for a very short time period, but I have learned and grown up so much by being able to see what Partners has done to help my people. I first got to know Partners when I was 14 years old. I really loved what the organization did and how well they loved and took care of my Karen people by helping with development through healthcare and education in Burma during the civil war. I had the chance to join Partners team when I was 24 years old. I’m so thankful that they accepted me into their family and that I got to be a part of a world changing movement ...

• read the rest of this post ...

Partners Relief and Development is a registered charity in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. "We’re a small, grassroots nonprofit passionate about making a big impact in communities affected by conflict and oppression, demonstrating God’s love to children and giving them the opportunity to live free, full lives." For more information aboput Partners, visit their website at partners.ngo/

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer ... "Day 15"

Presented by Bible Gateway

"Day 15"

"This does not refer to God’s righteousness, but to suffering for the sake of a righteous cause, suffering because of the righteous judgment and action of Jesus’ disciples. In judgment and action those who follow Jesus will be different from the world in renouncing their property, happiness, rights, righteousness, honor, and violence. They will be offensive to the world. That is why the disciples will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Not recognition, but rejection will be their reward from the world for their word and deed. It is important that Jesus calls his disciples blessed, not only when they directly confess his name, but also when they suffer for a just cause."

Biblical Wisdom

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." — Matthew 5:10

Questions to Ponder

• What do you think of Bonhoeffer’s assertion that disciples will be “offensive to the world”?
• Why is it today that the world often seems more indifferent to Christians and the church than offended by them?
• In what way is a disciple “blessed” when he or she “suffers for a just cause”?

Psalm Fragment

“For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever ...” — Psalm 112:6-9

Journal Reflections

• Write about a time when you suffered for doing the right thing. Reflect on your feelings about that experience.
• Have you ever held back from doing the right thing because you were afraid of rejection or suffering? If so, reflect on how it felt to hold back.

Intercessions

Think of people you know (or know of) who are suffering “for righteousness sake.” Pray that they might receive courage and comfort from their faith and that they might prevail.

Prayer for Today

Lord, give me the wisdom to know what is right and make me willing to suffer for a just cause.

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... Tomorrow

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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).

Invitation to Prayer ... Tomorrow

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. The church is not currently offering lunch service. If you'd like to have lunch together, please bring a sack lunch and we can eat together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

Dear Intercessors,

The headlines leave me breathless ...

• Nearly half of all refugees are children, says UNICEF ...

• Syrian children 'pushed to the brink' after worst atrocities since war began ...

• India's new welfare rules put rescued slaves at risk - activists ...

• Women and children being raped and slaughtered as South Sudan conflict worsens famine threatening millions ...

• We see His beauty in the children and families of our church coming together to sponsor 379-and-counting chickens for families working to rebuild their lives in Iraq and Syria ...