Here's what's happening......in Worship on Sunday
This past Sunday was the second Sunday in Easter. We focused on the peace of Christ in worship. Perhaps it was a preparation for some in light of the events just 24 hours later in Virginia. Pastor Jeremy blogged on what's been going on:
These are rough days on a national and on a local level. The massacre on the campus of Virinia Tech has rocked the United States. The death of a one-year-old baby has shaken a family and many members and friends of the North Street community. Death is in the air, and it's hard to know how to respond...The Word of Sunday's worship gathering lingered with me throughout the day yesterday as I watched all together too much news on television... (you can continue reading here)This coming Sunday, April 22, is the third Sunday in Easter. Here is the scripture:
The Acts: Acts 9:1-20
Psalm: Psalm 30
Gospel: John 21:1-19
Epistle: Revelation 5:11-14
Click here to read them.
...Community & AdministrationThis Sunday after the worship gathering we will conduct our Annual Meeting of the church. This is a yearly gathering at which we hear a few reports about the past year, project a bit of vision for the future, and elect our Church Board for this church year (2007-2008). Everyone is invited to stay and hear the reports and all "official" members are invited to vote for the Church Board positions.
...in Fellowship (Potluck)So we didn't have our potluck this past Sunday, but decided to follow in the manner of last year's Annual Meeting by switching our monthly potluck to this week. So this week, bring a dish or two and let's eat together, celebrating this past year and the hope of next.
...also in Fellowship (Softball)Herb Newell & Dana Parker are working again this year to put together our co-ed softball team. We will again be partnering with Bethel Church of the Nazarene to form the "North Street Empire". We have no where to go but up! See Herb or Dana if you want to play.
...in Fellowship & Creation
This coming Saturday, April 21st, any and all ladies are invited to the monthly Ladies' Craft Night at 6:30 PM (the craft night will be on the third Saturday of the month from now on). Bring a craft, or just bring yourself, but be sure to come!
...in Africa
We've received two e-mails since our last update from the Austin Family in Kenya, written on April 8th and April 14th. Here are some snippets:
April 8th:
We are having a great and relaxing week here at the school. All the kids are on a month long holiday, so things are quiet. For the people who are here, we are getting to know them really well. We recently had Kennedy the cook to our apartment for tea and coffee and conversation. His situation is so sad, but the smile he has on all the time is beautiful and such a testimony to God's work in his life. He is home for a week with his almost 2 year old son whom he only sees once a month otherwise (his wife passed away last year). Please pray for Kennedy with us. Also, we've spent a good amount of time with two of the "Evelyn's Kids" - sponsor kids - Rogers and David who had nowhere to go over the break. We've had them for dinner and are going to be having a nice Easter Feast with them. They are such great kids (they are both seniors in HS). Some of the students will be back on the 13th, and on the 14th we'll be taking the choir on "tour" to promote the high school. That will be a great time!
Now that we are all healthy, we've been experimenting with food a bit more. Kennedy has taught us how to make some of the local food, like chapattis which are like a flat bread - YUM! We've just made samosas for the first time which are sort of like crab ran goons, but they are filled with ground beef and onions and spices - also YUM! We also went to the butcher a few days ago to get our first fresh cut of meat. Until now we'd been eating packaged food because of something called Rift Valley Fever which all the cattle had, I guess. Scary, but now they say it's safe. Tonight we are trying our first straight-from-the-cow milk (we'll boil it before we drink it, though). It should be good, we hope!
I told you I'd send you our "typical day in Kenya" but have realized that I don't even know what that is. It's always different, but always beautiful! We do get an awesome walk in every day. Unfortunately pictures do this place NO justice at all. We love it!
We miss you and love you all. Please continue to pray for and with us - God is answering!
April 14th:
Happy Easter (a week late)! We had a really nice weekend. Friday night we had Francis, the headmaster here, and Rogers and David, our new found student friends over for a really nice dinner of Mutton (sheep) stew, chapattis (flat bread), sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes and chocolate (which was our doing since candy is our Easter tradition.) It was a great evening. Sunday, after a really great worship service at the church Simon pastors, we headed for a nice dinner at a local hotel with Simon, Purity, their daughter Rehema (pronounced Lahema), and Rogers. It was an AWESOME day, and a great time of remembering what Jesus did for us all over the world. (The only not-so-great part was that I got struck with some nasty food poisoning shortly after I got back from lunch - yuck!)
So, now we are here at the Cyber Cafe and we've just met up with Beth (my cousin) and Drew who are spending their last weekend in Kenya with us - we feel very privileged. They've just finished up their semester at ANU and will be heading home this Tuesday evening, so please be in prayer for them for safe travels and as they adjust back into their home culture. It's not always an easy transition after everything you've seen and experienced.
This past Thursday also started Jon's biggest responsibility yet in Kenya - he is in charge of church building project, which has been such a great learning experience for him. All day Friday he was there taking care of his workers (and he has the crispy red face and neck to show he was out there ALL day!). We are excited for what this project will mean for the church. They have had a lot of trouble with thefts, and so this will provide a place for a live-in guard to stay, which means all of the church equipment can be kept at the church, which will save a lot of transportation money for the church. Also, there will be a kitchen and an office there which will provide outlets for ministries.
It's still been very quiet here with all the kids gone on break, but again, we have been so grateful for the time we've had to get to know Rogers and David, especially - they are such wonderful young men who love the Lord and love life despite their circumstances. They never ask us for anything, which makes us want to give them everything we can while we have the opportunity with the other kids being gone. We've been so blessed by them.
Please pray for us and with us as God is showing us potential open doors for our future in ministry for Him...maybe even here in Kenya.
We miss each of you, and know that we love when you send us updates in your own life so we can keep you in our prayers. Thanks for your emails and letters and calls. We love them, and we love each of you.
Serving HIM,
Jon, Ang, Caleb and Johnny
...on the calendar
Don't forget the Art & Craft Fair coming up on Saturday, May 5th, from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM to support our group of people headed to New Orleans in June to work in compassion there. Click here to read about it and for an 8.5x11 flyer that you can print and hand out or e-mail along to friends, families, & neighbors.
And in the little-bit-but-not-much-more distant future, mark your calendars for the Mother-Daughter Dinner on May 19th at 6:30 PM.
As always, you can keep up-to-date with NSCC happenings by using our on-line calendar (click here).
Lastly, "commenting" has been turned on for the North St. News blog. You can now comment on each post-announcement to clarify with questions or just to comment on something. Just click on "comments" below each post-announcement to begin.
