|
Sudan Rowan
Sudan Rowan was created at St. John’s in the spring of 2007. Now a county-wide organization, Sudan Rowan’s mission is to provide education to schools and community groups about the everyday realities of our partners living in South Sudan and to foster sustainable ventures in the provision of water, education and medical supplies.
A small group representing Sudan Rowan traveled to a region in South Sudan in February/March 2009. Read a Salisbury Post article about our trip at http://www.salisburypost.com/Opinion/053109-insight-sudan-puckett
Our partner -- Charlotte-based Mothering Across Continents -- is in contract negotiations with a large international aid organization that will build our 2 schools. (The second school is in the village of Aliap, where Sudan Rowan visited in March 2009.) Our plans are to pay a first installment soon and break ground on the Nyarweng school by February 1, 2011.
Developments to date:
· Each school includes 4 classrooms, principal’s office, living quarters for 4 teachers, 8 latrines, borehole for water
· The cost of 2 schools plus teacher training: $350,000
· We have already secured a $50,000 teacher training grant
· We have raised $100,000 in donations and pledges, including a $22,000 grant from Salisbury-based St. Luke’s Foundation.
To schedule a speaker from our Speaker’s Bureau, or for more information, contact Karen Puckett at 704-279-7428 or email sudanrowan@yahoo.com. Sudan Rowan is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit corporation, To make a donation, make checks payable to Sudan Rowan, PO Box 412, Salisbury, NC 28145. For further information, browse on www.sudanrowan.org , or browse on http://www.motheringacrosscontinents.org/Raising_Sudan.html.
Partners in Mission: La Escuela Integrada
Guatemala
 St John’s partnership with Christian schools in Guatemala is in its infancy … but it’s fast becoming one of the most significant ministries of the church.
Here’s why: The Country of Guatemala does not have a public school system. Therefore, if you do not have money to send your children to school, your children do not attend school, which has led to a cycle of generational poverty and illiteracy throughout the country.
Several years ago, a not for profit organization located in Colorado (LACES) started a Christian mission school in Antigua, Guatemala for children living in poverty who otherwise would not have a chance to be educated. The goals of the school are far reaching and noted as:
-
To end the cycle of poverty and illiteracy through the provision of education to impoverished children in Antigua;
-
Provide two meals per day for the children attending the school so that their nutritional needs are met and they are better able to learn;
-
Provide clothing and assistance with books and school supplies so that all the children have materials and items needed to learn;
-
Provide medical and dental assistance to each child who attends the school (and all of their family members) so that each family member is healthy and able to learn and function in society.
Most importantly, the school is working to provide the message of our Lord while actively healing and loving all persons regardless of socioeconomic situation. As new partners with LACES in their efforts, two mission groups from St John’s have travelled to Guatemala for work camps and relationship building at the La Escuela Integrada school. We are also providing academic sponsorships, clothing and school supplies. For more information about this important mission, contact Paula Bohland (704) 433-3778.
In the summer of 2010, the Youth and Adult Mission groups partnered for a mission trip to Guatemala. Following is a summary of their trip:
Tucked away between two volcanoes in the middle of Central America is the city of Antigua, Guatemala. It's the home of famous ruins including a monastery, an enormous cathedral, and a grand palace that was once the crown jewel of the Western Hemisphere. Amidst the ruins, people live in extreme poverty. The poor are often suppressed because of their status, and the lack of order and care for the them breeds more injustice and abuse. Children often begin work at a young age so that their family can survive.
A free Christian school called Escuala Integrada is a light of hope in this dark region of the world. This summer, twenty-four youth and adults from St. John’s spent one week there sharing faith, construction expertise, and lives with school children who need the hope of Jesus in their community. However, because of economic impact on the families, parents resist placing their children in the free Christian School. In response, St. John's and the school provide free food for needy school families so that the children can attend classes instead of work.
In eight days of service, St. John’s shared Jesus through a Vacation Bible School program, futbol camp, installed three urinals and a sink, framed and installed a roof, painted the entire school, delivered many days worth of food to 25 families, and brought a mural to life in the playground courtyard. God instilled in the mission team a heart for the school, a partnership with Andrew and Rebecca Loveall (the missionaries), and a love for the children who desperately need our resources and prayers. Ironically, the mission group also realized that the Guatemalan people have what we need; a deep reliance on God, and joy that comes in the absence of wealth and materialism. It was a pleasure for the St. John's team to witness and participate in the ministry of the school, seek God's will through daily Bible study, and connect with the school children daily.
Short term mission trips are incredible opportunities to help others and experience God in a way that is powerful and often life changing. Continue to look for upcoming trips at St. John's!
Our Mission Partners in Papua New Guinea
Former St John's members Tim and Wendy Freeze, along with their seven children, have been serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Ukarumpa mission center in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea since 2001, with a brief hiatus in 2008 while their two older boys attended college. In 2009, they re-activated their mission service with Wycliffe Associates, a sister organization of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Tim is currently the Pacific area construction coordinator for building projects which support the effort of Bible translation, and Wendy teaches English at the secondary campus of UkarumpaInternationalSchool. To read their latest newsletter, click HERE. For more information about Wycliffe Associates, visit their website at:
wycliffeassociates.org
|
Ministries