October 2011 – Page 4

On mission in Malawi

Kayla Shallenberger and Carrie Smith, two young GCI members from the United States, are on an extended mission trip in Malawi, Africa. They are teaching at a school in Blantyre, which is operated by the GCI church there. You can follow their progress on Kayla’s blog and Carrie’s FaceBook page.

Seminar in Phoenix

Thirty-one people representing five congregations gathered in Phoenix, AZ for a Ministry Development training presented by Ted Johnston to the SW GCI District (Nevada/Arizona/New Mexico). The two Phoenix congregations hosted the event.

Ted (pictured at left) presented the seminar, “Becoming a Missional Church.” He challenged us to participate in the Father’s mission through Jesus’ ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit. We all went home encouraged to reach out to our communities in more effective ways.

– Glen Weber, district pastor

Karen Torgerson

The following update on Karen is from Doug Johannsen.

Betty and I visited Karen this week. We found her in a regular room. She will probably be sent home later this week. Her breathing appears to have returned to the level it was before this episode. Karen asked that I express her heartfelt thanks for all the prayers on her behalf. She said she will never look at prayer requests for others the same way again. We could also see a great reduction in the strain and worry that had been on her husband John’s face.

Marj Friddle

The following praise report is from Marj Friddle.

Dear family and friends,

I have very good news. The wound (staph infected area) is now totally healed much to the surprise of the nurse who came today. It healed in three weeks, though I was told it usually takes at least four to six weeks. We know this is an answer to prayer. The liquid antibiotics were completed last Wednesday and the line removed from my arm. I have been on oral antibiotics for six days and have four more days to go and then I will be finished. I will be really happy to get off of the strong antibiotics that have been required. My lab tests came back good yesterday – no elevation in white cell count – no indication of infection.

We are SO THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL for the MANY cards (68 at last count), numerous e-mails and phone calls that we have received. Our friends and family have been wonderful with their prayers and love for us. We DEEPLY APPRECIATE all the prayers, not only for me, but also for Jim. Our son, Nathan, was here for two weeks and that was a huge help. I still have to take it easy – there is lots of soreness in my abdomen, which will take time to go away. I feel so amazingly blessed that the cancer had not spread and that it was on the right side of my colon so I didn’t have to have a colostomy.

We send our deepest thanks to all of you and are VERY THANKFUL to have you in our lives.

-Marj Friddle

Irish ordinations

The highlight of this year’s Irish Autumn Harvest Festival (held Sept. 11-17), was the ordination of two members of GCI’s churches in Ireland. James Henderson (director for GCI in the UK) was accompanied by Anthony Goudie and Irish Deacons and Deaconesses in ordaining James Joseph (Joe) Casey as an elder (first picture) and Alando (Alan) Bata as a deacon (second picture).

Joe has been a deacon in the Limerick Congregation in the south of Ireland for a number of years. He is also an active member of their pastoral council. Alan and his wife Fe are Filipino members of the Dublin Congregation. Alan recently became an Irish citizen.

In the ordination ceremony, James Henderson (at right in both pictures) spoke briefly about ordination and the roles of deacon and elder as outlined in Scripture. Both men were asked if they would accept their respective roles, to which they agreed. After prayer both men were anointed with oil as a reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and hands laid on them as a symbol of separation to serve. The members of the Irish churches (along with some visiting festival guests) were delighted with these ordinations, and wished both Alan and Joe a blessed and fruitful future in service to their respective congregations.

SEP UK report

SEP UK was held for two weeks this August in the stunning environment of Loch Lomond, Scotland. Despite torrential rains, the nearly 100 campers displayed a relentless positive energy. Almost a third of the campers had never been to SEP before. For the first time in recent memory, there was a surplus of staff applications.

Sixteen camp activities included archery, riflery and sailing. New this year was a community outreach project undertaken by the trainee staff. The team refurbished the garden areas of the school in the local village, Milton of Buchannan – this was greatly appreciated by the people in the local community some of whom visited SEP for the first time. Many commented that they had often wondered what happened at the camp by the Loch but had never before had the opportunity to come and find out.

Christian Living classes addressed questions about human life. The final worship service of camp brought everything back to the personal and God’s desire to be involved in each individual’s life. A clear presentation of this universal message was augmented by a moving and impactful ‘cardboard testimony’ from about 30 members of staff. On one side the staff members held up a brief statement of their life before God’s involvement in their lives and then flipped it over to describe in a few words how their lives have been transformed. On the last evening of camp everyone enjoyed a wonderful final banquet.