Little Dresses for Missions, a mission of Hyde Park United Methodist, heard the call from The Rev. Tamara Isidore, a pastor from Haiti who serves in Bradenton. In response to the recent earthquake and hurricane in Haiti, Pastor Isidore asked for first aid relief items to be shipped to Haiti. Little Dresses for Missions sent 200 dresses to Haiti through Faith United Methodist Church, Bradenton. The dresses were dropped off at Faith United Methodist in large plastic tubs. Billie Trocke, Hyde Park member and sewer for Little Dresses for Missions, reported the church “was delighted to receive the dresses and thrilled to get the plastic tubs. After the hurricane flooding, everything is sodden and they have no way to keep anything dry. That church works ongoing with two orphanages in Haiti, so they have need for the dresses”.
To donate other items toward this relief effort, contact Faith United Methodist Church, Bradenton, Michelle Millner, 434.770.0580 or support disaster response and relief recovery through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) who will assess the storm’s impact and respond to immediate needs.
Shining the Light Ministries, our mission partner in Nicaragua, provides agriculture training and support to low income families in the area around Leon. Their focus is in three areas: Gardens, Poultry and Sewing.
Here is an excerpt from their latest newsletter:
EMPOWERMENT SATISFIES HUNGER
Greg Lentz, our associate director, recently spent two weeks in Nicaragua, working side by side with our staff, local pastors, and the communities where we minister. Below are some of his reflections from a day in the field.
Today I had the privilege of accompanying Pastor Alejandra Mendez as he evangelized in the Chacrasecas Community. In the community there are 42 houses with 3-4 families living in some of the homes. We spent time with church members that had not been attending or had been unable to attend worship services due to physical health.
Church membership at Asamulea de Dios (Assemblies of God), the church that Pastor Alejandra leads, began with about 17 Adults and 18Children. They have now increased to 48 Adults and 22 children. Pasto Alejandra has been having worship service 4 days a week.
Love INC, our mission partner, exists only to serve its member churches. Mobilizing churches, their members and resources produces volunteers that are Love INC trained to provide a variety of direct services to guests entrusted to our ministry.
Shining the Light Ministries, our mission partner in Nicaragua, provides agriculture training and support to low income families in the area around Leon. Their focus is in three areas: Gardens, Poultry and Sewing.
Here is an excerpt from their latest newsletter:
As we all know, this is a very hard time for everyone around the world. Even though the news around us is not the best, we know who we are because we trust in God. He is our help, our supporter, and our healer.
The world is facing a very difficult time physically, politically, mentally, spiritually, and economically because of the pandemic. We have noticed Covid infections increasing in different cities around the country, especially in the city of León. But by the grace of God, we have still been able to serve many communities, churches, and families with the different projects through Shining The Light Ministries and Asociación Brillando La Luz De Cristo En Nicaragua.
Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary (BMTS), our mission partner, is the largest United Methodist seminary in Europe, and serves students from eight countries who study in three languages: Estonian, Russian and English. Their newsletter is titled Prayerchain, it begins with a message from Külli Tõniste, Rector. Here’s an excerpt:
FOCUS
Dear friend,
Is God ringing a bell in you? How do you discern a call to study at seminary?
I still remember the feeling of both excitement and anxiety when I first rang the doorbell at Apteegi street 3 where the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary used to be located. I was young and nervous. I had done a few things in my Pentecostal church and I loved to read the Bible, but I was not a theologian and I did not have a clear plan for the future. I did not even know what the word “Methodist” meant in the name of that new seminary. I only knew that my pastor had said about the Methodist founder John Wesley: “He is our grandfather too”. So I guess they were alright. I had many unanswered questions about the content and origin of my faith and these questions motivated me to ring the bell.
Pat and Melenda Edmiston are missionaries with Wycliffe – Partners in Bible Translation, a nondenominational mission organization dedicated to translating the Scriptures and teaching people to read and write in their own language.
The story of the 5 loaves and 2 fish doesn’t have to be a miracle only witnessed in the Scriptures. Every day, we have the opportunity to participate in God’s provision for the world. We give what we have, and he is faithful to bless and multiply it in his hands.
When you partner with us, you are:
Equipping believers with God’s Word
Transforming lives for eternity
Growing the kingdom of God + multiplying churches
1.5 billion people still don’t have the full Bible in their first language. Imagine what’s possible with Scripture that’s accurate and speaks to their hearts.
Melenda and I want to thank you for your faithful gifts over the past few months. They have been a true blessing in these uncertain times. You can be sure that we continue to be faithful to our calling in seeing God’s Word translated into new languages and transforming lives. This is what Dahn, a fellow believer in Southeast Asia, had to say:
“I live in a rural area where there is no church. A pastor visits regularly, but because of Covid-19 we have not seen him much.
“During this time, people in my village have abandoned their former way of life and participate in evil practices, such as drinking to get drunk, burning charms, and worshipping ancestors. But God’s Word helps me walk in the path of righteousness. As I study the Bible, day by day my faith is strengthened and my heart is softened. Like it says in Proverbs 2:20, I pray to walk in the way of goodness.”
Pray more people in remote areas of Southeast Asia will hear His Word in their heart language and walk away from their evil practices and turn to the paths of righteousness.
Shining the Light Ministries, our mission partner in Nicaragua, provides agriculture training and support to low income families in the area around Leon. Their focus is in three areas: Gardens, Poultry and Sewing.
Here is an excerpt from their latest newsletter:
2021 is the year when Asociacion Brillando la Luz de Cristo en Nicaragua and Shining the Light Ministries are expecting to be able to see God´s hands in everything that we are doing in Leon to serve him. We are coming off of a very hard year (2020) because of Covid 19. Last year was a very difficult year for the whole world and we believe that God´s word is being fulfilled in everything we can see around us. We are also grateful to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth, he is our provider, praise God!
Abe Brown Ministries’ works to break cycles of incarceration by helping renew the minds of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated citizens, motivating them to change their behaviors and achieve purposeful lives as a compassionate demonstration of the Love of Jesus Christ.
Karlin’s Success Story
Karlin grew up one of seven children to a single mom in North Carolina. After leaving high school, he worked several different jobs to support himself financially. Karlin especially grew to love his career in the trucking industry. Karlin described himself as caring and easily trusting of everyone he came across. While working as a supervisor, he blindly trusted one of the workers which unfortunately led to his incarceration. Following his release from prison, Karlin decided to join the Ready4Work-Hillsborough program for employment assistance. Through this program’s Career Development Classes and Employment Workshops, Karlin received the necessary resources he needed to get his life back on track. He obtained all of the skills that were necessary for him to become both a successful truck driver and a proactive member of society. Karlin states that Ready4Work-Hillsborough taught him better decision-making skills which ultimately increased his self-worth. With the help of his Career Coach, Karlin was able to secure a truck driving job at Action Specialty Packaging. Karlin’s goals are to obtain his GED and to maintain thoughts and actions of self-worthiness. He also hopes to stay in contact with Abe Brown Ministries’ Read4Work-Hillsborough, because they helped him stay grounded and on the right track.
