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Friday, February 26, 2010A Concert for Haiti
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Saturday, January 16, 2010Haitian Relief Fund - Your gifts will make a world of difference
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This note comes to us from our Associate Conference Minister for the Eastern Association of the Iowa Conference, and speaks to our desperate need to offer SOMETHING in the face of the disaster in |
| Some years ago, on a busy Sunday, I misplaced my paycheck. After worship, one of the fathers of our congregation greeted me with an outstretched hand. "Looking for this?" It was the missing check. "Your kid put it in the plate." When I asked three-year-old Noah about it, he answered with a patient sigh, "Jonna, I HAVE to have OFFERING." Amen. When we worship God, we offer gifts. I write to you on the morning after the earthquake in Haiti. My beloved, we have to have offering. Please write a check to your congregation today, directed for One Great Hour of Sharing - Haiti. If there are children in your home, help them to make an offering alongside yours. Don't worry that your check is too small. In the face of overwhelming need, checks for $1.00 or $5.00 can feel barely worth writing. They are absolutely worth writing today. |
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Yours in Christ's love, Jonna Jensen |
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Friday, October 30, 2009Answering the Call
Whether it is an Indian reservation in Green Grass, South Dakota, or the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, or the back yard in Davenport, Iowa, Edwards "missionaries" answer the call.
When parishioner Richard Jirus was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, he needed help. His home is in an older section of Davenport, full of old growth Sycamore trees and Oaks, and with the trees, many many, MANY,leaves.
A crew of eight showed up early one morning and tackled the job. They raked, cleaned rain gutters, and filled more then forty bags with yard debris, and hauled it all away. They even replaced a roof shingle that had been damaged in the recent storm, and replaced an electrical outlet that had shorted. These pictures show the work in progress, and sometimes, the rewards given for a job well done
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Monday, October 05, 2009Mission - Day Seven
Dick's Blog:
We've done what we could in the time we had available to us.
The group as a whole developed new friendships with others that at first weren't very well known. The group cleaned, packed, and loaded cars as friends of Back Bay Mission poured into the Mission grounds for the dedication of the new mission building we lived in for the past week.
There was a shared sense of accomplishment, a heightened sense of need for people to share time, talents, and money with others in need of what we have to offer. There was also a shared sense of gratitude that a place like Back Bay Mission enables us to do what we've spent the week doing.
The Mission sees to the day-to-day needs of the people in this community in many ways that we don't experience in our short week's stay -- a community kitchen, a food pantry, job counseling, development of affordable housing --, in short, if a need exists for improving the lives of the needy people in this community, the mission is hard at work finding ways to fill that need.
Our week's effort is just one small part of the ongoing, day-to-day care provided by these dedicated people. We leave, filled with memories that will stick with us for our lifetimes.
Everyone is enriched by what we perceive as God's call to us to do God's work here on earth. 
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Friday, October 02, 2009Mission - Day Six
Jesse's Blog:
What a remarkable week this has been.  |
It is my first experience going with a group to take part in a week-long mission experience. A sizable amount of my time has been spent as an observer. Every day I have been impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication shown by the individuals in our group. Rising early in the morning, going off to the job, and several evenings staying late to finish their work, their enthusiasm has not waned. As one of our group commented, after returning each evening they all laugh at experiences and situations that would probably not seem funny if they were home. |
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It is a special time. We are feeling a very strong sense of community. I am certain we will carry home with us an appreciation for the need we see all around us; the poverty, the wasted homes, the empty lots, and the homeless. We are impressed that our UCC church has been at work in this community, even long before Katrina became such a large factor in the lives of the people here. And they intend to stay! Today a dedication cerelmony was held for the latest new building here at the Back Bay Mission, a building replacing one destroyed by Katrina. |
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Each evening we are led by Lyle in a short worship service where he asks us all to speak about our "highs" and "lows" of the day. The fact that the "highs" outnumber the "lows" speaks well of our experiences in Biloxi. |
Tomorrow morning we leave for home Posted By: Media @ 8:29:55 PM
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Friday, October 02, 2009Mission - Day Five
Blog according to Keith:
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One day after hump day all is well with the Biloxi crew. Our roofing crew of Tom, Keith, Dick, Ron and Lyle is making good progress on the roof. Painting continues with Sue and Julie (part time) and is nearing completion on the outside. The flooring crew of Marty, Bobbie, Carol and Julie is also making great progress with the two rooms that the weekend crew should be able to start down the hallway. The weekend crew is part of the dedication of the Back Bay Mission's new dormatory where we are staying and the new community center this weekend. Jesse was the tool shed organizer of the day. |
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| Tonight our cook BJ had the night off to enjoy family. So the crew had to suffer and go out. Some of the crew went for BBQ and the others went for seafood. |
The crew is ready for the week to be over as our bodies are screaming; yet we know that there is much more to be done. Many more opportunities are and will be available for US to return with old and new crew members to BBM to enjoy and remember. The rewards are lasting
Let us be the few to help the many so all will see.
Posted By: Media @ 6:47:04 AMTop
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Thursday, October 01, 2009Mission - Day Four
Lyle Blogs: Bobbi using the Chop Saw Carol and Marty are installing the flooring
A beautiful day greeted the Biloxi crew for Wednesday. Sue Harrington and Jesse Evans assisted the "Loaves & Fishes" mealsite in the morning while the rest of us continued our painting, roof work, and flooring at the worksite. Meals provided by BJ Hanson, Jesse Evan's daughter, are absolute feasts, so despite burning 5 times our normal amount of calories working, some of us (myself included)are gaining weight.
In the evening we had a great worship experience at the First Missionary Baptist Church in Biloxi and felt blessed as Pastor Eric Dickey, thanked God for our volunteer work there and asked for our blessing and safe return home this weekend. It was a rejuvenating experience in the middle of the week -- hump day -- and a much needed boost to our energy level.
God is good! Thanks be to God, Amen.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009Mission - Day Three
Tom's Turn:
Once upon a time, 12 people went to Biloxi.
2 fed the other 10 and helped at the soup kitchen.
 5 people worked on putting on a roof, 2 painted, 3 put down a floor. |
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They worked hard and were happy when the 4:00 meeting was cancelled, so some went sightseeing, some went for a walk and took pictures, and some did laundry.
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We had a shrimp supper that was great
- primarily because there were NO brussel sprouts!
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009Mission - Day Two
Julie's Blog: It was a very hot and humid day, the roofers ran into some unforseen challenges, but after a long day. The work, the sweat, the laugther, and fellowship. God is Good. Tomorrow... Tom blogs
The day started early when the group met with Craig Steenkamp and the staff of the housing recovery division of Back Bay Mission (BBM). He told us of all the different projects that BBM have currently going. Craig explained that BBM is the only non-profit on the gulfcoast who has a volounteer base to continue the work of repairing and building housing for the thousands of people that are in need. It is with the support and caring of congregations such as Edwards the mission can not just do their work in not just building houses, but rebuilding lives. He also reminded us that even thought the need is so great, and sometime the results of our efforts will seem indifferent, one nail driven today means that there is one less nail to drive tomorrow. With that we had a quick safety training, and were told about our worksite.
Dinner!!! BJ and Jesse created some wonderful meals
Sue painting trim
Marty tearing off the baseboard
Ron, Lyle, Julie and Keth working on the roof
We will all be able to work at the same location, yet on many different projects. One group will be on the roof, repairing a leaky roof. Another group will be inside removing the baseboards and laying new flooring throughout the house. Then there will need to be people to paint the exterior trim work. With that we gathered supplies and hopped into the vehicles and off we drove to Gulfport MS., to the jobsite, the house... home. A little brick house of a young family, a mother with 3 small kids. The family actual live there, so we were greeted by the 2 year old resident and his mother. Throughout the day we were able to meet the whole family and friends, which is a great thing to be able to place faces to the home.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009Mission - Day One: the journey begins
Carol's Blog:
Saturday and Sunday -
the beginning of the journey
We couldn't have had a more pleasant journey - the weather, food, and company were great and our group of 12 (i.e., the 5 who have made this journey before and the 7 who are experiencing this trip for the first time) are anxious to begin our week of exhausting, yet exhilirating service for a small, yet appreciative group of citizens of Biloxi. It's so hard to imagine that there is still years of work that can be done to repair and to grow this area. the weak economy has made a bad situation even worse. Ironically, we happened across an article in last friday's USA TODAY (9/25/09) that cited a Back Bay Mission (Biloxi) survey that counted 633 homeless people, up from 232 in 2007. The article also mentioned that there is a waiting list of 5000 waiting for public housing. in light of these kinds of stats, we may not be able to do much, but we'll do SOMETHING.
When we finished our work here last year, there wasn't even a foundation for the new dormitory for volunteers, yet today we are relaxing in this fabulous new building. We will miss the coziness of the trailers, but we are grateful for the comfort of this building. It even has CABLE! But are we watching it? Not really. We're doing what we do best, i.e., getting to know each other better
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