Where Can I Serve?

We’ve been invited by Jesus Christ to share His love with each other, our communities and the world.  How does this world know that God loves them? Through our acts of service and love. God has chosen to use His people to be his hands and feet in this world. We have many different ways for you to join us in service and mission.  Click through the links below to learn more! 

 Mission & Missionary Updates

Stephanie Black October 2018 Update: Namaste from Ireland!

Stephanie Black is a missionary we support through EPC World Outreach and Serge.  She is truly a world-wise missionary, serving in Ireland, South Asia and Africa at various times throughout the year.
 
In her October update, she shares her experiences and work in South Asia, Greece, Kenya, Prague and many other places.  Her update is also full of pictures and prayer requests.
 
You can find the update here.  Should you choose, you can also subscribe to her e-newletter at that link as well.

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October 7 Update from Susan May and the Burundi Hope Project

Much has been happening since I wrote last.  I did not go to Gitega with a bus and pick up all of my children but we are working on some alternative solutions! I was able to meet with the Sewing Center  on Wednesday and was blessed by their fellowship. They were able to update me not only on their progress with the sewing center projects but also what was happening in their personal lives. One of the women’s home was broken into in the middle of the night and anything she had was stolen including her personal sewing machine.  She has 6 children and her husband has no regular job sew the income from the Sewing Center and her personal customers is how they support the family. Please pray for Consolatte. These women have become a special part of my life in Burundi. They are being creative in how to expand the sewing center business and will be working on some samples for others to see. I will keep you informed.

I traveled to the Rumonge region for a Women of Hope Seminar. It is a drive down the lake road. I always enjoy going along the lake but not the bad roads. The women represented 5 churches. 3 of them are going through a healing process due to some church challenges and were encouraged by the teachings and the fellowship of believers.
 
Thanks for prayers!
IMANA NI NZIZA!
” God is so Good!”
 
Susan May
Burundi, Africa
 
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way” Psalm 139:14 ICB 
 

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School Supply Collection

We’re close to two months into the school year, but there are many children that still don’t have basic and essential school supplies.  Over the next few weeks we are collecting supplies for our local elementary schools to give to their students who otherwise would go without.  Here are a few items students need daily:
  • Backpacks (currently 50% off at Target)
  • Pens
  • Pencils
  • Crayons
  • Paper
  • Folders
  • Markers
The next time you head to Walmart or Target, pick up some of these supplies.  You may leave your donations in the church foyer where you will see the Mission/Outreach/Evangelism display.  Thank you in advance!

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Crumrine Update – October 2018

Keith and Deana Crumrine and their family are missionaries in Papua New Guinea that we support.  Keith is John and Lorraine Ledden’s grandson. You can find this update (and past updates) on the web here, where you can also subscribe to their e-newsletter if you’d like.
 
October 1, 2018
Dear Friends,
Greeting from PNG! We are excited to share with you how God has been at work this past month! Thank you to all of you who have been praying. I will try and update you thoroughly.
 
~MINISTRY:
YOUTH CAMP: On September 15th we had the chance to take our youth to another missionaries place for a week long youth camp. Around twenty teens had the opportunity to go and hear the gospel presented. Teens came from literally all over PNG to hear from Christ! Some kids walked over FIVE days to come to camp! It was amazing to see what they would go through to hear from God! There were roughly 1,500 campers plus leaders! It was so awesome to see God work in hearts! The missionaries said in all the years they have done this camp they have never seen anything like this! The missionaries specifically asked the counselors not to just pray with the kids but make sure they fully understood repentance and knew that they were making a decision to follow Christ…NOT just say a prayer! On the last night we fed 2,000 people. The teens were singing till 11pm and being counseled till 2am! Thanks to the prayers of many of you six teen girls from our church excepted Christ as Savior and one teen guy. It was so awesome to see God work in the youths lives and see how this changed their lives! The Sunday after we asked them to give their testimonies or come tell us personally about how God worked on their lives. These seven stood up in church to give their testimonies and some told how God showed them areas of their lives they needed to get right. Thank you all for your prayers for our teens this past month! God has definitely been at work and we believe his name is being glorified! Please continue to pray for these youth that God would grow them in their Christian lives and strengthen them as many have unsaved parents. These new Christian youth have come faithfully to church services, church work days, and are the first ones willing to help with anything! We are so thankful we had this opportunity. It was clearly the Spirit of God who met with us! It was such a blessing and encouragement!
 
SHARING CHRIST’S LOVE: The first Sunday of this month we had the chance to go to Taveo, one of the former fighting houselines. We took about eight church members and food to give to these people. Since it had been so rainy it was impossible to reach this village by road…..so we all hiked by foot through the bush to share Christ’s love with these people!! We sang/played music with the violin and guitar, dad preached, and I took care of quite a few medical needs, then we left the food for them to distribute. Although we had a long treacherous hike to get to this village it was worth every single minute! Please pray for Taveo….God has to be the one to do the work in their lives! It was a neat opportunity and a blessing to help these people!
 
COMMUNITY DINNER: This past Sunday we had another community/outreach dinner. Through the last one we have seen much fruit and are praying God will use this one mightily also! For the morning service we were encouraged to see roughly five new faces! The gospel was clearly presented and a few men told dad that it was a really convicting and strong message. For the dinner we served close to 200 people and we had around TWENTY-FIVE visitors for this! For the second service all 25 didn’t stay but it was a encouragement and a huge blessing that they even came!! The second service took place inside our house with roughly 12 visitors present. The gospel was again presented. Thank you for all you who have prayed for this! God is working in the hearts of many! It was SO exciting to see people who we have been praying for many YEARS come!! Please pray that God will touch the hearts of these people and that they would realize their need of Christ!
 
SPECIFIC PRAISE: Their is a man named Jackson who we have asked prayer for before and have been praying for many years. A little bit ago he came a couple weeks in a row to our fellowship nights in a hut on Thursdays. We were surprised but super excited since we have been really praying for God to work on him! Last Wednesday we had the chance to go talk with him and invite him to the Sunday dinner. Well first off he said he would be there….a huge answer to prayer! He said God has been really working on him and he knows he needs to come to church and get saved….he was very honest with us and made it perfectly clear he has NOT excepted Christ into his life yet or asked forgiveness….just knows he needs to! This is a step in the right direction! We are all SO excited! That night for Wednesday night…..prayer meeting he showed up!! Also he attended our Thursday night fellowship and Sunday for both services! It is such a huge encouragement and blessing seeing this man come to church after so many have prayed for him for so long….including the Childs, the church members here, as well as many of you. Please pray that God would continue to work on him and continue to convict him!
 
MARKET OUTREACH: Today dad and I had the opportunity to go to our local market. We played some music on the violin and guitar, dad preached, then we passed out gospel tracts. Please pray that many would come to Christ through this. Several “religious” groups are present for this. Please pray that God would show them that they can’t get to heaven by works only by the blood of Jesus Christ! Please pray for dad as each Monday morning he will be preaching.
 
~SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS: That the spirit of God would continue to work and more would get saved. Taveo and Karafa houselines. That God would work in the hearts of the new believers. Market ministry. Thursday and Saturday fellowships Wisdom about starting a carpentry school or not…another opportunity to share Christ! Continue to pray with us that God would supply the remaining support needed…we praise Him for what has been supplied!
 
~PRAISES: That seven souls came to Christ this past month! That we had so many visitors last Sunday! That so many new people have been coming faithfully to church! The man that took brother Ben to court over the land dispute came to Christ and has apologized for all the trouble he has made!
 
Thank you all so much for praying faithfully and for your support! Hope this is a encouragement to you all as it has been to us. Our God is awesome!
 
In Christ,
The Crumrines
Proverbs 3:5-6

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Andrew Brunson Prayer Update

Andrew Brunson’s trial resumes next Friday, October 12.  In preparation for that, we have gathered the following resources for you.
 
The first is a blog by Rev. Bill Campbell who was in the courtroom with Andrew at his trial last July.  This provides not only first-hand insight into what it’s like in the courtroom, but also how things are for Christians throughout Turkey.
 
This is the first 13 days of a 31 day prayer initiative.  The second half will be published once the outcome of his trial on October 12 is made known.  These are short, daily prayers you can easily add to your daily quiet time routine or at any point throughout your day.  Paper copies were made available last Sunday and are still available to pick up at church.
 
In an effort to stand with and pray for the entire Brunson family, the EPC is issuing a Call to Prayer and Fasting for the week of October 8.  We will make these available as a bulletin insert on Sunday, October 7.
 
Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Andrew.  May his faithfulness in spite of the adversity he’s faced encourage you in your walk with the Lord as well!

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Burundi School Uniforms

You might recall that last spring we did a fundraiser to help purchase new uniforms for the Burundi Hope Project.  Susan May passed along these pictures of the students wearing the uniforms you helped provide!  Thank you for your generosity and contribution to making an impact for the Kingdom of God around the globe!
 

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Paul & Reinhild Sydnor Update September 2018

MINISTRY

In August, I was in the States for our organisational meetings. We had a full summer of ministry. Two highlights of ministry were the youth camp and a music workshop. I created a short video about each of those which you can find at the following links.

 

PRAY for REINHILD

  For the past six weeks Reinhild has been suffering from the Trigeminal Neuralgia nerve disorder. This causes excruciating attacks of pain in her face. (Click here for more Info.) She has constant itching all over her body from the side-effects of the medicine. She can’t speak and can’t sleep more than a few hours at a time. She can only eat a few spoonfuls of liquid each day and she has lost a lot of weight.
 
The neurologist increased the medication (Tegretol) to 800 mg today and said that if the pain does not break by Monday then he will hospitalise her in order to treat her further for the pain. He will also schedule her for an MRI as soon as possible.
 
She went to visit her Mom while I was in the States and is still there. This has been a blessing. The house is quiet and her mom takes care of her like no one else could. There is no stress from the routine of daily life and ministry. I’ll see her again at the end of next week. You can write her at: Reinhild.Sydnor@gmail.com
 
With each week, she has expected that it will eventually pass. But now after six weeks she is really tired.
 
I have kept up with various ministry efforts and have not been there with her. We send messages via Skype each day. If I were there, she would have the stress of meals and activities she can’t do and one more person to communicate with –which is stressful. Still, it is hard to be separated and to see there is nothing that helps.
 
So we are calling on God’s help everyday and ask for your prayers too.
 
Paul for Reinhild
 
Organization & Financial Details
International Association for Refugees
P.O. Box 1405
Wheaton, IL 60187-1405 USA
 
If you would like to make a donation to our ministry you can donate online here.
Or, write a check to IAFR for “the Sydnors” and mail it to the address above.
 
IAFR
Tel: 612.200.0321
Email: info@iafr.org

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Pastor’s Corner – September 2018

For [the sacraments] are visible signs and seals of an inward and invisible thing, by means whereof God worketh in us by the power of the Holy Ghost.
– Belgic Confession Article 33
 

A New Sign…

Have you noticed there’s a new sign on the front of the church? It’s kind of hard to miss.

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EPC asks churches, individuals to fast and pray May 5-6 ahead of Andrew Brunson trial resumption

This post is reposted from EPConnection.org.
 
The trial of Andrew Brunson, EPC Teaching Elder imprisoned in Turkey since October 2016, resumes on May 7. In an effort to stand with and pray for the entire Brunson family, the EPC is issuing a Call to Prayer and Fasting for the weekend of May 5-6.
 
Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk, suggests praying Scripture in four specific ways:
  1. That Andrew will be strengthened, emboldened, and released: Pray Isaiah 42:3 (A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out. In faithfulness, He will establish justice.); Isaiah 40:31 (Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength); and Luke 4:18 (The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free).
  2. That Norine will not grow weary: Pray Exodus 17:12 (When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady until sunset.) and Isaiah 40:29 (He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak).
  3. That the Brunson’s children (Jordan, Jacqueline, and Blaise) would walk in the steadfast love of the Lord: Pray Lamentations 3:22-23 (Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness).
  4. That Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, would be directed by the Holy Spirit: Pray Proverbs 21:1 (The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases).
 
“Norine was blessed and encouraged by how many people participated in our call to prayer and fasting before the April 16 trial,” Jeremiah said. “On Thursday, April 26, she was able to pass this on to Andrew, with our plan to do it again before May 7. I hope every EPC church will continue to pray for Andrew, Norine, their family, and the rest of the trial as Andrew faces the judges again.”
 
Following opening arguments on April 16, Brunson was returned to prison. Prosecutors in the case have asked for a 35-year prison sentence on charges that Brunson helped terrorist organizations and worked to convert Turks to Christianity.
 
To help facilitate corporate prayer, a printable bulletin insert in pdf format with these prayer suggestions can be downloaded at www.epc.org/news/freepastorandrew. The bulletin insert is available in two sizes and is designed to be printed on standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper and cut in half (either horizontally or vertically).

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How To Support the Recovery Efforts Going Forward

According to a press release from Amherst County, 126 homes have minor damage, 25 are restricted use and 22 are destroyed.  That means at least 47 families are displaced until their homes are repaired or rebuilt.  The recovery needs for these families will be ongoing, long after this event moves out of the news cycle. And many of those in the path of the tornado, whether their home was destroyed or not, are dealing with wounds and hurts that go beyond physical.  So what can we do to support our neighbors and friends in the weeks and months to come?
 

Pray

Make praying for those affected a regular part of your prayer routine. Include in your prayers the contractors and builders, insurance adjusters, police, fire and medical first responders who have and are continuing to step in to help these families rebuild their lives. Here are some practical steps and prayers in the weeks and months to come:
  • Pray for healing.  While certainly praying for physical healing, also pray for emotional and mental healing.  Continue to praise God that no one lost their life, and ask Him to rest His hand of healing on those who need it.  The emotional and mental scars can last far longer than the physical ones, which leads to…
  • Pray for rest.  This might sound trivial, but many of these people, particularly the children but also the adults, could well be having a hard time sleeping.  Nightmares, stress, the internal need to keep working on cleanup, and especially post traumatic stress can negatively impact sleep.  Pray for God’s peace to settle over those trying to piece their lives back together when they sleep.
  • Pray for a smooth process.  Working with insurance companies, contractors, government aid agencies is a difficult and time-consuming process.  It can be its own layer of stress on top of an already stressful and traumatic event.  Pray that God would smooth out the process and that there wouldn’t be any hiccups for these folks.
  • Pray for moments of normalcy:  In the midst of the aftermath of a traumatic event like this, it can feel as if “normal” is a word that will never be used again.  Pray for moments of “normal” for these families and people, That might come in a meal taken as family at a restaurant, to even the regular routine of work and school, or maybe even just going to the store to buy groceries.  A moment of “normal” can go a long way in helping the healing and recovery process.
  • Set a reminder.  Put a reminder in your phone to repeat once a week, and maybe another one in a month or two, to remind you to continuing praying for their recovery.
 

Give

Many have given sacrificially already, but there will continue to be ongoing needs for those affected in the weeks, and especially the months, to come.  Many of them have no idea what they need at this time, so gift cards to grocery and home improvement stores can be very helpful, as they can make use of those as they figure things out.  There are several GoFundMe donation pages set up for these families, if you would like to give directly to them.  Here are some suggested links and ideas:
  • GoFundMe: This link is  a generic search for “Madison Heights, VA fundraisers,’ however at the time of posting (4/24/18), all but one result on the first page of results were for victims of the tornado (there’s another tornado victim fundraiser on the 2nd page of the results as well).  If you would like to give aid directly to the families, this can be a good option.
  • ElonStrong.com: Our friends at River Church have been actively involved in helping those affected from the first day.  Donations made through ElongStrong.com and AmherstStrong.com are primarily going to families with no insurance.
  • Gleaning For The World: GFTW has been partnering with local churches to minister to those displaced by these storms, particularly in providing emergency assistance to those are are victims of the tornado.  They have been distributing food and materials directly to the families and victims.
  • Through Northminster: Please put “Elon Strong” in the memo field of checks made out to Northminster, and we will direct those funds to those in need.
  • Gift Cards: Purchasing gift cards to Food Lion, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot and various places like that are very helpful.  Many of these families have lost everything and don’t know what they need right now.  A gift card can be very helpful in allowing them to purchase what they need, when they realize they need or are ready for it.  Gift cards can be turned in to the Amherst County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Center in Amherst, to the church office, or placed in the offering plate on Sunday mornings.  Gift cards given to us will be passed along to Elon Presbyterian for them to give out directly to the community impacted.
  • Set A Reminder:  As with praying, set a reminder for a month or two, if not longer, from now.  There is always a large influx of donations in the immediate aftermath of disasters like this, but the needs last for months.
 

Volunteer

If you are looking to volunteer, we encourage you to contact Gleaning for the World to see when and where they are distributing materials.  Right now, we are not aware of other organizations that are actively looking for volunteers to help victims rebuild and repair.  If you know families impacted, we encourage you to contact them directly to see how you might be of service.  As we hear of opportunities, we will post them here and on our Facebook page.
 
Thank you for the wonderful ways you have already cared for our neighbors affected by the tornado, may God bless each of us as we seek to continue to be Christ’s hands and feet in caring for and loving them in the weeks and months to come.

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