Mission Gifts for. Christmas

Transcription

1 Mission Gifts for Christmas

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3 Mission Gifts for Christmas Freely you have received, freely give. MATTHEW 10:8 Christmas is coming and our annual Mission Gifts for Christmas event is here! Mission Gifts for Christmas enables you to give meaningful gifts instead of giving another thing, by supporting God s work locally and internationally. Each donation you make gives two gifts: one to help a person, family, or group of people you may not even know; the other to honor your family, friend, teacher or co-worker. I hope this opportunity will bring us back to the reason we exchange Christmas gifts in the first place. We reflect the gift of grace that we have received in Jesus Christ when we grace others at Christmastime. We remember the worshipful gifts brought to the newborn King when we bring special gifts to strangers or loved ones. Through Mission Gifts for Christmas, you can be introduced to NPC mission partners and other great organizations, be inspired to get involved personally, get ideas for your 50 hours of service, and help to raise significant funds for Kingdom work. Use this catalog to learn and pray, as well as to order gifts! You can shop in Stone Hall on Sundays, December 10 and 17 using the order form in this booklet. Be sure to speak to the representatives in each themed display area to learn about the missions you can contribute to, and how your gift helps. You can also shop online throughout the month of December at May your gifts be a blessing to your loved ones, and to those in need in our community and throughout the world. Let Christ s light shine in you by making Christmas different and more meaningful! In His service, Donna Marsh

4 PROCLAIMING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR Beacon of Hope (Wycliffe) in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is an affiliate of Wycliffe Bible Translators. It brings God s love to orphans and widows who are victims of inter-ethnic and civil wars. It provides education for orphans, conducts Bible-based trauma healing, and helps widows develop income-generating activities to care for their children. Ecole Renaissance des Sourds serves deaf children in Senegal. Over 100 students, 30 of whom live in on-site dormitories, range in age from 3 to 20. The school provides a comprehensive academic education, with instruction in sign language. The school has launched a deaf church, and its instructional program includes professional classes in woodworking, hairdressing, art, computers, sewing, cultural information, math and word practice, and a boutique where students learn to make jewelry and other crafts. European Christian Mission, International works across Europe to equip and encourage churches in youth and family ministry, as well as evangelistic outreach to their communities. It cares for refugees from the Middle East who have fled to Europe, and it is involved in church planting among all the people of Europe. Projects include Christian camp scholarships, Sunday school training and materials for teachers, and social work support to Christian families who adopt orphans. Fraser Bennett is from an NPC family and serves as International Training Director for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Wycliffe missionaries are working with over 2,000 marginalized people groups to translate the Scriptures into their own languages. Fraser leads a worldwide team that trains Bible translation specialists, both face-to-face and online. PROCLAIMING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR

5 Operation Mobilization s (OM) Dalit Ministry in India mobilizes people worldwide to share the knowledge of Jesus and His love with every generation in every nation. In India, OM has been planting Dalit Education Centers which are open to children of all castes, including untouchable Dalits. Each Center is a hub for evangelistic outreach to local villages, where churches are then planted. The goal is to establish 1,000 Dalit Education Centers. The Moldova Marriage Ministry is a partnership of NPC and the Moldova Baptist Union. The ministry goal this year is to provide training materials to regional leadership couples to conduct the eightweek program, The Marriage Course, in local churches throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Youth for Christ Croatia successfully and effectively presents the Gospel of Jesus to youth in the war-scarred country. The ministry reaches out to orphans and youth in difficult circumstances to provide a safe environment for discussion of thought-provoking questions to grow their faith in Christ. hr.yfci.org PROCLAIMING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR

6 BUILDING UP THE GLOBAL CHURCH Armenian Relief and Development Association (ARDA) works in Armenia, one of the poorest countries of the former Soviet Union. NPC members have been traveling to Armenia since 1999 and have assisted in providing humanitarian gifts-in-kind from the United States and other countries. Through local churches, ARDA shares God s love and the Gospel as it helps children and the elderly with daily needs, such as school supplies, medicines, and food staples. Evangelical Theological Seminary in Croatia is a flagship evangelical school for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is dedicated to ministries of reconciliation, evangelism and humanitarian relief in the Balkans, a region troubled by sectarian strife. Projects include providing Bibles for new believers, improving the schools distance-learning program, and providing guidance and mentorships to pastors in the region. Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) is dedicated to supporting the continued presence, empowerment, and well-being of Arab Christians in the Holy Land and developing bonds of solidarity between them and Christians worldwide. Their programs provide assistance to senior citizens living in the West Bank, scholarships to children, housing rehabilitation services, leadership initiatives for Palestinian youth, and travel programs for people of all ages around the world who wish to visit the Holy Land. Indonesian Leadership Foundation (ILF) in Indonesia provides underprivileged Indonesian Christians with education, professional development, and training in order to strengthen their role in the global community. Founded in 2010, ILF gives scholarships to educators at both the undergraduate and Masters level. BUILDING UP THE GLOBAL CHURCH

7 Jubilee Assistance Fund (JAF) in Richmond, Virginia is a sensible alternative to predatory lending in Virginia. JAF is a collaborative loan program where local churches establish an account at the The United Methodist Credit Union to provide collateralized, small, short term loans with very low interest rates for members who would not qualify for loans otherwise. Presbyterian Education Board in Pakistan is a consortium of 14 schools. Christian teachers witness to the Gospel by treating students with dignity and helping them to achieve their potential. A women s empowerment program also teaches literacy, numeracy, and marketable skills to village women. University Divitia Gratiae in Moldova prepares Christian men and women to serve as pastors, evangelists, Sunday school leaders and social workers a very great need in that region. They provide special support to students from countries where it is difficult to receive a Christian higher education. The Micah Project is a non-profit organization in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with three group homes for young men and boys, an outreach to street children, and a variety of other ministries in the community. The young men, who spent anguished childhoods on the streets or in impoverished homes, learn to become Christian leaders through discipleship, formal and informal education, and opportunities to develop their talents by serving others. The project supports these young men as they learn to live out the theme verse, Micah 6:8, which instructs them to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with [their] God. The Yayasan Bina Kasih Foundation (YBK) in Indonesia provides transitional housing to former patients of mental hospitals. It is the only ministry of its kind serving the Christian minority in Indonesia. It serves 62 clients with high quality care from a staff of 27. BUILDING UP THE GLOBAL CHURCH

8 EMBRACING THE REFUGEE Doctors Without Borders Rohingya Crisis Response Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers/MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization. MSF endeavors to provide emergency medical assistance to people caught in crises around the world caused by conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics or lack of access to health care, and bears witness to their plight. In Bangladesh, MSF supports Rohingya refugees who have fled from persecution in Burma. Our Missionaries in the Middle East are a couple with the PC(USA) who minister in northern Iraq to Kurds and to those fleeing violence such as caused by ISIS. Currently pressing needs are humanitarian and spiritual concerns for refugees and internally displaced people who have been affected by violence related to ISIS and tensions between Kurdish and Arab parts of the country. The couple is involved with teaching English, community-building among Kurds and Christians within the Kurdish region, and sharing God s Word. The Presbyterian Church of Aleppo, Syria is full of children, youth, and adults committed to staying in Syria to serve in Christ s name. Their building was destroyed early in the war, but they rebuilt and carried on with worship and witness: providing water, starting a reconciliation ministry for youth of different faiths, offering a safe place for children to play, and now relief work. They help Christians stay, thrive, and shine their light in Syria, where Paul, the persecutor of Christians, met Christ. Jeremy and Stephanie Seep, missionaries with International Teams in Traiskirchen, Austria, serve at The Oasis, a Christian ministry serving asylum-seekers in Europe. Their passion is demonstrating the love of God in word and deed and restoring dignity and respect to these people who have endured so much. EMBRACING THE REFUGEE

9 Solar Household Energy promotes the potential of solar cooking to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions around the world. Over half the world s population cooks with wood, charcoal or other biomass, which lead to respiratory diseases, economic hardship, and environmental degradation. Solar cooking offers a practical, affordable, and sustainable alternative. SHE distributes solar ovens in refugee camps, works to promote solar cooking in developing countries, and demonstrates solar cooking at DC area schools and events. Together for the Family in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon enables refugee mothers and infants and traumatized teenage girls to survive and thrive and to experience the love of Christ. The well baby ministry provides nutritional assistance, training in parenting skills, group support, diapers and medical help. A sewing school and Bible-based trauma healing open a future for girls who did not know how to hope. EMBRACING THE REFUGEE

10 CARING FOR THE VULNERABLE ByGrace Children s Home and School near Nairobi, Kenya, provides a loving environment for more than 70 orphaned and abandoned children. By meeting physical and spiritual needs of children and partnering with others to provide education and life skills, they empower children to become architects of change in their world. Through Foundation for Peace mission trips, NPC members have helped build a school that has one of the highest pass rates in Kenya. Calvary Women s Services in Washington, DC offers housing, health, education, and employment programs that empower homeless women to transform their lives. Through personalized services and with peer support, each woman identifies and builds on her own strengths in order to meet her goals for safe housing, good health, and financial independence. On average, every five days, one woman moves from Calvary to her own home. Casa de Luz (House of Light) in the Dominican Republic is a beautiful orphanage and home to 40 severely disabled children who have been abandoned by their families. Disabilities include malnutrition, birth defects, Down s syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. NPC s youth and intergenerational mission teams have visited this orphanage, which is connected to NPC mission partner Foundation for Peace. Pastor Lucas and his wife Tempora sold their homes to build the ministry after discovering the great need for special needs care. They and their staff have huge hearts, and rely on your gifts for diapers, medicines, and other supplies. Central Union Mission in Washington, DC provides for the physical and spiritual needs of underprivileged and disenfranchised men, women, and children. During the holidays, the Mission provides gifts for impoverished children and their families via Operation Christmas Miracle. CARING FOR THE VULNERABLE

11 Friendship Place in Washington, DC empowers people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to rebuild their lives. With personfocused programs including services for veterans, families, and youth Friendship Place helps people in the metropolitan area obtain housing, jobs, health care and basic necessities. Investing Hope International in Bogotá, Colombia, provides low income youth, adults and faith-based communities with relevant economic development tools and training to help them thrive economically and spiritually. Its savings and entrepreneurship groups model Biblically-based financial stewardship principles. Little Lights Urban Ministries in Washington, DC empowers underserved youth, families, and communities in the Potomac Gardens, Hopkins and Benning Terrace public housing projects by sharing the hope of Christ through compassionate action, caring relationships, and racial reconciliation. Rooted in prayer, Little Lights provides tutoring, mentoring, family support and employment assistance for children and families. Martha s Table in Washington, DC feeds the homeless and hungry 365 days a year and provides many other services to break the cycle of poverty. Programs include day care, educational programs, and food to individuals, families, seniors and veterans. New Endeavors by Women (NEW) in Washington, DC is guided by their mission to partner with homeless women to create new futures. They provide a nurturing environment so that women can recognize their worth. NEW helps to transform lives, by providing housing, fostering the development of life skills, and promoting education and employment, to end the cycle of homelessness. NEW operates seven housing programs that serve chronically homeless women and children. We Are Family serves the poor and elderly in the Shaw, North Capitol Street, Adams Morgan, Petworth, and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. It brings meals and companionship into the homes of the elderly, while helping to build friendships across race, class, and religious boundaries. Most of the work is done by elderly volunteers. CARING FOR THE VULNERABLE

12 Mission Gifts for Christmas 4101 NEBRASKA AVE. NW WASHINGTON DC