Newsletter June 2015

The last day of May was yesterday, Sunday, May 31. Dale Mueller, a Montana Missionary to the Philippines, came to give the sermon. I want to share some of the things he said and related it to the Fairview Park Christian Church (FPCC). I will start with a picture of those attending yesterday. Remember Faith, Focus, and Future!

FOCUS: Dale quoted from Thessalonians 1 which talks about the faith of the Thessalonians. In last months’ newsletter, I pictured many of our church people individually. You can see those same people all together plus a few more in this picture from May 31. Even though as a whole our church has suffered the loss of Ken as a loved and respected leader, they have not lost their focus. The Thessalonians also suffered (verse 6 says they had “severe” suffering), but they found joy in the Holy Spirit and became a ”model” to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Their faith, in fact, became known everywhere! FPCC has continued to act upon their faith in their own personal lives. FAITH: The second impressive event of Sunday was the prayer meeting. We have prayer meetings every week after and before other classes and meetings. There are about 40 pictured above, there were 20 adults who stayed for the prayer meeting. Oh…so many things to pray for: health issues, relationship, job/work issues, etc. People shared freely and the Kleenex box was passed around!, but we felt free among like minded Christians to share some deep issues. This

shows our faith and our focus, not on ourselves, but on God, because His will is the most important thing. FUTURE: We will accept God’s will and give Him honor and praise for what happens because we know that God is in control. We want (Chapter 1:8): The Lord’s message rang (to ring) out from you” (us) not only … in our own surroundings, but everywhere! Thank you to Dale for sharing these verses from Thessalonians. The last class of the day was the ABC thinking class. We had a discussion about anger and dealing with frustrations and hurts without exploding in an irrational manner. “V” shared that she has learned to not react in anger! We asked the questions: Why do we respond in anger. Do we have to know why we get angry? Do we have to respond in anger or can we change our response from anger to something else? This was an interesting question and brought up a lot of good ideas. The conclusion being that God gives us the power and thoughts to control the anger and not let it run away with us. So, you see, that yesterdays classes, sermon and prayer meeting all had an impact on me. I am thinking even more that “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain… (Philippians 1:21) and Verse27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel Christ.” May God bless each and every one of you as you walk this life-long journey of faith. And here are pictures for your enjoyment!

Dale preaching at FPCC New English class/playgroup 2 hours away from my house.

Prayer matters: 1. Co worker Jim Mollette as he returns June2 to the USA for the summer 2. Praise the Lord for fellow missionary, David Poling. He is recovering well from hip surgery. 3. Bruce Derrick, friend, with cirrhosis of the liver, in and out of coma situations. 4. Theresa Derrick, Bruce’s wife, as she cares for Bruce and makes plans for the future. 5. Me, as I continue to work in FPCC, and also make plans for my future. For the pleasure of growing in Christ,

Linda