Don and Sue Lawson are proud great-grandparents of twins! Don wrote:
We haven’t sent a picture before, even though we have 13 grandchildren and now 7 greats. Numbers six and seven are “two” much “two” pass up. Our grandson Steven and wife Jamie Myers gave birth to twins on September 21. Kyle, one minute older than his sister, weighed in at 4 lb 8 oz, while younger sister Alyssa weighed in at 4 lb 9 oz. Due to early birth, about eight months, they had a short stay in the hospital, but are home and doing well. Great-grandpa was the first one to hold both of them; then it was Great Grandma’s turn.
Tammy and I enjoyed Canadian Thanksgiving services in Penticton last week. Pastor Roy Page hosted the event, and we enjoyed seeing Steve and Nicole Posiak and Todd Martin as well. About 100 attended the church service and Turkey dinner on Sunday evening. The Okanagan Valley is home to more than 200 wineries, which were having their annual wine tasting during the Thanksgiving season.
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Canadian national director Gary Moore attended a Thanksgiving celebration in Moncton, New Brunswick. He sent the following report:
Pastor Eric Vautour and his wife, Edna, along with the Moncton, New Brunswick, church, hosted a special Thanksgiving weekend celebration last Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. People from several Maritime congregations attended the uplifting time of fellowship. Since I pastored in the Maritimes for nearly 12 years, it is always a special time for me to visit the members in that lovely part of our country.
Mike and Sandy Baker were among those who drove up from the Halifax area. Mike (with Sandy’s great support) has served as an elder for many years, and is well known and highly respected by all our Atlantic members. They will be moving to B.C. toward the end of the year to be closer to their two children (Matt and Nathania) and their three grandsons. It will be B.C.’s gain, but Nova Scotia’s loss, but who can resist the pull of grandchildren!
Below are two pictures, one of Eric and Edna Vautour, and the other of the group eating a chicken dinner on Saturday evening. Many headed off after the Sunday afternoon service to join family for a Thanksgiving celebration that evening, or on Thanksgiving day. I was able to make an early Monday morning flight out of Moncton to join the family for our turkey dinner. As we don’t have relatives in this area, we (Wendy, Rachel, Kylie and I) invited a Korean family we know who are fairly new to Canada. Their daughter is in grade four with Kylie, so as any of you who are parents know, the parents of your children’s friends often become your friends.
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Finally, I wanted to mention that Reuben Ross, whose family are long-time members of the Regina congregation, won silver and gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. He won the gold as part of the synchronized men’s team with Alexandre Despatie of Montreal, who is one of Canada’s greatest divers. With this achievement, Reuben is rapidly becoming one of the country’s great divers as well!
East Africa
From Kalengule Kaoma:
An elderly man receives a Bible, his own copy for the first time in his life. Thanks to USA and Australian brethren for making Bible gifts possible.
I returned from East Africa recently where I had visited our affiliated congregations in Mara region, northwestern Tanzania. The trip took me to Musoma, Kiabakari, Bunda, Nansio, Kisorya, and Tarime. Believers in these towns and villages were extremely grateful to God that I had taken the time to visit, spend time with and speak to them.
A 22-seat plane landed safely on a gravel airport in Musoma September 29. Church leader and overseer, Pastor Shadrack Fabian, met me at the airport. The following day, Pastor Fabian, his assistant Saile and a translator, Freddy, left Musoma by van taxi to Kiabakari. From the main bus station, we went by motorbike taxi to the village, where we found a group of men, women, and children waiting for us. The open-air church service under mango trees attracted villagers who sat outside their huts. They watched and listened. In my message based on Mark 6:30-44, I encouraged 35 people in attendance to find fullness of life in Christ, who satisfies all our needs.
We spent the night in Bunda. The pastor of the Bunda congregation and the church members there sent their regards. At 6.30 a.m., we boarded a van taxi to Kisorya, where we were to connect to Nansio, Ukerewe district, by ferry. Ukerewe district has several islands on Lake Victoria. There are several congregations from which 85 representatives attended church service at Bulamba Village. After lunch, I held meetings with church leaders.
On October 2, we took the ferry back to Kisorya. We had two church services there; one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Last year, the Kisorya church building, which was under construction, collapsed because of torrential rains. Since then, the Kisorya church has gratefully been meeting in an Anglican church building on Saturdays. A kiln of bricks has been fired and is now almost ready for the members to start rebuilding their worship center.
On October 3, my team and I left Kisorya at 7 a.m. After five hours of travelling, we arrived in Tarime, where I met the leaders of Grace and Truth Community International. You may recall that Millie and Joash of Grace and Truth Community International had inquired about affiliation with GCI early this year. Since then, this group changed its name to Grace Communion International. Five leaders, General Overseer Joseph Nyakwaka, Assistant General Overseer Maurice Onyango, and Millie Wandwi, Joash Adriano Odira, and Jennifer Webiro were waiting for us. This initial assessment meeting went so well that I encouraged the leaders that we will keep an open door for affiliation. They have eleven churches – five in Kenya and six in Mara region, Tanzania. They are already looking forward to my next visit.
Portugal
From Jose Ribeiro:
We had a fellowship festival meeting here in Portugal and it was a treat to spend time with international members from the USA, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, Belgium and Portugal during the weekend. There were 38 in attendance. Guest speakers included Mr. Francis Bergin and Mr. James Henderson from the UK; it was simply great! The theme was “Celebrating Grace,” and many inspiring messages were shared.
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We took the opportunity to ordain a new deacon in Portugal, Mr. Daniel Fernandes. Daniel was baptized in 1992 and has served in the church in many areas including youth activities, translations, giving messages, and organizing events. He is an energetic and outgoing person who combines service with humility.
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Prayer requests and updates:
Charles Fleming asked Haiti pastor Joseph Franklin to tell us what we could pray about. Generally speaking, Mr. Franklin said that life just gets harder. Everything seems to be on hold until the elections. The problem of kidnappings has reappeared. Specific prayer requests include:
Pray for the elections—set for November 28—for a government that is more effective than any Haiti has had in the past.
About law and order—especially for the authorities to get a handle on the kidnappings
Sanitation in the city—this is a growing problem
There has been a lot of damage caused by heavy rains and storms. The opening of our school was delayed because the storms blew down the tent being used as a school on four different occasions. The school finally opened today—October 18—with 54 kids attending. Total enrollment is 134 and so more are expected to show up over the next few days.
Pray for the teachers, pupils and parents.
Pray for God’s inspiration on the Franklins, who lead devotions with the kids. Mrs. Franklin gave the prayer this morning, asking blessings on the school year.
The Church family:
For protection for all members and their kids. Parents worry a lot about their kids’ safety. Andre Naval spends approximately three hours a day riding the bus to escort his kids (two in university and one finishing off high school) because he does not want them to ride the bus alone.
For conditions that allow services to be held each week. For example, services were cancelled yesterday because of storms.
Andre Naval crushed one of his fingers while closing the metal gate outside his home. He lost a nail and has not been able to do much work.
Mrs. Franklin’s health has not been very good over the past several months.
Mr Franklin has also had some health issues and has been experiencing pain.
Pastor Glen Weber of our Eagle Rock, California, congregation asked for prayer for his sister, Karen Sinner, who has a lemon-sized tumor near her tailbone that is encroaching on her spine. She is on a a 24-hour a day chemo drip for the next five and a half weeks. She is also receiving daily radiation treatments, which will continue until Thanksgiving.
Karen has been an active part of our Cheyenne, Wyoming, congregation and a staff member at SEP Rockies.
Cards may be sent to: Karen Sinner 3914 Robitaille Court Cheyenne, WY 82001
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.
Don and Sue Lawson are proud great-grandparents of twins! Don wrote:
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