Dave and Hinka Gilbert are proud first-time grandparents! Esther Elizabeth Gilbert was born August 28 at 10:38 p.m. to David and Anna Gilbert of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Esther weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20½ inches long. All are well. “Grandparenting is really neat,” said Dave and Hinka, after a couple of days’ experience.
Denver, Colorado
Last weekend members of the leadership team of the new Ground Zero Church in Denver participated in another session of Church-Next training for leaders of church plants. This session addressed the areas of evangelism, gathering a core group (of new people), evangelistic small groups and planning a “grand opening” for a new church.
On Sunday, Church Multiplication Ministries director Randy Bloom visited their worship service and participated in their outreach activity Sunday afternoon. Attendance at the worship service was 44, with about a dozen visitors, a few of them previously non-churched. The outreach activity was a pool party and cookout at the apartment complex where they hold their worship service. Several people from the complex enjoyed the food and met members of Ground Zero.
For more pictures of the Ground Zero open house, go to our US mission blog, “It Looks Like This,” at (http://gci-usa.blogspot.com/), and click on “seek.”
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SEP SoCal
Mark and Anne Stapleton reported that SEP SoCal was held in July at Cedar Lake Camp in Big Bear, California, with 78 staffers and 170 campers. They wrote: “We are very grateful for the help of generous donors who helped scholarship 50 percent of these campers.” This year, the camp continued its emphasis on developing young emerging leaders with the theme “In Pursuit,” which emphasized that God pursues a personal relationship with each of us. Photos follow:
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Dr. Inyambo Nyumbu
Zambia
African Missions Director Kalengule Kaoma attended a leadership meeting for pastors and congregational leaders in Zambia August 19-23. Dr. Inyambo Nyumbu, national ministry leader for Zambia, organized the event, which was held in Chongwe, fifty kilometers east of Lusaka.
Kalengule reported that the leaders and pastors who attended asked him to pass their love to all.
Photos follow:
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Dallas, Texas
Reconciliation Ministries director Curtis May, together with GCI pastors Tom Pickett, Arnold Clauson and Bob Persky, held a reconciliation seminar called “A Time to Reconcile” at the Omni Dallas Hotel Park West August 7-8 in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Curtis reported that 150 church leaders, community leaders and local citizens gathered for an energetic, eye-opening and encouraging two-day seminar. Asked their impression of the weekend, the most common response was, “Wow, this is more than I thought.”
Two weekends ago, we visited three congregations in the Johannesburg/Pretoria area. We met with the Raslow congregation on Saturday morning, the Johannesburg Central congregation on Sunday morning, and then the Sizwe church plant on Sunday afternoon. The Sizwe congregation consists of people who are in the Sizwe hospital. This hospital serves those who are suffering from extremely difficult to treat cases of tuberculosis and AIDS. These are the cases that have become resistant to normal drug treatments.
About 15 percent of those admitted die there, while the rest are helped sufficiently they can be released. Patients come from all over South Africa, and even from other parts of the continent, as it is a unique facility. Several of our leaders approached the hospital administration some time ago, asking permission to start a church service on the hospital grounds, to serve those who would appreciate the chance to worship. This permission was granted with the desire that spiritual hope could be provided to these very desperate and at times very depressed and discouraged people.
Between 30 and 40 patients meet for worship each Sunday afternoon. Due to the contagious nature of the diseases, the service is held outside. Our ministers go through the wards wearing masks, inviting the patients to the service and offering to pray for any who would welcome prayer. Wendy and I went with them into the wards, which was a moving experience. Does it ever make you appreciate the blessings you have in life, and makes very clear that God and his love are the ultimate realities for every human being! The worship was really uplifting, and the church even has a choir group who performed a couple of inspiring worship pieces for us.
I spoke about God’s love and the fact that he has already secured our salvation through Jesus Christ. It but remains for us to say “yes” to what God has done, and choose to enter the father/child relationship with him through Jesus Christ. Speaking to that group, who have so little hope in this life, and being able to simply be a mouthpiece to express God’s love for each one of them and what he desires for each of them, was both humbling and an honor. Wendy and I left services moved by what we saw, and we will be keeping the people there in our prayers on a regular basis. Pastors Grant and Papike set a wonderful example of Christian ministry in the way they serve this congregation with love and tenderness.
Finally, last weekend we were able to fly four hours to the island of Mauritius on the Indian Ocean to enjoy two days of vacation (the beaches and coral reef are wonderful), followed by meeting with the congregation on the weekend. The island is primarily French speaking, but English is widely understood. It is a beautiful place, in some ways physically reminiscent of Hawaii. The culture is heavily influenced by Asian influences. We have a thriving congregation of 40 on the island. Wendy and I presented two messages on Saturday and two on Sunday, which seemed to be very well received. Yves and Lisbie Nayna, and Benedict and Mary Joyce Moutou pastor the members very well. We much enjoyed our time with them.
On Saturday night almost everyone was able to attend a barbecue held at a member’s home, which ended with a sing-along of some popular worship songs in both English and Creole. The church there has about 10 children in regular attendance, and has a nice mix of all generations in the congregation. It creates a very close, family atmosphere amongst the membership.
Prayer Requests and Updates
Pastor Dave Husmann of our Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa, churches was injured when his motorcycle was hit by a vehicle that ran a stop sign. Dave sustained numerous scrapes and bruises, and is pretty banged up. It appears he has no broken bones, but an MRI is scheduled to check for other injuries. Please keep Dave and his family in your prayers.
Cards may be sent to: 250 N 8th St Akron, IA 51001-8603
Ray Meyer’s mom has deteriorated since her surgery. Ray said, “She is semi-comatose and not responding to verbal commands. All of her doctors feel she will not be able to pull out of the severely compromised condition she is in. The prognosis is very poor. We are probably facing turning off the ventilator and life support in the near future. I’m sure you know this is a very hard thing to do. But God’s grace is sufficient. Please pray for his mercy and grace for Mom and for us, and his will to be done.” Pastor Dave Orban underwent triple bypass surgery Monday morning. Dave has been pastoring in our denomination for nearly 40 years. His faithfulness and care for people has been a wonderful blessing for all those who know him.
Here’s an update from Sue Berger:
The surgeon saw no heart damage and expects a full recovery. Dave will be in ICU a couple of nights (sedated and on a breathing tube the first night, which will be removed early in the morning and he’ll be allowed to wake up). Then he will be in intermediate care for 4-5 nights. Doctors expect him to be able to return home in a week. The surgeon wants him to walk a lot for his therapy for the first month, but expects Dave will very soon be feeling better than he has in a while. We’ll pass along any other news as we get it, along with hospital room info when he gets out of ICU. Thanks for your continued prayers!
Cards may be sent to: 7 Ramblewood Dr Longview, TX 75605-3348
Wendy Moore’s mom is in the hospital recovering from surgery for a blockage in her bowel. The surgery appears to have been successful, but she is still fighting nausea, and can’t seem to hold her food down. Your prayers for her would be much appreciated. From Bob and Debbie Klynsmith:
As discussed, various tests indicate that Debbie has breast cancer, which is likely to require surgery after a protracted treatment of chemotherapy followed by radium therapy. We are meeting with the relevant doctors at Groote Schuur on Wednesday morning to get a more complete diagnosis of her condition and their recommendations regarding treatment. Your prayers and the prayers of the church would be deeply appreciated. We look to the love of Jesus for healing, guidance and wisdom during this very difficult time.
Cards may be sent to: PO Box 2536 Durbanville 7551 SOUTH AFRICA
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.
On Sunday, Church Multiplication Ministries director Randy Bloom visited their worship service and participated in their outreach activity Sunday afternoon. Attendance at the worship service was 44, with about a dozen visitors, a few of them previously non-churched. The outreach activity was a pool party and cookout at the apartment complex where they hold their worship service. Several people from the complex enjoyed the food and met members of Ground Zero.
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Two weekends ago, we visited three congregations in the Johannesburg/Pretoria area. We met with the Raslow congregation on Saturday morning, the Johannesburg Central congregation on Sunday morning, and then the Sizwe church plant on Sunday afternoon. The Sizwe congregation consists of people who are in the Sizwe hospital. This hospital serves those who are suffering from extremely difficult to treat cases of tuberculosis and AIDS. These are the cases that have become resistant to normal drug treatments.
I spoke about God’s love and the fact that he has already secured our salvation through Jesus Christ. It but remains for us to say “yes” to what God has done, and choose to enter the father/child relationship with him through Jesus Christ. Speaking to that group, who have so little hope in this life, and being able to simply be a mouthpiece to express God’s love for each one of them and what he desires for each of them, was both humbling and an honor. Wendy and I left services moved by what we saw, and we will be keeping the people there in our prayers on a regular basis. Pastors Grant and Papike set a wonderful example of Christian ministry in the way they serve this congregation with love and tenderness.
Finally, last weekend we were able to fly four hours to the island of Mauritius on the Indian Ocean to enjoy two days of vacation (the beaches and coral reef are wonderful), followed by meeting with the congregation on the weekend. The island is primarily French speaking, but English is widely understood. It is a beautiful place, in some ways physically reminiscent of Hawaii. The culture is heavily influenced by Asian influences. We have a thriving congregation of 40 on the island. Wendy and I presented two messages on Saturday and two on Sunday, which seemed to be very well received. Yves and Lisbie Nayna, and Benedict and Mary Joyce Moutou pastor the members very well. We much enjoyed our time with them.