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MISSION REPORT:
February 2003
Fred and Margie Stock in Pakistan
Fred and Margie Stock are retired missionaries who were supported
by Union Presbyterian until they retired. They have continued to
work as missionaries in Pakistan without any financial support.
They asked us not to continue supporting them financially because
their pension from the Presbyterian Church is adequate for their
needs. Yet they do request prayer support.
Here is an excerpt from their December prayer and praise letter:
Praise for a responsive group of 50 people who attended Group One,
15 of them for the first time. We were especially blessed by a middle-aged
couple who came to be baptized. Usually baptisms are done in the
village in front of neighbors as a witness. However a radical group
is located in their village so they came to the New Life Center.
Lalla has been an exorcist and charm maker, opposed to the Gospel.
His wife Shanti became seriously ill with TB. He begged us to pray
for her, which we did. We also started her on TB treatment. She
has steadily improved through prayer and pills.
Their evangelist gave them a hand-wind tape player through which
they learned basic Christian teaching and memorized several verses.
As they were leaving home for our center, an old client came requesting
a charm to combat severe shaking in one leg which hindered his walking.
Lalla said, "I don't make charms any more, but I can pray for
you in the name of Jesus." The man agreed. Lalla, who had never
prayed aloud before, folded his hands and said, "God this man
needs to be healed. Please heal him in the name of Jesus." The man's
leg stopped shaking and he walked with them to the bus stop. We
all rejoiced as they openly declared their faith.
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Read other recent
mission profiles and reports:
Tham, Nellie: 2002
Hansen, Bruce Jr: 2002
Green Pastures
Harro, Gretchen: Cameroon, West
Africa
Lawrences, Rancho Santa
Marta 2002
Kostov, Viktor and Teresa:
2002
Magazy, Borys and Svitlana:
Ukraine
Morris, Laura: Urbana
Russell, David and Giselle:
HCJB | (*Russells' website)
Mission News: October 2001
Rancho Santa Marta Short-term
Mission
Summer Missions, 2002
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Love
In Action - Making a Difference
Thanks so much for all of your support for the needy. Your donations
can really make a difference. One can of soup feeds 2 or 3 young children.
A box of pasta can suffice for dinner for a family of 5 or 6. Please
continue to generous and faithful in giving of your non-perishable
food items each week. The barrels for food are located in Bailey Hall
by the library and by the door to the main entrance. Remember Jesus
said to feed the hungry! Thank You, Ruthie Hansen
Real Help Where it Helps Most
When you see someone on the street, there is a better way to help
them than to just give them loose change. When you know a neighbor
needs some special help because they lost a job, there is a great
place to refer them. Our local Community Services Agency does an outstanding
job of helping people in need, whether they are homeless or in a crisis
economic situation. This March we collected $652 in loose change to
help people in need of food and clothing.
I took this money down to the Community Services Agency. They were
thrilled to receive our check. They are also grateful for our monthly
support from the Mission Committee and for our hosting their Alpha/Omega
mission for a month once a year. Maureen Wadiak, one of their staff
members, gave me a tour of their building and mission. They provide
food to many in our community and to many who are homeless. They provide
clothing and shelter too. Many volunteers help each day to hand out
the food and clothing. This is an efficient operation closely interlinked
with our neighbor communities service agencies such as Santa Clara,
Palo Alto or Cupertino. This one serves Los Altos and Mountain View.
I watched one person fill up a bag with bread donated by Costco and
canned goods from Safeway. Maureen showed me the special section for
people on the streets that don't have any way to cook. The foods in
this section were pop top cans of ready to eat food. Shelves full
of fresh vegetables from the Farmers Market offered tempting salad
makings. Everything was clean, orderly and very welcoming to those
in need.
When people come to our church in need, we refer them to the Community
Services Agency, as they will get them the best help there. This also
keeps us from being taken by con artists, as the agency does a great
job of screening there. We will continue to support their mission
to people in need in our communities with donations and volunteers.
If you would like to offer some hours or some resources to the Community
Services Agency, let me know. Watch for the list of what foods they
need to stock their pantry in the Sunday bulletins.
Grace in Christ Jesus, Mike Clark, Senior Pastor |
MISSION SUPPORT:
- We support over 45 different missionaries and mission agencies
world wide including; Community Pregnancy Centers; Young Life
high school ministry; campus ministries to Stanford and University
of California-Berkeley; international work in Eastern Europe;
Mexico; Spain; Guatemala; Honduras; Chile; India; Cameroon and
Ivory Coast, Africa; Chiang Rai, Thailand; and Hong Kong.
- One quarter of every dollar received at Los Altos Union Presbyterian
Church goes back out in mission programs.
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HANDS ON MISSION WORK includes:
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