Month: June 2018

Thank you to our church family members who braved the big rain storm and joined in the fun for Family Serve Night! More than 80 people – from toddlers to grandparents – enjoyed a pizza dinner, then helped pack 15,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger, bagged 300 Street Eats bags and helped sort beads for an upcoming VBS craft. As Christ-like servants, we are called to serve those in the community and around the world. We appreciate your work to do just that!

Our Family Ministry demonstrated what it means to be gracious hosts during the Highway 45 Mission Camp. Our sanctuary received some TLC from our kids as they polished pews, vacuumed, cleaned windows and had a blast! Thank you to everyone who helped – it shines!

A new sign went up on our campus Easter morning. It now resides across from the Columbarium, and we call it the “stone sign”. We all have “stones” in our lives – a presence or burden that feels overwhelming. Folks are asked to take a stone and place it at this sign to symbolize their faith in God who loves us deeply and can remove anything that blocks our connection with Him or each other.

Many thanks to Colin & Erin Murphy for designing and creating the sign; and to Ruth Rudy, Jay Hoover, Allison McClelland, Robby Lewis and Laura-Grace Anderson for landscaping the area around it.

From June 2-7 the Impact Singers had the opportunity to SING and SERVE in NEW YORK CITY! While ministering in the Big Apple, the singers and their chaperones stayed at Jan Hus Presbyterian Church. At the church, they attended a workshop on homelessness and street care at their Urban Outreach Center. The students prepared food, sorted clothes and helped organize their thrift area. After singing, they visited with the homeless over a meal.

They also sang and played bingo with residents of Upper East Side Rehab Center and served NYC Parks & Recreation by weeding, planting, and mulching in the Bronx. They sang at Pier 83, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Neighborhood Esperanza Service (English/Spanish service), and the ArchCare Senior Center.

The Impact Singers served with their whole hearts. Although exhausted, the reward from serving others made it all worth it. Michael Roberts, Director of Music Ministries, said, “God was present with us the entire week. Thank you again to the whole church for supporting us through Broadway Bound and all the volunteer hours that made our trip possible!”

Happy Father’s Day from Naivasha, Kenya! Although we missed celebrating with family, we spent the day celebrating Father’s Day with our new Kenyan friends and family.

Our eyes were opened this morning to an amazing way of worshiping God. The church service at Trinity United Methodist Church was three hours long! The morning flew by, however, because there was so much singing, dancing, and praising our God. Dancing in church…can you imagine? It was fun! We have all decided that we need to do this in our own church in Winter Park. Who is in?

After church we got to play games like Duck, Duck, Goose with children from the Sunday School. Those kids were so adorable! It is Winter here in Kenya. Many of the children were bundled up in sweaters and jackets. We Floridians were hot!

After church we all had lunch at a cool Kenyan restaurant. We ate Chinese food, Indian food, fried chicken, and pizza. Let me tell you – they had it all! And it was good!

After lunch we Skyped our family and friends from Winter Park Methodist Church. Some of our Panua students were with us and got to meet their prayer partners. It was quite moving.

Dinner was served at the hotel as usual- the Kenyan food is quite tasty. And we celebrated our own Heather Rodriguezs’ birthday with singing and a birthday cake. Happy Birthday, Heather!

Now we are all going to bed to dream about where our adventures will take us tomorrow. We love and miss you all!

~The Panua Elevate Mission Team

Today,  one of the Panua staff members shared the story of the environmental activist Wangari Maathai.  It’s a children’s story about a terrible fire that took place on an island.  All the animals stood in awe watching their homes burn to the earth.  A small hummingbird decided to get some water and try to put the fire out.  All the animals questioned why the hummingbird would try to put out the fire.  The hummingbird said I may be small,  but I can’t give up like the other animals.  I have to try the best I can.

 We are so inspired by the difference Panua is making in the lives of the Youth and the community of Naivasha. They are taking all they are learning in the program and making their communities better!