MISSIONS UPDATE

God’s People Praying for God’s World

…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all people. (Isaiah 56:7)

Please pray daily for the missionaries and for the “mission field of souls” which they have been called to…that peoples hearts may be made ready to accept revelation of the Truth presented to them.

With the Holidays quickly approaching please consider sending missionaries a Christmas greeting:

Dave and Joyce Campbell-Guinea. Joyce’s Birthday: 12/ 16; Dave’s Birthday 12/20- Greetings can be sent -Mission Protestante Reformee, BP 438, Conakry, Guinea, West Africa. Email: djcCampbell@compuserve.com

Howard and Ruth Van Dam-Haiti Thank you for your support of CRC in Haiti through purchasing the Thanksgiving Baskets.

November is the month for making plans for the next fiscal year. Pray for wisdom for the Haiti team as is considers which ministries to focus its attention and resources in. Last month, the Haiti team met with partners and discussed how Sous Espwa is doing in meeting goals and strategies they outlined together and it became clear that Sous Espwa needs to engage more in Christian Education and publication of Christian Resources. Pray for guidance for planning and addressing these needs.

Howard and Ruth Van Dam, Agape Flights, Inc.#4466, 100 Airport Avenue, Venice FL 34285: Email: hvandam@fastmail.fm

Allie Kozlowski- From recent post dated 11/10/09: “Time at Benga II, Welman Family Unit: we had many things to do including building an oven for the girls to bake in and of finishing the playground. We did babysitting for Robert and Elicy. We also continued to teach classes to the kids and spend time with them. One of the classes was on skin color. Ever since arriving in Benga II, the kids have called us “azungu” meaning white person. We tried to teach them to see past the color. So for class, Pinky and I covered ourselves in dark brown paste made of mud and charcoal and we were ‘wakuda’ (black) for the class. First we pointed to a kid with a white shirt and asked them all what color it was. White. Then we pointed to a boy with black trousers and asked what color they were. Black. We held up our unpainted palms to the shirt and asked, ‘is my skin white?” No. Then we held up one of the boy’s arms to the trousers and asked, ‘is his skin black?” No. We discussed how we were not white and they were not black; we are all different shades of brown. Some of us are lighter shades and others darker, but we are all brown. We talked about how God made each and every one of us special and beautiful and different from each other. But we are all the same in that God created us.

You can send greetings to: alliekozlowski@yahoo.com

Roy and Laura Thiessen-Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Roy has been leading a bible study on who God is through a study of various names of God. Roy reports: “Because of your prayers, one of couples came to me and said “It’s all really clicking”-- Praise the Lord!

Big D, a new believer, who has lost most of his friends, took Roy and another missionary on a hunting trip-Praise God for a successful and safe trip. They had great time of encouragement and talks about marriage, dating, family life suicide, native life and who God is.

Roy and Laura had meeting with Mormon friends-(also their dentist) Praise God for this opportunity! They are building relationships and discussions and they had opportunity to talk about eternal security, which Mormons in general do not believe, and had opportunity to share Scriptures such as 1 John 5:13, Eph.2: 8-9. Please continue to pray for hearts of Mormons in Cardston area to be open to the Truth of the Bible.

Please pray for Laura, as she is very busy putting together a Christmas Program, including the Sunday School and some other native children in the community, on Sunday, December 6th.

Also, Roy and Laura asks for prayer for their continued studies, learning language, InterAct as they are going through time of restructuring; Sawmteii’s medical conditions; H1N1 in Cardston and on the reserve is rampant. (Be sure to see photos/emails downstairs)

You can send greetings to: Roy, Laura and family at: roy.thiessen@interactministries.com, P.O. Box 1703, Cardston, Alberta, Canada, TOKOKO

Laura’s Birthday: January 12

Trevor and Linda Rubingh/New City Church-Jersey City: In July Deborah, who arrives early to open our building for 80 children, 20 teens and dozens of visitors who will be attending Summer Camp, calls “I’m trying to get to New City, but the streets are all blocked off because there is some kind of hostage situation going on nearby.

Summer Camp usually begins with Josh, Our Teen Employment Director, sitting on stage and sharing devotions with our twenty teens and as many visitors. He often uses the theme we’ll be teaching at Summer Camp as a starting point. This summer it was “God’s way vs. My Way” based on Proverbs: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Since cadence of this verse lends itself perfectly to a rap, our teens teach this “rap” to the 80 Summer Camp kids…. After the songs, the teens and interns preach a 25-minute sermon about what God’s ways looks like on the streets of Jersey City. This involves skits, object lessons and testimonies. Then the kids go off to various classes led by a combination of adults, interns and most importantly teens.

But on this day, all is in jeopardy. “I have to go. There are shots being fired.” A few minutes later she calls back and says that she was able to safely get into our building and that the commotion is only about a block away. “Should we open Summer Camp or cancel?” is her next question. I think to myself, we can’t cancel. It’s too important. God’s way vs. my way. We decide to delay the opening and shorten the day.

Fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, and police cares are everywhere. Traffic is diverted for five-block radius. Apparently there was a standoff between the police and two people suspected of bank robbery. The standoff ended badly as both people were killed and five police officers were shot. This is NOT normal. Although people think of the city as a dangerous place, in fifteen years this has never happened to us.

Inside kids are going to “life skills” classes. They are learning simple things. How to express anger appropriately. How to control impulses...

Outside the media trucks have shown up. Their cameras are all pointed towards the scene of the shooting… hoping for a glimpse of something…but the drama outside is over. The real story is this: six days a week, a newsworthy miracle is happening at New City. Young people who don’t know God and aren’t too sure about the fundamentals of trust, hope and love are invited into a place of dignity and hope. They are not coddled. They are handed an important job and they are required to do it. And guess what? They rise to it. It turns out that most kids want to go God’s way. They prefer to choose a basic path -towards life and light rather than towards the kind of darkness that they saw unfolding on that unusual day, IF it’s offered to them. You can send donations/ greetings to: Trevor and Linda Rubingh, c/o New City Church, 240 Fairmount Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306. (Be sure to read full Newsletter and Letter for Support posted on bulletin board downstairs).

Ken VanderWall/Campus Ministry: Since fighting broke out between the government of Sudan, its militia and rebel groups in 2003, up to 300,000 people are thought to have died in Darfur and more than 2 million displaced, according to the UN. An effort by Rev. Ken VanderWall, William Paterson College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as area churches, to bring awareness to the ongoing humanitarian crises in Darfur, culminated Sunday, Nov. 15 with the collection and display of 15,000 pairs of shoes at Garden State Plaza parking lot. Rev. VanderWall will donate shoes to nonprofit Soles4Soles in Nashville, which collects shoes for those in need in the U.S. and around the world.

When you think of evangelism, taking out the trash is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But for the past year, students at William Paterson College have participated in “Garbage Evangelism”. Typically, a group of ten students go into student residence halls, knock on doors, and introduce themselves as members of WPU Christian Fellowship. Then they offer to take out residents’ garbage and ask if they have any prayer requests. Rev. VanderWall says their goal is to have a prayer group in each dorm living area on campus. This has helped because there are students from Christian Fellowship who are Resident Assistants. Our vision is Changed Lives, Changed Campus, Changed World.

Greetings can be sent to Ken and Carolyn Vander Wall, 315 Linda Vista Ave, N. Haledon, NJ 07508 or Kenvw@hotmail.com

Ken’s Birthday-November 25;

Carolyn- January 14