Love Kindness and Do Justice

Thank you for your companionship on God’s path of righteousness with your thoughts and prayers while the mission team travelled to the Urukundo Home for Children in Rwanda, August 13-23, and when I visited my congregation’s sister church, St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, August 24-28.

I saw God’s love and mercy expressed in a multitude of ways:

• giving comfort to a family whose loved one was dying of AIDS;
• concreting a dirt floor in a teen-led household;
• holding a two-year-old child who was left to die in an abandoned house;
• touching the stone containment tank of chlorinated water that quenched the thirst of a village;
• comprehending the factors that lead to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the efforts to bring about healing to the country;
• helping toddlers piece together a puzzle on the floor of Hope House;
• and preaching to a congregation of 600 people with the aid of a translator.

Your prayers sustained the members of the mission team as we endeavored to walk God’s path of righteousness and help people experience God’s comfort, peace, and hope. Now your prayers will help the members of the mission team to integrate the experiences within their own lives, and to help tell the story so others can be inspired to love kindness and do justice within their spheres of influence.

God bless you!

With much gratitude,

Lee Ellenberger

Today's Prayer Emphasis: August 31

Please keep the Mission Trip participants, and the people they will be visiting, in your prayers. Each day, an excerpt from scripture and a different prayer topic related to our journey will be posted here.

Today's Prayer Emphasis: August 30

Please keep the Mission Trip participants, and the people they will be visiting, in your prayers. Each day, an excerpt from scripture and a different prayer topic related to our journey will be posted here.

St. Andrew's United Methodist Church

A Memorable Visit

The visit of 3 1/2 days at St. Andrews will be remembered as days of great hospitality and the congregation's vigorous outreach. St. Andrew's has a number of programs to reach the community through evangelism, children's and youth ministries, support groups, and daily opportunities for Bible studies, prayer meetings and worship services.

There are 14 different groups of all ages. Among them are the United Methodist Men, 88 members; the United Methodist Women, 300 members; and 500 teens in the United Methodist Youth Fellowship.

This group is a portion of the Children's Choir that sings to the
nearly 200 members of Junior Church. Junior church meets
for Christian Education an hour during the 2 1/2 hour

Sunday worship service.

The Chimberengwa Family: (seated from left): Pastor Joseph and

wife Urita, holding four-month old son Rukudzo, Urita's mother, and

sons Tariro, 14 and Tinashe, 13. Pictured with the Chimberengwa family

are two nieces with Jannet Mandaza (chairperson of the Staff Parish

Relations Committee) between them. The photo was taken in the

parsonage living room.

Today's Prayer Emphasis: August 29

Please keep the Mission Trip participants, and the people they will be visiting, in your prayers. Each day, an excerpt from scripture and a different prayer topic related to our journey will be posted here.

 

Today's Prayer Emphasis: August 28

Please keep the Mission Trip participants, and the people they will be visiting, in your prayers. Each day, an excerpt from scripture and a different prayer topic related to our journey will be posted here.

Today's Prayer Emphasis: August 27

Please keep the Mission Trip participants, and the people they will be visiting, in your prayers. Each day, an excerpt from scripture and a different prayer topic related to our journey will be posted here.