Wishing you a Happy Mothers Day!

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1 District of Western PA NEWSLETTER JANUARY FEBRUARY 2018 Wishing you a Happy Mothers Day! More...of Jesus!!! About a month ago, I decided to make some homemade bread pudding with peaches and raisins for my 97-year old father who now lives in a nursing home. He used to request that I make it for him when I was a teenage girl. He is blind now, so I usually visit him on Saturday mornings to feed him breakfast. When I arrived, he had already been fed scrambled eggs and juice. So, I mentioned that I brought his favorite - bread pudding. So, he tried a bite. Then, every time I would be ready to put the spoon down, he would emphatically say "... more" and open his mouth for the next bite. It seemed Dad just couldn't get enough of his favorite - bread pudding!! Have you ever felt like you can't get enough of Jesus? The songwriter, Eliza Hewitt, put it this way, "More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show, More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me." Another songwriter, Annie Flint, so aptly penned it, "He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again." Can we ever have enough of a GOOD THING? Can we ever have enough of JESUS? Written by Beci Campbell, Outfit Chairlady

2 Page 2 NEW ASSISTANT SECRETARY We are happy to welcome and introduce the newest member of the Executive Team. Ms. Breanna Voris has agreed to be the District Assistant Secretary. Breanna s main responsibility will be formatting the Newsletters, among other duties. Breanna is an active member of the Mahaffey C&MA Church. She is blessed to have been born into and raised in a loving, Christian family. She attended Purchase Line School District and went on to study Accounting at Slippery Rock University/Cambria Rowe Business College in Indiana, PA. After graduating, Breanna began working at Purchase Line School District (alongside LuAnne Baker!) as an Administrative Assistant to the Business Manager and Secretary of the District School Board. She has worked in the Purchase Line Business Office for five years and absolutely loves what she does and the people she works with! In her spare time, Breanna enjoys just being with her family, friends, and two cats. She also enjoys serving on a team of youth leaders who work alongside their church youth pastor to reach the teens in the Mahaffey area. Breanna is excited to learn more about the Western PA District Great Commission Women and what our International Workers and local churches are doing to minister and spread the Word of God to others! WELCOME BREANNA!!!!!! GCW SCHOLARSHIP Each January, the Great Commission Women s scholarship is made available to full-time students, preferably a junior or senior, who are adherents or a member of Western PA C&MA. They must be intending to serve overseas with the C&MA. Academic performance and financial need will be considered. Students are required to have a 3.5 GPA. Applications can be found on-line at Nyack Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship is reviewed by the Nyack College Scholarship Committee. Notice of the scholarship will be given each March. Please make eligible students aware of this scholarship. GREAT COMMISION CONNECTION CD/INTERNATIONAL WORKER DIRECTORY The updated IW Prayer Directory will be on the District GCC (Great Commission Connection) CD, which is published quarterly. This CD has many other helps for your monthly/ country studies and much, much more. The CD can be purchased from the District Office for $20/ year or $5/quarter.

3 Page 3 FUGATE READING GLASSES PROJECT Bob & Cheryl want to thank the GCW who so graciously supported the reading glasses for use in Mexico. They returned to Mexico with literally hundreds of glasses of all shapes sizes and colors for old and young alike. They both told me they were so blessed by how you ladies supported this last-minute project. I wish I could have shared the look on their faces as they told me and my husband about the outpouring of your goodness. They said, We praise the Lord for the GCW of Western PA. You ALWAYS supply the need!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! OFFICER CHANGE FORMS If you have had officer changes in your local GCW, please send LuAnne the completed Office Change Form which can be found on the GCW district website. If you have problems locating or printing the form, please contact LuAnne at tangocat1@msn.com and she will the form to you. OUTFIT CONTRIBUTIONS Please remember to put your church s name on all checks and forms you send to Janet Schmidt, District Treasurer. EDUCATE YOUR ENTIRE CHURCH FAMILY ABOUT GCW LuAnne Baker is available to come to your church and present a short, enjoyable PowerPoint on What is Great Commission Women All About? This light-hearted PowerPoint is only 15 minutes in length and encourages the entire church family to get involved in our International Worker s lives. Following the PowerPoint, LuAnne also presents a short Missions Moment portrayal of Sari, the Muslim Lady. The entire presentation is about 30 minutes in length. Many churches generously give toward the GCW projects and IW s Outfits, but don t understand exactly what they have given to or why. If you are interested in having LuAnne come to your church, you can contact her at tangocat1@msn.com or

4 Page 4 RETREAT SAVE THE DATE Registration, posters, and bulletin inserts can be found at THIS YEAR ASK GOD FOR HIS PLAN! God says, I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you plans to give you hope and a future pray to me, and I will listen to you (Jeremiah NIV). It s miserable playing a part for which you are ill-suited. It s like walking in shoes that don t fit. So what are you good at? What do you enjoy doing the most? What accomplishments make you feel best? List five moments in your life when you were acutely aware of this feeling of fulfillment. How do you fill your days? What small step can you take right now one phone call made, one letter written, one sent to move you towards your true calling? How would you describe your vision for your life this year? If you could write your own obituary, what would you want it to say? What would you like to be remembered for? As you begin this New Year, ask God for His plan for your life each day.

5 Page 5 Celebrate 2018 Our Story Plan to join us for the fifth Christian and Missionary Alliance National Women s Conference: Celebrate 2018 to be held October 11-14, 2018, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. God has graciously provided an excellent group of speakers and artists to encourage, challenge, and minister to us. Grammy Award winner Laura Story will be our keynote speaker. Aaron and Sarah Shust will bless us with an opening concert and message. Jane Rubietta will be our Bible teacher. Six breakout sessions and a Missions Celebration are also included in our time together. Gain new passion for your walk with Christ and celebrate what He is doing around the world. You won t want to miss this intimate and inspiring event! Registration opens February 1, Registration fee is $295. Lodging at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square will be $139 + tax per night. Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with a reservation link to book your hotel room at the discounted Celebrate 2018 Conference Rate. To find out more about Celebrate 2018, go to schedule/.

6 Page 6 STAMP MINISTRY If you have stamps and want to cut down on your postage, you can send or deliver them to Mrs. Elaine Schlosser, 332 Hathaway St. West, Girard, PA 16417, by February 28th. These stamps do not have to be trimmed or sorted. They do have to be cut from envelopes to cut down on space. Elaine is traveling to Florida and has volunteered to deliver them for us. Elaine can also be contacted at dschlosssret@gmail.com or Thank you Elaine!!!! INTERNATIONAL WORKER PRAYER FOCUS Prayer Requests: 1. Megan has been experiencing fatigue as a result of crossing language and cultural barriers each week. Pray for physical, spiritual, and emotional stamina and protection over Megan. 2. It can be unsettling to your soul to see the poverty of friends in the village and then return to live with all the comforts that the city provides. Pray Megan will keep her eyes fixed on Jesus Christ seeking His wisdom and not run from these challenges, but rather lay them at His feet and trust Him. 3. Megan shares that there is a father and son who have a growing interest to hear about God s Word and the Savior. Pray that for their salvation and that an abundant harvest will be produced as more people learn about the love of Christ. 4. The Christmas season is a special time the church family has opportunity to share the reason for the season. Pray for boldness for the members of the seven Alliance churches and pray against evil forces that would seek to hinder the spread of the gospel. 5. Every Saturday morning in December, the San Lorenzo Church will hold a Children s Club as an outreach to the neighborhood children and for children of the church. Pray for many children to come hear about Jesus and His salvation and that the Holy Spirit will provide the words to effectively communicate the gospel to the children! Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:19 (NIV)

7 Page 7 UNREACHED PEOPLES GROUP What would YOU do, if YOU were sent to a group of people % of whom don't know the basic story of who Jesus is? Where would you expect to find such a lost group of people deep in a j ungle? In Irian Jaya? In the Amazon? In Africa? This group, so far from The Gospel, is closer than you might think! The people of Israel and the Jewish people world-wide are one of the most Unreached People groups in the world! My husband Abraham and I (Sheila Sandler), along with two women on the LeaderShEEp team of our Messianic Jewish congregation, spent several weeks in Israel recently. We faced that very question, What do you do among a group of people, of whom so many know nothing of Jesus? Worship ministry at opera tower by Tel Aviv Beach. People looking at signs, stopping to watch and listen. The Holy Spirit gave us many creative ways to start conversations with people about Jesus. At Tel Aviv University - we used ipads to take surveys. We asked Israelis what they knew about the New Testament which led many witnessing conversations. One girl "Sasha" took the survey from Melissa from our team. Within minutes "Sasha" was pouring out her heart to Melissa about a serious struggle in her life. She had found no answers among Jewish people and religion, and had started to wonder if Christians had the answer. She gave us contact information for follow up and wanted a New Testament to read for herself. Sheila doing survey with young man at Tel Aviv University. We went to promenades along the Mediterranean beaches, praising Jesus in song while others of us engaged in conversation with those who stopped to listen. On one of those promenades, a Jewish tourist from Eastern Europe prayed with Sue to receive YE- SHUA - JESUS AS MESSIAH, SAVIOR AND LORD. Please pray for "Tahila" - she gave contact information and we are hoping to connect her with believers back in her home country who can disciple her. Also, please pray for our on-going work here in the United States reaching Jewish people for Jesus. If you would like to hear more about our 2017 short-term missions trip to Israel - including pictures and video - (or how you could join us next time), or if you would like a "JESUS IN THE PASSOVER" presentation - please me - sasandler@yahoo.com or call Thank you for your prayers!!! Sheila Sandler District Corresponding Secretary and GCW Pittsburgh Area Director

8 Page 8 Home Assignment List January February 2018 Name Field Home Return David & Teresa Bill Living in Georgia TBD teresabill55@gmail.com or congobiltd@gmail.com 7/6/2016 TBD Betsy CAC 7/14/2017 3/2018 Krystal CAC 5/14/2017 5/2018 Joel & Sally CAC 6/30/2017 6/2018 Wayne & Judy Thompson 3517 Meadowview Blvd., Apt#5 New Castle, PA Black Forest Academy wayneandjudy73@yahoo.com (On tour from 7/2017-7/2018 before retiring or re-assigned) 6/2017 TBD RETIRED James & Sharon Kendall 278 Kendall Road Blairsville, PA (Sharon) (Jim) Indonesia jimsharonindo@gmail.com

9 SCHEDULE FOR OUTFIT GIFT FOR NP more Outfit Gift # 4 Outfit Gift #1 due July 31, 2017 Outfit Gift #2 due September 30, 2017 Outfit Gift #3 due November 30, 2017 Outfit Gift #4 due January 31, 2018 Outfit Gift #5 due March 31, 2018 Outfit Gift #6 due May 31, 2018 Reminder: National project monies are accepted throughout the year; however, the final payment should be sent before May 31, 2019, since this is a two year project. January 31, 2018 Outfit Gift # 4