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One of our own goes to the Dominican Republic- see further down
MISSIONS
We see ourselves as missionaries, being sent into every area of our life, and all over the world, with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We celebrate God's gathering us as a new community and then sending each of us, and we are encouraged and blessed as we live in the fullness of the joy of our salvation as a community sent with God's gifts. SPC is a community where the Spirit shapes us with new life, profound faith, surprising joy and laughter, and where the Spirit welcomes everyone into the love of God.
> July 2010 Mission News
Many Thanks to Barb Ludwig for sharing her Mission experience in the Dominican Republic with the congregation on June 27. Many times, it is difficult connect the people with our mission money and supplies. This was an excellent visual and verbal illustration of what our efforts can accomplish.
Recall that Jesus told his followers that giving a thirsty stranger a drink was equivalent to giving Himself a drink (Mathew 25:37). Following Jesus’ direction, SPC continues to provide cold water to the thirsty homeless people, blankets to cover them from the cold or to be shade from the heat, and we fill other needs as we see them. Blankets, clothing, personal items, and water are distributed through the Amazing Grace ministry each month as well as a meal. Many thanks to all who have contributed food, clothes, toiletries, and other things to the Amazing Grace Mission. Items, except food, may be placed in the Mission box on the table or baskets under the table in the Summerlin Church.
In addition, a water run was made in the North Las Vegas downtown area on June 2. Sincere thanks to all who participated in the run. The homeless on the streets were very appreciative. A second run is planned for July 7. This is an especially important endeavor during this hot period.
Items of the summer:
soap, deodorant, sunscreen, and travel sized toiletries of any sort. Please put any donations in our collection crate on the Mission table or in the baskets under the table.
Note: water contributions are always needed and appreciated.
The Mission Commission is sponsoring a Fall Garage sale, probably the first weekend in October. So save your stuff (except for Amazing Grace items) for the Garage sale. Help will be greatly appreciated and needed.
AMAZING GRACE
Amazing Grace is a non profit organization which serves the homeless of Clark County. We are privileged to serve dinner the third Wednesday of every month to an average of 150 persons. In addition we bring clean, used and new clothes to share.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
MAY 2010
Wow!! SPC! We asked, and you responded positively!! And on May 19, Amazing Grace had t- shirts, shorts, bras, socks, underwear, pillows, blankets, washcloths, shaving supplies, toothbrushes, toothpaste and bottles of cold water to share with the homeless, in addition to the nice supper we provided. Most of it was gladly accepted (really snatched up!) and we accepted their heartfelt thanks on your behalf. Four huge stacks (about 18” high) of tee shirts were distributed in short order! So, please keep cleaning out your closets – we will need tee shirts and shorts all summer long.
Double WOW!! and many grateful thanks to the SPC Deacons for their very generous donation of $500 for Amazing Grace activities. Those monies will enable us to keep providing cold water to the thirsty, blankets to cover the cold, and other needs as we see them. That’s just what Jesus told us to do.
Item of the summer months: hot weather necessities: soap, deodorant, sunscreen, and travel sized toiletries of any sort. Please put any donations in our collection crate on the Mission table.
Coming Mission Attraction: Barb Ludwig will be back on June 27 to share a CD slide show of her trip to the Dominican Republic. She will be giving a 15 minute verbal and visual presentation during the Sunday service that day and will be available for additional pictures and Q & A afterwards.
I am so anxious to see the photos of those cute kids at the orphanage.
Mission Commission News April 2010
Amazing Grace Item for the Month of May: Men’s and Women’s shaving supplies
Thank you, thank you, thank you! for all the dental hygiene supplies you donated last month. We had enough to
supply everyone who needed a new toothbrush and/or toothpaste with enough left over for next month too!!
(The need never goes away.)
June’s item will be soap and deodorant to control the effects of summer’s temperatures.
On April 21, as I helped distribute clothing at Amazing Grace ministry several women whispered
“Do you have any bras or underwear or socks?” And I thought to myself,
“How many of us have a couple of bras in the back of a drawer that we haven’t worn in ages?
And how those needy women would love to have one of those.”
So, after a quick brainstorming session at “Women of Faith”, we came up with a gathering and distribution method that will
preserve everyone’s dignity and get some “necessaries” into those women’s hands. There will be plain brown paper bags
in the Amazing Grace crate. Please feel free to take one or several. Put those extra bras or underpants in the bag,
tape it closed and put it in the crate. (If you can add a size note, you’ll get an extra grateful prayer from me.)
I’ll sort them by size and repackage them in color-coded bags and take them to Amazing Grace.
We have lots of dreams for mission outreach this year but we’ll need your help.
These dreams include:
- continuing our monthly ministry distribution at Amazing Grace;
- handing out bottles of cold water to needy folks on the streets of North Las Vegas and Las Vegas in June and July;
- hold a rummage/garage sale in early autumn to raise funds;
- give blankets to the homeless next winter;
- sell gift packaged cookie and soup mixes (home made by us) in November as a fund raiser.
So, here’s our wish list (so far – watch it grow)
Two very large coolers,
two large magnetic signs,
sunscreen
bottles of water,
breakfast bars,
travel size toiletries,
women’s socks,
wide mouth quart jars
blankets,
washcloths, towels,
underwear,
tee shirts,
shorts, shoes, etc.
If you care to contribute water or want to join us contact Art McClure, art@summerlinpc.org
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ONE of our own goes to Dominican Republic -- Read on.....
From: Barbara Ludwig
Date: Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Dominican Republic trip
Good Morning all,
I returned late Saturday night from 8 days in the Dominican Republic. I have not been able to process all I saw or put it all in prospective. I am glad I went.
We were warmly greeted by wonderful people from Iglesia Evangelica Dominicana, a church founded in 1824 in Samana, Republica Dominicana and currently supported somewhat by three denominations. The mission chair at the First Methodist Church in Steamboat Springs, Colorado , Penny Diehl, had served the church in the Dominican for 5 years as the denominations liaison so she was the coordinator of the 13 of us and loved by her Dominican friends. We were all over 60 years of age except one couple's grandson of 23 who took pictures for us and one daughter of another in her 40s.
We provided medical care for 300 people in two days, taught 400 children bible school lessons, and painted three village chapels and gave 400 hygiene kits of soap, shampoo, toothbrushes,and toothpaste away. Plus, we had brought beads for bracelets for the women and children and clothes and tennis balls.
The church in Samana is the only church but it has founded 12 chapels in the hills for the villages who have no way of getting into town except walking. The chapels are where we went every day. The chapels are the size of a one car garage ,built with sand,rock,mud, with holes for windows. There is little wood used as the termites eat everything. Coorigated tin was the roof and metal blinds covered the windows too.They were each lovingly cared for by a layperson from the village. They can not afford the luxary of paint so with some of the donated funds we we bought paint and many members of the villages helped paint the chapels. They were so happy to have pretty coral paint in their chapel.
And I have to say the villagers spirituality is palatable. They sing praises to God all day while they walk to carry all their water, wash clothes in large bowls, cook the chickens running around everywhere. Some use burros for transportation and some have motor bikes --we saw people pulling wheelbarrows behind their motorbikes.
We set up clinics outside and inside the chapels, hundreds came each day and thanks to many of you we had been able to purchase many medicines before we came. In Steamboat there was a large community donation of medicines, bible school supplies and clothes. From Summerlin Presbyterian Church in Las Vegas, I had received 250 dollars for prenatal vitamins and medicines for children, some clothes and many many toothbrushes and toothpaste.
In the clinics,we saw many with parasites, pain, head lice, scabies, and a few horrible injuries. Osteoporosis is comman as milk is too expensive to drink and after seven no children even get to drink it. Elderly men were often quite ill.
They are a clean people but without shoes, without drinkable disease free water and without plumbing -only outhouses disease occurs. The clothes they wear are mostly donated --there is a 90% unemployment rate in the country as it has only had a stable government for 40 years following the fall of a dictator. So back to the clothes, we saw everything from patent leather shoes on little girls to cute pink snow boots ( the weather was in the 90s with 80% humidity ) but most amazing is in town everyone who had on something that should be ironed; was ironed --- I could not believe it. in truth, on Sunday morning they appeared much better and appropriately dressed for church than most of us. Men always in long pants and long sleeve dress shirts, women always in dresses or skirts ( in fact we were warned to bring a skirt for church ) and their service was rich with prayers and songs accompanied only by a trumpet!!! they learned a hymn in English just for us.
There is so much more : the children had NO toys ; they played with sticks, rolled up clothe, the boys played baseball with rolled up paper and a piece of a an old board from something and they are smiling. They loved us playing Simon Says, Hot Potatoe, and even baseball with them.--the tennis ball and stick.
The church congration started a school four years ago and there are 102 children with four teachers and many helpers. It costs only 200. American dollars for a year of tuition --which is 8200 pesos. And, needless to say with the economy the way it is donations from the supportive denominations and others has gone way down so they may have to close the school. The children love this school they only attend from 8-12 everyday unless they take English or computers class in the afternoon. They have 4 old computers. oh so much more .
I was truly blessed by everyone I met. Thanks to each and every one of you who contributed and prayed for my health and safety.
love, barb
--
Barbara Ludwig RN, M.Ed.
Consultant
