Meer Mustafa Undergoes Surgery

Here’s a quick update on Meer Mustafa, one of the kids in our “Messages of Hope” initiative.  He has undergone surgery, and come through with flying colors.  It turns he was only the 51st reported case of his kind in the entire world!  As PLC’s Jeremy Courtney says, “We are proud of our doctors today!”

Meanwhile, surgery for Kaser Najeb Qasim, our second “Messages of Hope” child, appears imminent.  He still has a couple hurdles to clear, but surgery looks to be on the horizon.  Keep praying for both of these kids, and the other children that PLC serves by providing heart surgeries.

And don’t miss your opportunity to write one of these kids a word of encouragement and hope.  Pick up a notecard at the Re:Action Center outside the Worship Center, fill it out with a “Message of Hope” and then return it to the Re:Action Center and place it in the donations box.  Our goal is to send 50 notes of encouragement to each of these kids!

Worship in Action: Turkey Officially Launches

This weekend we launched our new Worship in Action emphasis, and we are excited to see what God will do in us and through us!  For the next three months we will focus on a new ministry in Turkey.  The Preemptive Love Coalition began in 2007 in order to provide life-saving heart surgeries for Kurdish children, surgeries they could not receive in Iraq.   The work has expanded greatly in the last two years, so PLC has partnered with a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey in order to have another location to send these children for surgery.

In November, our friends Scott and Abby will move to Turkey to begin this ministry.  But the won’t be moving alone.  God has also called two other families to join this work in the coming months.  Together they will form the Tuzla Community, caring for the families that come for surgery, and reaching out to the Muslim community around them.

PLC has negotiated an incredible price for the surgeries that these kids receive.  Only $10,000 will provide some of the most sophisticated surgery in the world for kids that desperately need it.  $5,000 comes from the child’s family and other Iraqi organizations.  Only $5,000 more is needed to provide one of these heart surgeries.  Our first goal is to raise $10,000, enough for two life-saving heart surgeries.

But caring for these children doesn’t end with surgery.  Providing love and encouragement tin a time of crisis, the Tuzla Community will offer these families a hope transfusion.  We want you to be involved in loving these children as well.  We have provided notecards addressed to five of these children who will be receiving surgery in the coming months.  You can write a note of love and encouragement, or let your kids draw a picture of your family or home.  Our second goal is to deliver fifty of these notecards to each of these five children.

But Kurdish children aren’t the only ones who need heart surgery.  We all do.  Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Americans – we are all in need of God’s love to transform our hearts.  In Muslim culture, as in Jesus’ day, hospitality is a crucial component of friendship.  When these families meet with their Muslim neighbors in their homes, they will have a chance to share of the eternal Bread of Life.

Each of these families must raise over $30,000 just to cover the costs of relocating to Turkey.  We want to share that burden by providing for their kitchens, the place they will form lasting relationships within the community around them.  $3,500 will cover the cost of everything these families need: appliances, pots, pans, dishes, silverware, and the all-important tea kettle and glasses.  Our third goal is to raise $3,500 to setup the kitchens of each of the three families that will be moving to Turkey, a total of $10,500.

So how can you be a part?  Just bring your donation to the Re:Action Center or write “Worship in Action” on your offering envelope.  We can’t wait to see what God can do through us.  This is Worship in Action!

Worship in Action Kenya

Since July 2007, Worship in Action has taken us around the world, serving and meeting the needs of people in Honduras, Myanmar, Houston, and Brazil. Along the way we’ve been reminded that worship cannot be reduced to one hour each weekend. Instead it is a lifestyle of obedience to Christ’s leadership.

This fall, Worship in Action will take us across the Atlantic to the country of Kenya. Located in East Africa, Kenya is a country of 34.7 million people. 23% of the population lives on less than one dollar per day, and the government is one of the most corrupt in the world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. We will be focusing on three of the biggest challenges facing Kenya today – the devastation of a widespread malaria epidemic, the incredible poverty of overcrowded slums, and the tragedy of countless numbers of orphans and street children.

Around the world, malaria causes almost 3 million deaths per year, yet is easily preventable. Ninety percent of the world’s malaria cases occur in Africa and in Kenya, malaria is found in all areas of the country outside Nairobi, and each year kills twice as many people as AIDS. We will be partnering with HIS Nets to provide insecticide-treated mosquito nets to the people of Kenya. These nets can reduce the occurrence of Malaria by almost 70%. The cost to purchase each net is only $6. Over the next three months, our goal is to purchase 1000 nets.

Kenya has some of the largest slums in the world. In Nairobi, home to Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa, as much as half of the population lives in only five percent of the land area. This problem has been exacerbated in recent years by the influx of refugees from neighboring countries in crisis like Rwanda and Somalia. One missionary has established a school for Rwandan refugees that gives them an education and one hot meal each day. But school supplies are almost non-existent. We want to provide the basic necessities they need to continue their education. Over the next three months, our goal is to collect 250 notebooks and 250 boxes of pencils for these children.

Kenya is also facing a catastrophic orphans crisis. In a country with an average life expectancy of less than 49 years, with countless impoverished families, and the constant threat of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, the number of orphans in Kenya has climbed to 1.5 million, with 100,000 living on the streets of Nairobi alone. With no place to go during Kenya’s cold nights, many of these street children become addicted to sniffing glue because of its numbing effect. Some of the missionaries in Kenya have begun a project to reclaim the lives of some of these street children and return them to society. Using their own funds a group of missionaries has purchased land outside Nairobi and is using it to build a compound for street children. A local pastor lives with the children, and provides discipleship training and job training. The compound still has many needs including additional housing and other facilities, furniture, and tools and animals for farming. Over the next three months our goal is to collect $5000 to help with these projects.

Perhaps these tragic truths stir in you not only a desire to give, but a desire to go and minister to the people of Kenya. If so we invite you to come with us as we go to Nairobi from February 19-February 28, 2009. There, we will be handing out malaria nets and school supplies and assisting with the improvement of the compound for street children. Meeting each of these needs will provide us with an incredible opportunity to tell people about the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, fill out one of our mission trip interest forms at the Re:Action Center or online, or simply contact Eddy Hallock at ehallock@tallowood.org.

As always you can bring your donations to the Re:Action Center located in the Tallowood Center lobby on Saturdays and just outside the gym on Sundays. There you can find out more information about Kenya, our projects, and our upcoming mission trip. Stayed tuned to www.worshipinaction.net for more opportunities and information. Join us as we bring Christ’s love and provision to the people of Kenya. This is Worship in Action!

Worship in Action: Brazil

A new Worship in Action emphasis has launched!  For the next two months we will be partnering with the Brazil Medical Mission trip as they bring much-needed medical care to the slums of Fortaleza, Brazil.  Meeting the physical needs of the people gives the team an open door to address their spiritual needs as well.  A team of evangelists will present the Gospel to every patient that walks through the door. 

The team will be in Brazil from May 30-June 7 and will be converting a church in the heart of Fortaleza’s poorest districts into a medical clinic.  There they will provide medical services across a wide range of specializations to people who cannot otherwise afford it.  Eight hundred people will pass through the clinic each day, meaning hundreds more will be turned away.  Many will choose to wait overnight to keep their place in line.  The sheer volume of patients means that a well-stocked pharmacy is critical.  We want to raise $5000 to purchase medications for the trip. 

The team will also be running an eye clinic using a portable instrument called a Focometer to find corrective lens prescriptions for hundreds of people.  The workers will then attempt to find the correct prescription among thousands of donated used glasses.  This work is time-consuming as it is often difficult to find a pair of glasses that exactly matches the prescription.  However, the developers of the Focometer have also developed a one-size-fits-all frame with lenses that can be snapped in to fit the prescription of the patient.  Each pair of these glasses costs only $10.  Our goal is to purchase 400 pairs of glasses.

The medical mission team also loves to give out toothbrushes, especially to the children.  The Brazilian diet is full of sugar, particularly among the poor.  Sugar is cheap because sugar cane is so abundant in this tropical nation.  However, dental care is poor leading to many dental problems throughout the society.  Even something as simple as a toothbrush can make a big difference to a child’s dental health.  We want to collect 300 new toothbrushes for the team to distribute in Fortaleza.

As the medical team works to mend the wounds of the poorest of the poor, they will have a wonderful opportunity to point the people toward the Great Healer, the Mender of souls.  Don’t miss your chance to support this team with your gifts.

New Emphasis Launches This Weekend!

It’s always exciting to be a part of something new, and particularly when we look back at what God has done so far through Worship In Action we get excited for what He will continue to do.  Don’t miss the launch of our new emphasis this weekend, April 5-6!  I won’t give anything away just yet – you’ll have to attend the services to find out – but our new emphasis is part of our plan to take Worship In Action to each of the continents.  (Well, except Antartica.  You understand…)  We hope that this will be one more opportunity for you to be involved in God’s great work on the earth: the process of drawing all people to himself.  Don’t miss it!

So Where Did Worship in Action Go?

We’ve had some people ask us why Worship in Action has not been a part of our worship gatherings recently.  Really, it has been, just in a different form than normal.

Each year during the Christmas season, Tallowood emphasizes two significant global missions offerings that help to fund the work of over 5,000 missionaries worldwide.  Because of the importance of these offerings and the fact that they provide the foundational support for so many of the people that we desire to partner with in other emphases, we don’t want to do anything to distract from these efforts.

We encourage you to learn more about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (supporting the International Mission Board) and the CBF Offering for Global Missions.

Even more, we encourage you to pray and consider with friends and family what generous gift you might consider making this year to support vital efforts to disciple all peoples and to bless and serve the poor in Jesus’ name.

You may give to these offerings through their websites, through making a designated offering in one of our services, or by mailing a check to Tallowood with a note indicating that you want your gift to go to this work.

As we celebrate during this season the Father’s sending of the Son into the world, there’s no better way to experience the joys of Christmas than to participate generously in God’s sending of Christ’s Body into all the world!