Hector Barrero, GCI Mission Director for Chile, has forwarded a note from Thomas Keller, a GCI house church leader in Santiago, stating that the members in Santiago are all safe following the devastating 8.8 earthquake that struck the southern part of the country February 27. Thomas experienced some minor damage to his home and currently doesn’t have electricity or internet service at his residence, but otherwise is fine. We do not know of any specific member needs yet, but information is still limited at this time.
We have been able to send GCI Disaster Relief funds to Haiti to help the members there with emergency needs following the quake in that region. We have some additional funds that can still be sent as they are requested by Haitian Pastor Joseph Franklin.
The Disaster Relief Fund was established to help provide members in disaster areas with emergency needs such as food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repairs, temporary local pastoral salary expenses and other emergency needs. Monies received into the Fund, but not immediately needed, remain in the Fund to be allocated for future disasters.
Since inception, money from this Fund have been used to help members recover from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, storms and flooding in Bangladesh, an earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands, typhoons in the Philippines and the recent earthquake in Haiti.
On behalf of all those who have been helped, let me express their sincere appreciation to the congregations and individuals who have generously provided these funds.
If your congregation would like to donate to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, please send a check to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that the donation is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The donation should be sent to:
GCI Disaster Relief Fund Grace Communion International P.O Box 5005 Glendora, California 91740
Thank you for your prayers and financial contributions to help members of the GCI family who are suffering.
Typical Mozambique Church Building.
South Africa
GCI South Africa National Director Tim Maguire, and Regional Pastor Caleb Makhela recently spent two weeks visiting dozens of congregations in Mozambique who want to affiliate with our denomination. Here are some excerpts from their report:
Caleb Makhela and I travelled through four of the central and northern provinces of the country and spoke in 44 churches. There are 13 churches in Mozambique we weren’t able to visit, and another eight in Malawi.
Due to the lack of communication about a specific time to meet, we often found that a congregation had been diligently waiting all day for us and were still waiting when we arrived in the late afternoon. The welcome we received in every church was unbelievable! These are men, women and even children who hunger and thirst and live for the Word. Most of them are subsistence farmers, who live from day to day, not always sure where their next meal will come from, but they are spiritually energized and praising God.
Regional Pastor Mariano on a bicycle.
Every church we visited had built or were building a place of worship, from timber, home-baked bricks, mud and grass or reeds. The leaders and pastors seem deeply committed to serving God and his people. Public transport to the churches is nonexistent. Some churches only have paths leading to them, so it is not unusual for a pastor (one regional pastor is 68 years old) to walk or cycle 20 or 30 km to church.
Rain has been late this year, and maize, their main crop, looks set to fail or yield very little. Without crops, the people go hungry. Domingos, their national leader, serves full-time but receives no remuneration for it. When I asked him how he survives, he says sometimes he goes to bed hungry but he trusts God to provide.
Another need is that of Bibles. Most are able to read in their home language (for most, that is Senna) and/or Portuguese, but they don’t have access to a Bible. I have asked our South African churches to take up a collection so we can purchase five Bibles apiece for each of these congregations. Bibles are available for about 30 Rand in Mozambique.
Before we left, we met with Domingos and his regional leaders and they asked if our members would pray for the members in Mozambique, specifically about the following:
The need for rain and good crops
The need for some sort of transport for Domingos to allow him to travel to visit the churches. (The distance between Chimoio, where Domingos lives, and the furthest church is about 800km on very poor roads.)
Their upcoming Easter conference in April. Many leaders may not be able to attend as they do not have the fare needed to get them there.
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Bogota, Columbia
Mission Director Hector Barrero and his wife, Paulina, began a new round of outreach marriage enrichment classes in our Bogota congregation in February. Twenty-six couples not associated with the church responded to their invitation and joined the four-month series of classes to improve their marriages. Last round 17 couples received certificates of completion. One of them is now helping teach the class.
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Estonia: Young Adult Summer Program 2010
This will be the fifth year that the church will hold a summer school in Kallaste, Estonia.
Dates: From Friday, July 30 through Sunday, August 8, 2010.
Place: The first two days will be sightseeing in the capital city, Tallinn. The rest of the time we will be in the small Estonian town of Kallaste on the shores of Lake Peipsi, the fourth largest lake in Europe. The town of Kallaste has a population of 1300, which mostly consists of Russian-speaking Estonians.
New activities for teens and young adults have been added to the 2010 GCI International Conference in Orlando, Florida. A printable flier is available at the conference website at http://2010.gci.org/category/youngadulttrack/
In addition, because the host hotel for our international conference is part of the Walt Disney World Resort, conference attendees will have access to discounted Disney tickets. These discounts, which are only available to groups holding meetings within the resort, grant extended hours to many of the attractions. For advance purchase of specially priced Disney Meeting/Convention Theme Park tickets, go to www.disneyconventionear.com/GCI
Please note that these Theme Park tickets must be purchased no later than July 20, 2010.
Pastor Paul Miller of our Mountian Home, Arkansas, church has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Paul asked for prayer for his health and his family.
Cards can be sent to: 422 Hwy 14 S Yellville, AR 72687-7501
Jeanette Wendt, widow of longtime headquarters employee Jim Wendt, died February 27, in her home. Please remember the Wendt family in their loss. Pastor Glen Weber of our Eagle Rock, California, congregation sent this update about his father:
They took Dad back into surgery to re-install the electrodes on his new pacemaker. During the procedure his heart stopped. After extensive CPR they were able to revive him, but could not complete the procedure. They wanted to re-do the surgery by opening his chest and installing the electrode that way (rather than through the blood vessel like they were doing before). But he is so feeble now from all he’s been through that the family doesn’t want him to go through another procedure.
Yesterday he was moved out of the main hospital and into their Acute Rehab Unit. He is walking fairly well and doing everything he would typically be doing, but he is very weak and shaky. His mind is working very well. He will go through extensive therapy for the next few days.
Cards may be sent to: Glen Weber, Sr. 17 Cozad Rd Wheatland, WY 82201-8987
Remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight of faith. Let’s encourage everyone to join together in prayer, for we belong to Christ, and by the Spirit it is in Christ that we pray. Prayer and other spiritual activities help keep our hearts in tune with God and remind us of who we are in Christ. He is our all in all, and in him we are eternally beloved of the Father and blessed to share his good news with others.
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In addition, because the host hotel for our international conference is part of the Walt Disney World Resort, conference attendees will have access to discounted Disney tickets. These discounts, which are only available to groups holding meetings within the resort, grant extended hours to many of the attractions. For advance purchase of specially priced Disney Meeting/Convention Theme Park tickets, go to www.disneyconventionear.com/GCI