november 2009 newsletter
DESCRIPTION
Our November 2009 NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
November 2009Newsletter
Mustard SeedEvangelical Church
The
For the people of Callington and the greater glory of God
www.msec.org.uk
HighlightsPage2: MonthlyActivities
Page4: YouthWorkUpdate (FromTimCadoux)
Page6: Missionarynews (From Andy and Cindy Rich)
Page8: Missionarynews (FromMalcolm,Kerstin andAmyGray)
Page10: WeeklyActivities
Page11: Contacts
Welcome!WelcometothenewmonthlynewsletteroftheMustard
SeedEvangelicalChurch!
Itisourhopethatthisnewsletterwillbecomeagreatresourceforyou.Amongthesepages,youwillfindupdatesfromourmissionarypartnersworldwide, and from peopleworking locally. It will alsobe an informativeguide towhat’s goingonhere at theMustardSeedEvangelicalChurch.
Ifyouhaveanycomments,or ideasforwhatelsewecouldinclude(or even your ownpieces of news), please let TimCadoux know(detailscanbefoundonpage11).
ANewWomen’sministryfortheMustardSeed
The first get together will be onFriday6thNovemberatHamptonMannor to plan future monthlyevents, draw us togetherspiritually and socially and buildus up in the power of the HolySpirit in order to reach out tootherwomeninthearea.
Allladiesarewelcome!PleaseletMaureenknowassoonaspossibleifyouwouldliketo
come.
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MonthlyActivitiesDate Time Event Location
Monday2/11 19:45 PrayerMeeting TheParlour
Friday6/11 Day Women’sMinistryDayHamptonMannor
Thursday12/11 14:30 ResdientialHomesOutreach Chyvaras
Saturday14/11 08:00 Men’sBreakfast Frank’s
Saturday14/11 19:00 ChurchesTogetherQuizNight TheHall
Friday20/11 18:00 YouthGroupWeekendAway DupathFarm
SundayMorningWorshipSunday1stNovember: LondonCitymission
Sunday8thNovember: DavidJewells
Sunday15thNovember: MarkPellow
Sunday22ndNovember: RevTerryFuller
Sunday29thNovember: MarkThomas
OperationChristmasChildAs you may be aware, we are supporting Operation Christmas Child,whosendshoeboxesfilledwithgiftstovictimsofwar,poverty,famine,diseaseandnaturaldisasters.YourgiftwillgotomakechildrenaroundtheworldsmilethisChristmas.
DateofCollection:15thNovemberPage3
YouthWorkUpdateHello!
IthoughtthatastheyouthworkerattheMustard Seed,youmight like toknow abitaboutwhoIam,andastimegoeson,about what is happening in the youthworkinCallington.
Asthis ismyfirstupdate,Ithinkitisonlyright that I explain some of thebackground behindwhy I decided to gointo youth work. Before last summer, Ihad been planning (and at the time, itseemedcertain)thatIwouldgotoKing'sCollegeLondontostudytheology,thoughI then applied both there and toExeter,whichwould also bringme closer tomyfiancéeRuth.However,whilstIwasattheSoul Survivor camp in the summer of2008, I felt a call to youth ministry. Ipicked up a leaflet about SWYM ‐ SouthWest Youth Ministries at their stand atSoul Survivorandbegan lookingatafewdifferent options such as the Centre forYouthMinistryandOasis.
When Iwent along toone of the SWYMconferences,which iswheremuchofthetrainingforSWYMtrainees is delivered,Iinstantly felt at home. I felt God's callthere, and after being accepted to join,we began looking for a placement; andhereIam!
I started my training on the first ofSeptember with a rather wet week atHeatreeHouse,nearBoveyTracey, inthemiddleofDartmoorwithverylittlemobilesignal. However, the weather (and theconnectionwith civilisation) improved aswe moved to our first conference at
Bridgwater. Both of these conferenceswere great as I got to know the othertrainees and felt ready to start myplacement. We then had ourcommissioningceremonyatSt.Andrew'schurchinCullomptononSeptember10th.
For the first few weeks, I have beenhaving an introduction to the MustardSeed. So as part of this, I have beenattendingtheMondayNight Bible Study/Home Group and Seedlings, along withothereventssuchastheMen’sBreakfast.
OnMondays, I have Cluster meetings inthe morning (09:00‐13:00) at PlymouthMethodist Central Hall. This is where allthe youthworkers in the local areawhoareworkingwithSWYM(mostlyPlymouthpeople, but also with someone fromSouth Brent, and me at Callington) gettogetherandshareabouthowtheirweekhas gone. We start with breakfast, havetime for prayer andworship,do a groupbible study and often have speakersinvited to talk about topics such asspiritual disciplines, counselling and theBible.
Asayouthgroup,wehavestarteddoinganumber of things together. On Saturdaythe26thSeptember,wetookthreeyoungpeople to “The Net” (a youth event inPlymouth). We have also had a youthgroupmeal on Thursday 1st October, towhichsixyoungpeoplecame.Thesehavebeen good opportunities for us to gettogetherandtostartthinkingaboutwhatwewanttodotogether.
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As a result of conversations with theyoungpeople,wehavestartedaMondayNight youth club for any teenagers aged14‐18, and we are planning a weekendaway for the youngpeople inNovember.This youth club is a time for the youngpeople at the Mustard Seed to socialisetogether, and to strengthenrelationshipsoutside of the normal Sunday meetings.Thisalsogivestheyoungpeopleachanceto bring friendsalong to somethingnon‐confrontational, as it is a space for theyoungpeople tobe themselves.Wehaveacafé style spacewithhot chocolate,teaand(proper)coffee,thereisapooltable,a tennis table, and a (magnetic) dartsboardfortheyoungpeopletouse.Wearealso moving in a sofa and a couple ofcomfy arm chairs over the next week orso,whichwe hope will enable the youngpeople to make the top part of thedownstairshallintotheirownspace.
Another planned idea is “Fusion”, whichwill drawtogether youngpeople from alltheChurches inCallington.Thiswillbeaneveningofcontemporaryworship,prayer,café,Biblestudyandgames.The eveningwill start witheveryone together, beforewesplitintoageappropriategroups(11‐13and14‐18),forsomeBiblestudy.This ideahas sprung out of the need for youngpeople inCallington to feel supported intheir Christian lives, and that the youngChristiansneedtobeabletosupporteachotherandgrowfriendshipstogether.
At the same time as doing the practicalyouth work, I am also studying for mycourse.IamdoingaFoundationYearwithSWYM, which includes the “Engage!”CertificatewithCentre forYouthMinistry,whichwill qualifyme as aYouth SupportWorkerLevel3.CurrentlyIamworkingon
a Health and Safety assignment, whichincludes things like child protection andlocal contacts with the police and otherpublic services. I am also working on a‘Practice’Unit,whichlooksat howYouthWorkers can put good youth work aimsintopractice.
I would like to thank everyone who hasbeen praying for me, and to those whohave letmevisitthemfordinner,Ginamyline manager, and especially John andKath, who have brought me back fromPlymouthonMondayevenings.
TimCadoux.
YouthGroupEventsMonday2ndNovember: YouthGroup
Monday5thNovember: YouthGroup
Monday9thNovember: YouthGroup
Monday16thNovember: YouthGroup
Friday20th‐Sunday22ndNovember: WeekendAwayatDupathFarm
Monday23rdNovember: NoYouthGroup (DuetoWeekendAway)
Monday30thNovember: YouthGroup
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DearFriends,PleaseprayforWEC'swork inThailand,afellowshipofabout45missionariesatthemoment, endeavouring to reach theunreachedThaiandKareninthisbeautifulcountry. We are the acting field leadersandneedmuchwisdom anddiscernmentinachallengingnewrole.
Here are some general requests forWECinThailand:
God’sWorkPraiseGodforremarkableresponsivenessand growth in the Chachoengsao areaeastofBangkok.TheWECteamtherehasstruggledtokeepupwiththe interest attimes.After fouryearscommittedtothisarea,theteamare phasingout ofoneoffour churches/groups. There are alsopossibilities of a further one or twogroups in the near future. The spiritualclimate ischanginginChachoengsao.TheLordisonthemove!
ChangeAfter ministering in the samegeographicalareasince1947andwiththesame network of churches since itsconception, the Lord has beenchallenging us as a field to considerministering with new partners in newlocations, in addition to our historicalcommitments.This includes anexpandedvisiontobeginplayingapartinmobilisingchurches across Thailand towards worldmission.
RenewalInrecentyearsmoretimehasbeengivento prayer together as teams. Godwantstotake the fielddeeper intodependencyon Him, relying on Him more than everbefore. May ministry flow out of timespentinHispresence!
Harvest"The Central Thai remain one of thelargest,yetaccessible,unreachedgroupsin theworld", (Paul Hattaway, author of"PeoplesoftheBuddhistWorld").Praise
MissionaryNewsFromMalcolm,Kerstin
andAmyGray
“Notforoursake,OGod,notforoursake,butforYourname’ssake,showYourglory.
DoitonaccountofYourmercifullove.DoitonaccountofYourfaithfulways.Doitsononeofthenationscansay,’Wherenow,OwhereistheirGod?’“
–Psalm115:1‐2[TheMessage]
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the Lord for increased unity amongnationalchurches,withincreaseddesiretowork together for His harvest. Pray forprotection in relationships as nationalchurchunitystrengthens.Maythisleadtomanyfreshinitiativesintotheharvestfield–together!
MissionaryKidsHostelWEC helped to found an internationalschool in Chiangmai 10 years ago toprovide education for missionary families,enabling them to remain in Thailandplanting churches. We run a WEC hostelthere, housing about a dozen missionarykids during term‐time. We are currentlyconstructing a new hostel, but buildingworkhasstoppedaswetrustGodfortheremaining£80,000tocomein.Atthesametime,wearetryingtorecruitpeopletojointhe hostel ministry team and serve ashostel parents.Thehostel isan importantministry,asistheschool(forwhichwearealsorecruiting).
Somepersonalprayerrequestsforusasafamily:
1. OurdaughterAmyis6yearsold,andiscurrently home‐schoolingwith Kerstin.Thistakesquitealotoftimeandcanbechallenging at times. Please pray thatGod will help with this, and perhapsevensendsomeonetohelpwithhome‐schooling. There are other missionaryfamilieswhocouldusesomehelp,andahome‐schooling teacher would be atremendousblessing.
2. We find ourselves in our previouschurch‐planting team, which is great,butwearenotoftenaround‐especiallyMalcolm.Ournew roles,includingfieldleadership and overseeing theorientationofnewworkerstothefield,
involvealotoftravelling.Thereismuchadditional administration to keep upwith,andfrankly there are timeswhenwe are not keeping up with it! In themidstofthemuchness,wewanttostayclose to God,whichour team helps toencourage.We don'twant to feel tornbyall theresponsibilities,but rathertobe led by the Holy Spirit at eachmoment. This takes discipline. Pleasepraythatwecangrowintothis.
Withourloveandgratefulthanks,Malcolm,KerstinandAmy
Please do remember all ourmissionary friends around theworld inyourownprayers, it isagreatwaytohelpthemandtobeapartofGod’sKingdom!
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MissionaryNewsFromAndyandCindyRich
DearFriends,
JusttoletyouknowsincewewerebackInSangklaburiwevisitedYinChan,who‐because of your help was able to havelife saving surgery. She looked so welland her mother says she doesn't knowwhat to do because she isrunning, climbing & visiting all theneighbours&gettingintomischief.
It seems her life has really begun now,eversinceshewassmall,shewasill andweonlyreallysawherMumcarryingheraround as she was so lethargic andbreathless. She is a childwith a strongwill andhasareal characterdeveloping.It seems her Mum was so used to
protectingher that she has toadapt tohernewlively,inquisitivelittlegirl,whoisactuallycompletelyadorable!
Her mother says that whenever shewouldtakeYinChan,evenasababy,intoa Buddhist temple/Shrine the little girlwouldscream&cry,whenevershecameinto a Christian church she says shewould be relaxed and happy. Mothersaid this proved to her that she wassupposed to be with the Christianpeople.
Myint Than, YinChansmother, came toChristbutpleaseprayforherinhernewwalkthatshewillgrowinChristandnotslipbackintotheoldwayofsuperstition,
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fearofspiritsetc,andthat shewill trulybe free from all these things that bindandtrytolureherback.HerhusbandisaBuddhistandsheadmittedthatwouldbehard to cope with in her new faith.Wehope toget anewpicturesoon,ohandshe hasputon1.5kgsalready&lookingtaller!
Wehavesettledbackintotheworkhere,ifsettledisthecorrectthingtowrite!WearebothwellbutmissingSamandEstherinparticular.
Thank you for all your support/prayers.We really were blessed in meeting somanywhile home in the summer – wasthat the summer we experienced inAugust?
Please continue praying that the mercywork and outreach will really have animpact on the people in the village. It isreallygoodthatnowinoursecondyear
we know so many people and havebegun to buildup relationships, despitethe language barrier that is slowlycomingdown.
(Opposite,Above:Truckwithlittle9yearold and her mother. Girl had largeswellingon her neck. Shewas found tohave an infection andwas treated withantibiotics. Getting much better now.Older lady is mother of the 29 year oldwho had TB who you might rememberfor the photo's we showed at theMustard Seed. She wanted a lift to thebordertogohometoseeherfamilyafterbeing with her son for a number ofmonths. They were all eating lumyai alocalfruitIgavethem).
GodBless,YoursInHim,
AndyandCindy
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WeeklyActivitiesMondays
19:45 HomeGroupatGrace’s.Comeandspendsometimeprayingforeachother,worshippingGodandstudyingJohn’sGospel.Allarewelcome.EveryMonday,exceptthefirstinthemonthwhenwehaveaprayermeetingattheChurch.
19:45 YouthGroupintheHall.Achanceforalltheyoungpeopleaged14‐18togettogetherandhavefunplayinggames,poolandtable‐tennis.
Wednesdays
09:15 SeedlingsintheHall.Forpre‐schoolersandparents/carers.
15:15 SplashatCallingtonPrimarySchool.Anafter‐schoolclubforpupilsattheschool.
Thursdays
10:00 LadiesBibleStudyintheParlour.
Sundays
10:45 MorningWorshipattheMustardSeed.Joinusforatimeofprayer,worshipandteaching.Therearegroupsforchildrenandyoungpeople,throughwhichtheywilllearnmoreaboutGodandenjoyfindingoutmoreaboutHim.
18:30 EveningPraisewithworship,sharingandprayingtogetherbeforeaninteractivestudyfocusingonwhatGodissayingthoughthepassage,notjusttryingtogainmoreknowledge.WearecurrentlystudyingtheBookofRevelationtogether.
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ContactsLeadership
PeterCoombe(Elder)
(01579)[email protected]
JohnCole(Elder)
YouthandChildren’sWork
TimCadoux(YouthWorker)
GeraldineParkyn(Splash)
(01579)[email protected]
Outreach
MaureenLloyd(Women’sMinistry)
(01579)351853
KathyCole(Seedlings)
GeraldineParkyn(ResidentialHomes)
(01579)[email protected]
OtherActivities
JohnCole(HomeGroup)
Contributionsformonthlynewsletter:
Deadline:15thNovemberSpeakto:TimCadoux
Email:[email protected]
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WhoWeAre:
TheMustardSeedisafellowshipofChristianscommittedtodiscoveringGod’sloveandtruthfortoday.Duringourworshipandstudytimes,inourfamilyandsocialevents,andthroughourcaringandOutreachMinistriesweexploreandshareGod’sgraceandguidanceasHehelpsusbecomeandgrowasHisfollowers.
WhatWeBelieve:
•Godisreal.•JesusisLord.•TheHolySpiritgiveslife.•GodspeaksthroughtheBible.•Godforgivesus.•Jesuscaresforus.•Jesusiscomingback.
Mustard SeedEvangelical Church
The
For the people of Callington and the greater glory of God
www.msec.org.uk
Wewarmlywelcomeyou,oranyoneelsetomeetwithus!