New Harvest Christian Church of Oregon, OH recently made a Mission Bulletin Board for us. We will be visiting them in late November. Pretty neat, eh? (Click on the picture to expand it)
Thanks New Harvest!!!
Come to the Table
I (Joel) had the opportunity to preach and lead communion this past Sunday at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Donaldson, IN. It was a lot of fun! I hadn’t had the opportunity to lead communion for quite some time so it was nice. In planning and leading communion, I was able to review the Communion Liturgy that is in the Covenant Book of Worship. I really appreciate it and was refreshed by going over it and leading a community of faith in it this past Sunday.
So much of what our world tells us these days is that we have to be perfect. We have to have it all together. We have to look perfect, we act perfect, we have to have the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect kids and we have to do all the right things. This kind of cultural problem invades the church also when we feel like we always need to have a smile on our face and look like we’ve got everything under control.
Now, please know that I am not trying to make a criticism here. It’s just a reality of the world today.
Enter, the table. The grace that is bestowed upon us from Jesus Christ though the sacrament of communion is like nothing else. We don’t have to come to the table with things all in order. We don’t have to have it all together. We don’t have to be perfect.
Here’s the liturgy that I used this past Sunday for communion taken from the Covenant Book of Worship:
It is now our sacred privilege to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. All who humbly put their trust in Christ and desire His help that they may lead a holy life; all that are truly penitent for their sins and would be delivered from them; all that walk in love with their neighbors and intend to live a new life, following the commandments of God and walking from henceforth in His holy ways, are invited to draw near with faith and to take this holy sacrament.
Come to the table, not because you must, but because you may. Come to testify, not that you are righteous, but that you sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ and desire to be his true disciple. Come not because you are strong, but because you are weak and that you stand in constant need of God’s mercy and help. Come not to express an opinion, but to seek God’s presence and pray for the Spirit.
Updated Ministry Calendar
- August 4: Evangelical Covenant Church, Donaldson, IN (Joel preaching)
- August 11: Evangelical Covenant Church, Donaldson, IN & Pleasant View Mennonite Church Youth Group, Goshen, IN
- August 23: Faith Covenant Church, Essex, IA
- August 25: Evangelical Covenant Church, Ceresco, NE
- September 22: Northwest Covenant Church, Mt. Prospect, IL
- September 29: New Hope Church, Richland, MI
- October 20: Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN (Missions Night service)
- November 3: St. John’s Church, Millsersburg, OH
- November 24: New Harvest Christian Church, Oregon, OH
Daily Prayer Request
And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. – 1 John 5:14-15
We have a BIG prayer request for you all. We would like to ask you, our supporters, to pray for us specifically and intentionally daily between now and the end of the year 2013. We are moving into the period of our Home Assignment where we need to have a large wave of financial support come in between now and the end of the year so that we can head back to Ecuador when we are planning in February of 2014. In order to return in February, we need to be 100% funded and we are currently at 58% officially. In reality, we actually aren’t as far away as it may sound; we have quite a few verbal commitments that aren’t included in that percentage. As we always say, it is the monthly support commitments that are most important as Long-term Missionaries; however we will be allowed to return once we show that we can demonstrate that we have a continued, sustained 100% support level over a several month period. In order to do this, both monthly commitment gifts and one-time gifts are counted so that is to say that every kind of financial gift matters a great deal for our return to Ecuador.
In times when we feel down and feel like we are up against impossible odds, we are reminded from Scripture that anything is possible with God and through your prayers we can accomplish what is seemingly impossible. So, at this time and going forward until the end of the year, we would like to ask that those of you who pray for us regularly could please pray daily for a large wave of support to come in starting in the month of August through December 2013. Thank you so much for your faithful commitment to us and our ministry and for your prayers!
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:26-28
A Reflection on Race
Even before the Trayvon Martin shooting trial had made big headlines and caught national attention, Kim and I were recently reflecting on the difficulties of race relations when we were at a park in Chicago. As we sat on a bench and discussed with a friend some of the struggles of ministry and watched Simeon play on the playground equipment from a safe distance, we noticed something. Simeon had quickly struck up a friendship with a little boy of Middle-eastern ethnicity and they played together without fear or even a second thought of apprehension. They were the same size and age and both had a similar mode of tackling the slides and teeter-tooters with a reckless abandon. They were instant friends! After playing for a while and saying good-bye to both the boy and his parents, we both wondered why we all make it so hard! What do we learn after the early childhood years that says that little boys (or big boys for that matter!) and girls shouldn’t just be together and relate like kids do at such an early age. Where or when do we learn that we are so different???
If you didn’t see the national attention that the Trayvon Martin trial caused and showed the chasm between races that still exists, then maybe you don’t know what I am talking about. Well, for one, you can just trust us as missionaries serving on an international, inter-racial setting and folks that have lived in an urban, multicultural setting for many years that we know that racial difficulties still exist. But if you need more proof, you can check out this video: http://alturl.com/uvgw9
As missionaries, this kind of issue is at the forefront of our minds and consciences. We are very aware of our race in Ecuador though it is safe to say that we never have really faced any sort of racism or discrimination in Ecuador. We are privileged-white folks there so we don’t really have any problems in that regard but at the same time, we always know that we are different. It is always obvious as people often give us double-looks and ask us where we are from. It is pretty much always positive so it’s not a big deal but the fact that we are of a different race is something that is always on our minds. Being conscious of our race is something that we are used to in Ecuador which is a reality for many folks here in the states.
In this day and age where we see that the chasm between races is just as wide as it has ever been, our prayer and our hearts are for reconciliation, Christ’s reconciliation. It’s only through Christ and his reconciling work that we can have hope. One day, all things will be reconciled in Christ but in this day, it is our work to be reconcilers in this world (Colossians 1:20). We are Christ’s ambassadors of reconciliation.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2nd Corinthians 5:18-20
A Week at Covenant Point
I (Joel) had the pleasure of being a Covenant Point Bible Camp in Iron River, Michigan which is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I was the “Guest Missionary” for a camp week for a group of Junior Highers and had the opportunity to speak and share about my experiences in Ecuador.
It was a lot of fun! I was able to make a lot of connections with many folks up there that I had never met as well as get to know many campers throughout the week. I also really enjoyed myself because I never went to camp growing up so I had the opportunity to do many things that I had only heard about. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:
Updated Ministry Calendar
- August 4: Evangelical Covenant Church, Donaldson, IN (Joel preaching)
- August 11: Evangelical Covenant Church, Donaldson, IN & Pleasant View Mennonite Church Youth Group, Goshen, IN
- August 23: Faith Covenant Church, Essex, IA
- August 25: Evangelical Covenant Church, Ceresco, NE
- September 22: Northwest Covenant Church, Mt. Prospect, IL
- September 29: New Hope Church, Richland, MI
- October 20: Pleasant View Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN (Missions Night service)
The journey begins…
For those of you who know us, you know that being missionaries is our livelihood, it’s what we live for and it’s what we know we are called to. You also may know that it has been a LONG time coming to actually BECOME long-term missionaries. Kim felt God nudging her to be a missionary when she was 10 years old, Joel when he was in college. We felt God weaving our dreams together before we got married, Joel had a burden for children and helping them through homes or centers for at-risk children, Kim saw nurses running clinics on their own and she thought this is what God was wanting her to do. Our lives have been woven together by God’s thread and after we got married 11 years ago, we began searching for where God might want us to go long-term. Much searching led us to Ecuador. Our schooling at North Park seminary and university lead us to the Evangelical Covenant Church and our home church of Northwest Covenant Church has kept us in the Covenant. We began seeking a call with the Covenant to be missionaries and started our short-term service in Ecuador in 2010. Yes, you are reading this correctly that it has been over 11 years that this has been in the making.
We are pleased to announce however, that today, we area OFFICIALLY LONG-TERM MISSIONARIES! HALLELUJAH!
On Friday evening of the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church, we were commissioned as long term missionaries, along with 7 other friends and colleagues. Our denomination, family and friends laid hands on us and ‘sent us out’ just like the missionaries in the Bible! What a humbling and amazing experience! After more than 11 years, our journey as long-term missionaries finally begins!
On Saturday, Joel was ordained (yes he is now OFFICIALLY a Reverend) and Kim was consecrated. We were prayed for and hands laid on us by mentors and leaders.
You may wonder how we felt during these events. I will speak for myself (Kim). On Friday for the commissioning, I just felt it was SUCH a time of celebration. I had been waiting for that period in time for the majority of my life. It was quite surreal in the midst of it, but such an exciting experience. Listening to those around us pray for us specifically in such specific manors, showed me that people have been walking with us on this journey and that is truly humbling.
For the consecration, it was very different. I felt, like I never have before the responsibility that taking the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. I reflected on this responsibility and wanted to listen to every word being spoken. I was focused and concentrated.
For Joel, the overwhelming feeling throughout the weekend has been… finally!!! In addition to all of this time of planning and preparing for long-term missionary service, he also has been moving all along to Ordination. He started Seminary in 2001 and so it has actually be 12 years until that call (of receiving a MDIV and becoming Ordained) has been an even longer process.
Safe to say, we are both happy to be done but also both feel extremely blessed by God for His providence and steadfast love and to be blessed by so many wonderful friends and family members who have supported us and encouraged us along the way. Thank you for being who you are!!!
Here are some pics from the weekend:
![We were flag bearers at the beginning of the service Friday night. Kim was lucky enough to carry the Ecuador flag.](/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2013/07/Flag_Bearers.jpg)
We were flag bearers at the beginning of the service Friday night. Kim was lucky enough to carry the Ecuador flag.
THANK YOU!
Thank you Hope Community Church for allowing us to worship with you today! We enjoyed it and really it was an amazing time of worship together in community! Thank you for showing us what true community it like! Blessings!
“I’m just not feelin’ it”
I’m going to be brutally honest with myself and with you all today. I went to church today, at a new church, not in the right frame of mind. My heart wasn’t prepared, my mind wasn’t, and frankly, I arrived tired and just ‘going through the motions’. I don’t say that because I am proud of it, but I’m sure we have all experienced those types of days if we’re honest with ourselves. I first want to start by saying, THANK GOD that He doesn’t work based on how WE feel or how prepared (OR NOT PREPARED) we are. He works in spite of us!
We visited a brand new church today, Hope Community Church. As I said, I wasn’t prepared to be in the house of the Lord, no matter where it was and I certainly didn’t feel that I was representing Christ, I wasn’t in a good place just coming off a wonderful weekend of being commissioned and consecrated as a long term missionary where leaders, friends and mentors laid hands on us to send us out for this amazing work God wants us to do. I just wasn’t in a good place. The sermon this morning from Pastor Kevin Butcher shared a story of a lady who was kind of on the outs at his church. He came to her one day and asked what was going on, why she sometimes came and sometimes didn’t and her overall thoughts about church. She stated simply, pastor, “I’m just not feelin’ it”. He inquired more and it seemed she didn’t understand how SHE could be used in any way in the church. He encouraged her to be herself, to share her story, which was quite a story of overcoming, restoration and deliverance from addiction. The next Sunday, she sat down by a lady who communicated to her that she was trying to decide if she was going to get clean from drugs and was thinking about rehab. This lady, who ‘just wasn’t feelin it’ was used in an amazing way to change a life! BOTH were at church today and BOTH are clean from addiction and following Christ!
The way this woman described her feeling about church, was exactly how I was feeling. After being BLESSED by this story, the sermon and the sense of community today, I left feeling exuberant, ecstatic and THANKFUL that God meets us where we are and brings us out of whatever junk we are stuck in. I sure wasn’t feelin it this morning, but God touched me in a way that no one else could to meet me and bless me and REMIND me I am His. I am called. I am a child of HIS no matter where I am OR how I feel.
Where are you today? Allow God to meet you, allow Him to commune with you and remind you whose you are!