Community Partnerships
Missions
Jan/Feb 2009 Newsletter Article
Short-Term Mission Trip Celebration & Kickoff
If you went on a short-term mission trip in 2008, are interested in one for 2009, or just want to see what short-term mission trips are all about, join us on Sunday afternoon, January 25 from 4-6pm at the West Campus. 2008 trip participants will be specially recognized, the 2009 trip brochure will be available and you’ll be able to register for trips during the event. Refreshments will be served and childcare available. Call Sherrye (699-6673) or Cathy (814-6544) for more information.
Short-Term Mission Trips to Consider NOW!!
2009 is here and maybe a short-term trip is on your list of goals for the year. Between FaithWorks and CCoF, there are several trips to choose from during the first few months of the year, but you need to act now before these trips fill up!
February 12-15, medical mission to Agua Prieta, Mexico: This will be FaithWorks’ 17th medical mission to Mexico, where they provide free medical and dental care and medicines to the poor. Translators and non-medical volunteers are also needed. (Glen Allen, glenallen@faithworks4us.org, 928-821-1073, 774-0504.
March 14, Flagstaff, AZ: FaithWorks is leading a team to help with building fix-up and grounds clean-up at Dave & Marsha Reynolds’ new ministry, The Sanctuary, a discipleship ministry focused on young men ages 18-25. Come make a difference in our own town! A great activity for the whole family. (Glen Allen, FaithWorks)
April 11, The Old Town Mission, Cottonwood, AZ: Another one-day opportunity to help our northern Arizona community. The team will do whatever is needed at the Old Town Mission: cleaning, painting, office and yard work, to enable the Mission to keep serving the working poor of the Verde Valley. A great trip for your home group! (Glen Allen, FaithWorks)
April 16 – May 2, TCM, Austria: CCoF has 6 slots for volunteers who are mature, sensitive to people of other cultures, and willing to work hard at jobs they don’t normally do. TCM depends on short-term workers to run their training facility in Austria, Haus Edelweiss, which provides Bible training to Christian leaders from former Soviet bloc countries. Your only cost for this trip is your airfare to Vienna! (Jana Ruhlman, jana@ccof.net, 526-8738).
Blessings Found in Peru
In November a team of 9 from CCoF left for Tacna, Peru, where they worked with 3 churches that were all started by IberoAmerican Ministries in Chile. The pastors in Tacna had asked for medical care and vocational training, especially sewing and welding. In the way that only God can orchestrate, out of all the people who had expressed an interest in the trip, the team ended up having 1 welder, 2 seamstresses, and 5 medical professionals – exactly the skills that were needed.Over 75 people committed to pray for the team every day, which was an essential component of the trip. A few days before the team left, word was received that riots were occurring in Tacna and a state of emergency was declared. Among other things, the state of emergency prohibited public gatherings, which would have made it nearly impossible to hold the medical clinics. The team made the unanimous decision to still go, and by the time they arrived the city was calm and IberoAmerican had received permission to go ahead with the clinics.
When customs in Lima decided not to release the team’s medicines, again the Lord had everything covered. The Peruvian Red Cross provided some medicines, and the team did make it in with Dr. Morgan’s surgical equipment. In the way that only God can do, the patients who came were overwhelmingly in need of minor surgeries that could be provided, and successful medical clinics were held in two different barrios of Tacna.
Judy and Sherrye worked with 9 ladies during the week and taught them how to sew using new sewing machines that CCoF provided. These 9 women are now the start of the three church’s sewing ministries, which hope to make clothing and school uniforms to sell and rent. This will provide an income for the churches and jobs for the women. The women made skirts and matching blouses during the week, and were so proud when they wore them to church at the end of the week.
CCoF also provided 2 welding units, and Derek worked with 5 men, teaching them the complexities of welding. By the end of the week the men had expanded their skills and constructed one complete set of scaffolding. These men now have a viable skill, and the church will be able to rent out scaffolding as a source of income.
Throughout the week the team was reminded over and over that the Lord was in control, and that it was His plans they were operating under. He provided for every need, safety, protection, and health. He gave strength during the long work days, and encouraged the team through love received from the Peruvian people.
In the end, short-term mission trips are all about the people, the lives you touch, and those that you allow to touch you: it’s the lives of the women and men who were in the sewing and welding classes every day, the interpreters who worked alongside our team, and the patients who were seen by our doctor and nurses. You are changed when you learn their stories and difficulties, when you’re given the opportunity to pray with them, and when you see their own faith at work despite their difficult circumstances. These are the everlasting memories that come from a mission trip experience, knowing that you allowed God to use your talents and skills for His purposes, and shared His love with those who needed it. “Well done good and faithful servant”.
Want to know more about the trip? Just ask any of the team, and they’ll be more than happy to share their experiences with you: Bill Ashland, Sherrye King, Rick Morgan, Desiree Morgan, Jana Ruhlman, Judy Summerfelt, Lisa TenBarge, Jeannie White, and Derek Woolverton.