Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Glen and Connie Weber are happy to announce the birth of their first grandson. Anderson Brett Weber was born Sept. 15 in Edmonton, AB, Canada, to their son, Paul and his wife, Katie. Anderson weighed 9 lbs, 1 oz and was 21½ inches long. He is Paul and Katie’s second child.
Lorenzo Arroyo sent this report about the GCI Mexican National Conference for training pastors and leaders held in Mexico City October 2-4:
Antonio Almanza and Heber Ticas, US District Pastoral Leaders, and pastors respectively of our Denver and San Fernando Hispanic congregations, were the principal trainers for the GCI Mexican National Conference. The training venue was hosted by pastor Hector Cruz and the Mexico City congregation as well as Alfredo Mercado, Ruben Ramirez and Vicente Dimakis, GCI Mexican National Leaders. Pastors and leaders arrived from places all across Mexico, including Ciudad Juarez, Torreon, Guadalajara, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and Veracruz.
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We had worship on Friday night. On Saturday, we gave four workshops covering different areas of ministry centered on building a healthy church. On Sunday, Heber stayed in Mexico City to teach and preach while Tony traveled to the State of Hidalgo to preach at Pastor Nicolas Reyes’ church. He also traveled to Apizaco, in the state of Tlaxcala, to visit a new church plant, where Jose Luis Seba serves as the pastor. Both congregations are doing a good job in reaching their communities with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Members there are visibly passionate in sharing with others what God is doing in their lives.
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Our congregations in Mexico need our support, prayers and sponsorship. They have a heart to preach the gospel, but their resources are limited. The Mexican church leaders are open and eager to learn new tools and become more effective in ministry. The pastors and leaders that attended were motivated and energized with the training materials presented.
Overall, it was a great conference. Approximately 40 persons took the training, and by church services on Sunday, 65 were in attendance. We got the distinct impression from those attending that they want a whole lot more.
Glendora, California
From Neil Earle:
For the fourth year in a row, the New Covenant Fellowship of Glendora, California, sponsored a literature table October 2-4 at the 70th annual Rancho Cucamonga Grape Harvest Festival in Rancho Cucamonga. The results were encouraging, even with cold windy weather and a stiff recession.
Rancho Cucamonga was one of the earliest wine-growing regions in Southern California, and the Glendora church planted a Sunday church in this vibrant area in March 2005. We’ve moved around as a congregation quite a bit since then, but the chance to interact with the community and get to know our neighbors in this lively area is hard to resist.
At the Festival, the Glendora church gives away free literature, mostly published by GCI’s Office of Reconciliation Ministries. This includes the Reconcile newsletter, the ORM video, the award-winning DVD “A Time To Reconcile” and other relevant literature. This year New Covenant Fellowship partnered with the Cops and Clergy Network of the Inland Empire, a caring agency for young people up against the drugs and gang threat in the Inland Empire, some of whose 500 gangs are controlled by drug lords in Mexico.
The team distributed almost 100 pieces of literature and media updates, including material given to the Mayor of Rancho Cucamonga and the head of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Meanwhile, the same weekend, a team of Glendora assistant pastors performed a baptism near the home of Elder Miles Johnson, whose neighbor had become a GCI member through Miles’ good neighboring efforts over the years. A lady staying with his neighbor witnessed the baptism and asked to be counseled herself. “I guess that shows everything can be an evangelistic opportunity,” said Assistant Pastor Emmett Rushing, who performed the ceremony.
Philippines
From Reuel M. Pamor:
Thirteen inmates in the Tigaon District Jail in Camarines Sur were baptized September 7 in a drum provided inside the jail. One of those baptized admitted that he found it strange how a “toughie” like him was reduced to sobs of submission and repentance when confronted by God’s word. The Tigaon Prison Ministry, as an outreach of the Pagkamoot in Dios Assembly of GCI Naga City, has been running for more than 10 years, and is served by Pastors Doming Trilles and Joe Pan.
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Two weeks later on September 21, another 12 underwent baptism. To date, there are around 40 baptized believers out of 67 inmates in the Tigaon District Jail. It is evident that God is moving in the lives of these jailed believers, as we continue to follow his vision shared in Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Prayer Requests and Updates
GCI board member Frank Guice wants to thank everyone for their continuing prayers for his wife, Cora’s, health. Cora has a follow-up for her eye, which is doing better, scheduled for October 18, and an ultra-sound and stress test scheduled for her heart on October 15. She had some pressure sensation in her chest a few weeks ago.
Cards may be sent to:
7411 Juneau LN
Fontana, CA 92336
Please also remember in prayer elder and former headquarters employee Larry Omasta, who is waiting for results of several MRIs and other tests to find out what is happening with his back and legs.
Update from Larry Omasta:
First of all, thank you for all your prayers… I was diagnosed with a spinal subarachnoid hematoma, or in layman’s terms, blood in the lower spinal column. By Friday I developed severe pain and stiffness in the right neck and the right lower back that was caused by the blood in the spinal fluid. The neurosurgeon ordered many tests to try to find the cause of the bleeding.
I had six MRIs, a spinal angiogram, and an ultrasound of my head. The tests did reveal one possibility, but did not find an actual source. That is good news, because this appears to be a one-time occurrence. The pain and stiffness began to abate by Tuesday. The doctors felt I could come home today with meds to finish a few more days of treatment. I will go in next week for a follow-up MRI on the lower back and to see how my body has reabsorbed the hematoma or if anything else is going on.
I would appreciate your continued prayers for my continued recovery. Although the pain and stiffness has diminished, I still need vicodin to manage the pain. It will take a few more days for my body to reabsorb the hematoma.
Cards may be sent to:
1612 N. Roosevelt Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104
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
Even though the tough economic times caused a significant drop in attendance, our 2009 Dells Celebration was, in my opinion, the best ever. Our theme of “From Exclusion to Inclusion” was thoroughly covered by sermons and workshops held throughout the four-day event at the Kalahari Resort in the beautiful Wisconsin Dells.
Pastor Tracy Porter and his staff conducted children’s church concurrently with the main worship sessions. The children were brought on stage Sunday morning where they sang and signed “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Tracy also taught them the Hebrew alphabet song, which they sang to the entire audience. He commented that he was amazed that they learned it in less than two days as it had taken him over two weeks in a college class!
A senior’s breakfast was attended by about 80 seniors. Joyce Wendt, a member of the Wausau, Wisconsin, pastoral team, hosted the event. Joyce and the Olson brothers from Wausau performed live music. Let me say that you haven’t lived until you’ve heard them sing a song about Lutefisk (a Norwegian invention of dried fish). The song was way, way better than the fish. The Wausau congregation may well have the most active nursing home ministry in our denomination.
The 6th annual Luton Ladies Day, September 20, began with morning coffee at registration before organizer Daria Fowler welcomed about 35 delegates. Morning and afternoon sessions opened with worship hymns led by Tina Sullivan and accompanied by Shirley MacLean.
The 46 staff members of SEP Rockies served 64 campers, ages 11-18, during the week of July 26 to August 1 at Long Scraggy Mountain Ranch outside of Denver. Activities included riflery, wilderness skills, dance, Ultimate Frisbee and an overnight campout at the top of Long Scraggy Peak.
From Randy Bloom:
I returned home from Estonia last night after our fourth summer school in the town of Kallaste, Estonia. The pupils told us that they had really looked forward to this event, and we have become quite close friends with a number of the older pupils. Several have invited me home to their family. So I am already starting to think about next year’s summer school. I would like to thank the WCG staff of teachers: Timothy Ståhle, Matteusz Kostrzewa (Alhaug), Frederic Clausen, Philip Cifuentes Silbigger and Hendrickje Kehlenbeck, for their service to each other and the pupils.
They came from far and wide to attend the Bahamas Summer Vacation Bible School, which was actually a mission trip, a Vacation Bible School and a mini-SEP all rolled into one grand two-week long extravaganza event! Mike and Janet Morrison led a team of 20 from California to run the program. Their hard work and enthusiasm, together with the assistance of local church volunteers, spearheaded by our local VBS coordinator Gillian Curling, helped to make this our best summer program ever.
In spite of the UN’s resettlement program, which has managed to find new homes for more than 50,000 people in the last year, the number of refugees in the camps is no fewer. In fact, the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of more refugees to take the empty places. Unfortunately, the new arrivals are mainly economic refugees who perceive that if they can filter in amongst the political refugees, they might get an opportunity to move to a western country. This has made the job of the camp authorities much more difficult in determining who qualifies for resettlement according to the relative danger they face “back home” in Myanmar. While it is understandable that anyone living in the poverty that afflicts so many people in Myanmar would try to find a way to move to a new home in a more prosperous country, it complicates the situation for the political refugees who have been in the camps in Thailand for decades.
Many years ago, Chogait, a graduate of Ambassador University in Pasadena, returned to his native Thailand and eventually started an English language school for little children, whose parents saw the benefit in their children being bilingual, especially in what is the world’s language of business. The one school has now grown to 11, with their newest school opening its doors in Chiang Mai for the first time about two months ago when the current school year commenced. Called the Little Stars Ambassador Bilingual School (ABS), it is already a hive of activity and looking to expand in the months ahead.
During the same trip, Wong Mein Kong and I travelled to Singapore for a significant event in the history of the local congregation. It was a delightful occasion to ordain Joe Zachariah an elder, and the entire congregation celebrated. Joe and his wife, Anna, have a track record of serving the church faithfully and consistently in humility and dedication. Pastor emeritus, Yong Chin Gee, who has been struggling for some years with poor health, was able to travel with several members from southern Malaysia across the causeway to Singapore to join us in the ordination ceremony. It was a great pleasure for him to take part in this milestone event with the local members numbering about 40.