Author: Elizabeth Mullins

One of my favorite names of God is “Yahweh Shammah.” (Ezekiel 48:35) It means “The Lord is there.” Throughout Scripture, God reveals himself — who he is and his character. But the Son is the supreme revelation of the Father. The Son became one of us and is with us. In fact, his name is Immanuel – “God with us.”

The Gospels describe Jesus, the expression of the God who is with us. He encounters people tangibly, eating, teaching, walking with them. We see Jesus being intentional to meet individuals where there are.

In John 4, we read of an encounter of Jesus with a Samaritan woman at the well, as she was coming to draw water. As the disciples looked for food, Jesus chose to stay and to minister to this woman, even asking her for a drink (John 4:7). Little did this Samaritan woman know that she was about to draw water, not to quench the physical thirst, but through the living water who satisfies her spiritual thirst.

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” John 4:13-15 NLT

Jesus met the Samaritan woman exactly where she was … at the well.

In this Ordinary Time, let us take a moment for the Lord is here. How is Jesus encountering you “at the well,” in whatever problem, sorrow, need, painful past, sickness, or anxiety you are experiencing? Jesus has given us the living water — himself.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, remind me of Jesus’ presence especially in areas when everything seems ordinary. Let the extraordinary truth about God, who is Yahweh Shammah, be my assurance today.

By Justine Paolo “Jep” Parcasio, Associate Pastor
Baguio, Philippines

Members in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are showing generosity to their community even when resources are scarce. The woman’s ministry is creating Billum bags and selling them to raise money to help support their neighbors. They donate the funds to neighbors who have funeral expenses, and they express love and support to the families who are grieving.

GCI provides pastoral oversight for congregations in Mt. Wilhelm and Port Moresby. Infrastructure development at the Mt. Wilhelm facility has included the installation of solar power for the church-owned buildings in this remote part of the central highlands. This solar power allows the local congregation to host events after dark as a way to serve and bless neighboring villages, which have no electric power.

Their missional activities include water, agriculture, and income projects in tandem with biblical education and personal development for the entire community. They also held a children’s camp in July. Read more here.

In July, the PNG church celebrated Pastors Richard Kindi and Ben Galwa for 10 years of service. They were presented with certificates during a wonderful service with communion.

Pastors Richard and Ben have shown great pastoral care for the members by guiding them through difficult times, like COVID. And they have shown leadership during this challenging year for the entire country. The country has experienced looting, tribal war in the Enga province, and fear and suspicion of witchcraft. Women can be blamed for unexplained deaths and accused of witchcraft. If a woman is believed to be a witch, she is often murdered.

In March, widespread flooding led to a landslide in Chimbu province that caused incredible property damage, and 23 people died. Pastor Ben Galwa’s house was also affected.

Please join us in praying for our GCI family in PNG.

Note: The GCI Disaster Relief Fund helps provide members in disaster areas with emergency needs.

If your congregation would like to donate to the fund, you can set up a one-time donation through GCI Online Giving (https://www.gci.org/online-giving/) by selecting “Give for Disaster Relief” under the drop-down menu.

If your congregation prefers to send a check, make it out to Grace Communion International, indicating clearly on the memo line that the donation is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund.

Send the donation to:
GCI Disaster Relief Fund
Grace Communion International
3120 Whitehall Park Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28273

Thank you for your prayers and financial contributions to help members of the GCI family who are suffering.

Burias Island, Luzon, Philippines

Dubbed “Burias Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder), our three-day camp was the first neighborhood camp in the Philippines to have a holistic approach, reaching young people and the host community through a deep well project. By God’s grace and our sustained efforts, we raised the funds for this new camp.

We appreciate the willing hearts of all who served, especially the support of the GCI Bicol pastorate. GCI Daet provided worship. GCI Pili sent volunteers for food service and transportation. GCI Cotmon delivered equipment — tents, cooking utensils, archery sets. GCI Tabaco sent a culinary expert. GCI Donsol sent a veteran counselor to complete our personnel requirement.

Our theme, “Live Out Love” (1 Corinthians 16:14), was shared by the more than 100 individuals involved. The camaraderie and love culminated in three baptisms in the sea — a trio of young people yearning to serve the Lord!

Here lies the challenge now. We’re responsible for ensuring that these young leaders are guided and equipped on their journey of faith.

By Ricardo E. Perez, Pastor
Cotmon, Luzon, Philippines

Jacksonville, FL, US

We named our neighborhood camp “Grace Camp” when it started back in 2021 to note our connection to Grace Communion International, and to highlight our emphasis upon God’s love and grace towards all children. Each year in our daily chapel service, we focus on a certain aspect of God’s grace. This year our chapel theme was “Speaking with Grace to Others.”

Thirty-six campers aged 6-18, and 24 volunteer staff participated in our three-day camp. The teens had an additional day with an overnight on Jekyll Island, G.A. to provide better mentoring time.

Activities included crafts, sports, a block party, a dance, a water balloon contest, skits, a hike, and off-site outings (See schedule). Approximately a third of the campers came from the neighborhoods near the church. Some previous GCI attendees’ kids and grandkids attended, which is a good way to reconnect with them. Most of our regular church youth attended, which we value as strengthening our internal youth ministry and their discipleship journey with Jesus.

By Marty Davey, Pastor
Jacksonville, FL, US

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Our goal with children’s ministry is to plant seeds of God’s word in children’s lives and allow the Holy Spirit to transform them, nurturing a relationship with Christ. To that end, we organised a three-day Vacation Bible School (VBS) on the church premises. The theme was “I Wonder.”

Fourteen children participated, and our design was a place-sharing perspective that would be non-threatening for children who are not Christian. An event like this brings members together and becomes a rich relational experience.

The children were taught to grow in their relationship with Jesus by engaging them with robotic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — and most importantly, our Creator! They heard from early church leaders like Paul, Peter, and Timothy, who helped the first Jesus followers wonder what made their stories unique, what gifts God gave them, how they could use those gifts to serve, and how they could spend time with God each day. Thanks to “Grow Curriculum” from where the material was resourced.

By Danny Zachariah, Superintendent of Asia
Hyderabad, India