West Texas Missioner: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

WAW Wednesday ... "Christmas - COMING SOON!!!"

"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, Spiritual 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 Photo

WAW Wednesday: "Christmas - COMING SOON!!!"

Friends of The Word,

Christmas is coming so soon - I went to Lowe's yesterday and all the decorations are out – in September!

Well, we too are beginning to get ready !! As you may know, TWAW has a Christmas trip each year to share the GIFT of Christmas with our partners in Belize. We are able to donate thousands of toys, school supplies, phone cards to those in the Belize prison to call family, as well as clothing etc. to many outreach programs in Belize. Mary Keith and angels, collect toys all year long to get ready – THANK YOU !! Those ministries in turn can bless their youth with a gift and share the story of the greatest GIFT ever given, our Jesus Christ !!

But this takes much planning and preparation to get shipped to Belize on time. Many of you have graciously helped in the past to send gifts and help offset the cost of shipping a container – THANK YOU also!! Well with all that being said – it will soon be time to load and ship the Christmas Container !! so I am setting the date of Oct. 20 as the date we need your items in Amarillo, TX to get shipped to Belize for Christmas. If you’re in the Amarillo area I’d love to have your help loading the container – please contact ron@twaw.org.

We are planning on sending a team from the US in December to BZE to sort and distribute the gifts –the dates are 12th-19th. Contact jo@twaw.org if you are planning on joining. However with the existing Covid restrictions we will NOT be able to deliver the gifts while in the country. Ministry Partners will be responsible to pick them up this year. We will not be able to provide a Christmas party for the children of Kings Home at this time – pray that changes!

So in a nut shell- Christmas is coming, we are shipping GIFTS soon, we are prepared to either GO and help or to STAY and pray from the US.

So we need your gifts soon. We would love your financial support for shipping and for Phone Cards if you can.

In the Name of the Greatest Gift of All – Jesus Christ !!!

Ron Allen - Executive Director
Tim Tam - Spiritual Director
#wearethewordatwork

*** Update on MILLION MEALS - we are needing to raise only $8,900 to reach our goal - please consider donating. ***

WAW Photos

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 Ron and Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners?

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

In the News ... “Senior Life Midland holds 31st annual Texas Size Garage Sale"

KWES Photo

• Fundraiser benefits the Meals on Wheels program

Staff Report
• KWES-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Senior Life Midland will be holding its 31st annual Texas Size Garage Sale fundraiser. This fundraiser benefits the Meals on Wheels program, providing one third of the organization's funding each year to feed homebound seniors ...

• Read/watch the rest of this KWES report ...

In the News ... "El Paso Bishop finds desperation, hope during visit to Juárez migrant shelters"

Photo Courtesy of Hope Border Institute

• The visit "was as much to go over and be with and listen to migrants but also an opportunity to ..."

By Lauren Villagran, Reporter
• El Paso Times

JUÁREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO - El Paso Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz visited migrant shelters in Juárez this week and said he met a desperate but resilient population whose wait for an opportunity to claim asylum in the U.S. has stretched on months beyond expectations ...

• Read/watch the rest of this EPT 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: September 30, 2020

BLACK COMMUNITIES DURING PANDEMIC - The feel-good line “We’re all in this together” has been an oft-repeated refrain during the coronavirus crisis, but for some minorities, feeling the brunt of the pandemic, it doesn’t ring true ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

In the News ... "Macedonia Baptist Church holds food drive to help those struggling during pandemic"

KOSA Photo

• Members of the church hope that they can continue to bless the community in the future

Staff Report
• KOSA-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - As many people struggle with the stress of COVID-19, one local church is stepping up to make things a little easier with a hot meal and a food giveaway ...

• Watch the rest of this KOSA report ...

In the News ... "Abilene pastors speak in support of Chief Standridge keeping job at council meeting"

ARN Photo by Greg Jaklewicz

• "It's in your hands to pursue him, to ask him if he would like to come back"

By Brian Bethel, Reporter
• Abilene Reporter-News

ABILENE, TEXAS - Abilene pastor Chuck Farina and several other clergy presented a petition to the Abilene City Council on Thursday night, advocating in public comments that Police Chief Stan Standridge continue to serve in his position, though the city recently announced three finalists for his job ...

• Read the rest of this ARN report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: September 29, 2020

MILLENIALS DURING COVID-19 - In a recent edition of Everyday God-Talk, So Jung Kim, associate for Theology in the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Theology & Worship, visited with the Rev. Dr. Jaco Hamman, a PC(USA) ordained pastor who’s a professor at the Vanderbilt Divinity School.

In the first of a three-part video conversation, Hamman talks with Kim about his most recent book, “The Millennial Narrative: Sharing a Good Life with the Next Generation.” ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, September 28, 2020

From @chinaaid : "Officials raid Bible study"

The ChinaAid 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 Photo

Officials raid Bible study
Distributed by ChinaAid, August 2020 ...

DONGGUAN, GUANGDONG, CHINA – Police, state security officers, and ethnic and religious affairs bureau officials raided Guangzhou’s Bible Reformed Church. They accused Christians of “spreading evil religion” ...

• More on this story from ChinaAid ...

In the News ... "Nature of God considered"

Painting by Sergey Roy

Ministers say his totality is unknowable, but his faithfulness to his creations is ever-lasting

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - God’s nature and the full essence of his being are so profound as to be beyond the human mind’s ability to grasp, but he reveals things about himself that are comprehensible and should be encouraging, ministers say.

The Revs. Dare Stevens, Mark Roossinck and Joseph Barbieri say the main thing God wants people to understand is that he loves them deeply and invites them to attain eternal life in Heaven through daily counsel with the Holy Spirit and faith in his son Jesus Christ ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Photo by Ellen Sherby

Today in the Mission Yearbook: September 28, 2020

HOUSE CHURCHES - The Rev. Elmer Zavala of the Presbyterian Hispanic Latino Ministry of Preston in southern Louisville knows about the unusual and difficult challenges that immigrants face with COVID-19 ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

In the News ... "Lubbock Faith Briefs"

Courtesy Photo

• What’s going on in South Plains churches

By Erica Pauda, Reporter
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - From the Avalanche-Journal, news of regular services, and special events and programs at houses of faith in Lubbock and across the South Plains ...

• Read the rest of this LAJ report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: September 27, 2020

EVANGELISM SUNDAY - Rendall Memorial Presbyterian Church is a small-in-numbers yet large-in-mission, Christ-centered, aging, progressive congregation in central (Black) Harlem. Its mission is to serve those in the community through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelism happens at Rendall as a “by-product” of intentional, gospel-focused ministry that is relational, personal, spiritual and missional ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Equal Exchange Blog ... "Learn the Story of the Black Farmers Who Grow EE Pecans"

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

Learn the Story of the Black Farmers Who Grow EE Pecans

EE Photos

When you own the land you farm, you decide what to plant, when to harvest, and which maintenance methods to use. More importantly, you’re the one who controls your own livelihood. For Black farmers in the United States, land ownership is tied to freedom. But systematic racial discrimination has pushed many out of agriculture. Equal Exchange’s partners at New Communities, who supply our fair trade pecans, know the power of land — and these challenges — firsthand. They farm in southwest Georgia, in one of the poorest parts of the state. Over the organization’s fifty year history, these tenacious farmers have experienced more than their share of hardship and prejudice. Yet today, they are still farming and looking to the future ...

• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

• Learn how YOU can help Equal Exchange ...

In the News ... "Abilene Sermons: 9/26-27/20"

• What's happening at churches in the Big Country?

Staff Report
• Abilene Reporter-News

ABILENE, TEXAS - Local and area church sermons this weekend.

Encourage your pastor to tell us the upcoming week's sermon topic. It's FREE, and it's open to churches throughout the Big Country. Email it to publishme@reporternews.com by 2 p.m. each Tuesday. Please put "sermon" in the subject line. Include the topic, who will deliver it, a synopsis limited to 60 words, when services begin and the name and street address of your place of worship ...

• Read the rest of this ARN report ...

In the News ... "Odessa Church News"

• Today and in the days ahead, in Odessa-area houses of worship

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Coming events include worship services, classes, Bible studies, community outreach, fundraisers, mission opportunities and more ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

In the News ... "Crossroads pastor, wife die in wreck"

• Comstock children expected to make full recovery

By Royal McGregor, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The CrossRoads Fellowship lead pastor said he has been on a rollercoaster of emotions after an Odessa family was in a devastating car crash in New Mexico that left one of their three children injured and both parents dead ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

In the News ... "San Angelo area churches announce worship options, 09/26-27/20"

• Here is a look at the communications received by the Standard-Times to date

By Matthew McDaniel, Reporter
• San Angelo Standard Times

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS - Faith briefs may be submitted by emailing News@GoSanAngelo.com. Briefs are published in print on Saturdays and the deadline to submit an entry is noon Wednesdays ...

• Read the rest of this SAST report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: September 26, 2020

1001 NEW WORSHIPING COMMUNITIES MOVEMENT - Nick Pickrell, organizer of The Open Table KC, has never set foot in a seminary. But after five years co-leading this new worshiping community in Kansas City, Missouri, he’s going through the process of becoming a commissioned ruling elder. “I wanted to be more connected to the PC(USA) denomination,” he says in the new 1001 Worshiping Communities video, “Becoming Presbyterian” ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, September 25, 2020

From ServLife International ... "We Bought Land"

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.

ServLife Photo

We Bought Land

Seven years ago, Udaya started looking for land near Kathmandu to build an orphanage for the children in his rented home. Having been suddenly kicked out before by landlords that weren't keen on renting to Christians, it was a pressing issue.

I joined Udaya visiting a few properties, but most plots of land large enough were nearly half a million dollars, and we just couldn't afford it at the time. And the prices were increasing rapidly with every year. Udaya was losing hope.

Then one of my college buddies introduced me to the Asia Liason Director of an international ministry. During our third or fourth lunch together, he mentioned having to sell a plot of land near Kathmandu and it was a huge headache. I almost fell out of my seat. A year later, the ministry blessed us by selling us the land for less than 25% of its value. (They have asked to remain anonymous.)

We have since paid off the land and are planning to break ground on the children's home soon! Next week we are launching a fundraising campaign to build this home and have matching funds available to help. So stay tuned for my email next Tuesday launching this massive campaign to give 48 children a home!

Heads up

Starting September 15 through the end of October, ServLife will have $50,000 in matching funds available.

So DON'T GIVE. Not yet anyway...

I'm SUPER excited about the matching funds and ever MORE EXCITED about the project we're raising funds to complete. (It's a children's home building that will house up to 48 kids!)

Look for the official launch on September 15, and please pray about what God might be leading you to contribute.

Peace!

From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.

Click here to give a gift of $30, $90, $150, $300 or more to help families in India and Nepal.

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

From Synod of the Sun, PC(USA) ... Good News Stories: "Showers and Blessings"

Amidst the changes and chances of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches and entities throughout the The Synod of the Sun found ways to not only survive but also find unique and beautiful ways to minister to God's people in need. Mission and ministry takes form in supplying basic necessities to caring for the environment. Connections have been made via video feed and blankets. Love is supplied via learning how to read to drive-in diapers.

You can read all of our Good News Stories on our website at synodsun.org/good-news-stories.

How has your community found ways to continue to minister when "the church has left the building"? Send us your Good News Stories ideas! Contact Thomas Riggs, Communication and Administrative Coordinator or the Matt Curry, author and story collector.

Five students from Lyon College attended the IMAGINE:Compassion event in McAllen, TX
last year. For Elizabeth Daniel (second from left) and Emma Gillaspy (far right), this trip opened
their eyes and led to hearing Christ's call for discipleship in new ways.

Border Decisions

By Matt Curry

BATESVILLE, ARKANSAS – Two college students who participated in a border ministry event last year found that the biggest impact came within themselves, and they responded by dedicating their lives to serving others.

Elizabeth Daniel, 21, and Emma Gillaspy, 22, both students at Lyon College at the time, participated last fall at Imagine: Compassion in McAllen, Texas. Overall, about 70 people made the trip sponsored by the Synod of the Sun, attending three days of workshops, worshipping, and reaching out to asylum seekers camped just across the Rio Grande River.

Both students came away inspired to new callings, one saying the trip was a “beacon of light” for her life to come.

Ministries across the wide-ranging Synod of the Sun continue to make a difference while offering compassion to those who are suffering. When congregations work together and in partnership with the larger church to serve the world that God so loves, the impact carries far beyond time and place, moving forward even through the challenges of a pandemic and closed church doors.

Daniel and Gillaspy were among several Lyon students and two staff who made the trip, including the Rev. Margaret Alsup, chaplain at the PC(USA)-affiliated liberal arts school of about 650 students.

From their first arrival on campus, Lyon’s mission is to educate the “whole student” and emphasizes service and philanthropy, Alsup said. When members of the school’s Presbyterian student group learned about Imagine: Compassion, they jumped at the opportunity to find out more about how faith, social action and service can intersect. By the conclusion, both Daniel and Gillaspy had committed to serve as Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs), an ecumenical faith-based year of service for young people offered by the PC(USA).

“By the end of the short weekend, Emma, who was already looking into YAV sites, wanted to look specifically for border ministry settings. And Elizabeth began to think about how she could continue learning and serving once she graduated with YAV,” Alsup said. “To say this event was life-changing is an understatement.”

Neither Gillaspy nor Daniel were able to cross the border with some members of the group, due to lack of a passport, but they were deeply moved by what they saw from the Texas side.

“The biggest thing was the overall sense of hope they had,” said Gillaspy, a member of First Presbyterian Church of Conway. “It’s easy to think that there is so much negative on the border. Everyone I talked to there had so much hope. It was such an uplifting experience.”

Gillaspy, a psychology major who graduated in the spring, said she was also inspired by working with ecumenical partners, which helped her think about the world beyond her “Presbyterian bubble.”

Gillaspy was assigned to her first choice as a YAV, border ministry in Tucson, Ariz. The pandemic has prevented in-person service, and she is considering delaying her YAV year. Regardless, she hopes to undertake a year of service before pursuing a career that would provide mental health services to those in need.

“I’ve lived a relatively privileged life,” she said. “Seeing those who have not had that privilege has made me want to help them.” Daniel, a history/political science major who will graduate next spring, was moved to go to the border by an interest in seeing how the politics she learned about in books translates into life on the ground.

“I wanted to know up close. I did not want to be in a position of talking about it from a position of authority without seeing it myself,” she said.

Visiting a packed homeless shelter and seeing people having to bathe in the cold, dirty water of the Rio Grande changed her priorities and help establish her future life course, said Daniel, who is from Fayetteville and attends First Presbyterian Church of Batesville.

Daniel hopes to be able to spend a year serving as a YAV. After that, she is looking at pursuing a master’s in public administration with a goal of entering full-time nonprofit work.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I felt like this was a beacon of light,” Daniel said. “I realized that this is what I can see myself doing and being happy with my life.”

For Rev. Alsup, there is only one ultimate explanation for the young women’s decisions. It was a God thing.

“What happened at Imagine: Compassion was the work of the Spirit, leading these young people to find their place in service, giving back at the intersection of their life’s desire to serve and the world’s greatest need,” she said. “I was grateful that I was able to be there while they discovered their passion and look forward to the ways they will give back and serve God’s people.”

The Rev. Matt Curry is in search of Good News from ministries throughout the Synod of the Sun that are making connections with their congregations and communities. Do you have an idea to share? Send Matt an email at cpcwaxpastor@gmail.com.

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: “Reigniting Her Spirits”

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

FWM Photo

Friday Story: “Reigniting Her Spirits”

Thi grew up in the remote hills of Quang Ngai, a coastal province in Vietnam where leafy green mountains ease into plains that meet the sea.

Life was beautiful, in her own words. She’d play outdoors with her friends and neighbors, and travel the countryside with her parents and siblings.

But as she grew into a teenager, she began to lose all feeling in her legs ...

• Read the rest of this story ...

In the News ... "Texas Size Garage Sale to include ‘exclusive experience’"

MRT Photo by James Durbin

• Exclusive event Oct.7; general event begins Oct. 9

Staff Report
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - The Texas Size Garage Sale, a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels, will begin Oct. 7 with an “exclusive shopping experience,” according to a press release from Senior Life ...

• Read the rest of this MRT report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Contributed Photo

Today in the Mission Yearbook: September 25, 2020

KOREA, PAST AND PRESENT - Bridging the division in Korea through reunification is a dream of many. Another dream has been to compile the history of mission workers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and partner churches in Korea from 1884 to the present. This connection of past and present mission workers in Korea by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and partner churches in Korea has become reality in the publication of the first “Korean-English Dictionary of Presbyterian Missionaries in Korea 1884–2020,” published March 27 in Korean ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Thursday, September 24, 2020

In the News ... "Heart of the Basin: American Red Cross"

KMID/KPEJ Photo

• Highlighting nonprofits in the community

By Caitlin Landers, Reporter
• KMID-TV/KPEJ-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - FOX 24 News AM Live is starting a segment called “Heart of the Basin” which is meant to highlight nonprofits in the community. This week we spoke to the American Red Cross. Tracy Austin is the Executive Director of the local Red Cross that serves the Permian Basin. Austin explains how the organization helps with local disasters like fires, helps military service members, and offer classes like CPR and babysitting training ...

• Watch the rest of this KMID/KPEJ report ...

• Visit the American Red Cross/Permian Basin Chapter website ...

From Outreach Foundation ... Celebrating Rob Weingartner's Ministry this Sunday

• Celebrating Rob Weingartner's Ministry this Sunday

Click here to join the celebration on Sunday

Engaging followers of Christ for His work in the world, the Outreach Foundation is committed to helping the church live out its missional calling, building the capacity of the global church, especially where the church is vulnerable or growing rapidly, and transforming lives through mission involvement.

The Outreach Foundation
381 Riverside Drive, Suite 110
Franklin, TN 37064,
United States
(615) 778-8881
info@theoutreachfoundation.org