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Mexico Trip Highlights August Newsletter Activities
BELVIDERE, IL (August 13, 2003) - A 16-member mission team from the Evangelical
Covenant Church of Belvidere recently enjoyed a mountain top experience in
southern Texas and Mexico, ministering in four churches in that region.
Team members on the trip (June 25-July 6) included (youth director) Bryan
and Kristine Dickson, Clarence and Ruth Axmark, John and Shirley Davis, Joe
McKee, Rachel and Sarah Leigh, Amber Bentley, Joey Jones, Sherri Lindahl,
Sarah Gezzi, Alyssa Doser, Jenny Koehn and pastor Scott Nellis. Of the
group, a total of nine were of junior high and high school age.
This the second year the Evangelical Covenant Church of Belvidere traveled
to the area for a mission trip. Susan Roen, the daughter of a couple from
nearby Broadway Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois, was the contact
person for the team. She is a missionary and teacher who helps lead a
church in LaSara, Texas, and assists a Hispanic congregation in Reynosa.
Nellis reported to his church that at a Covenant church in Reynosa, Mexico,
a group led a Vacation Bible School for about 100 one week and 60 responded
to a message by a local pastor to receive Christ as Savior. Another
contingent led a Vacation Bible School at a nearby Covenant church as two
men that were 95 years of age and older helped support the team.
"At every place, at every turn, we experienced the Lord's care for us, His
answers to prayer, wonderful Christian hospitality and the blessings that
come with stepping out in faith and being obedient to Jesus," said Nellis.
"We were stretched and challenged and all came back changed in some way.
The Evangelical Covenant Church of Belvidere has been active all summer.
The congregation gave out cold water and candy and provided a rest area and
changing table for those at the Boone County Fair from August 5-10 and
hosted a Vacation Bible School in June at the church. The congregation has
an average worship attendance of 150 under Nellis, who has been pastor for
10 years.
Many other churches and individuals throughout the world were busy this
summer doing various mission trips and contributing to their communities in
numerous ways, as reflected in the more than two hundred newsletters
received each month by the Department of Communication. Following is a
listing of activities by conference and region.
CENTRAL
- Blue Island, Illinois: Mission Covenant Church raised nearly $4,000 to
help a couple at the church adopt two children in Germany. The children are
the nieces of a parishioner named Mona Isaac. They are currently wards of
the state, said pastor Gary Ridout. The Isaac family already has three
children.
- Moline, Illinois: Nelson Mundell, known as the "Can Man" at First
Covenant Church, regularly raises $50 or more per month by collecting cans
- often from fellow parishioners - crushing his cans at home and then
bringing the cans into a recycling agency. When someone brings him 50 cans,
he gives them one pound of tomatoes. The monies from the can collecting go
to the church's youth fund and for mission projects, said a representative
of the church.
- Princeton, Illinois: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Princeton
received some unexpected good news when a former confirmand, Jon Bricker,
wrote an email stating that he was working in campus ministry at Illinois
State University in Bloomington.
EAST COAST
- Bowie, Maryland: Church of the Redeemer's Kim and Gus Shumlansky have
signed on to serve Catholic Relief Services in Niger for a three-year term.
They were recognized at a farewell luncheon at the church on July 27.
- East Greenwich, Rhode Island: Christ Church's Linda Musch was recently
accepted into the American Culinary Federation Academy of Chefs in a
ceremony in Washington D.C.
- Riverside, Rhode Island: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Riverside
sent 11 people on a mission trip to LaZona, Honduras, in July to help with
construction projects in the wake of a hurricane that devastated the area
five years ago. The group helped with a Vacation Bible School in the area.
ECCAK
- Unalakleet, Alaska: Covenant Bible Camp, directed by Chip and Joanne
Swanson, had a busy summer, according to the region's latest newsletter
report. Senior High session totaled 60 students - double last year's
numbers - as Brian Nanninga was camp pastor and Tom Mute was the camp
worship leader. Junior High camp nearly eclipsed its attendance record with
117 students coming from 20 different locales (including 18 Alaska
villages). Jay Fast was the camp pastor and his wife Kelly was program
director for the week. Trailblazer camp had 85 campers as Carl Elwood was
camp pastor and Joel Bachelder was worship leader. Those at the three camps
also gave some of their funds (more than $1,000 in all) to a Bible camp in
Japan.
MIDWEST
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: Faith Evangelical Covenant Church's Rick
Osmun was promoted to Colonel in the United States Air Force on July 1.
Meanwhile, Greg Mitchell competed in Grandma's Marathon, in Duluth,
Minnesota, placing 20th out of more than 7,000 competitors in 2 hours, 22
minutes.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
- Mercer Island, Washington: Covenant Shores, a Covenant Retirement
Community, earned the 2003 National Organization on Disability Award from
the Washington Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The
retirement community has also been recognized by the American Association
of Homes and Services for the Aging for their work.
NORTHWEST
- Cottage Grove, Minnesota: CrossRoads Church baptized 65 people on July
27 as the closing event of an all-church picnic. Each of them were asked to
share their 'faith story' with the pastoral staff. Four of them were
documented in a recent church newsletter. One young girl wrote about coming
to Christ at age eight. Another wrote these words about recovery from
chemical dependence and the first visit to CrossRoads: "I was afraid at
first because it felt 'too right.' But I kept coming. Many, many tiny baby
steps later, I committed my life to Jesus Christ. I know now that without
Christ in my life I would never have survived all my 'searching.' He
protected and watched over me long before I knew he was there. I will be
forever in awe of his love and sacrifice for me." On another note, Paul
Budish, a worship team drummer at the church and a member of a Christian
band named "Moxie Bliss," was a Top 10 winner at the unsigned bands
competition sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy. His
song "Maybe In A Way," was selected from more than 500 entries.
- Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethlehem Covenant Church's Ron Monson, a
football coach at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, headed to Russia in
July to help lead a sports camp mission outreach. He will be cooperating
with a Baptist church that also traveled to Russia to assist in the
endeavor.
- New Brighton, Minnesota: Salem Covenant Church's Richard Swanson and
another local pastor went to Oaxaca, Mexico, in June to work with Covenant
missionaries Cindy Hoover, Dennis and Mary Lynn Carlson and others as they
pursued how to provide business and socio-economic support for locals.
Swanson is among those hoping to assist in the development of "Sowing
Hope," a non-profit organization geared towards helping provide economic
and social opportunities for Christians in the area. Within this framework
is a model for ministry at Salem that would include mission trips to Oaxaca
and surrounding areas.
- Plymouth, Minnesota: Plymouth Covenant Church's Brad, Shelly, Jessica
and Daniel Anderson have been called to Cameroon for one year of mission
service. Shelly, a doctor, is serving primarily out of M'Bingo Baptist
Hospital.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST
- Pasadena, California: Three parishioners from Pasadena Covenant Church,
Leslie Hanson, Leslie Stuckey and Christiana Tashjian, headed outside of
the state for mission trips recently. Hanson headed to Australia to serve
with Campus Crusade and Tashjian served that organization in Florida.
Meanwhile, Stuckey served in Bosnia for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
- San Andreas, California: Ken and Jo McInturf of San Andreas Community
Covenant Church were honored as Calaveras County Seniors of the Year for
their work in the church and community.
- San Jose, California: First Covenant Church sent a contingent of
parishioners to Oaxaca, Mexico from August 1-11 to help with work projects
led by Covenant missionary Dennis Carlson.
- Simi Valley, California: Simi Covenant Church's Nina Ball recently
wrote "Hugs From Heaven: Women Share Their Resources For the Painful
Places." The book "records slices of life from the lives of 20 women, 11
alive and nine from the scriptures. It records how each dealt with the
trauma of broken relationship and shows how the same source of help played
out in each circumstance." Ball, a widow and cancer survivor, is a
freelance
writer and has had two other books published.
- Sunnyvale, California: Six people from Great Exchange Covenant Church
headed to Japan in July to learn about culture and ministry there. The
group will assist local churches with an annual English camp and in making
repairs to the Odawara Christian Center, said Covenant missionary John
Martin.
SOUTHEAST
- Oviedo, Florida: A group from Atlanta and Miami, along with liaisons
Randy Swenson and Rose Cornelious, traveled on a mission trip to Haiti
early in July. They worked with pastor Martinez Jovin and they also brought
finances to help support ministry work there.
ELSEWHERE
- Quito, Ecuador: Educators from six Latin American countries met July 22
and 23 for triennial meetings led by former CIPE missionary Damaris Adame.
The 22 participants included educators from Argentina, Chile,
- Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States. The theme of the
two-day conference was "Integrity and Skill."
- Puebla, Mexico: Missionaries Jerry and Vicky Love reported that in late
July a total of seven people were baptized at their church. A recent
Vacation Bible School camp brought a host of children to the church as the
congregation distributed 2,000 flyers to area residents. The Loves ask for
prayers for a facility to provide permanent ministry to these and other
locals who are being ministered to. Fundraising for the
purchase of land for a new building is in process. In recent months, the
Loves have used a large tent that seats 100 to hold worship services, but
"we were flooded out, and had to move back into our 'upper room (a small
local building),' which seats only 50 -- uncomfortably. We are looking in
earnest for land to relocate the tent until building can
start. But good locations are discouragingly expensive. God has a place for
this body of His. Pray for us to find it."
- Moscow, Russia: New Life Radio (NLR) in Moscow, which broadcasts daily
via satellites to Russia and many of its former republics, has made inroads
into a Russian military camp, according to director Dan Johnson. The camp,
which is near Voronezh, has a satellite receiver that transmits NLR
broadcasts. It was reported that many of the soldiers there were listening
to gospel broadcasting from the satellite station. The camp commander of
that camp noted a positive result from this, including news that fighting
and stealing incidents within the camp had decreased markedly. NLR board
member Robert Larson reported that NLR also is received in 500,000 homes
where dish radio has free channels in that region.
- Pingtung, Taiwan: David Dolan, who coordinates Chinese ministries for
the Covenant's Department of World Mission, was the guest speaker for the
50th Anniversary of the Pingtung Covenant Church in Southern Taiwan. Dolan
stated that 25 years ago he and his wife, Judy, had finished language
school and moved south to participate in the work of the Pingtung Covenant
Church. He stated, "The church has had its struggles, but it has remained a
lighthouse for the gospel in the community. It was rewarding to see people
who had been children when we lived in Pingtung now adults
with children of their own."
To find out more about what is occurring at Covenant churches and in the
lives of Covenanters, regularly visit this Covenant news report at
www.covchurch.org. To phone in information or newsletters to Covenant
Communications, call 773-907-8333. Emails can be sent to
newsdesk@covchurch.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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