I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to read a number of great books this summer. Over the weekend I finished reading Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty. I originally feared it would be too “academic” to enjoy, but I found it to be well-written, full of insight, and fascinating to read. Here’s a brief intro from the book.
“For more than forty years humankind has had the knowledge, tools, and resources to end chronic hunger worldwide. The Green Revolution, fashioned by Nobel Peace Prize-laureate Norman Boriaug, was among the technological wonders of the twentieth century and helped to ignite Asia’s rise to economic power. Yet at the start of the twenty-first century, 25,000 people a day-and nearly 6 million children a year-die of hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases. Malnutrition kills more Africans than AIDS and malaria combined. The world paid for its complacency with the 2008 food crisis, which is a warning of worse to come.”
I thought it was interesting that much of the book looks at food issues and hunger in Ethiopia, one of our Focus Countries. Having had the chance to travel to Ethiopia in February 2008 with ServeGlobal, I was able to better understand the complex issues facing this beautiful country. If you are interested in learning more about Ethiopia, world-wide hunger, or the food crisis, I would recommend this book. It is not light reading, but it is stimulating!
Costa Rica/Cuba are our newest focus countries and we currently have a team from Church at Charlotte on the ground as I write seeing and participating in our projects and initiatives. The team includes:
Dave Huber (Community Life Pastor)
Rachel Huber
Jim Fagan
Dwayne Dickson
Wesley Fritsche
Shane Ritter
Wayne Snyder
Please pray for them as they travel throughout Costa Rica and Cuba. They traveled to Cuba yesterday and will be there until returning to Charlotte on Thursday.
We also support Brian and Cathi Duggan who are full-time missionaries in Costa Rica and members of Church at Charlotte. Brian serves as the Latin America ReachGlobal Leader for the E-Free Church.
You can visit Cathi’s blog for an immediate prayer request for the daughter of one of the national pastors. Please join me in praying for Dayana and her family.
You can also visit Brian’s blog here and watch a short video from Sunday worship and catch a glimpse of Dave Huber clapping and singing.
I will post updates on the trip as they become available.
I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their support and introductions over the past two days. I am humbled and excited to serve Church at Charlotte as the outreach director. I will be regularly writing and updating the Serving Others blog with personal stories, service opportunities, and updates from our supported ministries. So please check back often to see what is going on in our community and how He will lead you to plug in and serve.
I was recently given a gift of a prayer book, The Vision of the Valley, containing prayers from the Puritans. I wanted to briefly share a portion of one that impacted me and I think “fits” with our focus of serving others.
“Give us closer abiding in Jesus that we may bring forth more fruit, have a deeper sense of our obligation to him, that we may have a fuller joy, that we may serve him more completely. And may our faith work by love towards him who died, towards our fellow-believers, towards our fellow-men.”
I thought I would leave you with a video of the song we sang this morning, God of the City. What a powerful and moving vision for our congregation.
Partnering Ministry: The Barnabas Center
The Barnabas Center is a counseling, teaching and equipping ministry whose mission is to help people find hope in their struggles by applying the Gospel to everyday life. For more information, contact Gary Ivey at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Supported Missionaries Tom and Toni Henry
Tom and Toni are on staff with WorldServe, where Tom connects American churches with underground churches around the world. Tom served as a bridge between Church at Charlotte and the pastors we support in China. Toni currently works as a real estate agent.
Terry and Cheri Heffield
Terry and Cheri have served wtih Wycliffe Bible Translators since 1980. Terry is involved in research, development and engineering and focuses on helping the JAARS ministry fly more safely and efficiently. Cheri serves with the JAARS support team.
Focus Country: China
Church at Charlotte has a number of initiatives in China, including church planting and pastoral support. A team will travel to China October 14-23. If you are interested in participating, please contact January at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to read a number of great books this summer. Over the weekend I finished reading 
