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Death of Jack R. Elliott

Jack R. Elliott died peacefully Sunday evening, July 24, with his wife Anne and his family at his side.

Mr. Elliott was a long-time employee of Ambassador College where he served in a number of capacities including Dean of Students and Facilities Director. He helped Herbert Armstrong develop the campus in Pasadena, CA. and founded Ambassador Club (and Spokesman’s Club), patterned after Toastmaster’s International.

After retirement, Mr. Elliott moved to Texas, where he served as an elder in the United Church of God. A memorial service was held on July 27 at the United Church of God hall in Big Sandy, Texas.

Report on trip to Liberia

Kalengule Kaoma, the GCI mission developer in Africa, reports on his recent trip to Liberia:

I have been corresponding with three contacts in Liberia for about a year. Recently, I spent a few days in Monrovia, Liberia. The visit produced fruitful results with one of the contacts through Pastor Robert Browne (with red tie, together with his executive team in the picture at right).

Pastor Browne has two small congregations in Monrovia and five others in rural areas of Liberia. Together, there are about 180 people including children. I spoke to executive and ministry leaders about their intentions of being part of GCI. On Sunday, I met and spoke to the church in Gardnersville, Monrovia (pictured below). The enthusiasm and excitement made all of us rejoice together in the Lord with praise.

Like most affiliations in Africa, the Liberian one is being considered within the bounds of God’s love (John 3:16) to work together in reaching and ministering to people where they are. The Liberian brethren strongly feel that they will benefit from GCI spiritual guidance and knowledge.

Four months before leaving for Monrovia, I lost contact with two other Liberian contacts. While in Liberia, I tried to call their phones but both of them were not reachable. However, after I returned to Lusaka, I have reestablished contact with the two leaders. They are eager for my return visit to Liberia.

Your continued prayers are appreciated for this new door.

 

Transformational Church consulting

Church Administration and Development offers Transformational Church (TC) consulting to GCI congregations in the U.S. These services help congregations assess their current level of health and then grow in their participation in the ministry that Jesus is doing to transform lives. Here are reports from two GCI congregations currently receiving TC services.

Christ Community Church (CCC), Cincinnati, OH

Here is a report from CCC senior pastor, George Hart:

Last winter, we began the TC process by conducting a church health assessment, using LifeWay’s Transformational Church Assessment Tool (TCAT). This was followed by a day-long Discovery Retreat, facilitated by two of GCI’s TC consultants: Ken Williams and Ted Johnston. As a result, we’re now moving forward on several fronts. A key one is to reach out to the community around our church hall. We are doing so using a Word in the Street type outreach (Word in the Street is our annual urban mission outreach to the inner city of Cincinnati – we have adapted this mission format to reach out to the community nearby our place of meeting).

Our first outreach was held on July 10, with the theme “God’s Extravagant Love” (see picture). We started at 6:30pm with live music and free food. This was followed with worship songs and a children’s message. A giant ice-cream sundae was made to emphasize the extravagant love God has for children. There was also a short message for the adults emphasizing that no matter where they are in life or what they have done, God is not angry with them but wants to shower them with love. After the messages there were games for the children and fellowship for the adults. A number of members served, and many came out just to get to know our neighbors in the community. Here are some of the results:

  • One lady thanked us no less than 4 times for coming, and just before she left she made it a point to thank us again. She said, “It is so nice to see the kids playing together rather than arguing and fighting with each other.”
  • One man from Guatemala, who spoke no English, was sitting on a rock away from the crowd enjoying the music. He was introduced to one of our members who spoke a little Spanish and when he heard his native language, his whole face lit up. I happened to see him the following evening, and he gave me a huge smile.
  • During the time of fellowship several people from the community received prayer. One man prayed for said, “I have never felt such love.”

We have two more events like this scheduled – one in August and one in September.

[For a video interview with George concerning TC services, click here.]

Grace Family Fellowship (GFF), Toledo, OH

GFF recently began the TC process by conducting a church health assessment using the TCAT. Following that, GFF’s pastor, ministry leaders and key workers held a day-long Discovery Retreat which was facilitated by GCI TC consultant Ted Johnston.

During the retreat (see picture), the group sought the Holy Spirit’s direction for GFF’s next steps for their participation in ministry with Jesus – both within the congregation, and out to the community. Highly interactive discussions focused on understanding and utilizing the congregation’s strengths related to worship, community and mission. Time was also spent understanding GFF’s challenges in those issues, and seeking the Spirit’s direction for growth. The group then brainstormed action priorities related to their next steps. Following the retreat, Ted prepared a summary report setting forth the results. The report serves as a map for the journey forward with Jesus. Ted will coach the congregation’s pastor, Stuart Mahan, as GFF moves forward.

Church Administration and Development offers several types of Transformational Church consulting. If your congregation is interested, watch a short video by clicking here. If still interested, contact Church Administration and Development at 800.574.2299, or email any member of the Ministry Development Team. One of GCI’s Transformational Church consultants will help you choose an approach suitable to your circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update from GCI-Canada

From GCI-Canada director Gary Moore

Wendy, Kylie and I arrived safely in South Africa. I was able to speak at one of the Pretoria area churches last weekend. We had some family time this week, and were able to travel to the Kruger Park area and visit with relatives. We took the opportunity to do a day trip through part of the immense Kruger Park – world famous for its game. We saw four of the “big 5” (elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino), along with quite a few smaller animals. This weekend we are involved with a leadership training session in the Johannesburg area, and a combined service on Sunday. Your prayers that it will be a spiritually fruitful time together would be gratefully appreciated.

I’m delighted to let you know that Dennis Lawrence was able to officiate at his daughter Judith’s wedding on July 9! Judith married Nathan Knapp, son of Steve and Brenda Knapp of Scarborough, Ontario. Here are two pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Church-Next Training in October

Church Administration and Development announces that the fifth annual edition of Church Multiplication Ministries’ Church-Next Training will be held this October in Glendora, CA.

What?

Church-Next Training provides resources for starting new churches and helping established churches become more effective on mission with Jesus. Topics covered include:

  • Theological foundations for starting new churches
  • Determining a focus group or community
  • Developing culturally relevant ministries
  • Developing church planting teams
  • Starting new worship services
  • Gathering people for a new church
  • Funding church plants
  • AND MORE

When?

October 11-15, 2011

Where?

GCI home office, 2011 E. Financial Way, Glendora, CA.

Who?

Church-Next Training is open to anyone who desires to learn to start a new church, or re-start an existing church. Presenters include Dr. Joseph Tkach, Dr. Dan Rogers, Dr. Randy Bloom and Lorenzo Arroyo.

How Much?

There is no cost for registration, but if you plan to attend please be sure to contact Randy Bloom (Randy.Bloom@gci.org) as soon as possible to let him know your intentions. You will pay the cost for your own lodging and meals during the event.

Santa Rosa, Philippines, anniversary

Eugene Guzon, GCI Philippines National Director (and current Santa Rosa senior pastor) reports that the Santa Rosa, Laguna congregation recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with the theme “Celebrating Life in God’s Love.” About 120 visitors and members attended.

The day began with a pancake breakfast. Photos were displayed showing the 10 years of shared memories, and learning activities were provided for the children. Then all gathered for a worship service, followed by lunch and a movie.

GenMin camps and missions

It’s a busy summer for GenMin camps and missions. Here are two updates:

CrossWalk camp

CrossWalk’s last session was held in late spring with 72 volunteer staff members serving 68 campers. Camp director Mike Rasmussen reports that they learned the great importance of cross-training their staff. Several staffers were unable to serve due to other commitments. Fortunately, the remaining staff were able to fill in. As a result, the camp met a primary goal – having a one-to-one staff to camper ratio. They also met another important goal – to increase the number of unchurched campers. Mike reports that the next CrossWalk session in November will be a “Family Camp” instead of a “Teen/Young Adult Camp”. So far, there has been a positive response to this development.

Great Commission Trips – Bahamas

GC Trips director Janet Morrison reports that we have a group of young people currently on a short-term mission trip in the Bahamas. You can follow their progress on their blog.

New Weekly Update format, completion of annual external audit

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of Wong Tian Yu, son of our Malaysian national leader, Wong Mein Kong and his wife Chew Yeng. Mein Kong wrote on Friday, July 23:

I am writing this through the pain, grief and numbness from news that my son Tian Yu died this evening, July 22, in a plane crash while flying one of his students in Philippines. They are still searching for his body in the crash.

I will be flying to Manila tomorrow to meet up with my wife, Chew Yeng, and our daughter, Xiao Qing. They happened to be in Manila for Qing’s business trip this past week. Last Saturday, when Yeng arrived in Clark airport Tian was there to meet her. He took her on a flight Sunday morning and later accompanied her to Manila so she could stay with Qing. Yesterday (Thursday), Tian came to visit them in the hotel in Manila and stayed till this morning when he went back to his flight school to work. Then this evening the school called the hotel with the tragic news.

Please pray the Lord will give our family the strength as we go through this trying period.

Thank you for your love and concern and prayers.

Eugene Guzon wrote a beautiful tribute to Tian Yu for the GCI-Philippines website. Click here for the link. I hope you will take a moment to read it. Please join us in praying for the Wong family.

New Weekly Update format

This week we’ve launched our completely redesigned Weekly Update. Over the past year, our IT department has worked with the President’s Office and Church Administration to bring the Weekly Update into a cleaner, warmer and we certainly hope a more useful format.

Each new edition of the Update will include a cover message from me and have links along the left column to news from around the world, announcements, questions and answers, information from Church Administration and Development, prayer requests and updates, and other features. To read any of these, you can simply click on the links that interest you. In this way, the Weekly Update is designed to serve as a “one stop shop” for accessing GCI information and resources. We hope you find this helpful.

Besides being easier to read and providing an easy way to find information you need or are interested in, the new design will also reduce the number of email formatting problems many pastors have experienced with the Update. We will also be able to include more information and pictures in the Update without burdening those with slower Internet connections.

The Weekly Update is emailed each week to all U.S. Pastors and the International Mission Directors. It is then posted online at update.gci.org where anyone can read it.

If you have a need to share the Update with others, you can give them the link above, or forward your email copy to them. You can also print out the pages you want to give others. With the new format you can print only one page at a time, so you only need to print the ones you need.

We’d love to hear what’s happening in your church! If you’d like to submit material for publication in the Update, just email it to WeeklyUpdate@gci.org.

Annual external audit complete

I am pleased to report that the Grace Communion International annual external audit for 2009-2010 is complete, and that we received a clean report. Capin Crouse, a national auditing firm specializing in audits for non-profit organizations, has been the Church’s auditor since 2007. We are pleased to have them as a financial accountability partner as we strive to be good stewards of the funds we are blessed to receive in support of the gospel. The audit report is available to all members in good standing upon written request to the Treasurer’s Office at P.O. Box 5005, Glendora, CA 91740.

Remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight of faith.

Love from my family to yours,

Joseph Tkach

July 21, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Cadillac Church Celebrates 30 Years

The Cadillac, Michigan, congregation of the GCI marked its 30-year anniversary on July 10, 2011 with a grand celebration, praising God for his faithfulness and guidance through the many years in our present location. The main message was given by former Cadillac pastor, Briscoe Ellett, who now pastors the Freeland, Michigan, church. Pastor Ellett challenged the members to move forward in faith and trust that God will always provide what we need, as we follow him where he leads. Former pastor Alden Sims gave a brief history of the Cadillac church, and district pastor Sam Butler presented letters of congratulations from Ken Williams, the regional supervisor, and from Joseph Tkach. Current pastor Ray Griffee led the group in praise and worship and gave closing remarks.

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The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the meal planned by Nancy Sims, and prepared by many hands. Current Cadillac members and many former members fellowshipped, reminisced, and watched old videos of church “hunter socials.” These were another reminder that God loves his church “dwelling in unity.”

Due to recent economic cut-backs, the school that has provided the Cadillac congregation a home for 30 years is now closing. They will be relocating to Chase, Michigan, where they have an opportunity to meet in a church building and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a new community. Although there are many uncertainties ahead, the congregation is confident that our living God will continue to be faithful and lead us forward for his purposes.

Photo Captions: 1. Current Pastoral Team: Ray Griffee, Susan Davis, and Jimmy Kohler; Alden Sims, former pastor 2. Speakers for Celebration: Ray Griffee, Sam Butler, Alden Sims, Briscoe Ellet 3. Attendees enjoying the meal and fellowship


Word in the Street

This four-day-long Generations Ministries urban mission reaches out to the inner city of Cincinnati, OH. Teens and adults serving as Word in the Street missionaries run a day camp for children ages 4-12. In spite of uncooperative weather, the attendance was great, with a high on Thursday of 130 campers. The camp serves children from the inner-city. It is held in a community center between two housing projects that are often hostile toward each other. Word in the Street missionaries provide the children with games, worship events (including puppet ministry), and serve an evening meal each day to anyone who shows up (this year we served approximately 550!).

In addition to the games, last year we started giving away children’s books. This year we set an extravagant goal to give out 500 books over the four days. The members reached out to neighbors, book stores and publishers and we ended up with over 1500 books.

If you are interested in learning how to create such an outreach effort, please contact Pastor George Hart of Christ Community Church at George.Hart@gci.org.

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Some of our congregations in the U.S. are currently receiving Transformational Church consulting services from our Ministry Development Team. These services utilize the Transformational Church Assessment Tool (TCAT) provided by LifeWay Resources. Recently Philip Nation from LifeWay interviewed GCI Pastor George Hart concerning the TCAT and GCI’s Transformational Church consulting. View the video of the interview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr__RxiiJf0&feature=player_embedded&list=PLA9037A56D636B6CD. Any churches interested in utilizing the TC consulting service may contact Ministry Development Team member Ted Johnston at Ted.Johnston@gci.org.


Northern Light Camp

GenMin’s Northern Light Camp, led by camp director Todd Fox, was held in Minnesota on July 10-16. 25 campers and 22 staff members participated. In accordance with the camp curriculum, the group celebrated Living Loved. This theme was wonderfully enhanced by the participation of a guest Christian band.

About ten months ago Rileigh Fox, one of the Northern Light campers, was attending a Christian concert. She spoke with members of the band Silverline (known for their hit single, Broken Glass). She asked them to attend Northern Light Camp. They agreed and while at camp they led a worship workshop, a chapel service, and conducted a worship concert (see picture). The band’s testimony fit perfectly the camp’s Living Loved theme, drawing the campers deeply into chapel debrief discussions. As a result, God’s healing hand was clearly evident as campers shared their trials and joys. Praise rang through the heavens with the baptism of some of the campers in the beautiful surroundings of Root River.

Camp activities this year included canoeing, rock climbing, high ropes, archery, Bible study with prayer, and various classes including pen making (using a wood lathe), ice cream making, pottery and drama.

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SEP SoCal

GenMin’s Spiritual Enrichment Program, Southern California (SEP SoCal) completed its tenth year of camp where 88 staff served 184 campers (age 8-19). This camp family brought together Fillipinos, African-Americans, Hispanics, Egyptians and Caucasians from California, Kentucky, Florida and Canada. It was a gorgeous mix of God’s children, representing 47 churches (including 13 GCI congregations) and 12 denominations (and many of the campers are unchurched). 107 of the campers and staff name GCI as their home. This level of participation would not be possible without the support of many generous donors. Over 2/3rds of the campers were given partial or full tuition scholarships.

In order to accommodate growth in the number of campers and an enlarged vision for camp ministry, SEP SoCal moved this year to Pine Valley Bible Conference Center in Pine Valley, CA – 40 miles east of San Diego.

A key aspect of the camp’s growth at the new facility is the addition to the camp curriculum of 11 ministry equipping tracks. These tracks prepare older campers for ministry service within their home churches and communities. Jadah and Jason Queen led the Dance Ministry track. Jadah is an instructor at Rock Steady Hip Hop Dance Studio in San Diego and Jason co-directs Rock Steady Ministries and is a youth pastor for No Compromise Student Ministries in Spring Valley, CA at New Seasons Church. Jeremy Ketchum of Oaks Christian Church in San Marcos, CA led the Worship Ministry track. GenMin’s camps & missions leader Anthony Mullins led the Leadership track. Other tracks included Audio/Visual Tech, Church & Personal Finance, Drama, Missions, Ministry Development, Photography, Public Speaking and Videography (for an example of the work of the Videography class, see the SEP SoCal video at http://vimeo.com/26611393).

The theme for SEP SoCal this year was Rooted. The idea came from a song of the same name, written by Nathan Keating of the camp worship team. Nathan was inspired by Psalm 1, which states that a person who delights in God is “like a tree planted (rooted) by streams of water.” This led to Ephesians 3:14-19, which further shaped the theme, focused on deeply rooting the campers in the reality that God unconditionally loves them.

Each day the Junior and Senior campers had daily chapel with praise & worship and a chapel message, followed by debrief sessions and prayer time. The two groups shared meals and fellowship time. Junior campers had their own Christian Living classes and recreational activities including swimming, teambuilding, insects & snakes class, creative arts, kickball, Aeroball, basketball, volleyball, giant tire swing, laser tag, drama class, archery, hand-drum class, and bonfire. Senior campers had their own dance classes, swimming, high-ropes, zip-line, basketball, volleyball, archery, hand-drum class, a four-hour-long purity session, and the aforementioned ministry equipping tracks. The two groups joined together for a scavenger hunt, a Bunko tournament, and a praise & worship concert led by three youth worship bands. Both groups concluded camp with a communion service. A camper from Kentucky was baptized after the service, and several other campers are scheduled to be baptized at their home churches.


Wisconsin Dells:

“What are you up to Lord?” is the question we’ll be focusing on at the Dells weekend celebration from September 29 – October 2. Daily messages focusing on this theme will be presented by Willard High, Stephen Hill, Anthony Mullins and Sam Butler. Special breakout sessions on Friday and Saturday afternoons hosted by Anthony Mullins, Tracy Porter, Dave & Linda Holmes, Sam Butler, Willard High and Doug Johannsen are planned in accordance with this theme.

This event will again be held at the Kahalari family resort in the Wisconsin Dells.

Phone 1-877-525-2427 for room reservations – August 28 deadline!
HUT (or Desert Room) – $109.00 per night plus tax, 1-4 people only
LODGE SUITE— $129 per night plus tax1-4 people only
COMBINATION SUITE (lodge and hut)$238 per night plus tax – sleeps up to 8 people
VILLAGE (lodge and two adjoining huts)$347 per night plus tax – sleeps up to 12 people

FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS!

1. Call the Kalahari Resort no later than August 28th to reserve your room. After August 28th, the low prices we’ve negotiated will no longer be available! Let the reservation personnel know you are with Grace Communion International or Worldwide Church of God. The reservation number is 1-877-525-2427 or reserve your room online by using this link:

https://res.kalahariresort.com/V1Web/GroupComments.aspx Note: begin with https://…not http://
Enter group ID: 16051
Enter Password: 244
Contact Password (Optional) leave this blank
Click on “Make Reservation” and follow prompts

2. Register your attendance with the church by downloading and filling out the registration form along with your registration fee to:

GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL
P.O. BOX 5005
GLENDORA, CA 91740-5005

ONLINE REGISTRATION AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.gci.org/go/wisconsin

Follow the prompts and pay with your credit card

3. Come Celebrate Jesus with your family and friends. Enjoy good food and many other activities.

Any questions, please contact doug.johannsen@gci.org by email or by phone at 612-850-6018.


Ghana
From Frederick Amu-Mensah, Marian Amu-Mensah, and Emmanuel Okai:

The Ambassador International School was founded by Grace Communion International in 2001 on the church property at Kutunse, Ghana, about 30 kilometers north of Accra. It was established as a social intervention support for the surrounding communities.

When the school opened, it used existing structures on the church property – the main church hall and one of the round houses. The church hall was partitioned to accommodate the new classes. At the beginning, eleven pupils were admitted into preschool, primary 1 and primary 2.

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The Accra and Kutunse congregations then began molding blocks for the construction of a permanent school building. Funding was obtained through fundraising initiatives in the church areas, with the major funding coming from overseas GCI donors.

Since then, regular funding has been provided annually from the Kalamazoo church area in the United States through Mr. and Mrs. Cleophus Sturdevant, who occasionally visit the Ghana church. The church and the school are indeed grateful to all who have helped. Currently, classrooms have been constructed to accommodate pre-school through primary classes 1 to 6 and Junior High School forms 1 to 3. A computer laboratory has also been completed, which houses 10 computers.

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This year the school presented its third group of pupils for the annual West African Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE), which took place in May 2011. Fifteen students were presented. Thirteen students were presented for the examinations in 2010 and eleven in 2009. The two previous examinations registered 100 percent passing grades in all subjects presented. Successful candidates progress to senior high schools for further education.

The school is still growing. The current population of the school is 150, and it has the potential to reach 350. The biggest obstacle is the distance that many pupils have to travel to reach the school. The church is considering the purchase of a school bus to assist in this regard. This will make it easier for parents to enroll their children because of the assurance of safe passage to and from school. It will also free their minds from the time lost in taking their children to and from school. This is especially relevant to the preschool and lower primary pupils who are too young to cover the distances on their own.

Eventually, the church plans to add a second set of classrooms to help meet the needs of the local community.

The church hall that originally hosted the school has also undergone significant upgrades from the humble wooden structure it once was to a block structure capable of seating over 600 persons.

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Captions: 1 Church hall that served as classrooms when the school was founded. Molded blocks are in the foreground. 2. School assembled and ready to begin day’s work 3. Sturdevants giving a presentation in Kutunse during one of their visits 4. A class session in progress 5. Current state of AIS. Painting started in 2011 6. School layout as at 2011 7. Computer Laboratory of AIS 8. Pre-school class with their care giver, Deaconess Charity of the Kutunse congregation 9. 2011 final year students of AIS presented for BECE Examinations 10. Original church hall that doubled as classrooms for AIS 11. Refurbished and expanded hall for church services at the Kutunse site


Prayer Requests and Updates

Jason Richards
Update from Pastor Martin Manuel on his grandson

Today, for the first time in nearly three months, Jason walked around in his own home with his family! He has progressed so well that his doctors decided that they could release him to continue treatment and rehab at home while he waits for a heart transplant. Hallelujah!

We are understandably exuberant, but the journey to Jason’s recovery is not complete. Now, he will undergo extensive treatment at home. His parents and we (Genneen and I) take on nursing responsibilities of daily administering medicine and checks. This is all new; the hospital staff provided extensive training, but the task is complex.

Jason, of course, is thrilled to be home. There is no better place for him. Colin and Janet are relieved from nightly hospital stays, and we all are relieved of the daily hours in the hospital.

Your prayers have given all of us so much support through the grace of our wonderful God. Please pray now that Jason receives flawless care at home, that he receives the new heart that he needs, and that his parents have the strength to fulfill their responsibilities.

Some have remarked that Jesus has carried this family through these difficult days. Amen! We will continue to need the help of the Lord through the days and weeks ahead.

There is so much to say about the experiences of the past three months. We and many others at Seattle Children’s Hospital have experienced the grace of God in a special way.

Thanks again for all you’ve done,
Martin Manuel

Audrey Mae Robinson

Audrey Mae Robinson a long-time dedicated church member, passed this week at the age of 84. Audrey was the mother of Brenda High (wife of Pastor Willard High) and aunt of Jannice (Mrs. Curtis) May. She was an active worshiper at New Hope Christian Fellowship Church in Eagle Rock, California.

One of the joys of Audrey’s life was serving as a mentor for others; her cheerful smile and encouragement to “Keep Moving Forward” touched the lives of many.

Audrey was preceded in death by a son, Pastor Ronald Robinson, and a daughter, Florenda Robinson-Harrow. She is survived by her daughters Cheryl L. Robinson, Yuvetta Robinson, Brenda Robinson-High, son Anthony Robinson, and many other descendants. The family requests your prayers as they grieve the loss of this wonderful woman.

There will be a memorial service on Sunday, July 31, 12:30 p.m., at New Hope Christian Fellowship, 777 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA. A catered meal will follow.

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.

Love from my family to yours,
Joseph Tkach


July 13, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Linda Rabey sent this report about the women’s retreat held near Ottawa, Canada, last weekend:

Fifty-six ladies enjoyed the 11th annual retreat organized by the Women’s Ministry of the Ottawa-Gatineau congregation. For the second year in a row, the location chosen was in a beautiful park reserve at the Manoir d’Youville in Quebec, which enabled the ladies to take beautiful walks through the park and enjoy the river surrounding this small island. This year’s retreat included ladies from five denominations and four provinces, as well as one from Washington State.

The worship music was superb, provided by ladies from various congregations. This year we also were blessed with a worship dance presentation. The talks were very much appreciated. Marge Haughton of the Smiths Falls congregation spoke on “Walking through the Valley of Death.” Dorothy Nordstrom from Edmonton spoke on “It’s Just about Love.” Dorothy’s sister, Ingrid Gula from Prince George, spoke on “My Depression, My Faith,” and Ingrid D’Andrade from Montreal spoke on “God’s Love Languages.”

It was a time the ladies could relax, laugh, cry, and speak to their sisters in Christ about some of their challenges, trials, hopes and dreams. Every year we wonder if we will be able to continue to hold this annual event, as there is so much preparation and work by numerous volunteers who sacrifice many hours and much energy and prayer to bring a retreat to fruition. But once again, after the retreat is over, and one sees the incredible benefit, growth and fruit born from so many ladies coming together and being inspired in and through the Holy Spirit, there seems to be no other decision but to start planning for next year. God willing, we will have a 12th annual retreat for this area in 2012.


Canada

From Gary Moore:

Our local congregation in Abbotsford (Harvest Christian Fellowship) held its annual retreat last Saturday, June 25, at the home of Jim and Karen Miller. Todd Martin, our pastor, did a great job facilitating, as those who attended took a focused look at how our congregation is doing, and through prayer sought God’s direction as we seek to be useful and fruitful in his hands. Mike Baker, who recently moved from the Halifax area, was kind enough to share the pictures below.

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Leigh Smithson was in touch from Silvermeadows, the western summer camp. He said that there are 36 teens and 13 preteens, along with 22 staff. Leigh mentioned that Steve Posiak (pastor for our churches in the Okanagan region in British Columbia), and Amy Pena (our new pastor in Regina) are there, and are proving to be wonderful additions to the camp.

Craig and Debbie Minke’s oldest son Bryce was awarded two plaques at the Langley Christian School awards assembly. One was for Excellence in Humanities (Grade 11) and one is a Community Service Award “for service rendered unselfishly to the school or Community.” In addition, he was awarded a certificate of excellence in Math and Science. Congratulations to Bryce!

Finally, I have a report from Mark Yandt of the Ottawa congregation (see below). A couple of years ago Mark rode his bike across Canada to raise money for Camp Connections, our Eastern youth camp. This year Mark organized a 173-kilometer weekend ride from Ottawa to the home of Dennis and Lynn Lawrence in Montreal for members from the Ottawa and Montreal areas. Mark’s report is below, and the pictures prove they really did it.

Congratulations to the group (including my brother Karl who made the trek)! The funds raised are going to a very worthy cause, as the camp continues to make a meaningful difference in the lives of many.


From Mark Yandt:

We did it! Great job riders! Thanks to everyone who supported us and followed our progress on Facebook as we traveled. The trip was a huge success. I know everyone wants to know how much we raised, but I will hold you in suspense and mention a few highlights and give a few stats first, so read on!

It was an extremely early start for the three team members from Montreal, who drove to Ottawa Saturday morning, July 2, to meet the riders from Ottawa. Spirits were high, though, and after a picture on Parliament Hill, Victor Zampino, Karl Moore, Elizabeth Ferlatte, Tina Yandt and I embarked on the first leg of what was to be a 110km pedal to Hawkesbury.

The team meandered its way east through Ottawa, leaving the city on Innes Road, where the plan was to meet up with the support vehicle (driven by Ingrid Zampino), which couldn’t follow us everywhere in the city. It was a pretty efficient 31.8-kilometer trip to the first break point. Everyone was fresh and the weather was fantastic, so this first bit was easy. A light snack and some sunscreen, and we were back on the road.

The only surprise on day one was the lack of asphalt! Road bikes can’t handle much gravel, so when we ran out of road, we navigated east, searching for paved roads. With a little help from Karl’s iPhone, we managed to find a route that didn’t take us much out of our way.

We pulled into Stephanie’s Motel parking lot at 4:55 p.m. Sun baked, with legs of jelly and slightly tender rear ends, only the thought of a cold drink and much-needed dinner was enough to motivate us to clean up and meet for some grub. With 110 kilometers of sun and road behind us, dinner could not have been more satisfying. We laughed and relived the day’s events over an amazing meal before falling into an exhaustion-induced super slumber! The team averaged 22.3 kph over the weekend and was on the road for almost seven hours Saturday.

Day two was another beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a brisk west wind that pushed us all day. Nicole Lim joined us, which made the group six riders, and after a good breakfast we set out at 9 a.m. The route from Ottawa to Montreal is flat in general, but there were some hills to conquer. Sixty-two-and-a-half kilometers later, we arrived at the Lawrences’ home, where they welcomed us with cold drinks and a much-needed cool-down in the pool. And we were finished!

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of all the riders who peddled their kilometers prior to the trip itself, we gained an incredible amount of support from a huge number of people who had never supported the camp in the past! This not only gave us an opportunity to spread the word about the camp, but also to broaden our support base for the future. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and the wonder of the Internet, we were earning $24.12 for every km that the team cycled! All totalled, this means we gathered over $4100 of support for Camp Connections! It’s an achievement we can all be proud of!

We hope to see even more riders pedaling in Peddling Kilometers 2012. The team this year showed that everyone can participate! It’s an event for all ages and all levels of cycling experience! What an amazing adventure it was!


Bangladesh

From Rod Matthews:

Bangladesh National Director, John Biswas, and I are excited to announce that GCI will conduct its first conference and development weekend in Dhaka, March 16-18, 2012. Our staff from the Bangladesh Evangelical Association (BEA) mission center near Barisal will travel to Dhaka, enabling some of them to visit the capital for the first time. Some GCI pastors, elders and church leaders from elsewhere in Asia and even further afield will attend to give our remote workers their first personal contact with fellow workers in the gospel from abroad who are also part of our international fellowship. This is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to see one of the world’s more populous countries, the contrasts of life in Dhaka, and perhaps a trip to rural Bangladesh. More details will follow in the months ahead.

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Captions: 1. Bangladeshi Children in Services 2. John Biswas with local people


Sri Lanka

From Rod Matthews:

Announcing the church’s first ever publication in the Tamil language! Through funding from the New Zealand congregations and individual donors, the Discipleship Course (Discipleship 101) was translated into Tamil in Sri Lanka for use among the large Tamil population there, the second-largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka. The work was done by a professional translator associated with Youth For Christ in Colombo, and 1000 copies were printed by the Colombo Theological Seminary (CTS), with whom we have a warm and growing relationship. CTS is selling the course in its seminary bookshop and is using it as a text in one of its basic Christianity classes. We are in the process of assessing whether this Sri Lankan Tamil translation will need revisions or can be used as it stands in Tamil-speaking areas of India and among Tamil speakers elsewhere.


India

From Rod Matthews:

Yelagiri is a delightful hill-country town in the northwest of Tamil Nadu state. Church members from across our southern Indian pastorate traveled there May 26-29 to attend a spiritual refreshment weekend with the theme of “Facing Our Christian Challenges.”

Pastor Joe D’Costa wrote:

While most parts of India including Bangalore sizzled with hotter-than-usual weather, Yelagiri was cool. Forty-three members including eleven orphans attended. This was the first time we had the children from Dr. Suntharam’s orphanage attend. It was like an SEP camp for them. They were well behaved, responsive, and participated in and enjoyed all the games and activities. They sang the English hymns at services in the morning with gusto, and Dr. Suntharam gave a summary of the message in Tamil at the end of each day’s message.

A Bible study in Tamil was conducted for the children each evening of the weekend camp. Two ladies from the church spoke at these Bible studies. Before the study the children put up a special show with skits, songs and dances. All of them carried a Bible. They opened to the quoted scriptures very quickly and read them, much to the surprise of all present. Most of the children are from Hindu background.

Even though the cost of food and lodging at the camp center has increased to Rs.450 per person per day, the priest at the camp center charged us Rs.275 per person per day. The priest who manages the center was impressed with our group and offered to keep the rates the same for us in October when we visit the center for our annual family festival. We have accordingly booked the camp center from October 2-8, 2011. He offered to sponsor one child for every two children we sponsor for the festival. So it appears that the children will be attending with us from now on.

The food was amazing and in plenty. The campsite is surrounded by mountains, lots of greenery and fruit trees loaded with mangoes and jackfruit at this time of the year. The beautiful natural surroundings made it conducive to spend time with God, making the weekend a spiritually uplifting experience.


Prayer request

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.

Love from my family to yours,
Joseph Tkach