May/June 2011 Archives:
Honoring Moms and Dads While Changing Lives
6/17/11
As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend we wanted to remind you of the way we invested the Mother’s Day offering a month ago.
While reading a column from one of my favorite writers he suggested that instead of spending all of our Mother’s Day money on flowers and chocolate, why not do something to help stem the tide of at-risk pregnancies in Africa?
Sonrise donated the dollars (about $400.00) we would have spent on flowers for moms and you donated an additional $400.00. These offerings were sent to two places: the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Somaliland and to a young friend of ours named Charity Lanman who founded and runs a bush hospital in Southern Sudan. Both of these women are serving in very hard places making a difference for women and babies in Jesus name. His Kingdom come…on earth.
For Father’s Day we will be sending the Sonrise dollars we would normally use for a gift to our Dads, to an organization called The Mentoring Project. The Mentoring Project (TMP) is an advocacy and training organization that serves as a liaison between faith communities and matching agencies to provide mentors for fatherless youth. Through dynamic church trainings, national mentor recruitment, and the creation of sustainable mentoring communities, The Mentoring Project seeks to rewrite the story of the fatherless generation. Another Kingdom ministry taking back what the enemy has stolen.
If you would like to participate in this gift, we will have people at the door to receive your gift.
Journey to Joplin
A Message from Pastor Jerry, our Light My Way Pastor
6/03/11
As most of the world has heard, on May 22, 2011 a highly destructive and deadly tornado tore through the town of Joplin, MO leaving behind devastation in it's wake. The latest stats indicate:
• 16,000 destroyed cars
• 18,000 destroyed structures
• 20,000 to 25,000 damaged structures
• 20,000 displaced people
• 25,000 volunteers on the ground last Saturday, of these 85% are from faith based groups
• 134 dead and over 900 injured
Mark Staggs and I will be traveling to Joplin this week to help with relief efforts there. The plan is to fly out this Thursday (6/02) to Tulsa, OK. After renting a van and buying supplies, we will drive to Joplin which is about 100 miles away, arriving early Friday morning. About 11am on Friday, we will connect with Pastor David Weaver who heads up a college ministry and also happens to be involved in City government. We will accompany him on his rounds (about a 1 hour tour of all areas). This will allow the opportunity to connect with relief agencies and faith groups that are on the ground serving. We will serve in Joplin area until Tuesday and fly home Tuesday evening. We will be helping wherever needed.
The greatest part you can play, is to be in prayer. Here are the prayer requests:
• Please pray that we will be immediately and clearly lead to a contact (local church or ministry) that we can work with and serve with while we are there.
• Please pray that we can truly be the "hands and feet" of Jesus while on the ground in Joplin.
• Also pray that God leads up to establish a relationship with whom God desires perhaps for future ministry teams from Sonrise.
• Thank you in advance--your our prayer support while we are traveling is HUGE!!
Passion 4 People
with Brad and Jennifer Butcher
5/27/11
Check out this video of Brad and Jennifer during a previous visit to India. Then stop by the Ministry Spotlight this weekend to meet and encourage them as they head out to again with Passion 4 People International.
An Unconditional Love
featuring Roger Magnuson
5/13/11
Click here to see this remarkable story of unconditional love.
