July 20, 2007

 

Beloved Missionaries are back in Chile

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

We write to let you know that we have arrived safely in Santiago, Chile.  Thank you for having prayed for us.  Our possessions and we were late, but safe.  Maybe being late was part of God’s plan to keep us safe?  Only God knows.  Our flight to Buenos Aires, instead of leaving at 8 o’clock in the evening from Miami, left at 6:30 the next morning.  Throughout the night we tried to sleep on the airport floor using a duffle bag as a group pillow!  Of course, our connecting flight to Santiago also had to be postponed and when we finally boarded, the captain informed us there would be a further delay while the maintenance crew changed a tire.  When we finally arrived in Santiago at 9pm, we realized we were 12 hours later than scheduled!  Amazingly, two dear friends from Villa Alemana had spent their entire day at the airport waiting for us, so we did have a welcoming committee.

 

We want to share with you just a few of the unexpected events that occurred during our final days in Pasadena and thank you for your prayers during that challenging time.  One very good thing was that five days before we left Pasadena, our oldest son, Joel, told us that he had the opportunity to purchase an RV from his friend’s grandpa and asked if we could help him.  This was especially important because, due to circumstances that (this time) were beyond his control, he was on the verge of being evicted from the apartment where he was living.  We were able to help him and it gave us much peace of mind to know before we left that he has a roof (albeit a mobile one) over his head.  This purchase was a further blessing to us when he “rescued” us from Pasadena on the 4^th of July.  We were to have driven our van over to Corona that day to leave it and several boxes in storage in our brother-in-law’s warehouse.  However, the night before the van died!  By the grace of God this happened right in front of our apartment complex rather than on the highway.  Russ was able to find a shop open on the 4th that received the van.  There they discovered the problem, but were unable to fix it before we left.  So Joel and his RV were our means of transport.  We managed to get the seemingly endless sorting, giving away, throwing away, storing and packing done in time, and got the apartment cleaned thanks to invaluable help from friends from school and church, and neighbors.  Then we spent our last night in California (before flying to Tampa, Florida) at Heidi’s sister’s house.  It was a short night because we had to be at the airport at 4am on July 5^th.  We thank God for a wonderful, long weekend of R & R with dear friends from Jacksonville who drove down to be with us.  We visited our final supporting church in nearby Largo on Sunday, accompanied by Heidi’s mom who was visiting a friend nearby so was with us too.  Monday we went on to Miami for a wonderful time with other friends who live there.  All of that fortified us for the airline ordeal to come!  God is faithful.  So here we are in cold, wet Santiago.  Hard to believe that 3 days ago we were floating on rafts in our friend’s lake in Miami in 95° weather!

 

The next thing we want you to pray for is our immigration status in Chile.  Heidi and I lost our permanent residency, because the consul in Los Angeles decided we didn’t have a legitimate reason to not return to Chile earlier.  So we had to come in as tourists, pay $100 each, plus, they took away our Chilean identity cards, and we may have to go through the whole process of becoming permanent residents again, which could take a year or longer.  Maybe we could appeal the consul’s decision, but we need God’s wisdom.  Joshua, Joyanne and Jocelyn, of course, don’t have this problem since they were born here and are citizens of Chile.

 

A great housing possibility came up two days before we left Pasadena.  There is a Baptist family going to the States for three months.  Through the school, they found out we were coming and we were asked if we would be willing to house sit for them.  Changes in plans are not always easy for us, but missionaries have to be flexible.  So we talked with them and we all decided that we would do this.  They would try to schedule their departure with our arrival.  A few days later there was a new change in plans.  Their son had a medical emergency and they would not be able to leave for about two weeks.  So we modified plans.  Now we are in an apartment at the Santiago Christian Academy and then we’ll move over to their house for three months.  They leave on the 22^nd so we will move over there on the 23^rd.  This delay has turned out great.  We got to meet them today, and they showed us all the things in the house that we needed to know about—where the dog and cat food are kept, how the washing machine works, the wood-burning stove (for heat), etc.  God is so good at weaving together for good all the circumstances of the lives of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

 

Some of you know we will have a Vonage phone line. This is through the computer and means you can call us by calling a stateside number that automatically connects to our computer.  You pay only the cost of a call to Corona, CA.  The number is 951-479-8394.  So feel free to call and leave a message if we don’t answer.  Right now our time is the same as Eastern Daylight Time.

    

Sorry this has gotten so long but we did want to catch you up on all God has done.  To him be the glory!

 

Russ and Heidi Smith

 

Why do we Give?

 

In the last issue of Beloved eNews, Deacon Deb Blackwood began a series showing one of the ways the faithful people of Beloved have responded to the call of Jesus.  Though gifts from Beloved’s offering basket tithe have already made a profound difference in people’s lives around the world, there is more that can be done.  Our global church continues to challenge us (and millions of other Christians around the world) to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals in order to show Jesus’ face to the poorest countries of the world as together we systematically and realistically tackle the devastating poverty, sickness and lack of infrastructure we find there.

 

Goal #1:  Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger

 

This is perhaps the broadest Millennium Development goal, but without tackling this one, the other goals are doomed to fail.  Adults and children who suffer from extreme poverty and hunger have no capacity to deal with anything except mere survival!  The goal is to cut by ½ the proportion of people living on less than $1 per day and who consequently suffer from extreme hunger.

 

 

Did you know that:

 

• 1/3^rd of deaths [50,000/day] are due to poverty and hunger [Reality of Aid, 2004]
• More than 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases at a rate of one every 3 seconds [Bread for the World, UNICEF, World Health Organization]
• 1 billion people live on less than $1/day and nearly ½ of the world’s population lives on less than $2/day [UN, HDR 2003]
• 600 million children live in absolute poverty [SCF, Beat Poverty 2003]
• The 3 richest people in the world control more wealth than 600 million people living in the world’s poorest countries [Christian Aid]
• Income/person has FALLEN by 25% in the poorest countries in Africa in the last 20 years [UNICEF]
• Every year, 11 million children die before their 11^th birthday [UNICEF]

How can we begin to make a dent in this staggering problem?  Here at home, we have addressed hunger through the work of Episcopal Farm Workers Ministry and CROP Walk as well as contributions to Loaves and Fishes, Second Harvest Food Bank, Urban Ministries and Friendship Trays.  Internationally, we have provided aid in Central America through Food for the Poor, supported orphaned children in Africa and the Middle East and supported the work of Compassion International, in which persons sponsor orphaned children in countries around the world.  For details, click here.

 

Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”  (Matthew 25:36)

 

Deb Blackwood, Deacon

 

Around Beloved…Beloved’s Todd Atwood will be participating in the July 27 & 28 Lance Armstrong Foundation’s 24 Hours of Booty cycling event in order to raise money for cancer research in memory of their family’s good friend, Jill.  Todd’s personal goal is to ride at least 100 miles and to raise $5,000 through participation in this event.  If you would like to learn more about this event, click here.  To assist Todd by sponsoring him in this effort, click here.  All contributions are tax deductible and are eligible for corporate matching gifts.  To contact Todd directly, click here.

 

 

A subgroup of Church of the Beloved’s Marketing Team has been working on a website project to be launched at the beginning of the next school year that will share information to help people who are new to Charlotte’s South Perimeter.  At Church of the Beloved we remember that Jesus, when incarnated, “took on flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14a The Message) and we want to do the same thing.  We want to offer a welcome to those people who call Charlotte’s South Perimeter home and share information that will make living here an easier task.  We would like to share those tips that you would have loved to have been told without having to discover them for yourself.  This issue’s question: What’s your favorite day trip away from Charlotte?  Please include any tips that would make this trip easier for a novice.  To respond, click here. 

 

 

Beloved eNews will publish less frequently through the summer months.  Publication dates are set for August 2 & August 16.  Weekly publication will resume on August 23.  News and calendar information should be submitted via email by the Monday preceding the publication date. 

 

 

July 8…Attendance: 125; Worship Offering: $2,891; July 15…Attendance: 101; Worship Offering: $2,535.  Income needed for ministry each week: $5,500 (fully funded) à $4,400 (requiring other funding sources i.e. fundraising events).  The financial goal of Church of the Beloved is to reach self-sufficiency (i.e. pay all expenses without income from outside sources) by 12/31/2008.

 

 

Scripture Readings for July 22…Colossians 1:15-28 & Luke 10:38-42

 

Serving at God’s Altar on July 22…Hospitality light setup/cleanup: Volunteer team, click here; Acolytes: Volunteer team; Offering Basket Passer & Presenters: volunteers; Altar Bread Baker: Janis Conlin; Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Al Krantz & Wes Nichols; PowerPoint: Forrest Boylston; Reader: Anna Moore; Offering Counters: Janis Conlon (Head Counter) & Liz Wilson (Assistant)

 

 

 

Scripture Readings for July 29…Colossians 2:6-15 & Luke 11:1-13

 

Serving at God’s Altar on July 29…Hospitality light setup/cleanup: Volunteer team, click here; Acolytes: Volunteer team; Offering Basket Passer & Presenters: volunteers; Altar Bread Baker: Lynn Skrobot; Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Betsy Fox & Bud Moore; PowerPoint: Kevin Krantz; Reader: Joseph Nichols; Offering Counters: Bud Moore (Head Counter) & Roey Southard (Assistant)

 

 

In our Prayers… Click here

Upcoming Calendar… Click here