FEBRUARY 2008
We Walk By Faith
Galatians
4:4-5 But
when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under
law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
R.C.H.
Lenski, in his famous Greek New Testament Commentary rightly points out
that “when the time had fully come” has nothing to do with Roman roads, Greek
culture, or a common business language. It has everything to do with the
providence of God the Father!
This is an
important lesson for us today. Often we imagine that if the conditions
were just right, or that we had more faith, or that we get the right person to
pray over us THEN the power of God would be unleashed. In fact, God’s
timing in our lives is just that, God’s timing. Christian faith is
placing all confidence in the hands of Jesus rather than trying to set up the
right conditions or behavior.
The famous
response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to King Nebuchadnezzar is the truest
expression of faith possible. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the
king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in
this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is
able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even
if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods
or worship the image of gold you have set up," Daniel 3:16-18.
Last Words
Death-Bed
Statements
Some
Good...
Some Not So Good!
See in what peace a Christian can die.
~ Joseph
Addison, writer, d. June 17, 1719
I'm bored with it all.
Before
slipping into a coma. He died 9 days later.
~ Winston Churchill, statesman, d. January 24, 1965
Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.
To her
housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
~ Joan Crawford, actress, d. May 10, 1977
It is very beautiful over there.
~ Thomas
Alva Edison, inventor, d. October 18, 1931
I am going to be face to face with Jesus now. . . . I love you all very
much. I will see you all when you get there. . . . I will wait for you.
Executed
by injection, Texas.
~ Karla Faye Tucker Brown, d. February 3, 1998
Inner Peace
Philippians
4:4-7 Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Notice
that this is a conditional statement. The peace of God comes when we keep
focused on God and live the way He commands. We are commanded to live
rejoicing, showing gentleness, rejecting anxiety, being in prayer, filled with
thankfulness, presenting our need to the Lord.
Then…His peace will overwhelm us and guard our hearts and minds.
Many want the
peace of God only a few are willing to meet His conditions to receive that
peace.
Duke
University did a study on "peace of mind." Factors found to
contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1) the absence
of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in
unhappiness.
2) Not living
in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads
to depression.
3) Not wasting
time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life,
instead of trying to run away from it.
4) Force
yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to
withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.
5) Refuse to
indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that
nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.
6) Cultivate
the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty.
7) Do not
expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between
self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of
inadequacy are inevitable.
8) Find
something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people
score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.
In 1555,
Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On
the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in
the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer
and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in
his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of
the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!
Tom Parrish
Jungle Journal
Missionary Terry Schultz, Lima, Peru
We had planned it for
months. It would be like nothing our Amazon jungle congregations had ever
seen before: Eleven couples from three Chayahuita tribal villages, (Nueva
Barranquita, Parinari, and Louis Terry) were coming together with family and
friends for a huge mass wedding!!
The 11 couples, all faithful church
members, had been married according to tribal customs either years or months
ago. Most of them had several children. However, the couples and
their student pastors had requested a church ceremony in order to say their
vows before God and the brothers and sisters. What an exciting
idea! The centrally-located thatch-roof, wall-less, dirt-floor church in
Parinari was chosen as the site for the extraordinary event.
During a Bible Institute Class in
Tarapoto back in September, Maravi, Tangoa, Eloy and Mauricio had first
presented the wedding idea and asked if I would officiate. I was thrilled
to accept! Indeed, a bit later I stood up and announced my offer to purchase
a huge pig to be roasted for the wedding banquet. Instantly, the animated
conversation came to a halt. The natives quickly passed a
“someone-better-say-something” look to each other, and then cast their gaze to
the floor. Bad sign, I thought to myself, bad sign. As usual it
fell upon Maravi, the senior member of the class, to speak up. Maravi
waited a respectful moment then carefully explained:
Men don’t eat pigs, only women.
And women only eat a pig that they know has been raised in one household.
If the pig has been allowed to roam all over the village, eating whatever, the
women will not eat the pig.
Instead of a pig, Maravi politely
suggested that I buy the class (not a bag but a whole box of) shotgun shells,
and they would provide the meat. A week before the wedding, the men would
go out hunting for the huge banquet. The menu would be appropriately
filled with whatever they shot, perhaps anteater, armadillo, large rodents,
small jungle deer, and large or small monkeys.
Thoroughly chastened, I hastily
withdrew my offer of a huge pig and apologized for the indiscretion. I
could certainly pop for the shotgun shells. Then, in a renewed flourish
of excitement I announced my donation of two classic gourmet favorites for the
banquet: I would bring pop and buns! Huge smiles broke out on all the men as
they immediately approved my excellent choices. The date of the weddings
was set: The couples (and their guests) would arrive before nightfall
Saturday, December 15th, for a marriage workshop and
“rehearsal.” Sunday morning would be the wedding ceremony.
On that Saturday morning around 6:00
AM, Ronal, jungle guide Jose, and I got on the river at Yurimaguas. First
stop would be Nueva Barranquita, for the big end-of-the-year school program at
Wawaru’sa Kesussuken, (Children of Jesus) grade school!
Our boat was piled high with 10 6-packs
of 2-liter bottles of Peruvian pop, and over half a dozen garbage bags full of
fresh, high-quality buns. Ronal and brother Segundo had ridden all over
Yurimaguas in a 3-wheel motorcycle taxi, cleaning out every bakery of their
buns! This being the holiday season, they even picked off a couple cases
of (what else) cheap Peruvian fruit cake!! We had turned into some zany
Amazon wedding-catering business! (By the way, don’t let our humble menu
items fool you. The natives rarely have access to bread or a soft
drink. No doubt they had never eaten a slice of fruit cake. Our
food selections were as special to the jungle natives as a catered $20-a-plate
wedding dinner in the States!)
The closing ceremony at the Nueva
Barranquita grade school was again a thrill! I can never celebrate a
school closing without that image from six years ago flashing through my
mind: The very first time we had come to the village, the mothers had
spotted us at a distance, screamed in panic (most of them having never seen a
white person before), scooped up playing children in their arms and dashed into
the nearest thatch-roof hut to hide. The mothers were convinced that the
only reason a foreigner would appear at their village was to steal the
children. Today, those children that had been hidden from us were now
spiritually saved, (along with some of the parents) and singing songs to Jesus!
Such is the power of the Holy Spirit! The ceremony ended with heart-felt
speeches of gratitude for our school from the village elders.
Refreshments were served (pop and buns)
to all the eager students and parents. It was well past noon by now, so
Ronal and I were invited by teacher Pepe Jose to his dwelling for lunch.
Now, let me begin by saying I love a
good armadillo chop as much as the next person. I don’t mind nibbling on
a gnarly little grey leg or pulling meat off the inside of a large section of
armadillo shell placed in the middle of my soup bowl. But when you first see an armadillo paw sticking up out of your
soup with all that dirt around the little claws…
After lunch and countless goodbyes, we
were back on the trail for 45 minutes to our waiting boat. A half-hour
ride later we pulled up on the river bank, offloaded as much as we could carry,
and started down another jungle trail for the 1½ hour hike to the homes of
Maravi’s extended family outside of Parinari.
Maravi and his married daughters’
husbands had built a cluster of homes outside of Parinari. The reason for
the 45-minute distance between their homes and Parinari proper was
simple: Maravi and his family did not wish to participate in the
community-wide weekend drunken parties. (Each village family is expected
to contribute several liters of strongly-fermented masato for the weekend
blowouts. Indeed, as we passed by the Parinari school house around 4:00,
a loud, drunken dance party was already in full swing. The nearly-drunk
village chief spotted us and invited us in. We tactfully refused his
offer. Thoroughly chagrined, the chief retreated back into the loud party
as we continued on our way.)
The brothers and sisters that greeted
us at Maravi’s large thatch-roof house were thrilled to see us! Couples
from Louis Terry had already arrived. The couples’ workshop would be held
in the evening, as soon as we had cleaned up in the river and eaten a little
dinner.
Ronal, Jose, and I were invited to eat
with Maravi at his daughter Patricia’s house where dinner was waiting. I
spotted a couple smoked, dried, dusty monkeys (the fur had not been removed
this time!) lying on a wood shelf, ready to eat. However, dried monkey
wasn’t considered good enough for our special visit: A valuable chicken had
been killed and cooked in a soup. But this wasn’t simply chicken soup, or
chicken and rice soup. It was chicken and turtle soup!
Let me put it this way: It looked
like someone had prepared 4 bowls of chicken soup, and then passed over each
bowl with large turtle in hand and simply snipped a leg off into the
bowl! This dinner wasn’t “surf and turf,” it was “paws and claws!”
Picking up the turtle leg I asked Maravi, “Do you eat the (thick, wrinkly,
bumpy, black-green) skin?” “Of course,” he replied. And the taste?
There was a little meat near the bone, but mostly it was turtle gristle that
tasted like a Dr. Scholl’s rubbery sole insert.
By now it was past 8:00! We quickly
washed our hands, picked up Bibles and flashlights, and strode across the yard
to the wall-less, dirt floor church, built by the Parinari members.
It was totally dark out, with the loud
sounds of the jungle everywhere; insects, birds, frogs, monkeys. As we
arrived at the church I raised my flashlight beam and was completely startled
to discover row upon row of smiling natives sitting quietly on benches in the
pitch dark! (The natives often sit for long periods in the evening with
hardly a word passing between them.) I didn’t expect over 50 friends
waiting so patiently! It was now over an hour past the natives’ usual
bedtime! (It would be like you and me going to a workshop at church that
started at 11:30 PM!)
Ronal and I covered many intense
marriage topics for an hour and a half, Maravi translating every word. We
spoke of the life-time marriage commitment, of family responsibilities, and of
Christian living amidst the alcoholism that is a veritable cultural tradition
in most native villages. The natives listened with incredible
intensity. It was a thrill to share such an important session with them!
All the couples were committed to walking the path of the Lord together, as
they would publicly declare tomorrow.
The workshop completed, Ronal and I
strode through the dark with our flashlights to the back steps to Eloy’s
raised-floor, thatch-roof house. But just as we rounded the corner of the
house, I stumbled right into Jose who was wildly waving at us to freeze and not
make a sound! There was something in the bush just a few yards
ahead! An animal? A snake?? Jose was straining with his whole being
to hear a sound. I finally whispered to him:
“What is it?!”
“Do you hear that?” Jose replied.
“What?”
“Maligno!”
“Maligno?” (The catch-all name for a
powerful, vicious, jungle-dwelling evil spirit.)
“Maligno!”
I look over to Ronal, who doesn’t know
what to make of this. I’ll admit the first thought in my mind was, “Is
this just an ‘attention-getting ploy’ by Jose, who hasn’t received much
attention all day?”
“Where is it?” I whisper to Jose.
Believe me, my suspicion that Jose was perhaps faking all this immediately
evaporated when he grabbed me by the forearm harder than he’s ever grabbed me
and pulled me up close beside him. Jose was supremely disturbed by
something right there in the bush. I quietly asked:
“What does it sound like?”
Jose quietly made a weird, wispy,
evil-spirit sound, like “feeeen, feeeen.” We both stood there in the blackness,
straining to hear the spirit’s voice, amidst the clutter of jungle sounds.
Now, I sort of pride myself as a
musician, being able to pick out a particular sound. Sure enough, a
weird, isolated, other-worldly “feeeen, feeeeen,” sound came floating
out! “Hear that!” Jose immediately whispered right into my ear, his voice
a mixture of triumph and dread.
“Yes!” I replied. “Ronal,” I
whispered over, “do you hear that?”
“No,” Ronal replied.
We stayed there for several minutes,
and heard that eerie, surreal call come floating out a couple more times.
I could tell each call made Jose’s blood run cold with fear. My suspicion
at what was happening here was later confirmed by Ronal: For all the
times I had agreed with Jose that yes, evil spirits could be lurking around
where we work, I had never admitted to actually being in the presence of
one. Right here right now, Jose was utterly convinced that there was a
demon creeping around within yards of us, ready to strike like a deadly
snake. “What do you think?” well be an evil spirit right there in the
bush. Consider what just happened tonight Jose! 11 couple promised
to continue walking in the ways of God! What an example they are to Jose
whispered in my ear. I stood up straight from our bent over /
straining-to-hear position, and calmly told Jose in a normal voice:
“There could very their villages, where
so much evil goes on. The demons must be beside themselves at what they
just saw at our workshop! They are so furious and frustrated they can
hardly stand it!”
“Do you know what image I have in my
head, Jose? During our workshop in church, I can imagine a bunch of huge,
mighty angels, shoulder to shoulder, completely surrounding and protecting our
group. They wouldn’t allow an evil spirit to come in and grab one of God’s
children! The evil spirits are like a pack of wild dogs, slinking and
snarling around at the edges. They can’t touch the people guarded inside.
The angels surround us at all times, Jose, including right now! The evil
spirits can circle and snarl all night long. I don’t care. God can
grab an evil spirit by the throat at any moment, strangle it and toss it all
the way to hell. They know it, we know it. We have nothing to
fear! So let’s just go get some sleep.
I patted Jose on the shoulder. The
tension had pretty much drained right out of him! Ronal and I and Jose
headed up the little ladder into Eloy’s house. We laid down on the wood
floor under mosquito nets in the sweltering heat, batting away insects,
listening to the jungle sounds. The wild night wasn’t over yet…
To be continued!
Terry
A
Note From Soledad
Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I thank God
for the opportunity that He gave me to see you on my Christmas break.
I am really
grateful for the nice reception that you had for me in August of 2006. I still remember when I was standing in
front of you, nervous and afraid about my new life in the states. It has been more than a year and a lot of
things have changed in my life like my new life away from my family, my
country, and my congregation. It was
difficult for me to adjust to this new life, but God sent many people who helped
me like Mary since Peru: Bonnie, Linda, Pam with their emails, and you with
your prayers.
In the
moments of loneliness and sadness something came to my mind, the sweet image
from you. I felt that I was not
alone. I felt that I had friends and a
family. I thank God for the blessing
that I had to meet you.
When I went
home in the summer I told my family about you and I showed pictures. They are very grateful. Here I have a family; you are my family. You have a family in Peru, too. You are very welcome to come to my home in
Peru. I will pray to God that someday I
can have you in the mountains.
I am also
very grateful for the Progressive Dinner.
Thank you very much for helping the people of Pisco, Chincha, Canete,
etc. My people in Peru would appreciate
it so much your help.
This is my
second week at school in this semester.
It’s a little bit busy. Please
keep me in your prayers.
Love, Soledad
From Our New Mexico Friends
Derek Zell Young is
baptized on Sunday, December 20, 2007.
Angela writes, "To quote Pastor Terry Schultz Derek was ‘snatched
from the hand of Satan and placed under God's grace by the power of the Holy
Spirit in baptism’ today.
It is a wonderful day!
God is so good!”
Once-A-Pun-A-Time
A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel
and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament
victories. After about an hour, the
manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse.
"But
why," they asked, as they moved off. "Because", he said, "I
can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
Hope is not the
conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something
makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
He is no fool who gives
what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
It’s never a good thing
to run toward something if you’re running away from something else.
Give Satan an inch and
he'll be a ruler.
A cartoon shows two boys walking to school,
discussing their parents. One of them says to the other one, "I've figured
out a system for getting along with my Mom. She tells me what to do and I do
it."
Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent,
falls on February 6th this year.
Our Lenten Worship Services will be held each Wednesday evening, begin
at 6:30pm. Pastors Henkel, Meier, and
Ponath will lead the services as in previous years.
We look forward to the opportunity to once again
walk with Jesus as He reveals His amazing love and grace. "Crossroads:
Traveling With Our Savior" is this year’s worship theme.
As in past years, each Wednesday
service will be preceded by a Lenten Supper. Serving time is 5:30pm.
The supper schedule is as follows:
February 6, 2008 - Pine Limb
February 13, 2008 - Oak Limb
February 20, 2008 - Cedar Limb
February 27, 2008 – Almond Limb
March 5 – Coordinating Council
March 12 – Sunday School Staff
Thank you in advance for your help in serving the meals and your eagerness to worship at the foot of the cross during the Lenten season.
Chinese New Year
The
members of Mt. Olive Chinese Church have invited us all to a Chinese New Year
celebration on Sunday, February 10th, beginning with a 2:00pm
worship service. This will be followed
by a presentation and a buffet supper.
All are cordially invited to attend!
St. John’s Round Ups
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Round-Ups will be
held on Monday, February 11, 2008 at St. John Lutheran School, 771 Margaret
Street, St. Paul, MN 55106. Pre-Kindergarten Round-Up will
be held at 6:30pm (children need to be 4 years old by September 1st) and
Kindergarten Round-Up will be held at 7:00pm (children need to be 5 years old
by September 1st.) If you have a child this age, please plan to come that
evening (bring your child also) to see the room, make a fun art project, and
enjoy a snack. If you know of someone who might be interested in sending their
child(ren) to our school, please pass this information along. If this date is
not convenient, please call the school office at 651.776.8861 to make other
arrangements. St. John Lutheran School
also has openings in grades 1-8.
Piano Quartet
In concert in the SCLHS
chapel, hear the Nokomis Piano Quartet, Sunday, February 17, at 3:00pm. The
four members of the piano, violin, viola and cello quartet have extensive
experience in instrumental music performance. They have performed at colleges,
for various school groups, and regularly for local organizations. Tickets
(adults - $8; students K-12 - $4) are available at the door or may be reserved
by calling 651-455-1521, x392.
(Proceeds of the concert donated to Lutheran Church in Central Africa
Seminary.)
“Back To The Future” is the SCLHS auction theme.
March 8, 2008 is the date. Now is the
time to put your creative ideas to work.
Now is the time to drop off your donation at St. Croix Lutheran High
School. Check on-line for a list of ideas, for items already donated and for
information concerning the auction at www.sclhs.org. Call 651-455-1521 x106 if you would like to bring larger items to
the loading dock. Thank you for your
support!
Christian Education Sunday
& Mt. Olive Minute Race
Mt Olive Lutheran Church will have our Christian
Education Sunday on March 30th. This will include many activities
focused on all aspect of our support to the education process including both children
and adults.
Following
the Worship Service and the Education Hour, there will be a delicious potluck
dinner beginning at about 11:45am.
One of the
key events is our Mt Olive Pinewood Derby race. This event is open to all
in the congregation who would like to participate. Some of the key dates
include:
·
Sun. March 2nd - Pick up cars at church and begin building
·
Wed. March 12th - 7:30 Car Building Assistance Night
·
Wed. March 26th - 6:30 Car Building Assistance Night
·
Sun. March 30th -
1:00 Race Begins
Please plan to attend on
Sunday, March 30th to worship, to learn, and to enjoy all the
events. Thanks!
Child, Youth, &
Family Committee
It’s
that time again. Those Mission Box
offerings for Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society that you have been filling
with change are due. Please give to Mae
Schmidt, LWMS Reporter before the end of March to ensure being counted before
the Spring Rally. New boxes are
available in the narthex. Thank you
very much.
Sunday School News & Notes
February 6th is the beginning of our
6-week observance of Lent. The children will be singing for two Lenten Services
this year. They are Feb. 20th and March 12th. You should
have received the words and music for the two songs that we will be singing
either in your child’s folder or by mail. Please work on these songs at home.
We will also spend time working on them in Sunday school music class.
We have been asked to serve the March 12th Lenten service.
The teachers and I would ask our families to provide a pan of bars or cookies
for that service. Please let me know if you are able to help serve that evening
and if you can provide a pan of cookies or bars.
Also in March we will be serving Easter Breakfast with our youth. We
will send home more information about this in upcoming Parent Pages and in the
March newsletter.
This year Christian Education Sunday will be on March 30th.
The children will sing for the 9:00am church service that day. There will be a
potluck dinner and the annual running of the Mount Olive Minute following the
dinner. There is more information about the Mount Olive Minute in another
article in this newsletter.
In Jesus, Linda Henkel, superintendent
Jesus Cares Ministry
Is it possible to start a Jesus Cares Ministry at
Mt. Olive? We are a very mission minded congregation and already help missions
in Antigua, India, Peru, and China. Incredible! And a Chinese church shares our
building! These missions serve people from foreign countries.
Jesus Cares is a part of the Lutheran Home
Association of Belle Plaine, MN. There are branches of the Jesus Cares Ministry
in many places. This ministry serves people who are developmentally disabled.
My sister has Downs Syndrome and is developmentally
disabled. She has participated in Jesus Cares for many years, and other people
in her group home have also decided to participate in the classes and
activities.
Would some of you be interested in helping serve
God's children who are developmentally disabled by being part of our Jesus
Cares Ministry at Mr. Olive? Please contact me as soon as possible.
Ann Karpenko
Kids C.A.R.E. Boxes
Last fall these boxes were handed out to collect
money to benefit WELS Mission to the Children. This mission serves poor
children in Mexico.
Let's bring these boxes back for Lent. Please bring
them back for the Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 6th or the Sunday
after on Feb. 10th. We will continue to collect these boxes the
entire month of February.
Additional boxes are also available in the back of
church.
Thank you.
Ann Karpenko
Financial Report
The General Fund Report lists income and expense for
the year divided into quarters. The
contributions are quite consistent in each quarter. The non-contribution
receipts are much higher in the third quarter because of parking receipts from
the State Fair. The non-budgeted
receipts are much higher in the final quarter because of the matching funds
sent from Thrivent for Camp Croix and the Food Shelf fundraiser. The trust receipts do not match the
disbursements because the Sunday School offerings are disbursed in June to the
designated recipient.
The most important
figure to take note of is the final income minus expenses which is just under
-$4,500. Because we started 2007 with
over $6,700 we still ended the year with a positive balance. This means we do not have the option of
spending more than what the offerings are this year.
January is a time to
prepare and plan for the coming year.
We should prayerfully consider our stewardship at this time. With God’s grace and the Spirit’s guidance,
I feel we can meet the financial challenges of 2008.
The Special Funds Report covers the last six months
of 2007. There were substantial
receipts for the Building Maintenance Fund.
We still owe just over $31,000 loaned to ourselves from that fund. With plans to repave the parking lot, that
fund contains almost enough to pay for the project.
The disbursements were
as follows: The college scholarship went to the WELS Student Assistance Fund
because there were no applicants from Mt. Olive. The SCLHS scholarships were given to Sarah and Ben Schuyler. The estate interest was disbursed to the
General Fund. The interest from the
Endowment Fund is also disbursed there and is not added in with the other
interest in that column.
These funds are held in
seven Church Extension Fund (CEF) certificates which yield from 4.55% to 6%
interest. There is also a Charles
Schwab money market account and the Premier Bank checking account which gives
more ease of access to the money if needed.
Harold Rufledt, treasurer