Clear Lake Lutheran 2009 Current Events Archives

Dear Kathy & Bill,

Our Florida tour is nearly set. There will be a few more updates, and hopefully another show or two added to the schedule. Keep up by checking our website: www.joybelltheater.com, and click on the "Tour Schedule" page. Meanwhile, I hope you'll be able to get to one of these:

1-3-2011 RIVERVIEW, FL: Rice Creek RV Resort, 10714 US 301 S, Riverview, FL. 7:00 PM concert, tickets $5.00. Call 217-671-2499 for information or directions.

1-13-2011 NAPLES, FL: Naples Gardens, 8230 Collier Blvd, Naples, FL. 7:00 PM concert, tickets $5.00. Call 423-645-8458 for information or directions.

1-15-2011 NAPLES, FL: Faith Lutheran Church, 4150 Goodlette Rd N, Naples, FL. 5:00 PM worship service, no admission charge. Call 239-434-5811 for more information or directions.

1-16-2011 NAPLES, FL:   Faith Lutheran Church, 4150 Goodlette Rd N, Naples, FL. 8:00 AM worship service, no admission charge. Call 239-434-5811 for more information or directions.

1-16-2011 NAPLES, FL:   Faith Lutheran Church, 4150 Goodlette Rd N, Naples, FL. 9:30 AM worship service, no admission charge. Call 239-434-5811 for more information or directions.

1-16-2011 NAPLES, FL:   Faith Lutheran Church, 4150 Goodlette Rd N, Naples, FL. 11:00 AM worship service, no admission charge. Call 239-434-5811 for more information or directions.

1-23-2011 FT MYERS BEACH, FL: Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian Church, 100 Chapel St, Ft Myers Beach, FL. 2:00 PM concert. Call 239-463-5173 for more information or directions.

2-5-2011 KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, FL: Park of the Palms, 753 Hebron Ave, Keystone Heights, FL. 7:30 PM concert. No admission charge. Call 352-473-6100 ext 303 for more information or directions.

2-20-2011 SARASOTA, FL: tentative, details forthcoming

2-26-2011  BIG PINE KEY, FL: private party

2-27-2011 BIG PINE KEY, FL: Sunshine Key RV Resort, 38801 Overseas Hwy, Big Pine Key, FL. 7:00 PM concert. Tickets $5.00. Call 305-872-2217 for more information or directions.

3-6-2011 INGLIS, FL: Big Oaks RV, 14035 W River Rd, Inglis, FL. Time and ticket cost not yet set. Call 352-397-7406 for details and directions.

3-9-2011  ARCADIA, FL: Craig's RV Park, 7895 NE Cubitis Ave, Arcadia, FL. 6:00 PM Chapel service/concert. No admission charge. Call 863-491-0753 for details and directions.

3-12-11 ARCADIA, FL: private party

3-13-2011 MONT VERDE, FL: Woodlands Lutheran Church, 15333 CR 455, Mont Verde, FL. 2:00 PM concert. Call 407-469-2525 for details and directions.

3-20-2011 OCALA, FL: Tentative, details forthcoming.

Thanks for all your help and support! And Happy New Year to you and good luck in the year ahead!

With joy,
Kristine Stout
The Bell Lady
handbell_lady@yahoo.com
1-800-462-1241
www.joybelltheater.com

NEW HAVEN, INDIANA---Beverly D. Meseke, 77, of New Haven, died Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010, at Kingston at Dupont in Fort Wayne.

She was born Jan. 3, 1933, in Flint, Mich., to Clarence and Gladys (Block) Fischer. She married the Rev. Gilbert Meseke on June 15, 1975, in Ann

Arbor, Mich., and he survives in New Haven. Beverly was a homemaker and a member of Martini Lutheran Church in New Haven.

Also surviving are three sons and daughters in-law, Steven and Sharon Meseke of Mount Clemens, Mich., Scott and Betty Meseke of Centerville, Ohio, and Scott and Jill Jedele of Grand Blanc, Mich.; four daughters and sons in-law, Kimberly and Helio Mendes of Brazil, Karen and Randall Holdeman of Kettering, Ohio,, Lori and the Rev. David Jung of Pinconning, Mich., and Michelle “Micki” and Gary Gross of Churubusco; two sisters, Clara Walker of Corunna, Mich., and Gladys Fahselt of Winterhaven, Fla.; 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Sally Stewart.

Services will be Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Martini Lutheran Church, 333 E. Moeller Road, New Haven, with the Rev. Matthew Kohl officiating. Burial will follow at 2 p.m. in Clear Lake Lutheran Cemetery in Fremont.

Visitation will be Thursday from 3-8 p.m. at Thomas Funeral Home, 1277 C.R. 56, Garrett and also one hour prior to the service at the church.

To send a condolence or sign the online guestbook, visit www.thomasfuneralhome.org

It’s almost Christmas again! 2010 has passed by so fast! It seems that time runs faster every year as we become older. On the one hand we are worried that time runs too fast and that Christmas is almost at our door again. But on the other hand we thank God that His grace is renewed again at one more Christmas in our lives, as we sing: Every year the Christ child / Comes to us on earth / To proclaim redemption / Through His Holy birth.

We wish you all a Blessed Christmas! May God be with you in the New Year, guiding you always in His paths. (Please, see the Christmas Card attached, prepared by Lídia. And read the Mission Newsletter attached too.).

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A new Blog postage is ready. It shows the November/December activities. Click on http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ and read about: A) Advent + Christmas; B) UHLC Activities; C) Nairobi National Park; D) Volunteers + Visitors; E) Farewell Service – and more about the Kawangware Water Well. Feel free to send your comments to our e-mail address: cwwinterle@yahoo.com.br
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GOODBYE: This is the last Newsletter I send you as pastor at Uhuru Highway Lutheran Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya. We have served the Lord in this position for the past four years – since October 2006. Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your support.

We are now facing a new challenge as pastor at St. Thomas Congregation, Cape Town, South Africa (Free Evangelical-Lutheran Synod in South Africa – FELSiSA). We have just received our Work Permit Visa for five years!!! THANKS GOD! We are moving there on 6^th January. - I will also supervise the Theological Education by Extension – TEE – program offered by my home Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil - IELB, in Angola and in Mozambique, two Portuguese speaking countries in Africa. There is already a Memorandum of Understanding – MoU – signed between the mission partners: LCMS World Mission, FELSiSA, IELB and Kapasseni Project (LCC – Lutheran Church Canada). Remember us in your prayers. THANK YOU!

My mother, Winnie Tonne fell before Thanksgiving and fractured her clavicle bone. Because of the Fracture she fell again and ended up breaking bones in her face and re-injuring the clavicle fracture. She ended up in the hospital and has begun what we expect to be a short time in a rehab unit to build strength and help learning how to get up and down and move safely without using her left hand or arm so that it can heal correctly and completely.
Please keep Mom & Dad in your prayers and if you would like to send a note, please send it to:

We are asking everyone to say a prayer for "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and their families.

They are fighting it out in Afghanistan & they have lost 9 marines in 4 days.

Nancy is being plagued with phone calls and authorized me to share this with the congregants.

Pastor Gaertner just called to announce that Derold will be going home Monday

This You tube message of the hallelujah chorus is worth sharing with our group

Pastor reports that Derold had a successful heart operation on Thursday at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.

Your prayers have been so powerful - thank you for being prayerwarriors with us.God is good,

ALL THE TIME.Blessings to you,Dorcas

Yesterday we traveled back to U of M (4th time in 5 weeks ugh) for
another treatment. The treatment itself went really well. Bryce had
some slight nausea and headache in the evening, but overall handled
the treatment much better than he did last time. We also had a visit
from the doctor while we were there. After meeting with several other
doctors himself, he has decided that it would be wise to run one more
blood test. This test is to rule out a specific genetic disorder that
can sometime appear to be CIDP. Dr. Dowling thinks that Bryce has
some unique form of CIDP but would like to be certain and this test
will determine that. He would also like Bryce to do 2 more treatments
(one more than originally planned). Bryce's nerves are healing,
according to the MRI, however he still is not at 100%. He would also
like to do 6 month MRI's to monitor the disease. I really trust and
respect Dr. Dowling. He has a strong sense of commitment to this and I
am so glad we found him. Bryce's attitude with the illness seems to
be improving slightly as well. Still lots of questions and occasional
anger, but overall, I noticed a difference yesterday.

Thanks again for all the prayers, calls, text messages, etc. You have
all been phenomenal and I really do appreciate all the support.
Sonja

CLEAR LAKE, INDIANA---A Southern gospel trio, the Tacketts, will appear at Clear Lake Lutheran Church Sunday at 9 a.m.

The group will also assist Pastor Mark Gaertner in leading the service. The Tacketts bring a heartfelt ministry of sharing the love of God with a refreshing blend of progressive, southern and contemporary gospel music.

Sarah Tackett is a former Miss Ohio and runner-up in the Miss America Pageant. She has an extensive background in musical theater, TV and radio. Her husband, Jeff Tackett, has been singing with a family group since he was 8 years old. He is a versatile vocalist, composer and instrumentalist playing piano, guitar, drums and banjo. Jason Tackett, although not related, met Jeff and Sarah when he moved to Defiance, Ohio in 1998 and joined their church praise band.

The group has released several CDs featuring original songs along with favorite hymns and gospel classics.

An offering for the group will be received during the service, which will be followed by a reception sponsored by Thrivent. Details are available by calling Gaertner at 495-9219.

Hi Ron, Would you please send a reminder to people regarding tomorrow's voter's assembly. November 21st will be a big day at Clear Lake Lutheran. The service will feature a southern gospel trio called the Tacketts and will be followed by a coffee and donut reception and voter's assembly to choose our next pastor. Those unable to attend should cast a vote for their choice for the next pastor by emailing the church at

Project Help is giving out Thanksgiving baskets to families in need. Clear Lake Lutheran would like to supply the boxes of stuffing for the baskets. They need about 200 boxes by Tuesday, November 16th for distribution on the 17th. Members could bring the boxes (as many as they care to donate) to the church and I will make sure they get to Project Help.

AUBURN, INDIANA---Volunteers from across northeast Indiana came together at the Hoosier Air Museum south of Auburn Saturday to pack 50,000 meals

for Kids Against Hunger.

The event was sponsored by Thrivent Financial with chapters from DeKalb, Noble and Steuben counties represented at Saturday’s event.

Kids Against Hunger is a nonprofit humanitarian food aid organization with the mission to significantly reduce the number of undernourished children in the United States and starving children around the world. The fully nutritious meals are financed by donations, packaged by volunteers and delivered to those in need with the help of local and worldwide partners.

Larry Moore, executive director of Kids Against Hunger in Greenwood, said the meals packed Saturday will be distributed to food pantries across northeast Indiana. The heat-sealed meal packs contain basic ingredients of rice, fortified soy, dried vegetables, and a powder enhanced with 21 vitamins and minerals. Hot water is added to the ingredients to create a meal.

Saturday’s packing effort took place over two shifts — 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. By noon, volunteers already had packed 30,456 meals, Moore said.

Matt Armstrong, 13, of Lake James, returned a class ring to Patricia McMullin of Leo

after he found it near Gray’s Landing in Lake James. She lost the ring four years ago.

But in the case of a Fort Wayne area woman’s class ring, the keepsake was found by an unlikely prospector — 13-year-old Matthew Armstrong.

“We were just snorkeling,” said Armstrong, who had been hanging out in Lake James with neighbor Dalton Evertts, 13, of Kentucky, this summer. The two were exploring near Gray’s Landing.

“I saw it in the water,” said Armstrong. The ring was 5 or 6 feet down, and looked like a gold plastic string at first, said Armstrong.

He swam down, grabbed the trinket and brought it to the surface. It glistened in the sun, scarcely tarnished.

“He was jumping up and down,” said Armstrong’s mother, Michelle. “He was so excited.”

“We had the lady’s name, which was her maiden name,” said Ronnie Kane, a retired state trooper who lives at Clear Lake. The name was inscribed on the inside of the ring, along with the name of the high school in Michigan and the year she graduated.

Ronnie Kane was recruited to the case by his son, Kevin Kane, chief deputy at Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, who is a friend of the Armstrongs.

Kevin said the sheriff’s department has a lost-and-found department, and that occasionally calls are received about lost or found items.

“It’s mainly things like wallets that don’t have anything in them … earrings, things like that,” said Kevin. In this instance, he said it was obvious that ring had some value. Plus, there were clues. They knew the owner’s name and the year she graduated: 1994, from Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburg.

While the sheriff’s deputies don’t have the resources to put into searching out the owner of a lost ring, sometimes others can help out.

Ronnie and Fort Wayne private investigator Bill McCallister, a retired detective sergeant from the Indiana State Police, took the case.

“He has some resources that I don’t have,” explained Ronnie, noting that he and Bill occasionally get out in the field to solve mysteries and the like.

With help from Indiana State Police Chaplain Dan Coffey of New Haven, they contacted the principal of the high school. They found the ring owner’s mother in Pontiac, Mich. around the end of September.

The former Patty Lambert, now Patty McMullin of Leo, was then contacted, and surprised to have her ring back, said Michelle.

“She was very excited and couldn’t believe that it was found almost four years later,” Michelle said. “She stated that her daughter, 8 years old at the time, had been playing with it and lost it somewhere on the lake. They had no idea where.”

McMullin met with the boys on Oct. 2, and even gave Matt a $20 bill for his efforts.

He’s still got the bill, and said that though the money is nice, it “feels good” to help someone out.

JEANNETTE M. HANCHAR, 85, of Fremont, Ind., died Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010, Lakeland Nursing Home, Angola. Born Dec. 27, 1924, in Fort Wayne, she was the daughter of the late Leslie and Genevive (Smith) Degitz. She married Michael Hanchar Sr. on Oct. 27, 1942. She was a homemaker. She was a member of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Angola. Surviving are three sons, Michael Hanchar Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., Phil Hanchar of Fort Wayne and Randy Hanchar of Angola; one daughter, Patty and John Foster of Fremont, Ind.; one sister, Nancy Warner of Indianapolis; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Michael Hanchar Sr. in April of 1999; one son, David Hanchar; Three brothers, Joseph, James and Thomas Degitz; and one sister, Marjorie Deetz. Funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Angola. Father Fred Pasche officiating. Visitation is from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, at Weicht Funeral Home, Angola, with a 6:30 p.m. prayer service. Memorials to the donor's choice. Arrangements by Weicht Funeral Home, Angola. To sign the guestbook, please visit www.weichtfh.com

Thanks for your prayers.Dorcas

Today Bryce had another treatment. Uncle John took him today as I had
a perspective student in my class today and Jim had an office meeting
in Coldwater. The day was a rough one - they had to stop the
infusion with about an hour to go because Bryce had a bad headache.
They waited an hour, then finished the treatment after giving him a
Tylenol 3. Unfortunately for John, Bryce's headache and nausea
continued on the way home and poor Bryce got sick in the car.
Fortunately for John, the sweet nurse at the hospital sent them home
with a bucket (I think she probably predicted that would happen). We
are going to continue the Tylenol 3 and benadryl at home tonight and
perhaps through tomorrow if needed.

No news from Bryce's blood work they did a week and half ago. Next
week he will have an MRI done and some physical therapy between now
and then. Bryce really enjoys going to physical therapy and he
believes that it will get him strong again. Jake, the therapist, is
pretty certain the neuropathy on the left side is in his glut and not
in the femoral nerve. This is a new area to be affected by the
disorder.

Thanks for all the calls, emails, cards, prayers, etc. Pastor's
sermon a couple of Sunday's ago was about hard times and how prayers
may not be answered every time (like we would hope). She talked about
how prayer can also create a network of support when we are
disappointed with what seems to be a lack of response by God. I am
sure I have omitted a lot of other great stuff she said that day, but
know that I thought of all of you while she was preaching and thanked
God for providing Bryce and us with such a great and loving support
system.

Take care all,
Sonja

The procedure was difficult for him but he didn't kick or bite anyone so I call that a success. Here is what we found out. Bryce's right leg has improved greatly. His reflex is back and his strength is good.

However, it appears (as I suspected) that "it" has migrated to his left leg. This is really puzzling his doctor because CIDP doesn't typically behave like this. He is concerned that it may be some other auto-immune disorder. So, Bryce went for a blood draw after the appointment and they are screening him for other disorders. The doctor also ordered another MRI to compare his left leg to the MRI that was done on his right leg (looking for similarities or differences). Good news, the IVIG appeared to work on the right leg, so we will continue that therapy. The doctor said he would like to find out if this is CIDP or some other type of disorder so that he can properly treat Bryce and know what we are dealing with a little better. Bad news, more questions than before. Bryce is trying to understand all of this and said to me "Why can't my body just be normal?" - what does a mother say to that?

Thanks for the prayers and support......God will bring Bryce, Sonja and Jim through the valley, we have His promise. It is just a very difficult walk at this point.

10-0 Fuerst, a K-9 Assisted Crisis Response animal, died suddenly after a brief illness. The Rev. Tim Engel, Fuerst’s handler, is planning a memorial service for Fuerst to be held on Sunday October 24, 2010 at 1500 Hrs. at Holy Cross Lutheran located (between Swanson and County Line Roads) at 5402 US HWY 6 Portage, IN. K-9 Assisted Crisis Response Team handlers (and dogs) are invited to participate in this service. Tim is the Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and is a chaplain with Portage Police and Fire Departments.

Please, prayer warriors, Bryce is a precious 10 year old Grandson (11 on November 24th) who began this autoimmune problem at age 5. At that time the femoral nerve died, then regenerated. This time around, a group of nerves was affected in the right femur, now the left leg..........

Please, also remember his parents - Sonja and Jim - as they go on this scary journey with him.....God's strength and peace will be needed.

The past week and half have been difficult for Bryce. His left leg (which was his strong leg) has become quite weak and atrophied. He has pain on and off depending on the day's activities and for the first time he asked me if there was something he could use to help him walk when he gets tired. I emailed his doctor at U of M and he is going to see Bryce this Friday. Unfortunately, but extremely necessary, Bryce will have an EMG done at 8:00 am and then meet with Dr. Dowling at 10:00. The EMG is a big fear of Bryce's (he has had many in the past but none this time around) and he will have much anxiety the next couple of days in anticipation of the test. Dr. Dowling has prescribed an anti-anxiety med for him to take Friday. I am guessing the test will reveal significant progression of the "monster" attacking his nerves but pray that Dr. Dowling will have a great game plan for Bryce's treatment. We are very fortunate in life and count the many blessings we have including a great doctor, supportive 5th grade teacher, and of course loving family and friends. Please remember Bryce this Friday, he's going to need a lot of strength and courage.

CLEAR LAKE, INDIANA---The Rev. Mark Gaertner, pastor at Clear Lake Lutheran Church, was honored Sunday, Sept. 19, with a celebration to mark his retirement after 39 years of ministry.

The 9 a.m. worship service featured a trumpet procession, as well as special choral and solo music. Gaertner shared some of his Christian journey in his message.

Prior to serving at CLLC the past nine years, he was minister at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clinton Township, Michigan, outside Detroit.

Immediately after the worship service, a catered brunch was served in the fellowship hall for more than 150 parishioners and guests. Following the meal, Mark, his wife Susan, their family and church friends saw a program to recognize the contributions he has made over the years to Clear Lake.

Marty McNeal, chair of the the church’s board of directors, welcomed all to the “toast and roast” event; Bill Shuman, Elder, used 50 adjectives, many humorous, to describe Pastor Mark. A short video presentation, put together by Kathy Shuman, provided pictures of his life from childhood to the present.

The Clear Lake Lutheran Choir presented a “Roastribute” - six verses of “Mark is Gonna’ Retire.” Written by choir director Beth McCracken, it “roasted” Pastor Mark about everything from his love of desserts to wearing his “birthday hat” after the Kasota Island worship service.

Mark and Susan Gaertner were presented with a memory book, containing many individual written notes of remembrance and gratitude. They were also given framed, aerial photographs of the church and their home on Huyck Lake, taken by Marty Zachrich and Dan Hanson.

The final retirement gift provided an opportunity for Pastor Mark to fulfill a longtime dream - to follow in the footsteps of the apostle Paul. The congregation and friends of Clear Lake Lutheran Church presented a gift certificate to Mark and Susan for a trip to Greece, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

Pastor and Susan praise God for the gift of their first great granddaughter: Lauren Caroline Beck, born Oct. 1 in W. Lafayette, IN to Amanda and Jim Beck. She weighted 6 pounds 2 oz.! Lauren and her Mom are both doing well! Thanks for all the prayers... REJOICE!

These reflections are drawing to a close, although I am not ready to put away the journal and the stories from this trip, but as usual the busyness of life in the USA crowds out the early morning hours to reflect. But this time in between returns has a wonderful goal, aside from al the speaking opportunities—I am hoping to put together a photo essay book on a God’s perspective on disabilities and the plight of those in Sudan.

But today I can hardly write of anything else than the topic that has already spawned some of you readers’ queries—“well, what about the pads???” So be forewarned—the topic is rather feminine in nature and rather exciting in unfolding…..

I doubt there has ever been a greater response --or ignition of female energy—than the after effects of a talk at the Indiana LWML last June. I guess a “bomb” was dropped that continues to have wonderful fall out even last week. And it all began...

While at the prison last March, we asked the women prisoners what could we bring them next time? One woman responded quietly: “Something for the blood.” Even in Sudan, like all over the world I imagine, the topic is never far from a woman’s mind and her need, but, likewise, a quiet and unspoken “curse.”

That request set off a quest for a remedy: our “girls’ kit” – a simple solution of washable pads with Velcro(the winner in the contest of which closure is the best), several pair of panties, and a supply of cute girly things like hair pretties and fingernail polish . But little did we know these washable pads would ignite connections between women… my email box began to hold email suggestions of improving the design; then emails about fabric, closure techniques and women volunteering to make them, and then the packages began to arrive—first manila envelopes with 10 or so pads, then whole boxes of 50 or more of colorful pads that could tell stories of how that flannel for years might have warmed the owner through chilly winter nights—pads of pink roses, and green smiley faces and even red bowling balls, new and well worn flannel, some beautifully tied into groups by polka dotted ribbon.

But they all could have said the same thing to me—women to women, caring, in a universal and reoccurring time of need. So to all you who sewed those pads, the pictures are not as telling as the smiles we saw when we returned to the prison last month to deliver those kits. Most of the women were the same --like Winnie pictured below with her two children in tow, in prison for a domestic spat between her husband’s two wives. And all of the women smiled, quietly, and received their kits with a thankfulness that we can only begin to imagine.

The prison trips this time also unfolded a sad story probably more common than we saw b ut still shocking to our sensibilities. A young Congolese boy was chained to the big tree in the center of the courtyard and had been there for several days. The director knew of no other way to confine him as he scaled the walls other nights to get out. He only spoke French, which no one understood or wanted to(as the prejudice between Congolese refugees and Sudanese is high)but more importantly, he could not really speak anything, for the fierce mental illness that was apparent to us. He just paced like a caged animal, drawing in the dirt with his finger and uttering words that only brought laughs and derision from his audience of fellow prisoners.

We were aghast! This filthy, half clad young boy looked about 16, and clearly hopeless. We remembered a quick interchange with a UN police officer who is from Quebec that I met at one of the government offices and we set out to find Pascal to help intervene. Once we relayed the situation to Pascal, it “hooked” his human rights violation button, and we were concerned that our good relationship with the Muslim prison director might be destroyed. But this boy’s image of being shackled to a tree was enough to not worry too long about our reputation with the prison. Pascal calmed down eventually and went to the prison to interpret and conferred that yes, this young boy was clearly ill and in a few hours he was on his way to Nzara hospital for diagnosis and more proper treatment.

You don’t want to land in the prisons in Sudan…. But somehow the Lord provides his army of fellow believers on the outside to sew, or translate, or intervene with simple solutions to making the time more tolerable. Samuel Manga, the inmate we wrote about last trip, falsely accused of knifing his girlfriend, now has an appeal carried to an attorney in Juba, thanks to the brother of Bishop Andrew whom we met on a long walk one Saturday. And he has Luther’s catechism to teach fellow inmates and now even a set of Bible comic books being translated into Zande language ( the beginnings of a project hopefully by a homeschooling ministry in Tennessee). Wonderful “networking” in small communities, and even across the ocean.

Well, time to begin the day but always a blessed time to be able to reflect on how wondrously God works to connect His people. And how thankful I am that so many of you are there, caring about the plight of women and men you’ll never meet except through these pictures and their stories.

We welcome you to follow us in two new postages of our Blog: http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ . We are sharing God’s blessings upon our work in Kenya, reporting Several Activities that happened in the past weeks and introducing some people to you:

We thank to all donors and we ask for your support until the end this year for the Mission in Kenya. We are talking with LCMS World Mission Regional Director about some plans for next year, as we are going to Cape Town, South Africa, to serve St. Thomas Congregation. There is a specific project ongoing in Angola and Mozambique and we will need your support. We will let you know on time.

I grew up believing in a lot of wonderful things: my sister and I spent long hours on the floor designing our grown up homes on Dad’s shirt cardboards and knowing for sure someday Prince Charming would come and make that floor plan a reality. I had my six children all named by the time I was old enough to color in the lines I think. And I never wanted to be anything other than like my mom—a mother. I hope we all thank the Lord for wonderful parents who allowed us at times to be childish and fully children.

And there must have been a glass slipper—or a red Dorothy shoe-- in those fantasies that allowed us to believe even my wide and stubby foot would fit someday into a lovely, frivolous shoe that would carry me off to another world. I bet children of all cultures have their own version of a Cinderella slipper, because there was a day a few weeks ago in Sudan when I got to observe it. She wasn’t a little girl pretending to be Cinderella, but for a few moments that day, she left her world of crippled feet, painful gait and disfigured body and was Cinderella in both our eyes.

I wanted to name this, as I did in my journal, “girl shopping with Tabia” but it is that one red slipper that remains brilliant in my memory.

Tabia, also known as Esterina,is the woman of Hands of Mercy who learned to write her name as a huge milestone of our center. Not that she would not have been capable mentally of that—but just due to the long civil war and more likely because of her disfiguring withered leg and physical deformity, she never went to school. She was a cast off --a “woman of the streets” bearing three children, no husband and a lifestyle of begging. She evidenced a hard, hard life, both physically and mentally.

But she is a loyal partner in Hands of Mercy, a basket weaver, relentless hard worker in her little garden plot and quickly wins your heart with her smile. I hope I never forget the day Esterina learned to write her name. So on an afternoon I needed to go to the market to change some dollars, amidst the burning afternoon sun when most people think a nap is a better idea, I asked her to come along. Just like most women, she jumped at the idea of going to town… even when it meant walking barefoot, with her long walking stick, for the quarter mile trip.

While waiting at Nora’s shop while she went home to get enough Sudanese pounds to change for my American dollars, we enjoyed a somewhat cold soda, a treat even in its poorly executed chilling.(Try explaining “snow”, as in the third verse of Amazing Grace which we learned in English this trip, in an environment where they have never seen an ice cube) Feeling rather rich in pounds, I suggested we look for some shoes for Tabia. But she wanted a dress instead—understandable to not want to draw attention to her feet.

So we looked and looked and looked at every booth until she spied this black and pink rosed dress with a little black bolero top—a far cry from the practical cotton used dresses she usually wore or even her batik dress that must have been made by one of the local tailors. To me, it hinted of a USA street walker, but to her, she was convinced it was the dress she wanted. The shop keeper very nicely helped her pull it on over her dress just to be sure it would fit and by now we were getting quite a crowd of curious onlookers. But it fit and I negotiated a reduced price over his inflated 30 pounds (about $11) and then we spied the shoes.

Shoes—all from China like everything new in the market is—of all kinds and immediately I was drawn to the black rubber, very practical slip- ons. I even tried on a pair myself, thinking these would be great for navigating the dry dusty streets or often turned to mud paths she navigated every day. But no—Tabia had noticed these red flat sandals with daisies on them and long plastic straps that wind up one’s legs. Yikes—it hit my practical nature as absurd—but then again, I was there to take her shopping, not myself. So she asked to try one on and the shopkeeper nicely slipped on the shoe onto her “good “ foot she walks on. It did go nicely with the “party dress” look of the dress we just bought so we decided on a price for the shoes too. He put the other shoe in the bag with the dress and we were about to get up and leave, when Tabia motioned to the other shoe—she wanted that put on her withered leg.

I was a ball of sweat by this time, and the shopkeeper glanced a look at me as if to say—“that shoe on that foot?” and I said – “yes, please put on both shoes.” So Tabia uncovered her small leg she must keep up under her dress and he carefully fitted and wound red straps up that leg. It was a moment of confirmation on her part—this is who she is, perhaps on the outside—but on the inside, she was all princess, ready to go to her ball.

We parted in the market, after snapping the close up picture below of two girls shopping. Later that night, I thought of God’s reminder to us—“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (the prophet Samuel, upon choosing David, the “runt” of Jesse’ litter as future king of Israel- 1 Samuel 16:7). And perhaps He saw a Cinderella heart, hiding inside this Sudanese woman I am privileged to know as a friend.

Hands of Mercy had—and continues to have-- pretty humble beginnings. One day, recently when putting out our table display at the seminary, Katelyn was a bit shocked to realize we use an old paper wrapped tea tin for donations. And I hope we always do—and have the church basement as our office, Goodwill suitcases for containers to lug hundreds of pounds of supplies over in,-- and see that our solution to the enormity of Africa’s problems lay in the simplicity of taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to one person at a time.

One of those special persons came back into my life- for a morning- and it was one of the very tangible blessings from the Lord to me this trip. Maria, a woman affected years ago by leprosy, was the woman who helped define my life as a deaconess early on. She was the fulfillment, tiny as it was in our limited relationship, of a childhood desire to work with people with leprosy, that came from a book I read about Father Damien who worked in a leper colony in Hawaii. She was the one for whom I wrote “Now I know why I am a deaconess” in my journal those early days of Hands of Mercy. Sharing the Gospel with Maria, through our common woman to woman pain of a living in a fallen world, was—and continues to be – a formative event in my life. And then she was gone.

As quickly as she entered, on repeated trips when I asked about Maria, all I could learn was – she was gone and someone had carried her off into the bush. So I assumed she had entered her eternal rest and ended her long struggle with the disfigurement and stigma of leprosy. But then, one morning as I was busily trying to get the Special needs classroom functioning, and the people of HOM corralled into a circle for our Bible lesson and singing, there sat on the ground, was this old, old lady, dignified by a filthy purse she clung to, but otherwise looking like any of the destitute men or women that wander into HOM needing help. I did not even recognize her, until Joe Otto exclaimed “Maria is here to see you.”

I was taken aback by her looks. Gone was the glimmer of a feisty woman who must have defied some boundaries of being “unclean” earlier in her life. And there was the fragile shell of a long life, tired of the struggle of living without feet or hands. We hugged, and I cried, and we pantomimed some measure of communication: she wanted me to give her milk like she remembered I had once, so I mixed up some powder we use in the Special needs classroom and fed her the milk, mixed with clean water from our cistern; then she put her hands over her head, another gesture reminiscent of our early time together—she wanted a quilt like I had given her. Then she wanted to go home—a relative’s hut somewhere far away. So we sent someone for a “boarder-boarder,” a young kid with a motorcycle who makes his living ferrying people around for a pound or two—and we lovingly lifted her onto the back of his motorcycle, packed that quilt in a backpack (one of 30 lovingly bought a year ago by my niece in California) and instructed him to take her wherever she said, and come back for payment. It must have been far, as when he returned he demanded 10 pounds, a huge price over the usual one or two pound fares. And then she was gone.

Looking back over my pictures and the many I asked Joe Otto to snap of Maria and me together, I was struck by one that had our feet together. I thought about some of those wonderful images in Scripture about feet, like Psalm 40 as David remembered how God drew him out of “the pit of destruction…and set (his ) feet upon a rock, making his steps secure.. putting a new song in (his) mouth, a song of praise to our God.” (Ps .40 2, 3). Or the Isaiah passage “how beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news…who says to Zion ‘Your God resigns.’” (Is. 52:7). Mine were pretty dirty that day, and Maria’s quite disfigured and non functional—but to the Lord—and to me -, that morning, they were pretty special, being together.

May the Lord bring “lost” people back into your lives, in ways unknown, that remind us -- nothing is impossible to God, and even the tiny desires of our hearts to stay connected with special people are honored and heard by Him.

Sudan Reflections 10 It takes time to accept the new solar dryers become reality

Sudan Reflections 10 It takes time to accept the new—solar dryers become reality Sept 20,2010

It is hard being raised in a culture that prizes anything “new-- to try to get inside a mindset that resists. At first I thought it was a function of education—that people the more educated they become the more open to new ideas and change they become. And that is true. But I have come to really appreciate slowness in embracing change that is at once both a obstacle to get over and a resistance that is beautiful and admirable. While Yambio embraced cell phones with a vengeance (to my dismay), I could not figure out why they did not like popcorn…..

One of the driving forces behind HOM has always been “self sustaining skills” that will someday allow people with disabilities and others in the church to support themselves. Teaching them to fish, rather than just bringing fish to eat, right??? So when I saw popcorn being a big business in Kampala and knowing locally we eat maize in many different forms each night, and saw mango trees dropping huge crops each spring that go to waste after eating so many fresh mangoes once a year, it seemed like a “natural” to figure out ways to cash in on these products from their environment.

So I brought over popcorn and dried fruit. Eric (our oldest son and natural born camper) was with me and I knew he could successfully pop corn in their open fire kitchens. So in several different settings, we popped corn, flavored it with various salts and waited for the raves. But people were scared by the popping sounds like gunfire, and the taste—well, it just didn’t taste like maize to them. And passing out dried mango was no better—its chewy texture and sweetness, delightful (and expensive) to our tastes brought skewered faces and not even polite acceptance….So another year and another few tries, even I began to show plans to big government people for solar dryers, and dollar signs in my eyes for a big business. After all, Yambio now had a few “hotels” we could market this to.

Committed to making this happen, I gave the solar dryer directions to Heath before this trip and said “let’s make this happen,” which, if you remember comments about Heath (who almost walks on water in my book), meant a suitcase full of screening, plastic, favorite tools and the skills to really build one.

To shorten the story, let me say no one really can know how BIG the pictures below are unless you were there to watch the lengthy process. Lumber bought in the market, transported b y bicycle, needed to be planed b y hand. Spoiled chicken wire had to be bought twice as there were so many “helping” hands that had never seen a staple gun. And it rained a bit to prevent the right sunny day to try things out. And the fruit—papayas, saved from our compound’s trees molded overnight before we even sliced it, but at last the day came when we assembled everyone.

Dutifully behind the little flip video, I taped Heath patiently explaining how drying works as Hagi, our cook, sliced into the fruit—thick slices, then thinner slices, then almost paper thin, all to demonstrate which works the best. I had resisted bringing any preserving chemicals or even ascorbic acid which I later thought was not too smart if we wanted to win them over with good looking produce. But if this was going to succeed, it needed to be local.

They all were mesmerized and dutifully tried the dried mango and pineapple from the packages I brought. Still some frowns but at least lots of polite eating this time.

Then we moved on to the popcorn; Hagi and Dita (our cook and manager) arrived with tea (their local breakfast and often only thing that marks a morning meal unless we also have bread from the market) and our huge rice pan full of popcorn. Perhaps it was because it came from their hands, or maybe it was the repeated exposure, but huge smiles all around told me we had finally won them over. Now the popcorn that was a foot tall in our demonstration garden that Katelyn had lovingly planted meant hope for something new.

Meanwhile the papayas were drying, the sun was shining (although Heath assured me we didn’t need sun with this excellent design) and voila—we raised the lid and there were little chewy bright orange strips of papaya. Heath extended the chicken wire insert tray to me and I pulled one off and ate it—bringing full circle to a potential future in a wonderfully satisfying way.

You’ll have to wait til next year to hear the end – or the beginning-- of the full story of how HOM sustained itself through dried fruit and popping corn. And learning “new” ways of living can be fun and tasty—and hopefully financially rewarding.

Somehow we were able to work the Gospel into all this; we do not just bring “things” to Sudan but as our new brochure says “bringing the tangible love of Christ.” (these lovely brochures are almost in the mail so watch for them—a real work of art by some generous and committed friends at Floyd and Partners) so ponder this closing truth:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry….He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40)

As you embrace the “new” in your own lives, I pray remember where all true newness comes from, and live out the joy and excitement that comes from knowing that source.

In the front of my journal for each trip, stateside, I take the time to write some of my favorite verses and thoughts. I always copy this stanza from a hymn:

We are here to enact the text, to love “the other,” to see the beauty in the poor and bring hope.

That verse and idea came crystal clear in Sudan this trip through a tiny girl named Winnie, who stole my heart and challenged me to make the above a reality. So I title these thoughts “the gift of Winnie” as she is a gift from the Lord to me. And I hope there are Winnie’s in each of your lives as well.

Our newest building contains two halves- the Deaconess Training Center and the Special Needs Classroom. And on Aug 31, we had an official opening.

From my journal: “Could a day be any more wonderful than today? Indeed “this is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” People came, gov’t officials came, and William from HOM spoke so gratefully and forcefully for disabilities. Ribbon cut, people toured, much interest in programs by gov’t people and outside progress is being made (referring to the new buildings going up for kitchen and chicken coop). Sat on the benches outside HOM and asked them to imagine with us the hens laying eggs, the smell of bread baking for sale and a real community of people milling around.”

But then the reality set in—this new building needs to be filled! Fortunately, Katelyn had already found the women for our first class of deaconesses and had spent the summer teaching them and knitting them together in this new vocation they desired. And once we got our tailoring project off the ground, I knew that half of the building would be well used.

But the other half, lovingly stocked with Goodwill recycled Leap Frog educational toys, sidewalk chalk, color books, and posters of the ABCs, 1,2,3s and even an attendance chart with stickers(!) still was empty of children. We knew our first student, Abu, would come as he aimlessly wanders around in a nearby compound of huts: he is the grandson of Eunice, my first friend there. But who else? We had hired the teacher, Lydia, an older woman who was thrilled to now have a job and was open to learning how to love and challenge “special children.”

Two days later, reeling from the emotion of taking Katelyn to the airstrip to return home, we asked Baptist, who was driving us, to stop at the hospital to ask about kids with special needs. After lots of dead ends and official looking people telling us they didn’t know, we went to several government offices, returning a bit discouraged: this “young” country of S Sudan (we hope) is still just getting its feet wet in trying to provide for its people, let alone its people with special needs, so they are not the people to look to for help yet.

So arriving home, discouraged and wondering how we were ever going to get students to come to our new classroom, there waited Winnie and her mom!!! Heath and I looked at each other and said—"well, guess that prayer was answered fast….”

A darling tiny girl—6 years old but only weighing maybe 25 pounds, pencil thin and very involved with cerebral palsy due to her premature birth, but a challenge that quickly won our hearts. We set about problem solving her needs at our school. First we sent someone to the market to buy a locally made child bed. Then we began to think of ways to adapt one of our HOM chairs so she could be upright without being held. We visited her home to see the modified chair she had from Uganda. And then Heath went to work, buying a mattress, scooping out the foam with his knife to make the contour of her tiny body and need for head support. Then we cut fabric to cover the foam—and voila! A really effective, stable chair we could Velcro her in.

And so she came, her mother, Miriam staying the whole time, as it was too far for her to go home and return. She straps Winnie on her back, papoose style, like other moms carries their infants, but with Winnie, it has been a six year experience and looms like a lifelong need. We will work on a child’s wheelchair for next trip.

Our first goal was to get her to use her hands to point for communication—and what better tool than all those light up and jingle producing toys from the Goodwill? She loved them all, as did Miriam, and would elicit the biggest smile when her hand actually made the keyboard sing.

Of all the pictures I took of her and of all the strides forward we began for her educationally, it was in the quiet time, captured by this photograph with Heath that I love the most. I think he was totally won over to HOM, seeing how the Lord was using him and his skills to reach Winnie. She is another “Simon Peter” of Uganda—the challenge of knowing there is a good mind trapped in a very unworkable body and our job is to find the way out. I look forward to many times here, dreaming of ways that can happen, and then when we can return to Sudan, getting another “dose” of the gift of Winnie.

What a privilege it is to be able to “enact the text” and, in some small way, be Jesus to those He brings in our path. May there be Winnies in your lives as well—they are all around us if we just open our eyes and hearts to them.

3 am and the drill is all too familiar. Wide awake after only a few hours of sleep and mind racing with competing to do lists. I wanted to title this re-entry is always tough but it seems I have one titled like that for each of the past nine sets of these reflection. It is always the same: straddling two cultures for awhile causes lots of anguish, until you are really back in your native land. New empathy is gained for the displaced or the refugee as it seems impossible to really let go of your homeland; I dont ever want the greeting of the customs official welcome home to lose its impact. I am thankful my parents gave me a wonderful sense of patriotism.

So what did I learn from this trip? That is now a journal entry on t he airplane homean attempt to summarize what a month in Sudan, time again with Hands of Mercy locally, and all those stiff $100 bills strapped to my waist in a vain attempt to hide $10,450 accomplished. And more importantly, what were the lessons the Lord intended to teach me in His classroom there?

1. Getting the right people in the right seat of the bus. That principle from Good to Great in the Social Sector remains to be one of the most influential guiding lights for me personally learning to lead Hands of Mercy to self sufficiency and independence (from US dollars). It is the lesson of Stephen, a young man who due to polio walks mainly on one foot and who wanted real shoes last trip as his share in the financial return of HOM last trip. Now he is our photographer, making money himself for the group.

2. Keep true to your mission statement and dont get sidetracked into other worthy causes. HOM is not in the primary school business, Katelyn reminded me, when the temptation to get bigger loomed in the distance.

3. Our job is to teach fishing, not just distribute the things we bring. This is the lesson of the sewing machinesthose 50 pound hand crank wonders we carried over in our carry on luggageor tried tobut oh, was it worth it! Wait till you see those pictures. I think we might even make a seamstress out of Katelyn..

4. It takes all kinds- HOM is now three different souls, each with her (and his) own set God given talentsand one of us almost walks on water.

5. Church politics are the devils playgroundand what happens when pastors hold the purse strings is grounds for Ephesians 6 warfare: taking up the shield, the helmet, the sword, while trying to wear shoes of peace.

6. Progress takes time. How can people not like dried mango or popcorn? But our solar dryers are working.

7. Just be still and watch and come alongside people and get recharged. When the Lord gives you people to love, they are a beautiful gift to be cherishedand these people (and now little ones too) with disabilities are gorgeous people.

8. The Lord continues to work in mysterious wayswhen I am armed (financially)to do one project and then the way becomes blocked, all you can do is smile at how the Lord reroutes those plans for HIS.

9. Learning over and over that money does not solve African problems, despite what they might think or want. Lessons reinforced from another missionary.

10. The changeling in every culture, in every time, needs to be explained and the church has the only real and lasting answer.

Goodness, there is a lot of work ahead in this week of transition, but just like in writing those term papers I told Fritz, once you get the outline done, you are half way there. And spending these precious early morning hours with you, fellow lovers and supporters of Sudan, is a gift I receive every time I get to travel back to my second home.

So enjoy a few favorite pictures until tomorrow and I will get going on that to do list, like laundry and a long, long shower.

Thank you for the role that you have all played through shaping me during my service as Field Worker in 2003-2005 to Clear Lake: I have finally completed my Seminary studies and will be ordained into our Lord's service as a

When: Ordination/Installation as Pastor - date: October 31, 2010 @ 10:30 AM - reception will follow.

I miss you all and think about you and pray for you often. Since my time here at Praise LCMS in Fort Wayne, I've reflected many times on the experience and wonderful blessings I enjoyed while with you during my 2 Field Work years. Not only did Pastor Gaertner and the congregation help me tremendously in ministry, but I have such fond personal memories that I often find myself missing everyone to the point of something that resembles a little homesickness. I've been especially reflecting on my time with you since I heard about Pastor Gaertner's retirement. He has truly served the Lord well and has impacted many lives. Praise God for him. And the Lord be with all of you as you search for a new shepherd.

God willing I will be coming for a short visit sometime soon to catch up. I only regret that I couldn't make it for Pastor Gaertner's party. It would be good to see you again. Also, another opportunity for us to reunite will be for you to join me on a trip to the Holy Land in 2011. I'm working on putting together the trip now and would love for y'all to join me. See below for more details (and would you be able to include this in your newsletter)?

Imagine reading the Bible and being able to picture first hand Mount Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, or seeing the sunset over the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on the water, or remembering back to when you stepped your own foot into the Jordan River, as you now read about your Lord’s own baptism in that very same spot. How would you like to walk in the Garden of Gethsemane, peek your head inside the tomb that held your Savior, visit Cana, or even stand in the very place where the Dead Sea scrolls were found? You can do all this and more! Your dream can indeed become a reality.

The possibility exists for you to join me July 9th - 18th, 2011 on a trip that will take you to a place in your faith that you never thought you’d ever go. Yes, you can come to Israel.

I pray that you will have the opportunity to join us on this trip to the Holy Land. If you can go, there is no doubt in my mind that your life will be changed and your faith will be strengthened. There is absolutely nothing like reading the Scriptures and being able to visualize from first hand experience the very places the Bible describes.

I am sending you the link to the website in case you could consider the trip for yourself. However, I am also asking if you forward it to any family and friends in your contact list. You never know who might be in the position to come with us and walk in the footsteps of the Christ.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA---Fremont resident Gary Novak was inducted into the inaugural class of Concordia Lutheran High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Aug. 6.

A 1961 Concordia graduate, Novak was a 12-time letter winner in high school: three apiece in football, track, basketball and tennis. He won all-conference and all-Fort Wayne in football and basketball his junior and senior years. He was undefeated in tennis singles for three years and doubles for two years.

Novak was the Fort Wayne city player of the year in football in 1960 and basketball in 1961. He was the Fort Wayne city scoring champion in basketball in 1961. He was a member of the first Indiana-Ohio basketball All-Star game in 1961. He was also a member of the original “Blazers,” directed by Chuck Henke in 1959.

Novak earned his bachelors of science degree in education from Ohio State University in 1967, his masters of science degree in education from St. Francis College in 1970 and his Education Specialist degree from Ball State University in 1973. Before retiring in 2002, he served 25 years in the education field, 15 as a teacher and 20 in administration.

Novak and his wife of 47 years, Judy, reside at Little Long Lake in Fremont six months out of the year and in Sarasota, Fla., the other six months. Their four sons (Scott, Brent, Blake, and Kyle) live in various parts of the country.

Gary and Judy Novak also have five grandchildren. The couple enjoys tennis, golf and theater, and still love to sing the oldies at karaoke.

What a joy (and relief) to come to this time-- the eve of departure back to Sudan. Not only does it represent 6 months of hard work here completed, but moreover it foretells the Lord has many things for me to learn and for Him to do in Sudan through Hands of Mercy. I am not naïve to also know there will be some trying times this month ahead…

But I woke up with a favorite Jeremiah passage where God reassures His exiled people “I will visit you and I will fulfill My promise to you and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you…plans for wholeness…to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me …You will seek Me and find Me ..and I will hear you.” Jeremiah 29:11-15.

The Lord’s faithfulness to Hands of Mercy has been so evident this year - who would have imagined we would have a deaconess intern there all summer, with plans for full time mission work there after she graduates? Who would have imagined we would build a second permanent building(see picture ) so soon-- and start both deaconess training and a special needs classroom? Who would have imagined that this little deaconess “project “ of mine would now become a real “business” with the titles: INC, NGO (with the gov’t of Sudan) and RSO ( pending still with the LCMS). Who would have guessed HOM is now a “we” with Katelyn and Heath joining in this effort. And who would have guessed my life as a deaconess involves lots of grant writing…

So here is a snapshot of what we hope will be accomplished this trip:
Improve our sewing skills with two hand crank sewing machines (see picture of Heath, newest member of HOM, who adapted 2 old electric ones) Build a chicken coop and begin our self sustaining project of raising chickens/eggs Build a kitchen with baking ovens to begin our bakery project.
Distribute new “girls kit” of washable sanitary pads for female prisoners and young women Possibly begin to translate a “gospel comic book” for prisoners Train a special needs teacher and open both the Deaconess Training Center and Special Needs Classroom -- Aug 31st.
Over 400 pair of glasses, 50 home health kits, many prison packs, pillowcase dress kits and friendship dress kits, many lovely quilts for widows- to be distributed

all totally 540 pounds of the tangible love of Jesus Christ. Smile when you think of Heath and I each lugging a 50 lb sewing machine in a carryon. Thankfully, the Lord sent just the right person who has all the practical life skills of a mechanic, welder, and the muscles of a man! And he has raised chickens.

Well, you will not hear again until late September when I return and utilize the wee hours of the morning time change to translate my journal into reflections. I still am resisting the blog/facebook communication t hat I know the rest of the world uses, but times are even changing in Sudan-- when they get electricity and reliable internet, Yambio will change, not all for the better, but I will too.

Until later, Lord willing “and the creek don’t rise” (for all you Texans), I remain In Christ alone, and His care, Pat

Thank you for your faithful donation June-2010. Sorry for the delay in answer it. The Report came when I was in Mozambique; and the Internet was too low there and the time too short.

I'm waiting for the LCMS final report; but, according to my files, we reached the goal for the Fiscal Year 2009-2010, with God's blessing and with your help. THANK YOU! We have another Fiscal Year in front of us.
We are working in a new project for the next year. I will let you know as soon as it is ready. Very good plans for God's Mission in Africa!

Lídia and I are back home now, trying to put everything in the right place after a month absent from Nairobi. Lot of work and emails to answer were waiting for me in the computer.

I just sent the new Mission Newsletter with the Blog. There are reports about my trip to Mozambique and the exiting African experiences I had there; and about our work in Kenya and our trip to Germany as well. I hope you got it: http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ Enjoy it and share it with the Church members.

Lídia and I are fine, preparing the Visa papers to move to Cape Town next year. My brother and my-sister-in-law are coming to visit with us in two weeks. This is their first trip to Africa and they are excited and we too.

ANGOLA, INDIANA---Agnes M. Lampe, 87, of Angola and formerly of New Haven and Fort Wayne, died Tuesday, August 10, 2010, at Lakeland Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Angola.

She is survived by two sons, Charles ‘‘Chuck’’ Lampe of Angola and William Lampe of California; a daughter, Patricia ‘‘Pat’’ Ryan of Spencerville; and her siblings, Marcella (Harold) Bandelier and Robert (Joan) Schrage, both of Florida.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 7710 E. State Blvd., Fort Wayne, with the Rev. Mark H. Gaertner officiating. Burial will be in St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Fort Wayne.

Calling will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at E. Harper & Son Funeral Home, 740 S.R. 930 E., New Haven, and one hour prior to services Friday at the church.

Memorials are to Clear Lake Lutheran Church or the American Diabetes Association.

FISHERS, INDIANA---Paul Beuchel Jr., 86, of Fishers and formerly of Lake Gage, died Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010, at St. Vincent Medical Center Northeast in Fishers.

Mr. Beuchel retired from the Messenger Corporation in Auburn with more than 40 years of service.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving during World War II.

He was a member of the Clear Lake Lutheran Church. He was also a member of the American Legion for over 65 years.

He was born on Feb. 24, 1924, in Auburn, to Paul and Francis (Warner) Beuchel.

He married Wilma Culbertson on June 1, 1946, in Auburn. She passed away on Dec. 9, 1995.

Surviving are two daughters and sons-in-law, Joanne and Joe Creager of Butler, and Sandy and Roger Terry of Garrett; a sister, Hilda Clevenger of Garrett; eight grandchildren; and 11 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Paula Coombs; a brother, Robert Beuchel; two grandsons; and a great grandson.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Feller & Clark Funeral Home, 875 S. Wayne St., Waterloo, with the Rev. Mark Gaertner officiating. Burial will be in Clear Lake Cemetery. Military graveside services will be conducted by the Orland American Legion.

Calling will be from noon - 2 p.m. on Tuesday prior to the funeral service at the funeral home.

Memorials may be directed to the Clear Lake Lutheran Church, 270 Outer Drive Clear Lake, Fremont, IN 46737.

You may want to update your addressbooks to reflect this as the new CLLC email address: cllutheran@frontier.com

For those of you that have Thrivent policies and have Thrivent choice dollars to disperse, you can direct your Thrivent contribution to Clear Lake Lutheran Church.

The Thrivent Choice program is a charitable grant program and a benefit of membership that encourages members of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to help direct a portion of Thrivent Financial's charitable funding to causes important to them. The program has two components – Choice Dollars^SM and Voting Events – and will result in distribution of several million dollars of grant funds to causes that members like you care about most

Go to this website and log in with your user name and password https://www.thrivent.com/thriventchoice/ If you have not been to the site before, you will need to register.

Then go to direct choice dollars. In the search organizations, just type in Fremont, IN and Clear Lake Lutheran will come up. You can then direct whatever Thrivent choice dollars you want to Clear Lake. You can also direct Choice dollars to other organizations by doing an additional search.

You can also make it recurring direction of your Thrivent choice dollars. Selecting this option lets you automatically direct your designated Choice Dollars on a recurring basis. It's an easy way to request and recommend funding, for organizations that you care about, on an ongoing basis.

Please understand there is no COST TO YOU. This is just money that Thrivent has to disperse because of their non-profit status. Typically in the past Thrivent funds at Clear Lake have gone to support the youth and LWML (Lutheran Women’s Missionary League). Our LWML typically supports our field workers and other missions. Remember those ladies got the ball rolling on our awesome addition.

Susan and I have a new email address: gaertner.susanmark@gmail.com and I have a new cell phone number 260.667.0034.

Faith Community Health Clinic is one of the ministries we support. Could you distribute the coupons to our membership? Pastor Mark

Hope your summer's going well. I've attached coupons for a fundraiser for Faith Community Health Clinic. Would you send this to all the clergy on your mailing list and ask them to include it in their bulletins on July 25th or Aug. 1st.

ELWOOD, INDIANA---Junior D. Ozenbaugh age 74 of Elwood died July 16, 2010 at Miller’s Merry Manor in Tipton after a brief illness. He was born on February 3, 1936 in Elwood, Indiana. He retired in 1997 from General Motors where he worked as an electrician. He was a 1955 graduate of Frankton High School. He served in the Army National Guard from 1954 to 1957. He married Virginia E. Knotts on May 27, 1960. He was a member of the Elwood Quincy Masonic Lodge #230, United Auto Workers Local #662 in Anderson.

Suriviors include: Wife – Virginia Ozenbaugh of Elwood; Son – Kelly and wife Marla Ozenbaugh of Elwood; Daughter – Tammy and husband Dave Heierman of Angola; Sister – Dorothy Elmore of Lakeland, FL; 4 Grandchildren – Tyler Ozenbaugh, Kevin Heierman, Trevor Ozenbaugh, and Kristin Heierman; Several Nieces and Nephews.

Preceded in death by his parents – Dale B. and Della Kathryn (Wardwell) Ozenbaugh; Brother – Robert Ozenbaugh; Infant Sister – Annabell Ozenbaugh.

Funeral Services will be conducted at 11:00 AM Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at Copher-Fesler-May Funeral Home in Elwood with Rev. Josh Carney of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Elwood officiating. Entombment will take place in the Elwood City Cemetery Mausoleum. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 PM Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at Copher-Fesler-May Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the CJD Foundation - P.O. Box 5312, Akron, OH 44334 or through the funeral home. Online condolences can be made to the Ozenbaugh family at www.copherfeslermay.com

This coming Friday 7.23.10 Life Screening will be at CLLC

Do you have numbness in your toes or cold feet? Do your legs ache after walking a short distance? If so, you may want to consider being screened for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition in which the arteries that carry blood to the arms or legs become narrowed or clogged by plaque, slowing or stopping the flow of blood. Life Line Screening uses an ankle brachial index (ABI) to scan for one’s risk of PAD. PAD is closely linked to coronary artery disease, and identifying PAD can also help prevent heart attack and stroke. The screening will be held on 7/23/2010 at Clear Lake Lutheran Church. Register for the Stroke, Vascular Disease and Heart Rhythm Package for $139. All four ultrasound screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. Your Health is in Your Hands, so call 1-800-324-1851 to pre-register. To register online go to www.lifelinescreening.com, enter Priority Code: HSC5982 then select your preference of location.

8 - 10% of all screening results in ABNORMAL to CRITICAL Findings. The Screenings are Effective and are Saving Lives!!

Having Afib increases the risk of stroke 5-fold!

Do you experience shortness of breath, chest palpitations, dizziness, fainting and/or chest pain? If yes, you may want to consider being screened for Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) risk. Afib is a major risk factor for stroke, 15-20% of all strokes are attributable to Afib. Clear Lake Lutheran Church will be hosting a screening on 7/23/2010. Call 1-800-324-1851 for more information or to pre-register. To register online go to www.lifelinescreening.com, enter Priority Code: HSC5982 then select your preference of location.

Have you noticed a change in posture or loss of height? If you answer “yes” to either of these questions, you may want to consider being screened for the risk of osteoporosis. Life Line Screening uses a quantitative ultrasound bone densitometer, using the heel as a measurement site, to assess one’s risk of osteoporosis. The osteoporosis screening is not only for women. 1 out of every 4 men will have Osteoporosis after the age of 55. The Preventative Health Screening will take place on 7/23/2010 at Clear Lake Lutheran Church. Your Health is in Your Hands, so call 1-800-324-1851 to pre-register. To register online go to www.lifelinescreening.com, enter Priority Code: HSC5982 then select your preference of location.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA--A pastor who helped lead early efforts to revitalize the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood in Fort Wayne has been elected to head the 2.4 million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

<<<The Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, 48, former pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, will replace Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, who headed the synod for nine years.

Elected Tuesday on the first ballot with 54 percent of the votes to Kieschnick’s 45 percent, Harrison comes to the post after serving as executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care.

Harrison took a job with the international aid agency after leaving Zion in 2001, said the Rev. Douglas D. Punke, Zion’s senior pastor.

Punke said Harrison is remembered for helping initiate the project that recruited city officials and private investors to clear dilapidated homes from a 10-block area around St. Peter Catholic Church, 518 E. DeWald St., and Zion, 2313 S. Hanna St.

“I would say Zion is pleased, excited, about Pastor Harrison’s election,” he said. “We need servants in the church and I think that’s what Pastor Harrison will be. I’m confident that’s what he’ll be.”

The Rev. John Delaney, former pastor at St. Peter, remembered Harrison as a personable and enthusiastic young pastor who could muster support.

“He was what I would call a kid. He was in his early 30s, and he had two young children,” said Delaney, who now is pastor at St. Jude Catholic Church in South Bend. “Everyone was willing to get on board because of his personality.”

Harrison got involved, Delaney said, because “I think he just saw the need in the inner city. He saw crime, and he saw drugs and he saw rundown houses, and thought this didn’t need to be this way. He saw that if the churches remained vital, they could be instrumental in maintaining the area.”

The neighborhood revitalization led to the renovation of some existing homes and the building of new ones.

It also spurred the development of the Pontiac branch of the Allen County Public Library and the Urban League headquarters on South Hanna Street.

Revitalization near the area continues with the city’s current Renaissance Pointe project.

According to the synod’s website, Harrison told the convention his election was “a tumultuous change in the life of our synod.”

He said the future poses challenges, but he promised to “work as hard as I possibly can for unity around the clear and compelling word of God and nothing else.”

Harrison holds master’s degrees in divinity and sacred theology from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and is pursuing a doctorate at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

In recent years he has traveled around the world on behalf of disaster relief, including a trip to Haiti this year.

Punke said Harrison’s name previously had been circulated as a possible candidate for the synod’s top post, but he did not gain enough support to be on the ballot.

Kieschnick, 67, faced controversy from denominational conservatives during his tenure for his support of a pastor who participated in an ecumenical prayer service at Yankee Stadium for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and disputes over board authority and the result of his last election.

CLEAR LAKE, INDIANA---A history of Clear Lake, from its earliest settlers to the purchase of Kasota Island in 2008, has been compiled and published.

Bonnie Brown and Beth McCracken, who have been working since August 2008 to compile the histories of the town and the families and homes around the lake, have finally seen their work, “Clear Lake: A Place to Remember” published. Brown said the first 1,100 copies arrived July 1. About 600 have already been sold.

The process began when the two women hand delivered surveys to residents asking for information about how long they’d been on the lake and their memories.

The book includes sections not just on the history of the town, but also insights into the daily lives of residents of different eras.

“It was a whole lifestyle in the ’50s and ’60s,” McCracken said. ”Wives and children would come out for the summer and the fathers would come in on weekends. That was the family life in the summer.”

“Mothers from cities felt like their children were safer at the lake from polio. It was like a small window of what was going on in the culture at the time,” she said.

Brown said she and McCracken had discovered family histories dating back six and seven generations.

“It really is a small community when you get down to the individual families,” Brown said.

The book also includes a section titled “Joys and Sorrows,” that details “lake romances,” where couples met and married at the lake, as well as some of the tragic events, such as drownings and fires that have taken place over the years.

Brown said the idea for the project came along as the purchase of the island was nearing completion. Bill Geiger approached Brown about possibility of doing something.

”I told him ‘I will definitely do this project, but only after the Calendar Girls project is over,’” Brown said.

The initial response to the questionnaire wasn’t what the pair had been hoping for, they said, but they kept after it. When they redoubled efforts to raise money to cover publishing costs, McCracken said, people suddenly became more convinced the project would happen.

“It became ‘Wow, they really are going to write a book,’” McCracken said. “Then they started coming in more and more.”

A contest was held for photographs for use on the cover. The winner, Mike Franz, took the photo of a summer sunrise last year.

Funds above the costs of publishing the book will go toward putting archives in at the town hall. Any remaining funds would go to the Clear Lake Conservancy.

The books are currently available at the Bent Fork Art Studio, Angola; Barn Stable Antiques, Fremont; Old Mill Shoppes, near Clear Lake; the Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County, Angola; Fremont Public Library, Fremont; and the Clear Lake Town Hall for $50.

Brown said other locations for possible sales were being explored. Books can also be purchased from Brown (495-2771), McCracken (495-0047) and Kay Ivy (495-1975).

Today, 7.17.10, Rev Matthew Harrison has been elected president of the LCMS with 643 votes to Rev Gerald Kieschnick's 527. Rev Herbert C Mueller Jr replaces William Diekelman as the 1st Vice President. This represents a swing to an even more conservative position for the LCMS.It seems to fit with the anti-incumbent mood of the country.

A new Blog is ready: Just click on http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ You can read about our Several Activities during the months of June; July: New Maasai Congregation in Kibiko; New Elders at UHLC; Visits + Visitors and Guest Preachers; World Cup; TEE in Mozambique; Mrs. Inger Malo – IN MEMORIAM. Share your comments with us writing directly to our email: cwwinterle@yahoo.com.br

This Wednesday, Pokagon State Park will be hosting the annual free Patriotic Pops Concert with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair for seating and come early for a good seat on the Potawatomi Inn lawn for this special annual concert. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held at Trine University - Hershey Hall.

The team is made up of 11 young people, The fun start around 1:30 pm , swimming and enjoying the water. "Snacks" 3 PM they will canvass the lake area with materials with church information.

pot luck and grilling of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill at 5:30 PM. Please bring a passing dish. And their program 6 to 8 PM. Enjoyed an Evening of Sharing The Good News. Weather permits. A camp fire at Gary and Judy Novak 7040 N 925 E. Fremont, In. from 8 pm to or around 10 PM Thank you Jeanie Eichler 316-7590

Sunday is the Worship Celebration. Crew Members and their leaders need to be at church at 8:30. Bell Ringers check with Laura to see when you need to be there…

After the service, there will be a potluck picnic and carnival for everyone! There is a sign up list in the west wing. Please let us know how many might come so we have enough hot dogs

· Their goal is $1 million to help supply clean water to those in need around the world.

Water affects every aspect of life. Without clean, reliable sources of water, farmers can’t grow crops to sell and feed their families. Women and children must often travel several miles each day to collect water, taking precious time from work and school. And dirty drinking water is a constant threat to people coping with disaster.

With your help, LWR can continue to make sure families have the life-sustaining water they need now and well into the future.

There also will be a picture CD and final program DVD available. Sign up sheet is also in the west wing.

Mildred E. “Millie” Griffith, 84, of Fort Wayne and Clear Lake, died Monday, June 14, 2010 at Parkview North Hospital, Fort Wayne.

Born in St. Joseph Twp., she was the

daughter of the late Albert and Hannah Bowers.

She was a homemaker and self employed seamstress. She was a member of Clear Lake Lutheran Church. Millie and her husband enjoyed their years as members of the Promenaders and the Smile Arounds.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Richard L. Griffith; daughters, Patricia “Pat” (Larry) Bobay and Elizabeth “Beth” (Ron) Bade both of Fort Wayne and Virginia “Ginger” (David) Tellman of Holland, Ohio; seven grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Funeral service is 2:00 p.m. Thursday, at E. Harper & Son Funeral Home, 740 St. Rd. 930 E., New Haven with calling one hour prior.

The Rev. Mark Gaertner officiating. Calling is also from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial in Concordia Cemetery Gardens, Fort Wayne.

The possibility exists for you to join me July 9th - 18th, 2011 on a trip that will take you to a place in your faith that you never thought you’d ever go. Yes, you can come to Israel.

We had a very good time in Brazil! Leo and Carol came from Germany, and the four of us were hosted by Paulo & Flavia in their apartment. Dickson, Tatiana and Henrique came several times to be with us and we visited with them in their apartment as well. We met relatives, friends and colleagues. We had a comprehensive medical check-up (everything is fine with both of us). We participated in the 60^th General Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil – IELB. We had several opportunities to share about God’s work in Kenya with different groups. Read about in the BLOG http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ Read also about a special Award that Bishop Walter Obare received in Germany. Your comments are welcome. Please, write the comments directly to cwwinterle@yahoo.com.br (and not through the Blog response system).

FREMONT, INDIANA---Pauline U. Gnagy, 87, of Fremont died Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at Lakeland Nursing Center in Angola.

She had moved to the Fremont area in 1975. She had formerly lived in Bloomington, Columbia City, La Paz, Butler and in California.

Mrs. Gnagy had retired in 1980 as the cafeteria director at Fremont Community Schools. She had formerly worked at Columbia City Schools and in her younger years she was a beautician.

She was born May 4, 1923, in Bloomington to Paul Leet and Fern (May) Lowery. She married George Keith Gnagy on May 4, 1939. He survives in Fremont.

Also surviving are two daughters, Mellodee Syler of Portland, Ore., and Sherree Shilt of Kearney, Mo.; two sons, Dan and Shari Gnagy of Angola and Jon and Robin Gnagy of Angola; two grandchildren; and two sisters, Annetta Minnick of Bloomington and Treva Hendrix of Martinsville.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Beams Funeral Home in Fremont with the Rev. Mark Gaertner officiating. Burial will be in Clear Lake Lutheran Cemetery at Clear Lake near Fremont.

CLEAR LAKE, INDIANA---Margaret Weber Federspiel, age 89, of Clear Lake, and Naples, Fla., died on April 30, 2010, of Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born on April 22, 1921, in Ft. Wayne, to J. Stephen Weber and Hilda (Pierre) Weber. She married Robert P. Federspiel in 1945. He survives in Naples.

Also surviving are five children: Phillip P. Federspiel of West Hartford, Conn., Ellen F. Poffenberger and her husband Robert (Fritz) of Carmel, Susan

F. Chase of Glastonbury, Conn., Neil M. Federspiel and his wife Marcia of Ft. Wayne, and Ann F. DeWert and her husband Richard of Cincinnati, Ohio; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, James A. Weber, and his wife Rita, and her sister-in-law Nancy Weber. She was predeceased by her brothers Dr. John R. Weber and Donald Weber.

Mrs. Federspiel was employed by Wayne Pump and was a homemaker after marriage. She was involved with the Ft. Wayne Sewing Club, the St. Charles Rosary Sodality and was a volunteer for the Ft. Wayne Christmas Bureau. In addition, she was head of the volunteer organization at Naples Community Hospital and was an active volunteer there for 15 years.

Mrs. Federspiel was an exceptionally loving wife, mother and grandmother. She loved unconditionally and with joy. She was a very patient person, with a cheerful outlook on life. She enjoyed cooking, entertaining, reading and travel. Having residences in Fort Wayne and Clear Lake, and Naples, she enriched each community in which she lived.

Private services will be held at a later date. There will be no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Support Network, 660 Tamiami Trail N., Naples, FL 34102.

Arrangements By Beams Funeral Home, Fremont, Indiana. Condolences may be sent online to www.beamsfuneralhome.com

Saturday morning, May 1, is "Clean up day" starting at 9 am. Projects include spreading crushed stone in front of the cemetery fence, some minor exterior painting, washing windows, cleaning up the grounds and an in-service on our new zero turn tractor by trustee, Tim Kestner. Coffee and cookies will be available.

The Wee Creations Daycare and Preschool Rummage Sale is being held at Peace Lutheran Church, Fremont this weekend.

SO if you are into garage saleing this is the place to be on Friday and Saturday. If you are allowed, can you please hang up the flier in your break room at work? Tell your neighbors about it also. Or forward the email to friends who like to Garage Sale?

This is one of our biggest fundraisers for the year, we are growing and growing Every dollar counts!!

Hi Ron, could you send this to our group - some of them are Thrivent members and their vote can help support the LCMS World mission and/or the LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Thanks, Pastor Mark

Thomas J. Eckrich, 72, Clear Lake, formerly of Ft. Wayne passed away Thursday, April 8, 2010 at Lutheran Hospital in Ft. Wayne.

Born in Ft. Wayne on December 10, 1937 to Herman & Pauline Eckrich, Tom attended Central Catholic High School and then the University of Notre Dame.

He held numerous positions with Peter Eckrich & Sons before venturing into real estate development. His first project was Canterbury Green, which led to many more apartment projects in Ft. Wayne, Okalahoma, North Carolina, Texas & Ohio. He also branched into commercial and residential developments in Ft. Wayne including the Sycamore Hills residential community.

A strong advocate for Ft. Wayne, Tom was a past Chamber of Commerce Chairman, sat on multiple boards and advised numerous start-up companies. Tom was very involved in his Catholic faith, and was instrumental in starting the Little Flower Holy Hour at The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception.

His life passions included time with family, sailing, woodworking, golf and water skiing (3rd place at 1956 Nationals). Tom was involved in many organizations including the Ft. Wayne Chamber of Commerce, Clear Lake Yacht Club (past Commodore), Notre Dame Club, Big Brothers, Indiana Apartment Association, St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Clear Lake, IN., Franciscan Missions, Ft. Wayne Business Forum, and Young Presidents Organization.

In 1957 he married his grade school sweetheart, Sally Schenkel, who was his greatest supporter and best friend. They had five children: Tom Jr. (Katie), Ann (David) Arnold, & Chris (Carol Ann) of Ft. Wayne, Bill (Kathleen) of Indianapolis, and Tony (Lora) of Grosse Pointe, MI.

He is also survived by his 18 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and brothers Herman (Jeanne) of Darien, CT, David (Judy) of South Bend, IN. Tom was preceded in death by his parents.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30am Tuesday at St. Paul Catholic Chapel, 8780 E 700N, Fremont, IN with calling one hour prior to Mass. Fr. Phil Schneider officiating. Calling at D. O. McComb and Sons Maplewood Park Funeral Home, 4017 Maplecrest Road on Monday from 2:00-5:00pm and 7:00-9:00pm with a rosary at 8:30pm. Burial in Catholic Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Memorials may be made to Franciscan Missions, Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy, or Thomas J. Eckrich Scholarship Fund. To sign the online guest book, go to www.mccombandsons.com

I have a ticket I would like to give to a woman that would like to go to Tapestry, (A Day For Women), in Fort Wayne, IN, on April 23, 2010. Deanna Shuman and Susan Gaertner are meeting Phyllis Bruick and others for this awesome event.

(Unfortunately, I have a memorial tree service for Mother and Les that conflicts- you know me and trees J)

A new BLOG is ready, with a report about the Several Activities happened during the month of March. BAPTISMS + SUNDAY SCHOOL; HEART TO HEART: VISITORS + SCHOOL FEES AND FEEDING PROGRAM + HOMELESS BOYS + HANDCRAFTS; THE CHURCH IN KIAMBU. Just click on http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ and follow God’s blessing upon His work in

Kenya

This Friday night is free pizza and a movie night at Clear Lake Lutheran. The movie will be "Blindside" featuring Sandra Bullock who won the best actress Oscar for her role. Please note a change in time: we will start at 6 PM. Let Pastor Mark know if you are coming so we can order enough pizza.

Hi Ron, Could you send out an announcement that the last Lenten souper will be held this evening at 6 PM followed by Lenten Vespers at 7 PM. Also this is the last evening to bring boxes of potatoes for Project Help.

Thanks, Pastor Mark

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Sudan Reflections 9 -- lessons learned this trip- Getting the right people on the bus

March 24, 2010 a final reflection for this trip

It is hard to pull this all together and to an end, but it is time to move forward, to start the rebuilding of supplies and planning for the next trip, Lord willing.

If a water well gets drilled at Hands of Mercy by August for the Engineers with a Mission to come and create a Play Pump and build solar dryers, it will be one of the Lord’s many miracles in the Hands of Mercy story. And if Katelyn’s internship gets funded to grow pumpkins for medicinal purposes and create underground storage this summer, and if Heath can return to teach welding to HOM men for a bicycle repair “shop,” if the second building gets completed and we begin deaconess training and gather young children with disabilities into a classroom for education -- WOW -- big goals for the future of Hands of Mercy.

And especially if our government believes we are not doing terrorist activities in Sudan through HOM and grants 501c3 status, and then the church grants RSO(Registered Service Organization) status. and then NGO (nonGovernmental organization) status with the Sudanese government, --- then Hands of Mercy will really be “on the map.” There is A LOT of work behind the scenes that goes on before and after these wonderful trips back to Sudan….

So what was the overriding lesson learned this trip? Clearly for me it is the wisdom I learned in the book, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins. It is a short booklet of the findings of a business man who studied what turned “good” companies to “great” companies. Doesn’t sound like something engaging to a non business oriented mind like mine, but, in fact, it is fascinating reading and very applicable to many aspects of “running” your life. Here is what I learned:

1. Get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and in the right seats. HOM has struggled with the leadership of a pastor who is gifted in some areas like computers and Arabic, but whose skill set to lead a group of people with disabilities in the mundane efforts of learning marketable skills, to read and write and to come together as “family” is not there. So we needed to get him “off the bus” which was an impossibility at this time but at least we got him moved “in the right seat.” We took a big leap in naming Hagi, our cook, who cannot read or write but has a heart and love for the people, as the new manager of HOM. And we gave Simon the keys to the shop-- full responsibility for the books despite his inability to red or write (yet)-- and even plan to buy him a mattress to sleep over during the week at the center, as he struggles to make the long bike ride from home. Allowing people to follow their dreams, even when it seems the “credentials” aren’t there is proving to move HOM along the road to self-sustainability (a key word in the mission field; really it is God-sustainability…)

2. Learn from the hedgehog: what allows the hedgehog to survive is that he knows something about one thing and he sticks to it -- sticking to your passion. There are huge needs in Sudan and everyone wants you to do something about their particular need. Fortunately my husband’s voice is always behind my ears when someone asks for money for this or that--“be a good businesswoman, Pat, and keep your eyes on your purpose - that is the reason people have entrusted you with their money.” HOM has to stick to its mission (Isaiah 35- bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the neediest, those disenfranchised through disability) and expand accordingly. So we can build buildings to teach children excluded from education by their disability; we can train women in human care to deliver that Good News to the needy; we can grow pumpkins and dry their seeds to counter intestinal parasites and build merry go rounds to pump clean water for the Center, but we can’t do everything. And saying no isn’t easy, but at the end of the day, I have to be true to those who send me, financially -- and the IRS…..

3. The Flywheel principal. There seems to be, finally, a “ball rolling” that is gaining momentum. It seems like you push and you push, relentlessly telling the story, until finally the momentum of that ball turning gains in speed and then begins t o “snowball.” And that seems to be happening with having Katelyn along-- her vision to work in Sudan that was kept alive when we got connected over fieldwork at the seminary-- her youthful enthusiasm a clear winner with the people of HOM-- and her ready spirit to be used of the Lord where He ordains. And hopefully Heath with his much needed mechanical skills and ready spirit will be part of that “ball rolling” in Sudan.

Well, there is more to the book-- and much that applies to anyone serving on a board of directors, or creating a dream into reality. I don’t have the need for HOM be “great” or even large, but it seems that the Lord is moving faster than I am, and showing me some small steps are bringing great dividends.

So I will end these reflections with some of my favorite pictures from the trip, and the “teaser” to watch for the next “reflection” this summer, starting with Katelyn in June for 3 months and myself and (hopefully Heath) to follow at the end . I will always be humbled at how the Lord is working through Hands of Mercy to extend the “one thing needful”(Luke10:42) -- God’s message of salvation through Jesus Christ for a hurting and needy world. May we all realize likewise that He is using our hands, right where we are, to extend that message. What a privilege and joy-- and adventure -- that is!

In Christ,
Pat

ps pictures are of Eunice with one of our sashes embellished with beads-- it was a project to use some disgarded sashes but they turned them "African" by creating head coverings. Eunice is also the one pictured arm and arm with me from the back as the closing picture on our dvd.

the 3 wraps are on the wall of our shop-- our effort at tie dying and recreating a lovely wrap I got at the Uganda airport last August. I doubt they will sell but will wrap our women of HOM who probably cannot part with them.

and walking back from the prison
and the last one is of our new little battery operated sewing machines and proud Sarah. might be too many pics but without Fritz here, I cannot resize the files....

In The Glass Castle book(thanks, Jen) I read while in Sudan, the insufferably positive mother chastises her daughter about wanting to nurture and baby a little seedling Joshua tree that grows crooked in the SW desert climate. She tells her daughter that by protecting and babying it she would be destroying what makes that tree special; it is in its struggle that the beauty of the tree is found. Rather profound, but not unusual, coming from this “dysfunctional,” homeless woman . But then remember she also replied when instructing her daughter that everyone needs a little compassion-- even Hitler loved dogs…..(the book is well worth reading, once you can get past the language).

So the Joshua tree struggling became a picture of some of the people of Hands of Mercy this trip -- struggling to find themselves competent in a world where through physical prowess daily food gets in your stomach. And polio stole most of that prowess of our people. So here is the “success” stories of two men: Simon becoming a “real” shopkeeper, and Angelo, the HOM photographer businessman.

You might remember Simon from this first picture I sent; Rick and I met Simon while walking on the main road 4 years ago; he had a small table and was selling 4 cigarettes, carefully laid out on that table. I told Simon that day about HOM just forming and he arrived-- and has come faithfully ever since. His dream he shared last August was to someday become a “real” shopkeeper. So when HOM built its permanent building including a shop, we named him over it.

Simon cannot read or write so bookkeeping has been a struggle. But of all the pictures I took this trip, I think I am most proud of this one-- of Simon manning a shop with real shelves (thanks to Heath), stocked with some of our American castoffs(like those $6 Goodwill suitcases that brought 540 pounds of materials to Sudan) but also the work of our hands in making crafts you will recognize in the picture too. Simon carries the key-- that opens the sturdy metal door(that cost an arm and a leg) as he struggles to even reach it from his position on the ground. But he is now a proud man, even sports a pair of our glasses and bought the cassette tape player we brought over to have music in the background of our/his shop…..Even if those books show we make only a few pounds a day, it will be well worth it to know Simon is a “real” shopkeeper now.

And then there is Angelo. You might also remember Angelo as the vibrant young man who walked upside down, due to his withered legs from polio, and Angelo was the recipient of our first new three wheel bike we purchased. And last August Angelo shared his dream of being the owner of a digital camera for our hopeful new business of photography.

So this trip carried a small photo printer, supplies and my digital camera that I replaced with a fancier one. But as I related earlier, we had a lot of problems getting the battery source to work and each day, Angelo would come and ask about his camera. Patience is never learned easily.

But the day finally arrived when we could successfully bring out all those promised goodies: Health got the job of demonstrating all that he had worked so hard to make work-- the battery source ran the photo printer, the camera could be recharged at the battery source, the battery source can be recharged by the solar panels --- and everyone said motionless, speechless, as Heath printed the picture he took of the group. And I took the picture of this scene happening! Everyone cheered and marveled and our new business was off and running. We even paid to have it advertised on the FM station Yambio now has!!

Well I think Angelo went through a whole pack of paper those first few days and I never did hear if he got paid the pound a picture ($.50) it should bring in; but seeing him bent over the little table (thanks, Heath, again) that houses our photo business, busy working on his pictures and realizing he has gifts and talents to share, makes it all worth the effort.

There is a child rearing philosophy that says: put a crown way above your child’s head and watch him grow into it. And I think that was exemplified by the change in these two men, who, deemed by society as “throw away” and useless, found a place of worth that was always there in God’s eyes.

It is such a privilege to watch God at work.

In Christ,
Pat

We are fine and preparing to go to Brazil next week for a month. We have General Convention of our church there.

We had Sunday School Teacher Training today. Finally we worked with the foams that you sent us two years ago, making the butterfly for Easter.

The box arrived very late in 2008, much after Easter... and last year we use the Easter wreath. The teachers cut the foam and let the butterfly more or less ready for the children to finish it with the pencils. See the pictures attached. Thank you again.

We are doing fine, with God's blessings. Thank you for your prayers and for your support. Have a blessed week end.

Good morning, once again.
There are so many stories to tell from this trip. I think Yambio and the people get “more colorful” each time, although it changes -- and I resist that a little.

Change happens -- nothing profound in that, but still we are surprised by change, like being surprised by disability or the various trials we fall into. And even in Yambio, where time stands stiller, change is happening. My time in Yambio used to be mainly walking the dirt paths visiting people with Ketura, praying, distributing those first aid kits using homemade sign language and pigeon English. Now Ketura, our one remaining deaconess, has gone into politics, becoming discouraged after Bishop Andrew died and her dreams of further study and advancement dying as well. This trip almost daily I met with government officials, arriving from the back of Joseph’s motorcycle, and presenting HOM in the form of proposals for 2 metric tons of food from the World Food Program. I used to spend long “no- fuel -for- the -generator”nights with my flashlight, reading adventuresome stories of Gladys Alyward in China or Mama Luka in Congo. Now we have these huge cast concrete poles, lining the two main improved roads, that tell electricity is coming to S Sudan! Change happens, and while I don’t deny them the “goodies” of progress, I am secretly happy I got to Sudan before television does.

But some things haven’t changed -- like the joy on the faces of widows when we can give them a lovely handmade quilt. We can only take over 4 or 5 quilts at a time but they are treasured items, given out on visitations to the oldest, or neediest one around. But this time with more people going we could take 8 quilts. And one of them had a little yellow sticker safety pinned to it with the word “Judy.” I remember it came from the Gethsemane church women down the street from the seminary. And it became a very special quilt this trip because of who it went to. I wanted to name this journal entry for Judy, the woman unknown to me, but very well known to the Lord who gave her the talent and the desire to serve others.

Gabriel, in the Bible is the angel that is pretty “flashy”-- he came to Daniel to interpret that critical vision; he came to Zechariah to tell him he would have a son, John the Baptist; he announced to Mary she would carry the Christ child. Pretty important stuff, but when this Gabriel came to Hands of Mercy, pictured below, we weren’t really looking for very much.

He arrived one morning, with one laceless shoe on one foot, carrying a stick with black strings on the end, bone thin, and with all his life possessions wrapped up in a dirty piece of red cloth. He presented himself, homeless, harmless and probably with some significant mental illness from the years of war or deprivation. No one seemed to know of a family, or a past but he was an endearing sight from the first. He wandered in -- and he wandered out for several days. Katelyn and I walked back to our rooms to get him a quilt-- an easy choice for one of the prized quilts. And we gave him some glasses, thinking he could sell or trade them for some food in the future. We gave him a baseball hat and later he wanted Katelyn’s sunglasses, so when he left that first time, he was pretty well equipped…..

Then he came back, days later, with that new quilt, now all dirty and even torn. He came in the hot afternnoon sun and stretched out the quilt under the tree we were sitting by. Meticulously he laid out all his possessions, unwrapping his head from the rags under the baseball cap to reveal a shaved head and an old wound. This was a time for one of those little bags of Tylenol. Then we decided we had left over lunch still sitting in the main house so Eunice got him a large plate of rice, lentils-- I can’t remember what all we left in the pots-- but I do remember he ate some with his fingers, like everyone does, and then scraped the rest into a plastic bag we had given him for his possessions.

While I watched this scene, my mind drifted to thoughts of how Christ will come again-- and still comes to us these days-- clothed in the precious wine and bread of Communion, or the Words of Scripture that just leap off the page at critical times of reading. But it struck me that in Gabriel, there that day, Christ had come, dirty, homeless, needy and how simply we were asked to give. The passage in Matthew of Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and in doing to the “least of these, you have done it unto Me” (Matthew 25) came into focus. I hope Gabriel, God’s messenger for Jesus that day, comes back next summer when we are there again.

The other quilt pictures reflect the joy several of the women of HOM had when they received quilts this time. We did give them to widows in two outlying villages, Baguga and Napandu , as we distributed glasses and first aid there, but with fewer walking visitations, we had 2 quilts in the end that found homes with our best crafting women of HOM.

There are many more stories, so I am not done yet, but for now, look around -- there might be a Gabriel messenger in disguise near you. Or a lovely quilt to share.

In Christ,
Pat

“ ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you home and a future.’” That was Carl’s graduation from Taylor University verse and guiding words all the way along his life.

But they were also guiding words for my journal entry of Feb22, when I reflected:
“flight went smoothly,
all 10 bags arrived,
Pascal was there to meet us…..could we have asked for a smoother return to Africa?”

And then a few days later another list:
“someone stole Banguade’s mattress,
Susan is 7 months pregnant,
the school is twice as expensive as planned for,
the church wants us to pay for…
Bullen wants support for his mother,
the special pot of ground nut paste disappeared after tea,
the sky is falling and Chicken Little is running around trying to hold up it up.
I feel like the need to put Humpty Dumpty together again-- except that is what the Lord is doing” end of journal entry

There were days when it seemed like everything was a problem, but I was struck this morning when reading over my journal that most entries at night began with the summary-- “what a high energy day.” Hands of Mercy moved along this trip perhaps more than most because of the extra people but also because financial backing allows for bigger dreams…..

I thought once we built the permanent building we could settle in, cozy with a secure metal roof over our heads and just “be there,” -- the people with disabilities and myself, retelling Bible stories, leaning to write our names, giving out bandaids and aspirin and old second hand glasses to all who came by.

But with my job stateside as fundraiser and dreamer for HOM, the borders are increasing. Thanks to several LWML grants accepted and paid out, plus 4 more in the works, combined with the faithful support of many congregations around the US, Hands of Mercy is now going into the business of…..
Growing and preserving pumpkins whose seeds will serve medicinal purposes against intestinal parasites
Using solar drying technology to preserve the huge local potential cash crop of mangoes
Using “kid power” to play on a merry go round that pumps water up to a storage tank for clean, accessible water
Training women for service in the church
Teaching English to the community
Building a parochial primary school with special needs classroom/teacher

Big dreams, lots of work, and another foundation and walls up this trip to show for it!!!

With Katelyn’s arrival into the work of Hands of Mercy also came the seed money for much of the above dreaming. Her church and some other Christians had hoped to build an orphanage in Sudan but when that did not come to fruition, they decided to back Hands of Mercy and Katelyn’s involvement. I smile, as I remember the day their check arrived: en route to the bank, I stopped by Rick’s office to show it to Nancy, his secretary and my long time supporter in this diaconal work. Out came a camera phone to take a picture- and out went that simple dream of stick -on jeweled crosses , pedaled in the Saturday market out of a blue bin off the back of an adapted three wheel bike…. Hands of Mercy was going to grow in directions I didn’t even imagine.

So this trip saw the beginning-- and half way completion of -- “permanent building number 2“: a two room structure that will house a classroom for special needs children and a meeting room for women-- a deaconess training center! The foundation was laid, the walls are up and we left enough money for the roof, windows and doors to be installed before Katelyn returns in June. Lord willing, that will be completed by the end of the summer and the foundation and walls for a primary school as well.

The picture below (hopefully ) is of 3 little typed proposals (no small feat in Yambio with limited technology), made to look official in reusing red paper folders from our song books. I spent much of my time pedaling these proposals through the proper government channels to gain the partnership we need to make them happen. UNICEF needs to agree to drilling a well at HOM for the Engineers with a Mission to come to build the play pump and solar dryers; the department of Agriculture needs to join in for a root cellar for pumpkin storage and the Lord will bless these plans --if it is HIS plan, not ours alone.

About half way through this trip I thought about the “prayer of Jabez:“ how it was popular to think the Lord would give us big dreams through praying his simple request in 1 Chronicles 4:10 (thanks, Katelyn, for being the tool when there is no Bible Gateway in Yambio…) -- to increase the borders. I never prayed that prayer, nor asked for larger “spheres of influence” but they are coming it seems.

I ended my journal on March 19,2010, with these words: “Last trip, deep inner anguish met my heart and drove me to embrace God in a broken and pliable way: ‘in brokenness He shines’ (Steve Green song). This trip, it was outward ‘success’ that drove my heart to embrace God in thankfulness for what He is doing through Hands of Mercy.”
May He do likewise in your service to others.

In Christ alone,
Pat

One of my favorite things in preparation to return to Sudan is in choosing the books I will read. I usually like to take missionary stories, except for the horror stories of Africa’s violent past. But before this trip I had exhausted my supply of adventure tales so I asked my sister for some good recommendations. Fortunately my sister knows and loves me well enough to know which of all the many books she reads that I would like. So purely on her recommendation, I packed two books that proved priceless in their weight: The Same Kind of Different Than Me by Denver Moore and Ron Hall and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The life lessons from these true stories are some I will always treasure-- and many I will refer to in these reflections.

Denver Moore, a homeless black man, tries hard not to be a friend to anyone, protecting himself from the hurts of love and loss growing up as a slave in the south. He tells of 2 kinds of people like two kinds of fishing experiences-- some people who go out to fish and “catch and release” the fish they catch and then poor people who go out fishing and eat what they catch.

Perhaps part of the growth of Hands of Mercy has been in proving which kind of people we are to those in Sudan. So I will introduce you to the three others that went this trip and, while I struggle not to be a CEO, it seems the Lord is telling me it is time to get “more people on the bus. And in the right seats.” Oh, I forgot to mention the book Good to Great in the Social Sector -- a MUST read for anyone involved in non profits, a book that has helped me refine Hands of Mercy in crucial ways. I will tell the great lessons from that book another time. But put it on your reading list as well.

Kris went with me a year ago; you might remember I wrote of her “love at almost first sight” reaction to the seminary students as well as the people with disabilities of HOM. A new missionary was born on that trip and she was determined to return. Fortunately her church is outward focused and committed to changing lives, some through mission work. So that little country church paid for two of its members to go this time, Kris being the returning one.

And Kris “found her stride” for sure this trip. She accompanied two of the sem students back to their hometown of Wau to see the plot of ground they hope to build a church on-- a long rough trip with the driver getting malaria, the truck leaking oil badly; but seeing Wau was for Kris like seeing the dove that confirmed God’s plan of His beloved Son Jesus. She now is in the business of being the Lord’s hands to build His church in Wau. S Sudan. My favorite picture of Kris is her holding Abu, one of two children with disabilities who keep me striving for that classroom for special needs in our Lutheran school.

The second member sent by that country church was Heath, also nicknamed Joshua because people in Sudan cannot pronounce a “th” and we smiled every time someone would say “Heassss.” Perhaps Joshua was more fitting due to his long hair and Jesus like appearance (according to our Sunday School images…) Heath proved invaluable to Hands of Mercy! While he got shocked and knocked to the ground in the shower in Kampala, he rebounded with an open love for “the children” of HOM, relentless energy and knowledge of anything mechanical and a Bible that was open at every free moment.

I have a knack for wanting HOM to develop simply and slowly; thus we continue to make crafts (that don’t sell locally because few have money to spend) and use simple means of energy like the two solar panels lugged over there 2 years ago. While the ideas are good, technical skills are not in my skill set, so some things work marginally well. This trip I brought a huge battery pack, again an alternative to buying a gas eating generator. It was to energize the photo printer for our new business adventure, plus recharge cell phones (not my idea of an appropriate business but seeing cell phones everywhere now in Yambio convinced me there is income in recharging…) and provide a free source of power.

So Heath had his work cut out for him once we arrived. I forgot that new devices need charging first and we burned up a few chargers with the sporadic current generated at night. The dvd player wouldn’t take a charge, the photo printer couldn’t run and that huge solution to the energy crisis (battery pack) just sat there day after day… Heath installed the cistern, sealed the gutters, built shelves in each of the HOM permanent building rooms, welded bicycles, created a universal charger out of the myriad of cell phone cords we brought-- and generally was a “fairy Godfather” who turned my every wish into reality.

Finally on the home stretch of our time there, he got the battery pack to take a full charge, then fixed it to recharge with the solar panels ; we initiated our new business adventure by demonstrating the photo process, printing a picture of the people of HOM, all wide eyed and speechless. Everyone clapped and hollered as they saw the picture of themselves come out of that photo printer. You would have thought we landed on the moon-- and in fact it seemed like we did, for all the tech problems successfully solved by Heath.

On one of our last long chats over yet another meal of white bread, beans, rice and wonderful ground nut paste (we secreted away in our room at night to insure we had it the next meal too), I asked Heath if he would pray about his future involvement in Sudan. He had a constant harem of young boys around him, eager to learn to use boy toys --and the church owns a welder that isn’t being used….

And then there was Katelyn. She will get her own “Sudan Reflection” but just so you know -- she is my daughter in the Lord. I could not have asked the Lord for a better fit for a woman to come to Hands of Mercy-- for the season of her two summer’s internship-- perhaps for longer. Everywhere we went, they asked if she was my daughter and finally we just smiled and no longer corrected them. She is the bright smile in most of my photos, the eager walker to be with the people, the soccer player with the children when we gave out balls-- and --comparing feet in the airport before leaving for Sudan, we both wore Chacos ( a kind of sandals). Katelyn is the “we” in most of my writings about HOM; little did I know the gift the Lord gave me when the seminary called to ask if I would supervise a student who wanted to go to Africa……

With this, the ninth return to Sudan, and with these precious souls, I think the Sudanese Christians know we are not “catch and release” kind of people. After all, Kris ordered plans to be drawn for the building of our own hut there….

A reminder to the list that Wednesday evening at 6 PM we will have a Lenten "Souper" hosted by the Sunday School Teachers followed by a Lenten Vesper service at 7 PM with Pastor Berkesch preaching.

Good morning, still too early to start the day, but it is getting better 4 am, instead of 3.…

Hands of Mercy 4 years ago took as its mission statement Isaiah 35:3-6,10: “Strengthen weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong, fear not. Behold your God will come…He will come to save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness and stream in the desert…And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be on their heads…and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

That is a prophecy of the Lord’s work; but humanly, it is the desire to be His hands of mercy to others in need in Sudan. So it was one night in my journal that I titled Saturday, Feb 27,2010 as the above title-- “real deaconesses poised to set the captives free.”; I told Katelyn --“this was a ‘real’ deaconess day.” This was the day we began our outreach to the local prison.

Last August Ketura (one of two remaining of the 4 local deaconesses I was consecrated with) and I walked miles and miles together making visitations out in the village. Every time,we walked by the local prison with its squatters huts and women cooking surrounding the large walled structure and I mused one day that we should go visit the prisoners. She agreed, but no one ever does that, from the church or seminary.

Back in the USA, some creative thinking brought together the “prisoner pack.” (pictured). I created a wordless gospel tract with colored papers to represent the pieces of God’s plan for salvation: Katelyn fleshed it out in a simple text and a gifted artistic deaconess student, Kim, carved out some picture stamps for the people of Hands of Mercy to create the tracts. A local youth group of Shepherd of the City put together the tracts, packed the zip lock bags with toothbrushes, scrubbies, aspirin, vitamins and we filled one of those suitcases with kits to give it a try. Little did we know what was in store for us in Sudan…..

One afternoon, Faishal, the prison director greeted us with some skepticism --until he saw we came bearing gifts. Bishop Andrew had schooled me in “proper protocol” here in Sudan meaning giving gifts to the big guys ; fortunately I had a stone cross (from Oriental Trading Company ) that we sell in our shop in my camera case. He, a Muslim, had 2 wives who were Christians and remarked that “we all get along- here in Sudan we are all the same” and he woud give the cross to them. When asked how many prisoners should we plan to speak to, the director rang this wonderful bicycle bell sitting on his desk and a guard came snapping to attention with the register book. Ninety three men, 7 women and 13 youth. Quite a few more than we had prisoner packs for but in Africa you get used to thinking creatively and making whatever you have work!!! We never throw out a zip lock bag, no matter how many uses it has had….

Many of the people with disabilities from Hands of Mercy wanted to go, so we all set out to walk the road. When the director saw we had “these” people with us, he initially balked at them accompanying us inside, so we went alone at first , praying silently that the Lord would open a way for them to come in too. And sure enough once we were inside the walls, settled to speak to the assembled huge group of prisoners under the tree, the large metal gate swung open and our people, prisoners of a different type in dysfunctional bodies, dragged themselves over the metal barriers and inside to a watching and shocked audience. Now we were complete- some white sweating and nervous Christians and our little band of black Sudanese people with disabilities.

We each took turns in explaining the colored pages-- purple cover for creation, black for sin, red for Jesus’ blood, blue for baptism, white for cleaned, green for growth and yellow for eternal life with Jesus. Then I told them were were all prisoners, like them, and like our people imprisoned in bodies that don’t work right but that we had known the freedom that God offers through Jesus. What a “magical moment” I cannot begin to express , as the words tumbled out of my mouth to this quiet and “captive” audience.

Then we distributed the packs to over 100 prisoners and promised to return. When those huge iron gates swung closed behind us, I knew God had begun a work in us, a deeper work than even for the prisoners we came to “set free.”

And we did come twice more. We returned to meet with the women and youth, distributed more packs (how the Lord grew those packs from 25 to over 100 is something I will always marvel at) and then to introduce the seminary students so they would go on their own each week hopefully. On our second visit, we met Samuel whom we thought was a guard who taught the youth but it turned out he was also a prisoner, a University trained teacher and wrongly accused he said of an incident with a knife and a woman. He entrusted us with a package, requesting we mail this in Amsterdam. With images of being a James Bond spy, we opened the envelope later to find a very professional report of his use of funds to buy a “tipper truck” whose rental income pays for a primary school’s upkeep.

Samuel gave us a tour of the bleak, barren buildings where the prisoners slept in close rows on straw mats on the ground. One prisoner had started growing orange trees in cut off plastic water bottles,; Katelyn bought many of them,to plant back at Hands of Mercy and the church compound. Then we went to “the jail” where prisoners are kept until sentenced and those with mental illness-- locked single rooms with only a small peep hole for light or ventilation. I walked up close to one to see a pair of dark eyes staring out of that hole and I put my hand up to touch him. Prisoners for whom Jesus came to set free.

Well, that began a new outreach of Hands of Mercy- not only providing our kits of hygiene and Good News but also hopefully in the future allowing people with disabilities to share themselves how the Lord has set them free, while still in the prison of their bodies. Maybe a dozen little orange trees will ring our permanent buildings, reminding all that faith like the mustard tree seed not only moves mountains but, in fact, sets captives free.

Sudan Reflections 9 little by little, progress is made

A hot cup of tea, darkness and quiet outside and seeing the clock at 3 am, wide awake and full of renewed energy, I begin to unravel the stories, setbacks and successes of this, my 9th return to Sudan for Hands of Mercy. Each trip brings into crystal clear focus for me that these are the Lord’s Hands and He has a plan for each trip-- sometimes very different from mine. Taking 540 pounds of supplies all the way into Sudan is no small feat of organization, planning and financial support, but it is also a humbling lesson that many times God’s ways are not our ways and we learn to be still and know He is in control.

This trip was very unlike the last in August. A quick answer to that “how was your tip” question would find me saying-- “it was a total success in moving Hands of Mercy forward.” Many of you remember last summer’s response would have been that that trip was the deepest personal struggle and anguish I had experienced in my life-- and perhaps some of the greatest spiritually maturing fires as well. The Lord used deep brokenness to create His handiwork and to teach me only Jesus will give your soul peace. But this tip was vastly different,; so if you read no more than this first Reflection, you will know that the Lord has blessed beyond words the hands of your work, the faithful support of this mission and the 4 little American Christians who went.

This trip was a lesson in “little by little, precept upon precept” He is building His Hands of Mercy. So I will start at the beginning-- the Uganda piece and the face of Jesus in Simon Peter.

While not technically part of the original plan of HOM, there are some people in Kampala who are supported and touched by our work, increasingly so. The pictures included are of Simon Peter, the young man I first met in “Kirecho school for the Handicapped.” You will remember him by the saga of getting a wheelchair to Uganda and finding a place for a left footed painter and the cards he stenciled and I pedal when I speak. Each time the sale of those cards has brought him personal support, as well as paid twice for his hospitalization and near death from malaria. You can’t forget Simon Peter’s smile, reminding us that locked inside the dysfunctional body of cerebral palsy is a man with God given gifts and talents to share. Simon Peter wears the face of Jesus (to me), as do so many of the people we deem “disabled.”

Over the course of a year, I have been trying to get Simon Peter into the “Foot and Mouth Painters Association International. This would mean a monthly stipend for him to support developing his art talent. With the only voluntary use of his left foot, the horizons are a bit limited in Uganda-- so we settled on “artist” as his vocation. We bring him more art supplies, a few new- used “professional clothes,” money from the sale of his cards, and mostly hope.

But this time, I had to bring him the results of the Association’s decision (at this time) not to accept him. And in the same breath, we’ll just try again next year. Submitting art work to Lichenstein, their international headquarters, is no small feat.

But then, at the end of our 3 weeks we were again in Kampala, this time for some R&R, and hot showers before the long reentry to the states. And at te the local craft market, we saw that renewed “hope” we were bringing to Simon Peter. There is a local artist by the name of Nyanzi who has made it quite successfully with his fabric art work-- painting on wet cotton cloth with paint that makes an impressionistic style blend of design and color. Clearly I could envision Simon Peter doing the same with his brush secured in his left foot. His sister could outline the forms and he could fill in the design or shapes with paint and water to create his unique art work.

Thanks to the internet, I have traced Nyanzi to his stall in the National Theater of Arts and Crafts so we will see where this all leads-- perhaps to him working with Simon Peter to create his own artistic style!! But at least for now, next trip, we will bring more cotton canvas and paint and fresh hope for his entrance into the Foot and Mouth Painters International…..

Our last day in Uganda, after several much sought after hot showers, we walked the streets near the guesthouse to visit. We had no glasses to give, nor quilts or first aid to distribute but we just were three “muzingas” --Luganda for white faces that were a novelty to the many children we met. We heard one sad tale after another of no school fees for the many children just hanging around, no books or uniforms for the small one room shelter school a boy took us to, no parents left to care for large extended families. Not that we get numb to these needs but you learn you can only do so much in the huge sea of needs..

So Harriet (pictured with her mom) is our new little prayer need in Kampala-- a darling little girl who was just sitting outside her home while everyone else was busy. Harriet, like Simon Peter, is locked in a body that does not allow for much voluntary movement or communication but her eyes met ours and her need became ours. A brother and sister emerged from our interest in her and contact information exchanged-- and we will let the Lord guide us from there.

Our trip began and ended with the Lord singling out some of His people, whose weariness and needs we now carry in our hearts. This trip saw so much “progress” for Hands of Mercy but it always comes as Isaiah foreshadowed “here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept.” (Isaiah 28:13, thank you, Katelyn, my deaconess student sidekick). We had many precepts to learn- but that is what makes following Jesus such an adventure. If we knew the whole story at once, where would be the fun of reading. And yes, there were some great books I read on this trip, but I will save those lessons for another time.

Many thanks for your prayers, your continued support of Hands of Mercy and most of all for being the part of Christ’s body that connects us, little by little, to His wondrous plan of salvation.

In Christ,
Pat

10-0 Martin H. Luepke retired Fire Chief for the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana

CLEAR LAKE, INDIANA---Martin H. Luepke, 94, of Clear Lake near Fremont was called to his eternal glory Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at Hope Hospice in Fort Myers, Fla.

Martin was born February 6, 1916, in Uniontown, Missouri, one of five children born to Louis and Magdalena (Hueschen) Luepke. Martin became a child of God through the waters of Holy Baptism.

Martin married the love of his life Marceal Pauline (Gerke) on June 22, 1940, in Fort Wayne, Ind., and their marriage was blessed with two children, Janice and Donald.

He was a retired career firefighter and proudly served as Fire Chief of the Fort Wayne Fire Department until his retirement in 1967. He and his wife, Marceal, then built their dream home at Clear lake, Fremont, Indiana.

He then continued his life of service as Safety Director at Dana Corporation, Fort Wayne, for 11 years.

In the earlier years, the Luepke family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Martin spent his youth and adult life in Fort Wayne, retiring to Clear Lake (Fremont). Martin graduated from Concordia Lutheran Grade School and South Side High School.

Martin enjoyed traveling, fishing, holiday cookouts at the lakefront and taking his grandchildren for tractor rides and ice cream. He toiled endlessly in the vegetable garden and became quite proficient at wine-making.

He continued to serve his community as Town Board chairman, and was a member of the Peace Lutheran Church, Fremont, Indiana, and served the church on just about every board and committee available. Martin and Marceal enjoyed their winters in Fort Myers, Florida, and Martin was able to make one last trip this past winter.

Surviving are his wife, Marceal P. Luepke of Clear Lake, Fremont; a daughter, Janice and Tom Nowakowski of Troy, Mich.; a son, Donald and Ellen Luepke of Clear Lake, Fremont; four grandchildren, Leanne, Matthew, Rebecca and Nathan; six great-grandchildren, Parick, Miranda, Jessie, Daniel, James and Danielle; five stepgrandchildren, Brian, Amy, Joseph, Kathryn and Coleen; 11 stepgreat-grandchildren; a sister, Helen Iben of Portland, Ore.; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, Timothy Shough; two brothers; and one sister.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, March 15, 2010, at Peace Lutheran Church, 355 E. S.R. 120, Fremont, with the Rev. Wayne Berkesch officiating. The Fort Wayne Firefighters Union will provide full fire department honor guards and committal services.

Burial will be in Clear Lake Lutheran Cemetery at Fremont.

Visitation will be from 2-6 p.m Sunday, March 14, 2010, at Beams Funeral Home in Fremont, and one hour prior to services Monday at the church.

Memorials are to Peace Lutheran Church, Concordia Luheran High School or Worship-for-Shut-Ins.

Kristin Heierman is selling pies as a fundraiser for her trip to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering. There are several different kinds available at a cost of $9.00 each. Sign up at church or call Kristin at 260-665-9166.

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent..

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the firey sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday'.

We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

Wars … earthquakes … poverty … illness … crime … lay-offs …

Each day’s headlines turn our attention to a world in dire need. Yet as real and pressing as these issues are, we know there is no need more urgent than that of bringing Christ into the lives of people in darkness.

Thus, with no small sense of urgency, we write to you today on behalf of the mission-sending arm of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. CLICK HERE to download a PDF article that tells of the pressing need for our presence throughout the world, which is the reason we’re writing for your help now. Please read it. Share it with friends, family, and your congregation. And please, respond in faith.

Last year, at a time of grave economic hardships across the country, the Holy Spirit blessed this appeal and touched the hearts of many. For those who gave, we know it was a sacrifice of greater proportions than ever before. Gifts from that appeal — totaling more than $550,000 — were put to work planting churches, training national missionaries, and multiplying our Gospel-sharing ministries across the globe.

Of that total, an unprecedented $100,000 was given in offerings by this Board, our staff members, and the missionaries themselves. This year, we are no less committed. We will endeavor, by the Spirit, to raise the same amount this year.

Please prayerfully consider joining us by making a gift today. Whether you can send something great or small is of little consequence. For it is our good and gracious God alone who recognizes the love and faith with which you offer up your gift.

Know of our deepest gratitude “because of your partnership in the Gospel, from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:5).

Hospice services have begun for Meg. Prayers for both her and Bob would be appreciated.

February marks the transition from Epiphany to the Lent Season, from the Glory to the Cross. Ups and downs in the life of our Savior; ups and downs in our life as well. Sometimes we are not prepared for the “downs”. Looking at Jesus and how He appeared to the women and to the disciples on Easter Sunday after the long Lent journey, we find strength and hope as we walk “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). He goes in front of us, removing obstacles and showing us the way; and finally He opens the door of His Father’s home. Let us be comforted by the resurrected Jesus as we follow His hard and difficult path during the Lent Season. He is our HOPE!

A new BLOG is ready. Read about SEVERAL ACTIVITIES (S): UHLC + ELCK Activities; Heart to Heart Orphans Children Center (HHOCC) + The Conquerors and the mission they are doing; the visit of our children Paulo & Flávia.

I went to a Maasai Market with my family: our last born son was visiting us with his wife. I picked a nice batik (African painting) that I liked and I asked the price: $$$… “TOO EXPENSIVE!” was my reaction. “I’m resident; make a better price!” – “O.K.”, said the street vendor; and he reduced the price - “I know the price; you can sell it for less… I’m a missionary.” – “O.K., I will make a missionary price;” and he reduced it more. – “But I want to buy it for my son; make a missionary kid price…” – “O.K.” – he said; “ for a missionary kid the price is…” - After half an hour of bargaining and arguing, I bought the batik for less than half of the original price… – What do you call this? Exploration? Corruption? Cheating?… just because I’m a ‘misungu’ (white person)? - Kenya is well known for corruption… and 85% of the people say that they are Christians! The Law and the Gospel have a BIG role to play in the hearts of the Kenyans as in all of us. God is gracious and the Christian Churches have freedom to preach the Word in Kenya. Pray that the Holy Spirit give strength to the Word of Christ!

• Praise the LORD that the visit of our son Paulo (29) and his wife Flávia was blessed with good health, protection and lots of happiness! They stayed for 18 days with us and for 10 days with our son Léo (36) and Carol in Germany. Everything was gorgeous! Paulo and Flávia are safely back to their home in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

• Praise the Lord for the ongoing Orphans Feeding Program. 35 children come during the lunch break at noon for lunch, receive a plate of food, and go back to their schools in Kawangware. The sponsors are faithful in their donations to this program. Would you like to be a sponsor as well?

• Praise the Lord for the friends and congregations in Brazil and in the USA who are sending their donations to God’s Mission in Kenya through the LCMS World Mission office in St. Louis, MO, and through the Mission Central in Mapleton, IA.

• Pray for the 60th General Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil (IELB), from April 21 st to 25 th 2010. Lídia and I are planning to be there. I was invited to present a paper on the Mission opportunities in a Trans-cultural Context.

Have always some tracts with you! – The safari we took with our children was a good opportunity to share the Gospel: Every tip you give, give it with a tract: To the driver, to the guide, to the waiter, to the hotel helper when he carries your luggage…. Luther’s Small Catechism in Swahili is my favorite: it’s a nice edition, pocket size… On reading it, people can be guide to Christ or be reoriented in their faith.

ANGOLA, INDIANA---Joe Armstrong is a likable young man. He doesn’t come on too strong, but he doesn’t shy away.

While he’s only a freshman at Angola High School, Armstrong has been through the social ropes, having traveled with People to People to Ireland and the British Isles and recently attending the National Young Leaders Youth Conference in Indianapolis.

The traveling conference is described as “a unique, life-changing experience specifically geared toward eighth and ninth grade students readying for this critical phase in their life.” NYLSC attempts to instill conviction and confidence, help students grasp the concepts of leadership and to strive toward making a difference in their communities. Trained facilitators and peer assistance are used in leadership activities.

Armstrong spent four days with 73 eighth- and ninth-graders from throughout the region at the Sheraton hotel in Indianapolis. They went to seminars and learned together ways to strengthen their leadership skills.

“We worked on a 30-second speech,” said Armstrong. His topic was on whether schools should provide soda machines for students. He argued that students should have the choice to buy pop during the school day.

Armstrong, nominated for the conference by an eighth-grade teacher, stayed with a roommate from the South Bend area.

He said he learned a lot about getting along with others, using skills he learned with People to People in meeting and interacting with other students during the Young Leaders conference.

Armstrong is also involved in basketball and football, and helps with the family business, Armstrong Heating and Cooling. He has served as a page for Sen. Bob Meeks, which he said was “really fun.”

While it is early for him to consider his future career, Armstrong may consider politics.

A reminder that this is Ash Wednesday and we will have a soup supper at the church this evening at 6 PM followed by a service of ashes and communion at 7 PM?

GOSHEN, INDIANA---Although former Goshen teacher and athletic director Dorcas Stegelmann has been retired for 10 years, she still keeps track of the academic and athletic accomplishments of her nine grandchildren through the use of her computer.

Her family includes Murray, who has his own financial business, and his wife, Dawn, who live in Darien, Conn., and have three sons.

Their sons are Kurt, a junior at Indiana Tech; Grant, a freshman at Yale and member of the crew team; and Seth, a high school junior attending Deerfield Academy in Massachussets.

Stegelmann’s son, Bodie and his wife Julie, also have three sons. Bodie is a Goshen attorney and Julie, who like sister-in-law Dawn, recently received a divinity degree and has a counselling business.

Their sons are Nathan, a sophomore at Valparaiso University; Andrew, a senior at Goshen; and Sam, a freshman. Nathan and Sam play basketball and Andrew just competed in the wrestling regional and is headed to the semi-state.

Stegelmann’s daughter, Sonja, and her husband, Jim Drews, live in Hillsdale, Mich., with their three children. Sonja is on the staff at Hillsdale College and Jim runs a real estate business. Their children are Mary Kate, a sixth-grader; Bryce, fourth grade, and William, second grade.

“They are such a joy,” Dorcas says of her grandchildren. “Parenting is work and there is joy in the work. But grandparenting is a joy.”

She said that during the summer months she stays at a lake house at Lake Gage in Steuben County and enjoys spending time with grandchildren. Murray also has a lake home there, she said.

“The boys are old enough to drive and they bring their friends,” she said of the summer outings.

For the past 10 years or so she has spent winters in Florida. In the wintertime the young people are busy with school, sports and their activities, so she visits them, rather than insist the families visit her in Florida.

Raised near LaGrange

Dorcas grew up in rural LaGrange, with her mother from Emma and her father from south of LaGrange.

Her mother attended Manchester College and then returned in 1931 to teach at the newly built Honeyville School. She taught five years until Dorcas was born.

Dorcas graduated from LaGrange in 1956 and went to Anderson College, where she played basketball.

While growing up, Dorcas said, her father put a basketball backboard on a walnut tree behind the garage and she played the game with her brothers.

“I started when there was no opportunity for girls,” she said. “Girls played sports after school, if the boys didn’t need the gym.”

When she got to college, it was difficult to play the game by the “girls rules” after the experience with her brothers, she said.

“I fouled out of every game my freshman year,” she said. “It was hardly basketball.”

Girls rules called for six on a team, three forwards and three guards playing on one-half court. Only the forwards shot the ball. Players were allowed three dribbles before passing. Defense players could not go for the ball unless it was being dribbled.

Anderson played other Indiana schools, including Manchester, Taylor, Earlham, Hanover and Goshen, Dorcas explained.

She also played tennis and softball at Anderson. Just last fall Dorcas was inducted into the Anderson sports hall of fame.

“After 50 years, it was a thrill to have a fellow athlete remember me,” she said of the nomination.

She began her teaching career at the Orland School, hired by the township trustee, Pappy Graham. He ran the school, she said, and hired all the teachers.

She then taught three years at Hamilton, where there were no girls sports. She next went to Angola where she helped start elementary physical education. She was the part-time teacher and Janet Graham was the full-time teacher.

“It worked out really well,” she said, as the Stegelmanns were beginning their family.

The next move was to Warsaw, where she worked five years in physical education at Washington and McKinley elementary schools.

After a move to Monticello, she worked four years at the middle school there.

The last move was in 1976 to Goshen, when Sonja entered the first grade.

“I said that was our last move,” Dorcas declared. “She could graduate from Goshen.”

While teaching Dorcas was involved in coaching too. She explained that in 1961-65 there were no referees, so coaches had to referee girls games. And they had to obtain permission from the IHSAA prior to each game.

At Warsaw, girls had been playing for several years and they had elementary girls basketball when Dorcas taught there.

But when she moved to Monticello, she changed girls sports in that system.

Monticello didn’t even play basketball in P.E., she said, but the superintendent wanted to start a high school program and she did so.

The Monticello girls played some big regional teams, like Lafayette Jefferson, who had experience.

“But we did end up winning a game in January (of their first year),” Dorcas said. “I had a good assistant.”

Then to start a building program at Monticello, eight teachers volunteered to work with middle school girls before school began in the mornings.

“Four years after we started, they were in the final four of the state tournament,” she said. “It’s been a good program since.”

In the mid-1970s in Goshen, she taught physical education and health with Ray Streit and coached volleyball and basketball. She soon became athletic director for Towncrest Junior High School.

She pointed out that when Title IX was passed, mandating equal opportunity in sports, the legislation made a big difference in girls sports.

“I have lived in the best of all times in girls athletics,” she said. “Our middle school girls didn’t have to feel any less than the boys.”

Merging junior highs

As Goshen built the new middle school, officials planned for two years to merge the athletic departments of the junior highs. Darrell Johnson was Towncrest principal and Cara Lee McCann was at Whiteman.

Dorcas worked two years at both junior highs working to dovetail the programs.

“We met with the varsity coaches and agreed to keep as many kids involved as possible” in basketball, volleyball, football and wrestling, she said.

With the start of a new school, the new sports teams needed uniforms, but there was no money in the budget. A local Kiwanis club helped with that problem, she explained, and she considered that project one of the biggest things in her career.

“R.T. Snyder came to see me and asked ‘How can the Kiwanis help?’” she said.

“I said we need new uniforms for all the middle school teams, but that is going to cost $30,000,” she answered.

She explained that Snyder began speaking to other local organizations to make the community aware of the need and the Kiwanis club raised $25,000.

With money in hand, the school officials had a vendor meeting at the school and took bids for the uniforms. The cost came down and all athletic teams had new uniforms.

“I will be eternally grateful to the Kiwanis and to Terry Snyder,” she said. “They were beautiful uniforms.”

Dorcas moved to Goshen High School in 1995 and served as high school athletic director until her retirement in 2000.

Through the years, Dorcas was active in Camp Fire Girls and Cub Scouts. She was a Heart Association volunteer and served on the Salvation Army board.

“I was involved in politics,” she said, and served a time on the Goshen Plan Commission.

She was active at Trinity Lutheran Church and was congregational chair the year Pastor Thomas Herbon retired.

She was a sports referee and was a presenter several times at the Indiana Athletic Administrators conventions.

Plan to stay after services this Sunday for a brief voter's meeting followed by the 12th annual "Honey Ham for your Honey" brunch/dinner served by the ALPHA group (Jared Eichler and Mason Thomas and their families). Come by yourself or bring your valentine. A free will offering will be received to help fund ALPHA retreats.

Each of the past 8 return trips to Sudan have generated an email titled "what will ---pounds of materials do in Sudan?" And then the follow up reflections tell the stories of the impact of your kits, materials and and contributions have done for people with disabilities and the church in S. Sudan. This, my ninth, return would be no different, except that.....

You might remember last August I returned with $10,000 of Indiana Lutheran women's mites to build a permanent building-- and we did! And this trip the Lord has blessed Hands of Mercy with the financial backing of Tennessee Lutherans and Texas district Lutheran women, plus others to the total of $20,000. And this will be building a small Lutheran primary school with special needs classroom and women's center for deaconess training, as well as launch our literacy program for the community. Plus financial aid to the seminary students from a church in Illinois.

All this is to say, the Lord has blessed Hands of Mercy beyond my wildest imagination and has allowed the local Lutheran church to reach out not only to people with disabilities but to its own congregation, seminary students and village people with the tangible love of Christians in the US.

So we leave on Feb 20 -- the "we" meaning: Katelyn, a CTS deaconess student, two members from Zion Corunna(Kris, who went last February is now a distance learning deaconess student herself and Heath, our mechanic/male asset) and myself. If all goes as hoped, Katelyn will serve her internship with Hands of Mercy in Sudan the following two summers.

And what goes with us? Ten Goodwill suitcases, 50 pounds each, filled with 63 first aid kits, more than 400 pair of glasses, 80 pillowcase dress kits, 24 vbs kits, 15 filled backpacks for seminary students ready to go out on vicarage assignments-- filled with their own electronic Bible, their first clerical shirts, Sunday school posters and materials, then--quilts, craft materials for new projects to sell both there and back here, photo printing and camera equip to launch a new "skill" for people with disabilities there, and whatever else we can get in under that weight!!!

and the trial run of a new kit-- "Good News to the Prisoners" using deaconesses and the people with disabilities to reach people in the local prison nearby, supplying basic hygiene and a wordless gospel tract we are developing.

WOW-- each trip packs in a huge amount of supplies-- and the hopes and plans that have been cooking in the 6 months in between these trips.

We leave, trusting in the Lord's protection and guidance--- and the prayers of our sisters and brothers in Christ here, whose love we carry with us in those 500 pounds to those in need in Sudan. On behalf of those whose voices you know through their pictures and stories, we thank the Lord, for your partnership and His grace that has made Hands of Mercy your hands in the Body of Christ. Until mid March,we remain

PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA---Leslie Edwin Pepe, 95, of Paradise Valley died Tuesday, Feb, 2, 2010, in Paradise Valley.

Mr. Pepe had been employed at International Harvester in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Chandler, Ariz., for more than 40 years.

He was born in New Haven, Ind. on Sept. 10, 1914, to Amiel Pepe and Laura Lomont. He married Blanche Shoenle in 1939. She died in 1978. He then married Jane Brown in 1980 in Indiana. She died in 2009.

Surviving are five children, Arlene Boyer (Richard) of Scottsdale, Ariz., Janice Morell (Harmon) of Sun City, Ariz., Dennis Pepe (Penny) of Carlsbad, Calif., Larry Pepe (Joan) of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Thomas Pepe; 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 11300 N. 64th St., Scottsdale. A private burial will take place at a later date at the Valley of the Sun Cemetery in Chandler, Ariz.

Memorials are to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, Attn: Development - W, 2831 N. 31st Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85009.

This Sunday, February 7^th, before and after the service, the CLLC youth will be standing in the narthex with their soup pots looking for donations to Souper Bowl of Caring. All proceeds will go to Project Help. CLLC monthly mission money will also be added to the collection. Hopefully the funds will be matched by Thrivent.

You do have a choice to make - to vote for the team you think will win the Super Bowl. There will be 2 pots. One marked New Orleans Saints and the other, Indianapolis Colts. Please place your donation in the pot for the team you will be rooting for J

Checks should be made out to CLLC and earmarked Project Help or Souper Bowl of Caring.

All youth (and the young at heart) are encouraged to wear their favorite NFL team shirt.

11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Luke 3:11

The first month of a new year has gone. And so our life goes too… But as long as God gives us breath and health, let’s do HIS work of sharing the Good News with all!

THANK YOU for your donation to God’s Mission in Kenya ($ 1,500.00). We just received the LCMS World Mission/ December Report. It’s so good to know that our friends are supporting our ministry with their prayers and offerings. God bless you!

The January Mission Newsletter was sent on last Sunday with some news about our work. A new BLOG was also posted last week with a report about SEVERAL ACTIVITIES: http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ Please, share this address in your Bulletin, so that the members of the church can follow God’s blessings upon our work. I hope you have received it through e-mail.

As I was praying for you last week, I asked God to give me the opportunity to visit with you in the future. I'm so sorry that our plans to visit with you in 2008 didn't happen... But God has His plans...

We are happy that our son Paulo (29) and his wife Flávia are coming to visit with us tomorrow. They will stay for 18 days with us.

Lídia and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary on January 13^th. It seems to be a long time ago… but it’s always in our remembrance as if it had happened yesterday. It’s a blessing to have been together for all this time, to love each other, to give support to each other in good and in sad times, and to be together in God’s mission in

Kenya

We miss our children being so far from them, but all the three of them are married and happy too. Now it’s our time to be more together than never.

It’s good for all the couples to think about that the children are not ours; they will follow their own paths – but they will never lose the link with their parents – a link of love, of respect and partnership – even living far. So, husband and wife need to be aware and prepare themselves to live by themselves again, as it was at the beginning of the relationship.

To be pastor in an International Congregation as Uhuru Highway Lutheran Cathedral has some advantages and some disadvantages. You have some members who are really faithful members, coming to the services every Sunday and taking part in the normal church’s activities as in a regular congregation. But you have many people coming to the services just one time – they are in transit, just visiting the city or the country as tourist or as business people; and this is an exciting experience too! One Sunday in January we had a couple from Australia, and the other Sunday a family from

Iceland

. And so, many other nationalities are passing through our church every Sunday. It reminds me of the first Pentecost, when people from all around the known word of that time were in Jerusalem; and when they went back to their home country, the wind of the Spirit went with them and the Gospel was spread all around the world! I never know to where God’s message preached at Uhuru Highway will be taken in the heart of the people who are attending the Service! – My prayer is that the wind of the Spirit shall blow strong through our ministry, so that many more will hear the Gospel, believe in Jesus and be strengthened in their faith!

Our last born son Paulo (29) and his wife Flávia are coming to

Kenya

to visit with us from January 28^th to February 15^th. They got married in September 2008. Paulo was here with his brother Léo for two weeks in March 2007, but for Flávia it’s the first time to come to Africa. May God bless their trip and their “safari” in

Kenya

A new BLOG is ready about SEVERAL ACTIVITIES ® , with a report and pictures of the CONFIRMATION, CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR. Please, click on http://pastorwinterle.blogspot.com/ and rejoice with us on God’s blessings upon our work.

· Praise the LORD for the new people coming to the church and pray that the Holy Spirit may work in their hearts to become faithful Christians.

· Praise the Lord that Eunice (Kuki), Lidia’s sister, is back home since Christmas, after 73 days spent in hospital. She is still on treatment and will now begin with radiotherapy.

· Pray for Heart to Heart Orphans Children Center - HHOCC, that the children, homeless boys and the HIV/AIDS infected and affected families supported by HHOCC may have enough support this year. Would you like to be a sponsor?

· Pray for Mrs. Caroline Koschmann, Mr. Norbert Koschmann’s wife. She suffered a stroke and is receiving daily treatment. Mr. Koschmann is the founder of the Brazil Mission Society with Dr. William Thompson and a great friend of ours.

· Pray for God’s plan for us for this year. Our second term in

Kenya

finishes at the end of 2010 and we are receiving some consultations about a new appointment.

· Pray for Paulo and Flávia as they are traveling to visit Léo and Carol in Germany and us in

Kenya

· Pray for all our family. The loss of our oldest grandson Martin (14 years old) is still fresh in our memory and it’s hard to believe that we will see him only in heaven. Our hearts are hurting…

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You can help our mission. Pray for us and help us to reach our financial goal. Send your donation to the following addresses:

Mailing address: (Please, don’t send checks to this address; just cards or letters):

We just received word that Ken and Winnie Tonne safely arrived in Florida earlier this week. Unfortunately, in the days following ,Winnie fell and a broke a facial bone. The doctor decided not to perform surgery. Please keep Winnie and Ken in your prayers.

On Sunday February 7^th, 140 million Americans will tune in to the Super Bowl football game. There will be parties with abundant food, friendship and fellowship. At the same time, there will be people worrying about staying warm, finding shelter and a warm meal. Please join young people around the country as they demonstrate God’s love by loving their neighbors through the Souper Bowl of Caring. It’s a simple, yet significant act of caring for others. Drop $1 (or more) in the soup pot as you leave worship on February 7^th. Those who need help may not know that you cared, but God will. And our young people are developing hearts for giving that can last a lifetime. Please support their efforts.

It all began in 1990, a Super Bowl Sunday prayer inspired a group of young people to do something more than celebrate a football game. They created the Souper Bowl of Caring, and have mobilized youth across the country to raise more than $60 million for people in need. All money raised goes locally to Project Help.

A reminder that we have a "Movie and Pizza" night scheduled at the church this evening, January 08, 2010,at 6 PM. We will be showing the movie "Up" described as the best animated feature of 2010. Those planning to attend should call the church ASAP so we will have enough pizza.

Karen Sue Hughes