CBFNC Florence Recovery Update

FLORENCE RECOVERY UPDATE
Find Ways to Volunteer

As the response to the disaster caused by Hurricane Florence shifts into longer-term recovery, there are still great needs in all of the affected regions.

Volunteer opportunities are available through Baptists on Mission (click here) and CBF Global (click here).

CBFNC is focusing attention at this time on two neglected areas: Trenton and Columbus County. While the needs are tremendous throughout eastern North Carolina, these two have been identified as high needs/low resources.

For information on how you can help in these two areas, contact the following leaders:

Trenton - Daynette Snead (daynettesnead@gmail.com)

Columbus County - Ryan Clore (fbcwhitevillepastor@gmail.com)

We are grateful for the generous outpouring of support already received from the CBFNC community. We welcome additional gifts for Florence response, which can be given here.

Rock-a-Thon

1st annual Rock-a-Thon
Rocking for Missions

When: Saturday, October 13th from 10 AM - 2 PM

Location: First Baptist Church of Sylva’s outdoor front common area

Mission:  Our GA, RA and Acteen mission programs work hard every year learning about missionary work here and abroad.  We want to provide them with an opportunity to earn funds in a FUN way to help provide for a missionary project. 

Rock-A-Thon description:  We hope to have 10-15 school age participants, Grades 2-12, to rock in rocking chairs between 10 AM - 2 PM.   Kindergartners and 1st graders are welcome but a parent or guardian must stay with the child during the event. 

How will they raise money? Each participant will get at least 5 sponsors to sponsor their rocking efforts per hour and also help sell jewelry, coffee, and baked goods. 

How will the money be used to benefit mission services? To provide food boxes for children and youth through United Christian Ministries of Jackson County, NC. 

How can I help?  You can help by sponsoring your child and help them achieve their goals of 5 or more sponsors or if your child is unable to attend you can also help by donating baked goods to sell or monetary funds to First Baptist Church of Sylva/Mission programs by check or cash at our church office M-F 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM.   

Can I volunteer?  We would love for you to volunteer your time during the event.  You can also rock for missions and have sponsors yourself or you can donate baked goods to sell or just be present to support your child at the event. 

Deadline:  All permission slips/Volunteers forms are due by October 10th

                   All sponsorship forms and money is due by Oct 13th. 

Contact:   Bethany Moore @ 828-226-3433 or Email cwmoore21@gmail.com

Pray with CBF Field Personnel

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. When you think of the contributions of Hispanic Americans, remember the people behind “successful Latinos” – the courageous parents who brought their children to this country seeking “a better life.” Like Miguel, Maria and Dominga, who began their American dream in the fields picking vegetables; Jaime, a construction worker; Silvia, a stay at home mom; Emilia, a cook – all immigrants and U.S. citizens.

Despite the challenges of limited English, functional illiteracy, long hours at hard, low-paying jobs, and life in impoverished neighborhoods, they’ve raised bilingual, well-rounded youth and young adults with bright futures ahead of them. Ministry to today’s immigrant families is an investment in tomorrow’s leaders.

Dear God, my prayer today is for Your people to hear the call to engage in tangible ministry efforts that seek to welcome immigrants in our communities. Thank you for the blessing of serving others, and help us to remember the words of Your Son, “For I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Amen.

Sue Smith, CBF field personnel among Latino Immigrants

Fighting Predatory Lending

Predatory payday lending is one of the greatest injustices the financially desperate face in America. Payday loans promise a rapid economic solution while creating drowning debt.

Fortunately, individuals like Scarlette Jasper, a CBF field personnel, are working to put an end to this abuse. Scarlette has served for many years in various parts of Kentucky as an advocate for her struggling neighbors. She puts her faith into action by facilitating group workshops, offering individualized financial training to help with budgeting and other financial management skills, and partnering with Together for Hope to warn of the entrapment of payday loans. If that were not enough, she is also engineering a micro-loan program to provide a financial alternative for families.

Scarlette is an example of what it is to walk with Christ and others. Her work not only helps those economically disadvantaged, but it professes the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

The Value of Relationships.

CBF field personnel Karen Morrow shares with others that refugees resettled in the United States receive pre-planned support for six months. That includes the basics, such as a place to live, homemaking necessities, a first job. “But from then on, they’re lost,” she says, explaining newcomers still need help learning to adjust to and fit into their adopted country.

“A Congolese father told me: ‘We do not want your things (although they still could use more things). We want your relationship. Where we came from, our aunties and uncles taught us how to make a life. We do not know how to live here.’ So, we’re here to create community, to make them feel welcome, to teach them how to live here.”

Karen Morrow does that in the name and spirit of Christ. She crosses language, ethnic and religious barriers with friendly support and the love of Jesus.

Teachers at All Ages and Stages

"I'm very thankful for our volunteer teachers at the Ready for School Program, a literacy based program for refugee preschoolers and their parents which helps prepare them to enter U.S. schools. Between the four classes in Fort Worth, we touched the lives of 100 refugee families this past year. Our volunteers are from all ages and stages of life and lovingly give their time to invest in the lives of refugee families. To these families they are all 'teacher' as they learn colors, numbers, shapes and skills they will need to begin school. A big thank you to all the teachers as we begin another school year. Please pray for our volunteers and families as the new school year beings, and pray that we have even more volunteer teachers this year."

- Karen Morrow, CBF field personnel in Fort Worth, Texas

Sylva 1st Wednesday Evening Programs Begins August 22

Your family is invited to come and take part in our Sylva 1st Wednesday evening programs.  There is something for everyone!  Our Wednesday night programs will resume on August 22.  Supper will be provided (youth and children eat for FREE!) at 5:30 PM followed at 6:00 PM by Mission Friends for Pre-K and Kindergarten and our SHINE ministry for grades 1-6.  7th – 12th Graders will participate in Youth Group and programs designed for their age level.

Fun Times together! 

SHINE, for grades 1-6, includes children’s choir, drama class and a liturgical dance class. The “SHINE” ministry is designed to help children learn to actively participate in worship through these disciplines. These groups assist in leading worship on Sunday morning from time to time as a part of their spiritual development. This is a time packed full of fellowship and working together to learn how we praise God through different elements of worship, with the focus on music, drama, creative movement and art. 

Mission Friends is a time for our Pre-K and kindergarteners to learn about how Christians are spreading God’s word around the globe and in our own country.  They will learn to pray for these missionaries and find ways that they can help with some of those ministries.  It is an opportunity for them to learn and take part in supporting mission efforts around the world. 

Learning with friends

After supper, Youth in grades 7-12 will participate in Youth Group which includes Bible Study, creative worship, game nights, discipleship, and chances to participate in ministry to others.  All this is designed to build community and provide spiritual growth for those in their teen years.  This time is informal, and questions are encouraged.  The teen years are a time of searching and becoming the adults they will be.  A safe place to ask questions about faith and spiritual growth is essential as they grow in their own walks with Christ.  

Wrapping presents for a Christmas project

And, of course, there is also an Adult Bible Study which meets in the Mission and Fellowship Center immediately following our prayer time at 6:00 PM. Our Bible Study provides parents and other adults a chance to go deeper into scripture, searching out the truths that shape our faith.  There is truly something for everyone in the family! 

We invite you to make this time a priority for your family as we grow together as a community of faith! 

Mission Education for Children & Youth Begins on August 22 at 4:30 PM!

Mission education for our school aged children and youth begins at 4:30. R.A.s (Royal Ambassadors) is for boys in grades 1-6 and G.A.s (Girls in Action) is for girls grades 1-6. Like our Mission friends, they will be learning how to pray for and support missionaries at home and abroad.  These groups also engage in activities that allow them to participate in missions through local projects and collecting money and supplies for missionaries in other places.   

At the same 4:30 time slot, the youth participate in their own mission education experince.  Through Acteens or Youth on Mission, youth grades 7-12 learn about our mission endeavors, and how to pray for our missionaries. They will also actively participate in mission projects both local and around our state. 

Training Witnesses of God's Love

"We were recently asked to train 100+ Ukrainian Christian school teachers. When asked about the most important problem in their classrooms, the common answers were discipline and authority. The Ukrainian educational system still uses the old Soviet system. It does not value students, practices shaming and expects authority. During the training I explained that authority delivers short-term results, but influence goes farther. We used Jesus' example with the Samaritan woman to show Jesus' focus on building relationships that lead to transformation. At the end of our teaching, unexpectedly, we were thanked with a standing ovation and an outpouring of gifts. We are thankful that through CBF we are able to fulfill our call to teach and train others to be witnesses of God's acceptance, redeeming love and abundant life."

-  Gennady and Mina Podgaisky, CBF field personnel in Kiev, Ukraine

Seeing the Bible With Fresh Eyes

"In Cambodia, widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor still need protection. The spirit world is an everyday preoccupation, with temples in every neighborhood and frequent offerings to stone idols. Daily bread is not a given. These are major concerns of the Bible, but in the US, we usually gloss over these passages or spend a lot of time contextualizing them to make sense to us. In Cambodia, though, many of these passages apply directly to the lives of Cambodians with little explanation needed. By reading the Bible in Khmer alongside Cambodians, I see significant themes that are hard to notice in an American context. New words, interesting translation choices, different grammar, and having to read more slowly help me see things I've never noticed before. You may not be able to learn a new language just for reading the Bible, but I encourage you to think about how you can find ways to see the Bible with fresh eyes."

- David and Lauren Bass, CBF field personnel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia