Serving Others

On Thursday (I know Thursday is not officially the weekend, but my day off is Friday) I had the pleasure of meeting Fred and Dorothy Bruner, CaC supported missionaries.  Fred and Dorothy started serving with Wycliffe in 1967 in Nepal.  What an amazing couple who continue to faithfully serve.  They stopped by the church on Thursday to drop of a “thank you” card and a book called Angel Tracks in the Himalayas written by Gary Shepherd.  He was also a Wycliffe missionary in Nepal and the Bruner’s knew him well.  I’ve already started reading the book and it looks to be very inspiring. 

Then, on Saturday evening at 5:21 I met Douglas and Jennings Boone who are also CaC supported missionaries.  They are finishing their furlough and will be heading back to Kenya on Thanksgiving day.  I am so thankful I had the chance to meet them before they travel back across the globe. 

Finally, Jimmy introduced our six new supported missionaries.  I’ve listed the names below.  What an amazing couple days!  I am very thankful for all of our supported missionaries who serve locally and around the world.  Please join me in thanking and praying for them.

Our new supported missionaries are:

Anna Dalton
Melissa Putney - EFCA ReachGlobal in Costa Rica
Bob and Beth Schindler - Church Sports Outreach, Charlotte
Brian and Jami Staples - AIM Air, Kenya
Ashley Swinehart - Union County Young Life
Dustin and Betty Swinehart - Sports Outreach Institute, Charlotte

God Bless,
RJ

Stuart and Mary Shepherd are CaC supported missionaries through Wycliffe Bible Translators.  They have been with Wycliffe since 1966 and are currently serving (they are retired but still volunteer) in Waxhaw at the JAARS Center.

Below you can find a recent newsletter that Stuart and Mary sent.  Just click on the image to view in full-screen.  Please join me in praying for Stuart and Mary!

God Bless,
RJ
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I wanted to briefly thank everyone who donated to our Stay Warm project for our ServeLocal partner, Harvest Center.  I don’t have a number on how many items (blankets, jackets, gloves, etc…) were donated, but I can say the large bin was full every Sunday.  In fact, this past Sunday we had so many donations that the bin could not contain them all!

Thank you for generosity and faithful service to others!  Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

God Bless,
RJ

I’m excited to have Lynn Banks blogging about her experience on the recent trip to China (be sure to check out some pictures at the end of the post).  Enjoy!

We have been home from China for 10 days now.  Everyone I see asks:  How was your trip?  I can’t wait to hear all about it.  I’ve answered the question in a variety of ways:  “Beyond Awesome”, “Fabulous”, “The trip exceeded any and all my Expectations”,  Most recent – today – the word “Radical” came to mind. 

The trip to China was all of that – it’s just hard to boil it down into a one or two word response.  My time in China was Radical!  I just watched the short video of our trip that posted earlier.  My heart quickened as I was reminded of so many people – Christians – we met.  I miss them.  I feel connected to them somehow, even though we did not communicate with spoken language.  We connected through the Holy Spirit!  For me, that is radical!  This trip was like going to a rock concert where God Almighty is the star performer.  His presence is everywhere!  Then HE invites us back stage to spend several days on the road with HIM.  Along the road,  He showed us many illustrations of His mighty work and passion for His people. 

I keep returning to one of the most profound lessons I learned from my time in China:  GOD IS BIG!  Big enough to create the Universe, Big enough to create man in his own image, Big enough to understand every language used by man, Big enough to send His Son to die for the sins of people all over the world:  Big enough to raise up incredible men and women to spread His word and bring the Gospel message to the most remote places I can imagine!  AND Big enough to show little ole me His mighty power and control!

I have shared with several people the feeling of skepticism I felt at the beginning of the trip.  We attended a house church worship on the second night in Beijing.  Everything was sung and spoken in Chinese.  The bravado was more than I am accustomed to in our own worship.  People were singing and clapping loudly regardless of staying in tune or on pitch.  Then they prayed!  The worship leader prayed very charismatically with pauses at the end of a thought or sentence during which the congregation echoed loud a-MENs.  Each sentence or thought got louder and louder!  The leader’s voice cracked with emotion as she continued to shout or maybe plead to our Lord.  I am ashamed to admit now that it made me sort of uncomfortable – because I couldn’t understand the words.  I found my mind wondering:  How do I know they are teaching and preaching the “right” gospel, the “right” theology? I lifted my questions to the Lord that night in prayer.  God answered my question and rather arrogant “concerns” the very next day.  Over breakfast, our guide and trip leader, B, had a chance to share with us his call to ministry and journey of faith.  His words both comforted me and convicted me.  I had failed to believe that God was “Big Enough” to speak to His people and communicate His Good News message to people who are worlds apart and very different from me.  Fortunately, God was merciful to help me “see the light” in the first days of our journey.  From that point forward, I experienced God in a more awe-struck and hallowed (and respectful) way.

Lynn on the Great Wall

Lynn encouraging a group of believers

Lynn spending time with a believer at a rural church

Lynn holding a toddler at New Hope Orphanage