Owatonna Church of Christ

2008 MAY CHURCH NEWS

2008-05-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

May 17, 5th Minnesota Bible Lecture. All day. Register 8-9 a.m. Refreshments. Childcare. Lots of encouragement with sound preaching on "God's instructions concerning the His family."
May 24, Adult Fellowship, Frazier, 6p.m.

APRIL 2008 CHURCH NEWS

2008-04-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
5th Minnesota Bible Lecture

FUNNY: A Sunday school teacher asked her children, as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”

2008 MARCH CHURCH NEWS

2008-03-03T09:40:00.001-08:00

EVENTS
--The Maplewood church of Christ will be holding our Eighth Annual Gospel Singing on Friday, April 4 at the Maplewood Community Center.

--5TH Minnesota Bible Lecture, May 17, 2008. View web site here.

PRAYERS
C. Reynolds from Indiana is having skin cancer removed this week.
Keep the ladies who are pregnant in your prayers.

GOD GIVES HAPPINESS

From the Times Online comes news that: "The new generation of antidepressant drugs work no better than a placebo for the majority of patients with mild or even severe depression, comprehensive research of clinical trials has found."1 This news has got to make you a little sad and a little mad. If it's true, people have a right to be mad for being scammed. It's sad because a lot of people are depending on the medicine. Apparently, some people get some relief from these meds. But there are studies to show that people are helped by the placebos too. And one study on placebos, found that more expensive placebo "meds" were more effective than the less costly ones. A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, according to a provocative study by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University.2 Can you figure that one out? To say the least, there is much that is not known. In the meantime, there are a lot of lonely, sad, anxious, fearful, angry, worried, and even suicidal people who are just learning that the drugs work no better than do the placebos. And the placebos don't have side effects.

The Apostle Paul says that God promises to give you peace that surpasses comprehension and it will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Phil. 4:6ff. The word "peace" means "one, quietness, or rest" according to Strong's. Our world tries to explain every malady as a chemical imbalance, but surely God has some help for these things. Christians should not forget or doubt that real happiness is from God. The church is not in the drug business. It is in the business of pointing people to "the God of peace", the true source of happiness and peace. The world is not going to what God can give; that's the job of church and of individual Christians. God is getting little credit for the true happiness that most Christians enjoy. God knows the key to happiness and joy. Knowing God's promises and being able to cast our worries on Him is a source of true strength. We need to be encouraging people to read their Bibles, to pray, and to give thanks to Him. He cares for you. Think about good stuff. Make the choice to focus your mind on positive things like the promises of God's salvation. Hang around godly people and find someone who you can confide in. Think on what is good, right, just, holy, and decent and pray to God about these things with thanksgiving. Read Philippians 4:6-10 and meditate on those words. Come to church and get involved. Look for a chance to serve and help someone and then give God the glory for it. God is going to bless you and make you happy.

This map indicates the general location of visitors to our site in the last three weeks. There were multiple hits by most. For example 30 from the Pennsylvania visitor. The cropped map doesn't show the visitors from India, Ivory Coast, Germany and other places around the world. Some of these are looking for the church in Owatonna.

______________
1. "Depression drugs don't work, finds data review"

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Lesson 1: Our Eternal Salvation
Lesson 2: God's Warning
Lesson 3: Eternity
Lesson 4: Our Sin Problem
Lesson 5: The Nature of God
Lesson 6: Christ Has Paid Our Penalty
Lesson 7: The Grace of God
Lesson 8: Thinking Back
Lesson 9: Doing God's Will
Lesson 10: Believe in God and in Christ
Lesson 11: Repentance
Lesson 12: Confessing Christ
Lesson 13: Must We Be Baptized To Be Saved?
Lesson 14: Must We Be Baptized For the Forgiveness of Our Sins?
Lesson 15: The Cleansing Blood of Christ
Lesson 16: Becoming a Child of God
Lesson 17: Baptized Into Christ
Lesson 18: Obedience To The Gospel
Lesson 19: Baptism Is Immersion
Lesson 20: Infants Are Not Lost
Lesson 21: Man Is Not To Change What God Says
Lesson 22: The Lord's Church, Part A
Lesson 23: The Lord's Church, Part B
Lesson 24: The Lord's Church, Part C
Lesson 25: Summary

FRIENDSHIP SUNDAY, MARCH 16

2008-02-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

2008 FEBRUARY CHURCH NEWS

2008-01-28T09:53:00.001-08:00

EVENTS
--The Maplewood church of Christ will be holding our Eighth Annual Gospel Singing on Friday, April 4 at the Maplewood Community Center.

--5th Minnesota Bible Lecture site
Dan N will preach on the 3rd and Jim C will teach class on the 6th.
Dan M and Bill W will be at the Freed-Hardeman Lectures from the 2nd - 8th.

COUGH REMEDY
excerpt "....To investigate, they compared buckwheat honey, a honey-flavored dextromethorphan preparation, and no treatment in 105 children who had sought treatment for nighttime coughs due to colds. Parents were surveyed on the day of the doctor's visit and on the next day, after those in the treatment groups had given their kids honey or dextromethorphan at bedtime. Among the three groups, children given honey had the greatest reduction in cough frequency and severity, and the most improved sleep, as did their parents." See full article here.

"COFFEE"
A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got
together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation
soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in
general...

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon
returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of
cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some
quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some
fresh coffee.

When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old
professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the
small gathering... ''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups
were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones.
While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that
is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems! "

He continued...''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the
coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink.
What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively
went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups....''

''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society
are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type
of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we
live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee
that God has provided us. God brews the coffee, but he does not supply the cups.
Enjoy your coffee!''

The happiest people don't have the best of everything - they just make the
best of everything they have... So please remember: Live simply.
Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the Rest to God. And
remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but
the one who needs the least.

CHILDREN POINT OF VIEW
1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS. GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.
2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS.
3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT.
4. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED MONOTONY.
5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH.
6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES.
7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA ! WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS.
8. THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT. AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT CYANIDE TO GET THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTS WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT THE APPLE.
10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT ADULTERY.
11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA THEN JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THE BATTLE OF GERITOL.
12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.
13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.
14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES.
15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE SANG THE MAGNA CARTA.
16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED, THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.
17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE CONTRAPTION.
18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.
19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.
20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.
21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE 12 DECIBELS.
22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.
23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A TAXIMAN.
24. ST. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE.

2008 JANUARY CHURCH NEWS

2008-01-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

- 5th Minnesota Bible Lecture site
- Mailing House to House publication to 2,000 homes in Owatonna.
- March 14-21, Campaign to door-knock and invite friends and family to church.

UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER
During the minister's prayer, one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, "Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?" Tommy answered, soberly, "I asked God to teach me to whistle, and He just then did!"

2007 DECEMBER CHURCH NEWS

2007-12-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

2007, Dec 6 - Bruce C was baptized into Christ. Praise the Lord.
Dec 23, Adult Fellowship and Reception for Gregg and Heidi at the Mayfields' home. Time is 6-9 p.m. Food provided.

DAVID VANGUILDER 9/8/58 to 11/24/07

2007-11-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

David VanGuilder was our friend. He was dedicated to the Truth, to the Lord Jesus, to his daughter, and to so many things. The memorial will be in Owatonna, MN at the Brick Meger Funeral Home. Time for visitation is 12:30 and memorial is at 1:30. I hope you can attend. After the memorial, food will be served at Dave's home, 1390 Clover Ln, Owatonna, MN. The church in Owatonna will provide this in his honor. He passed away at home at the young age of 49. He loved the truth and sought after it all of his life. The church was home to him. He was a fixture in the church for many years. Dave will be missed so, so much. I need your help. If you have a special photo of Dave, please send it to me ASAP. I prefer to have it by email, for speed, but if you have a print your can share, send it and I will scan and it to the collection you see here.

2007 NOVEMBER CHURCH NEWS

2007-11-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Keep praying for Dave V. He's out of the hospital and in a care facility for a few days to get some physical therapy! Thank God.

Adult fellowship in November is hosted by Sarah F. The information will be announced soon.

We have a tentative date for the 5th MN Bible Lecture. It is May 17, 2008. I know that is a ways out, but we had to nail something down or no meeting facility would be available. We attempted to get information to have the Holiday Inn once again, but they simply would not be at the phone or return my calls.

Dan's Trip to India - In case you didn't read it the last time, or you want to read it again, go here to read my day to day journal from Chennai, India in 2006.

2007 OCTOBER CHURCH NEWS

2007-09-29T18:30:00.001-07:00

Oct. 20, Adult fellowship at Wards home. Bring your dogs and soft drinks and sweaters for the bonfire.

2007 SEPTEMBER CHURCH NEWS

2007-09-02T05:40:00.001-07:00

2007 AUGUST CHURCH NEWS

2007-08-08T05:35:00.001-07:00

August 14-19, Fair Booth work.
August 19, Dan N. preaching.
August 15, no Wed. Bible class. Senior Place not available.
August 25, Adult Fellowship. Andy and Lindsay C.

2007 JULY CHURCH NEWS

2007-07-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

We send our thanks to the Northridge Church of Christ, from Shawnee, OK, for sending a wonderful group of teens to conduct our Vacation Bible School. It was a great success!

We continue to pray for Zack and Elizabeth who labor for the Lord in Nicaragua. God bless them.

Mark down July 28 for Adult Fellowship at the Vagts. More information will be coming.

2007 JUNE CHURCH NEWS

2007-06-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

June 22 - Adult Fellowship at Dave V. at 6 p.m.
June 25-27, VBS at the Darts Park on Mineral Springs Rd.

NICARAGUA NEWS FROM ZACK AND ELIZABETH

2007-06-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2007

Buenas tardes Dan and everyone,

It looks like I´ve let a good lot of time pass without updating about our time here in the little Nicaragua.

Our English slash Bible classes have gotten off to a slow start. We have a total of 4 students; however, two of them are very open to God´s word, so we are praying that God will make some fruit grow in that situation. One of my students has opened up to me more than I expected, so I am praying hard for him. I have also received an invitation to go tomorrow to a local University and begin teaching 2 more students. With this lack, a lot of our time this week has been centered upon coming up with schemes to get more students. If we have 4 that means we need 12 more. So, go ahead and pray for us, specifically that God would send us 12 more students.

Apart from our classes, the church in Jinotega has been baptizing new converts every Sunday. They have a very active evangelism program, which consists of one of the preachers sitting down with people to teach them the Bible. When I first was confronted with the reality of all the conversions that happen here I thought, "how are they doing it?" When I found out their innovative method it struck me, "aha! the people who hear the words written in the Bible are the ones who become Christians!" Well, actually the church here also does all sorts of community outreach by giving medical help to the community, bringing volunteer Christians from the States to help with the Maternity house, painting the local Hospital (which is in worse condition than our Veterinarian facilities in the states), building school buildings for the tin-shack poor children who don´t know how to read, etc -all with the teaching of the word of God connected to it. I suppose people are also more interested in the Gospel when they are down and out, which is what many people here are. Everybody and their uncle knows about the church of Christ in town; and judging by the souls being saved, that´s a good thing.

Our next trip is back to the Rio Coco on the 17th, where we will be planting a church in a small river community. I am going to preach my first sermon all in Spanish there, so I am a little nervous about this one (maybe they should be nervous about this one). What do you preach for the first sermon of a new church? Whenever I´m having a hard time thinking about what to preach on I here the voice of one of my Bible teachers ringing in my head, "preach about God, preach about 20 minutes." I think I´ll teach about Jesus and his good news.

God bless you all in Christ,

Zack (with his lovely wife Elizabeth)

__________________

A REPORT FROM ELIZABETH

Jun 23, 2007

a fortnight ago...
I am relatively certain that a fornight is two weeks, and that is how long we have gone without an update. So, here I am. Last week we spent helping with a medical brigade in a town up in the mountains called La Dalia. The groups come and set up free medical clinics for a small town, complete with doctors, nurses, a dentist, a veterinarian, a pharmacy, and classes for the children. Zack went as the "field manager of biocritical resources," as he says, which roughly translated is the waterboy. He performed the very critical task of making sure everyone on the team was well hydrated. However, he also got the chance to preach to the people waiting in the lines outside. My job was to "translate," which terrified me until I realized it was just going to be between two women...one American woman from the group and a good friend of mine here from Ecuador. The American women brought all the materials to teach the classes for the kids, and Janeth, the friend of mine from Ecuador, taught the classes. This was a much better system, because the woman with the supplies could organize everything and Janeth could teach the children firsthand in their own language. I spent the week helping with these classes, and also taught a few of the classes myself when forced to by the missionary here. I was glad to be able to learn a lot of the kid Sunday school songs in Spanish. The biggest struggle was our hotel...it was a room just big enough for a bed and our bathroom was a shared bathroom, was outside, and had no hot water. The second struggle was that it was nearly impossible to understand the Spanish of many of the people who came to the clinic, because they were uneducated, farmers, or didn´t have teeth so they had issues with enunciation. The third thing was that the people were so unwilling to follow the rules of waiting in line and that kind of thing. They would push past each other and crawl under our ropes to try to cheat their way through and get ahead of others. When you told them they needed to wait in line, they would just ignore you and keep on doing what they wanted. But, as Zack said, if we were in their situation, poor and with sick family members, we would probably do similar things.

__________________

A REPORT FROM ELIZABETH

Jun 8, 2007

the rest of the story...
Well, Zack has been nagging me to get on here and write something, and I have some free time so I'm going to do it. As always, thanks to all of you for your prayers while we are here, they are totally necessary to what we are doing. "And what are you doing?" some of you may ask. Since Zack has been telling you all the cool stories, allow me to give you a basic summary of what we have been doing for the past 8 days.

Thursday: Left OKC, made it to Houston, but got stuck there. We stayed the night in Houston and got up dirty and stinky ready to go to Nicaragua the next morning.

Friday: Flew out from Houston and arrived in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, around 11am. We and the group that we met up with (20ish people from a church in Arkansas) piled all of our luggage on top of a giant orange and brown bus. We stopped on the way to Jinotega to eat fried chicken and have our first experience with Nicaraguan bathrooms. We arrived in Jinotega that evening and mostly just got settled in.

Saturday: Zack and I and the other three interns (Kim, Brian, and Andrea) took a walk around Jinotega in the morning to "survey the town." In the afternoon we went to help one of the groups of people from Arkansas paint the hospital here in Jinotega. Mostly we ended up inhaling turpentine and all the other lovely odors that come from a 3rd world country hospital. That night I went to a ladies' Bible study taught by a woman here named Janet. She is an excellent teacher and you can see her passion is for the Lord. She and her husband, Mauricio, are here from Ecuador. She and I and Zack and Mauricio have become good friends.

Sunday: The Lord's day was relatively relaxing, as we just worshipped with the church here and took a day of rest.

Monday: I went to see the doctor because of a sore throat. It was rather unnerving going to talk to a doctor that doesn't speak your first language. I was terrified that she'd tell me I needed brain surgery or something and I wouldn't understand. She told me I had an infection in my throat, so I've been taking medicine daily and now am finally feeling better. I rested that day, but Zack went to help the groups with construction on one of the schools.

Tuesday: I started my Spanish lessons, which Zack had already started the day before. Zack busied himself in the afternoon with the usual agenda of painting at the hospital or doing construction. I translated between two women, one of the women from Arkansas and our friend Janet. The American woman had taught a seminar for Sunday school teachers and Janet wanted to know what she missed. That was my first real time translating of the trip, and I was muy nerviosa. That night we had a worship service (here they have them on Tuesdays and Thursday nights instead of Wednesdays).

Wednesday: Honestly, I can't remember Wednesday. I know we both had our Spanish lessons in the morning. I believe in the afternoon we sat with Jurgen, a Nicaraguan who lives here, to talk about our plans for working with World English Institute in July.

Thursday: Again in the morning we had our Spanish lessons. In the afternoon Zack went to help again with building one of the schools. I on the other hand, went with a group of women to La Casa Materna, the maternity house. That was an awesome experience, and I really hope to spend a lot of time there this month if I can; if they will allow me. One of the women there was 45 and pregnant with her 13th child. Yes, 13th. A few others were on their 8th or 9th. Anyway, we brought the women a book called "How to Read the Bible," some fleece blankets, and bags full of baby items: shampoo, soap, clothes, receiving blankets, baby powder, wipes, etc. They were so thankful for these small things; it gave me the beginning of an understanding of what Christ meant when he said "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Friday (today): Today Zack has left me to go to Managua with the rest of the group from Arkansas. They are flying back to the states tomorrow; Zack is going to a Nicaraguan youth rally? Maybe? That or a lectureship. I'm not sure what it is, all I know is he is gone. I spent the morning translating a 20 page long order form for all kinds of things: medical supplies, clothing, food, etc. Customs requires that it be translated into Spanish, so that was a frustrating 3 hours. After lunch, I and the other interns, Amy the nurse who lives here, and Diego my Spanish teacher, all went around Jinotega shopping. It was nice to relax after a week of being sick and being exhausted. Now here I sit, waiting for my beloved husband to return from the capital city.

May your hope be found in Christ alone as you trust in him...thanks again for your continued prayers.

__________________

June 26, 2007

Yippie!

That´s really awesome to hear [Zack heard of Margaret's decision to follow Christ], Dan. I´ll bet Paul is really happy too. I´m back after a week of being among the river communities of Mayan and Mesquito indigenous peoples. Really cool stuff. I´m at the internet cafe right now, so I´ll write about it (without really great punctuation because everything is garbled on these keyboards):

One Christian nurse, 3 young American Christians (other interns), one Nicaraguan translator, and 2 Nicaraguan evangelists took a 4 hour bus ride up windy mountain roads. Elizabeth stayed with another young evangelist´s wife and helped teach children´s classes. We missed each other wretchedly. On the trip to Wiwili, 4 or 5 people we didn´t know vomited out the bus windows due to either the spurious looking food the local venders sold, motion sickness because of the drivers crazy driving, or both. Nobody even flinched; I don´t even think the vomiters themselves flinched (If I ever toss my cookies on a bus, I hope to do it with as much dignity as these Nicaraguans do). We arrived in a remote town called Wiwili and slept for the night in the second most horrible hotel I´ve ever seen (the first most horrible was the one Elizabeth and I stayed in on the other church plant in LaDahlia).

We were on the river by 5 in the morning in a long boat which is a larger scale, motorized version of the long boats the Central American natives use to travel on the river. The boat was about 35 feet long by 2 and a half feet wide and really wobbly. One guide of Spanish decent drove the moter in back while a Native man stood up on front of the boat and poked a stick into the water, half propelling half steering the boat through the rough spots in the river. We drove 12 hours up the Rio Coco (Coconut River). It was really beautiful and enormously cool. Natives live on this river, with no connection to the outside world save the river itself. Most of them use long boats (20 feet long by 1 foot wide) to travel to local communities, propelling the boats with long sticks that reach the bottom.

We stayed at a non Christian nurse´s house, who lets us stay because of the medical help the church has given to the river people. Her husband owns land on which another man grazes his 600 some cows. They partner together and are relatively rich for river people. After evangelizing there, her husband´s partner who owns the cows told us to come and baptize him in three weeks. He said he needs to think about his decision first, so we told him we´d come baptize him when we (or they if I am busy with Bible-English students) return the 3rd week of July. He lives in a nearby community without a church of Christ, so when he is baptized we plan to stay the weekend in his town and evangelize, preach, teach, and plant a church there.

We visited with two churches of Christ that have been planted on the river recently. Both churches met at the nurse´s house (who graciously let us assemble at her house!). I preached on the parable of the sower, and it was translated into two different languages! It was hard to tell who the Christians were, because there were so many Catholic visitors and others who came to see what was going on. One of the preachers of the churches told us that he has been having denominational guest preachers, and after some discussion with the evangelists he left upset. This preacher is a Mesquito native, and has never had any formal or any extensive bible training (not to mention that he´s only been a Christian 2 years), so the Nicaraguan evangelists plan to spend time with him the next time they are able. Our nurse gave some shots and splinted a sobbing little boy´s broken arm.

My comfort zone has been violated repeatedly this month, and I am hoping I will grow into a better servant of God through it. It´s pretty easy for me to recognize my spiritual immaturity here, especially when I see others around me who are really living sacrifices. Elizabeth is great at Spanish, simply wonderful. I stink, but less than before, which doesn´t mean much. Please pray for Elizabeth, I, and the church in Nicaragua. We are praying for you too! Way to go Margaret!!! Woohoo!

God bless the churches,

Mr. Opheim
__________________

June 15, 2007

I just got back from a week long medical mission brigade in a little town called LaDalia. Utilities such as water and electric aren't on for a lot of the time there, so nobody was able to email.

It was a two hour drive from our current location, Jinotega, on windy and bumpy mountain roads. I made the mistake of trying to read during the first few minutes of the drive and was sick for the remainder of the trip. For two hours our bodies lurched back and forth as the 4 wheel drive diesel truck wound up roads that were in places more pothole that road. I will never complain about our fine North American roads ever again. The people in the town we went to are so poor; this was the first place where I really pondered what a super dooper bumber it would be to have been born there with no connection to a nice place like the U.S. I don't have time to go on about it, but so much of the culture is totally different because of how much people struggle to have enough to keep the family fed.

We teamed up with a medical brigade of doctors from the U.S. They saw something like 800 patients, while the preachers preached to people and handed out information and got addresses for future bible studies from people waiting to be seen in the lines. Anyway, the Nicaraguans spent a lot of time following up on teh contacts they made preaching in the lines the first day, so I got to do some preaching while they were away (I used a translator, of course). When they asked me to preach, I realized that I wasn't prepared to walk out onto a street and preach an utterly basic gospel message off the cuff. They told me to just figure out what verses I want to use to get a basic message of the gospel across of their deeper need for Jesus to feed their souls and how they need to respond, and then have it all memorized in my head. I was nervous at first, but everything went great and the people heard the Gospel, and I actually liked this kind of preaching. So whoever was interested in learning more, we got their names and addresses (the name of their neighborhood) and gave them a bible and some material. As the evangelists went door to door on the follow-ups throughout the week, there were 9 baptisms and a new church is planted in LaDalia.

Elizabeth helped teach hundreds and hundreds of children about Jesus, and taught many classes to children entirely in Spanish. She felt so overwhelmed, but she did a really good job, and the kids absolutely loved the classes. They were only allowed to attend the classes once a day, but they would try to sneak in past the fences we put up (which were also guarded by the National Police who bore AK47's). Elizabeth's Spanish is getting so much better. One of the children wanted to be in the class so bad she peed on the floor rather than go to the bathroom. Elizabeth, getting very nervous, decided to lift her straight up and out to the bathroom, while the rest of the kids were told to just avoid the pee on the floor. Immediately after the girl had teh accident, 8 other children ran up to Elizabeth saying, "necesito orinar," which literally means, "I need to urinate." She taught Jesus to a ton of little children, probably 500 at least.

It was really encouraging to see the Lord working like he is in LaDalia. The Nicaraguan evangelists were able to go to the local schools in preach (America better repent!), and many doors were opened. The city even sent us the local Nicaraguan band to entertain us one night (with singing, traditional Nicaraguan dancers, and accordians). Everyone is excited to see what the Lord will do in that region.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are in full fledged anaphalactic culture shock. One physical thing that has helped me to cope is the savory aroma of mountain grown Nicaraguan coffee, concerning which I plan to import much thereof to the U.S. this August.

In Christ,

Zack
_________________

JUNE 7, 2007

Hi Dan,

Could you put this on the church site for me. Thanks much.

Thanks for the prayers. We need all we can get. It´s sort of like a roller coaster of culture shock and the moments that make it totally worth it. Overall, we´re having a great time. We´re in a place where a LOT is happening. People are really drawn to the church here, and five from another town have requested that someone come out to baptize them (I think they learned the gospel from a radio broadcast, though not totally sure). We´re praying for you Dan and everyone else as well.

Yesterday one preaching student told me that a new christian lady was confused about Revelation and wanted to study. He asked me if I wanted to study with them, and of course I said sure (I can´t punctuate properly without much struggle because Spanish keyboards are totally backwards). However, I thought that he, being a native Spanish speaker as well as her, was going to teach it. After saying okay to study with them all three of us sat there staring blankly at each other for about 15 seconds until I realized with a sense of utter doom that they expected me to teach the lesson! Too bad neither of them spoke any English. So I taught a lesson on Revelation, off the cuff, completely in Spanish (except for portions which were taught in homemade yet inventive sign language)! The amazing part was that she really grasped a few basic keys to understanding the book! By the end of the study I think we all had headaches from straining at my grossly uglatocious Spanish.

Yesterday a little 9 year old shoe shine boy came up and sat next to me. After sharing my can of sardines in tomato sauce with him (which we both savored with glee) he shined my shoes. This boy carries around a wooden shoe shine stool strapped to his back like a back pack. He looks like a little orphan from the 30´s. I asked him how much for a shine and he said 2 cordobas, which is worth about 20 U.S. cents. Very soon the ladies with us noticed him and were googling at him. We got our shoes shined, and everybody overpaid him of course. He uses the money to pay for school which he attends in the mornings and at night. When he comes next week for our appointed shoe shine time (the people at the church let him shine their shoes pretty much everyday if he is around) I´m going to get a picture of him. He is the cutest little boy anybody has ever seen and probably the cream of the human crop. He´s a good enough reason for us to be in Nicaragua.

I´m going to be the water boy at a medical outreach-preaching mission in a remote town next week. It´s the most lowly job possible, haha! However, they assure me with pats on the head that it´s necessary to prevent the doctors and preachers from becoming dehydrated. I prefer to call myself a field manager of bio-critical resources, just to keep things in perspective. Elizabeth is going to be a translator for the nurses! They have been using her for a translator all week. And she knows all sorts of new children's songs, as she helps teach the children's classes at church. I´m so impressed with her and blessed to have her with me.

Dios Les Bendiga (May God bless you all),

Zack

________________

JUNE 1, 2007
We arrived in Nicaragua at noon this today after our flight was canceled the night before. One of the first things we saw while leaving the airport was an airport employee mowing the lawn with, you guessed it, a 3 foot machete. I couldn´t believe how good of a job he was doing with it. The city we are in, Jinotega, was about a 3 hour drive from the airport in Managua. During the end we drove through the mountains and saw some pretty spectacular sights. I took a bunch of pictures of being in the clouds. We actually drove into the clouds. Needless to say, the pictures at that point were pretty cloudy. The poverty of this place blows away any place I´ve ever seen. The vast majority of people are tin shack poor. A ton of people have dirt floors.

I believe we will begin building a school building in a nearby village tomorrow. The government has said "you fix up our schools and stick teachers in them, and you can put church buildings on the land or whatever." We will be doing lots of different things while we´re here: the first month we´ll be doing intensive spanish study in the morning and helping to build church and school buildings in the evening. Next month we´ll be teaching the bible in english to x amount of students. I have no more time. Please pray. We´ve got you in our prayers also. Adios!

God bless everybody,

Zack
_________________________

June 2, 2007
First walk around Jinotega
We are now at an internet cafe which we´ve stopped into during our walk through town. The missionaries sent the interns staying all summer on a mission to become familiar with the town while the group of 17 that is here for one week are building a school/church building and painting a hospital. Elizabeth is going to be used as a translator for a lady´s Sunday school lecture. She is excited. Wait, scratch that... she says she´s "nervous´".

The missionaries recieved us very well with hugs, hamburguesas, and homemade potato chips. This morning we had a bean/rice mixture with fried plantains, which reminded me of a sweet potatoish substance. I accidentally poured too much hot sauce on my beans and it nearly blew my head off.

Overall, I think our heads are still pretty much spinning, and will be for a few more days. I can just barely have a decent conversation with people in Spanish, while Elizabeth does much better. People drive dirtbikes through town and mow their lawns with machetes. The sewage system in the city cannot handle toilet paper, so bathroom functions are done a little differently here. There are no addresses, so to send a letter from one city to another one has to write on the letter how many houses in which direction from the Catholic church building the letter should be delivered to. And last but not least, the water heater consists of two wires from the ceiling that connect to the shower head, heating the water to a luke warminess just before it comes out. However, we are excited and sort of slap happy about it all. Culture shock is sure to come a-knocking, but that´s okay. We will keep excited and prayerful. Please keep us and the church in Jinotega in your prayers.

In Christ,

Zack
__________________

2007 MAY CHURCH NEWS

2007-04-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

May 20, The Woods are hosting the adult fellowship and it begins at 6 p.m.
May 19, 4th Minnesota Bible Lecture. All day event at the Armory in Owatonna, MN (click the marquee).

2007 APRIL CHURCH NEWS

2007-04-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

April 28, Adult Fellowship at the Pettigrews.
May 7, Men's Prayer time. Dunn Brothers at 6:30 in the morning.
May 12, Elizabeth and Zack marriage.
May 19, 4th MN Bible Lecture on subject of Baptism.
Adult fellowship to be announced.

2007 MARCH CHURCH NEWS

2007-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

March Worship Schedule

Announcement and Invitation:
This note is to let you know that the Maplewood church of Christ will be hosting our 7th annual gospel singing on March 9, 2007 from 7 PM to 9 PM. It is earlier this year than in past years but it is getting more difficult all the time to select a date that doesn’t conflict with folk’s busy schedules. Hopefully, some of the brethren from “down south” can attend as a number of you did last year. Additionally, I have attached a couple of new songs.
God bless you all,
Ken Wolfe

MAP and DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS

(These Brethren have been encouraging and supportive of us with the MN Bible lecture. Let's make a strong effort to attend this singing. I will be a wonderful time of worship and encouragement. - Dan Mayfield)

2007 FEBRUARY CHURCH NEWS

2007-01-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

CARE PACKAGES TO COLLEGE STUDENTS

Some of the members pitched in to show some love to the three college students. The three photos show what went in each package.

- Feb 9, Adult fellowship at the Mayfields' home, 6:30 p.m.
- Feb 24, St. Cloud Ladies' Day
- May 19, 4th MN Bible Lecture.

2007 JANUARY CHURCH NEWS

2007-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Jan 27 - Adult fellowship at the Brookins. Times to be announced.
Jan 28 - Baby Shower and Potluck scheduled this day for the Engs has been postponed.

PRAYERS
Keep Sarina and the baby boy she is carrying in your prayers.
Pray for Linda and Dan who have been down with bronchitis.
Lord willing, Dan Mayfield and Dave VanGuilder will travel to Henderson TN for the upcoming lectureship.

2006 DECEMBER CHURCH NEWS

2006-12-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

December Worship Assignments

ADULT FELLOWSHIP
- Dec. 15 at Dave VanGuilder's home at 6:30 p.m. Address is 1390 Clover Ln. Bring appetizers or finger foods or whatever you call these things. Here's a Map that will get you in the general area.
- January Adult Fellowship will be hosted by the Brookins. More information will be posted soon.
- Regular worship and Bible classes times are in effect for the holidays.

PRAYERS
- John Brookins had surgery on his shoulder and is home resting. Pray for his quick recovery.
- Jerrod had follow-up tests on Monday, Dec. 11, and he gets an all clear from the doctors. It was really good news and we want to thank God for his recovery.
- Pray for Linda's strength to grow and thanks that she is doing so well.
- Help for the college kids finishing up the Semester and traveling home at Christmas.
- Pray for Abigail Martin. She is going through some medical examinations for have a couple of night seizures.

GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION

2006-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Lesson 1: Our Eternal Salvation
Lesson 2: God's Warning
Lesson 3: Eternity
Lesson 4: Our Sin Problem
Lesson 5: The Nature of God
Lesson 6: Christ Has Paid Our Penalty
Lesson 7: The Grace of God
Lesson 8: Thinking Back
Lesson 9: Doing God's Will
Lesson 10: Believe in God and in Christ
Lesson 11: Repentance
Lesson 12: Confessing Christ
Lesson 13: Must We Be Baptized To Be Saved?
Lesson 14: Must We Be Baptized For the Forgiveness of Our Sins?
Lesson 15: The Cleansing Blood of Christ
Lesson 16: Becoming a Child of God
Lesson 17: Baptized Into Christ
Lesson 18: Obedience To The Gospel
Lesson 19: Baptism Is Immersion
Lesson 20: Infants Are Not Lost
Lesson 21: Man Is Not To Change What God Says
Lesson 22: The Lord's Church, Part A
Lesson 23: The Lord's Church, Part B
Lesson 24: The Lord's Church, Part C
Lesson 25: Summary

2006 OCTOBER CHURCH NEWS

2006-10-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Worship assignments

--Oct 14 - Adult Fellowship at Wards, 5:30 p.m. Bring food and drinks.
--Oct 17 - The following is a message from Bill Wood to anyone interested in attending one Financial Peace : "I got into the Dumping Debt lesson at 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night. I took extensive notes and could not turn it off until completed at 12:30 a. m. This is the best one!!! As discussed earlier this evening, we need to put it in the bullitin, to offer church family the opportunity to see one session for free (and encourage friends to come too). If anyone has debt, this is the best one to see. Dave leads off with 18 myths about money, credit, and debt; after that he talks about gazelle intensity in getting out of debt, and he ends with a six step formula to get out of debt. The video is 92
minutes but you won't notice the time. It's great!"

From a Reuters survey on church attendance:
Church of Christ: 68 percent attendance
Mormon: 67 percent
Pentecostal: 65 percent
Southern Baptist: 60 percent
Nondenominational Protestant: 54 percent
Catholic: 45 percent
Methodist: 44 percent
Presbyterian: 44 percent
Lutheran: 43 percent
Episcopal: 32 percent
Jewish: 15 percent

2006 SEPTEMBER CHURCH NEWS

2006-09-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Worship Schedule

NOTE THE CHANGE:
- Sep. 10, not Sep. 9, Adult fellowship, 5:30 p.m. at 1210 Esther Lane It’s a “theme” fellowship so wear your favorite team colors. Please bring a dish, snack or drink to share. Main dish provided. This event is planned for adults, however infants are welcome, too. Please RSVP Wednesday, September 6, whether or not you plan to attend.
- Sep. 19, Financial Peace Workshop
- Oct. 7, STC Ladies' Fellowship
- Oct. 14, Dan preaches at the meeting in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Ted Frazier's new address:
Theodore Frazier 219495
7525 4th Ave
Lino Lakes, MN 55014

2006 AUGUST CHURCH NEWS

2006-08-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

August Worship Assignments

Click on the scrolling marquee to the left for complete information about the upcoming Financial Peace classes and orientation dates and times.