 As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief – UMCOR –assists United Methodists and churches to become involved globally in direct ministry to persons in need. UMCOR comes alongside those who suffer from natural or human-caused disasters – famine, hurricane, war, flood, fire or other events—to alleviate suffering and serve as a source of help and hope for the vulnerable. UMCOR provides relief, response and long-term recovery grants when events overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on their own. UMCOR also provides technical support and training for partners to address emerging and ongoing issues related to disaster relief, recovery, and long-term health and development.  Are you interested in learning more about how our local church can help in a disaster? Contact Beth Palmer [email protected] (830)459-5847       Coming later this month, the Hill Country Emmaus Community is hosting a Women’s Walk to Emmaus at Light on the Hill. Many members of our church are participating! Some people have been asking about what a Walk to Emmaus is so here is some information…  The programs within Emmaus Ministries are an ecumenical experience of Christian spiritual renewal and formation that begins with a three-day short course in Christianity. It is an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ in a new way as God’s grace and love is revealed to you through other believers. The experience begins with the prayerful discernment and invitation from a sponsor. After one accepts this invitation they complete an application. The leaders prayerfully consider each applicant and in God’s time, the person is invited to attend a three-day experience. Following the three-day experience, participants are joined in small groups to support each other in their ongoing walk with Christ. Through the formational process of accountable discipleship in small groups and participation in the Emmaus community, each participant’s individual gifts and servant-leadership skills are developed for use in the local church and its mission. Participants are encouraged to find ways to live out their individual call to discipleship in their home, church, and community. The objective is to inspire, challenge, and equip local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, communities and places of school and/or work. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled lives to be lived and shared with others. __________________________- Who should participate in an Emmaus event? Emmaus is open to members of any Christian denomination. It is for the development of Christian leaders who are members of a local church, have a desire to strengthen their spiritual lives, may have unanswered questions about their faith, understand that being a Christian involves responsibility, and that are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God in an ongoing manner. Please join us in praying for all that God will do in and through the lives of everyone participating in this Walk to Emmaus! If you want to learn more about future Men’s and Women’s Walk to Emmaus Retreats at Light on the Hill, contact Tina Box at (830) 315-6104.    This week, we are honored to spotlight the dedicated missionaries we support who are making a profound impact outside of the United States. Their tireless work and commitment to their missions embody the values we cherish and support.  August 30, 2024 Dear Friends, We pray you are well and enjoying the last days of Summer. The past three months have been crazy busy -- in the best of ways. I tried to keep our newsletter as short as possible, yet it is a little long. I hope you will enjoy catching up with us.  The Children at the Home. Two newborns have come to live at the Home, a little boy two months old and a little girl one month old. We are currently evaluating the little boy, Mateo, for neurological issues. We fear he lacked oxygen at birth. Please pray for our Tias in Casa Fe as they adjust to a home filled with eight boys under 8 years, plus the babies and teens.  The School at the Children’s Home. We are celebrating the arrival of a new kindergarten teacher this semester. Even though we only have four children in kindergarten and another four in pre-kinder, guiding these children can prove to be quite a challenge! We would like to ask you to please pray for our new teacher and her students as she becomes more familiar with the children and the overall ministry at the Children’s Home. We have several students who are classified as special education in elementary school. It has been a tremendous blessing to see each of them make tremendous progress this year. They are not working at grade level yet, but we have great hope for their futures. During July semester break the children were able to enjoy several field trips: a day of horseback riding, a visit to a farm, hiking and a day at the swimming pool.  Mission Teams at the Children’s Home. We are building exterior walls surrounding the property at the Home. Not to keep the children in, but to keep uninvited guests out. Mission teams have spent many weeks this Summer moving rock, laying blocks, and pouring concrete. There are a few more teams coming this year to help with this project. Please pray we can complete the upper wall this year. The lower wall will be an ongoing project for years to come. We had planned to begin working on our third home, a duplex for 12 additional children, however the walls are taking much longer to build than anticipated.  New sanctuaries in Limon, Guapiles and El Tigre. The work at these three churches is moving ahead. We have been blessed to receive four teams at each location this year. These teams worked diligently pouring concrete, tying rebar, sifting sand and digging ditches for these new sanctuaries. The church in Limon is a new church plant, the churches in Guapiles and El Tigre have been under construction for several years. During their visits, the mission team members minister alongside the local congregations through outreach events to the children in the community. We give great thanks to each group for all of their labor over the past three months. Their presence has been a powerful witness and testimony throughout the region!  The Methodist School. The first week of August, we celebrated Spiritual Emphasis Week at the Methodist school with a band and group of friends from the Woodlands (TX) Methodist Church. Members of the band spent their mornings sharing songs and testimony with the student body! (PreK – 11th grade) At the conclusion of each gathering, students and teachers had the opportunity to come forward for a time of personal sharing and prayer. Though we have witnessed the Lord’s hand move so many times before during this unique week, we were still amazed at the response of students who came forward, yearning for a deeper walk with the Lord. By week’s end, dozens of students had made decisions to follow Christ, and others testified to the impact the week had made in their lives. An additional highlight was an evening directed towards recent graduates of the Methodist High School as we shared together around the theme: “Faith after highschool.” What transpired was a beautiful time of mutual sharing between team members and Ticos (Costa Ricans) about the challenges/opportunity’s college life brought to their faith. We give thanks for this new outreach and look forward to it becoming yet another piece of the overall ministry at the Methodist School.  The Wesley Clinic At the end of July, we received a wonderful medical team from Dallas who worked alongside our Costa Rican physicians and dentists at the Wesley Clinic in Puerto Viejo. During this short two day “Health Fair” two hundred patients were assisted and received much needed medical attention. Thanks to several generous financial gifts, we were able to begin using our first EKG machine and do so in a more comfortable setting as several consult rooms now enjoy air conditioning! We praise God for all who participated in this outreach and seek your prayers for a similar health fair during the first week of September. Our Family. Ray and I recently made a quick trip to Texas to help Emma move from Waco to College Station (in the100+ degree heat). I lost count of the number of trips we made between cities, but we no longer need the GPS to find the way! Sarah is in her last year of her master’s program at Baylor and Emma is beginning her master’s program at Texas A&M. We are so grateful that both girls were able to spend time at home in Costa Rica with us this summer. The only downside is that it is difficult to have an empty house once again. Dear Friends, Thank you for your faithful support of us and the Costa Rican Methodist church. We have experienced difficult days recently, but your prayers and financial gifts have seen us through them. Thank you for making it possible for us to minister with the lovely people of Costa Rica. We are most grateful. In Christ’s love, Ray and Lidia _________________________________ I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Phil. 1:3-5  FMWM-Asia makes disciples by crossing cultures to share Jesus, pursuing servant partnerships to reinforce national leadership, and implementing systems to cultivate flourishing Free Methodist Churches.   Gene just led the Leadership in the Local Church module with our friends in this creative access country (PN). The training was on Zoom, 7 hours each day. Gene had to encourage participants to take breaks, as they were so eager to learn. These beautiful and precious brothers and sisters love Jesus and have a heart for those yet to hear the Gospel. Despite the opposition, they have a burden and are committed to reaching people for Christ.  In July, we were joined by our friend, Stephanie Gradey, from Detroit, Michigan. This was Stephanie's first visit to Japan in 38 years when she first came on a short-term mission as an English teacher for two years in the Osaka area! She braved the summer heat of Japan. We enjoyed meals and worshipping together during her visit. Japan has remained in her heart and prayers even after all these years.  Gene just wrapped up two weeks of training in Thailand, Wesleyan History and Theology. Thailand is the smallest country we train in, with 15 leaders and yet they continue to grow leaps and bounds. Year to date, they have led 401 people to Christ and baptized 83. They have planted three new churches! For our friends there, training isn't about gaining more knowledge but taking that knowledge and applying it to their lives, their families, their churches, and to reaching others for Jesus. Hi Friends, The summer is drawing to a close as we shift to school and work routines. Here is our update for August: https://youtu.be/9BUXQE_Bb5k Thank you for partnering with us these past five years. With all our love in Christ, Gene & Minori Praises: 1. Praise God for the past five years guided by his love, grace, and joy. The Lord provided abundantly, enabling us to train fruitful and faithful leaders throughout South East Asia. 2. Praise God for all of you, our partners who faithfully pray and support our work in Japan and S.E. Asia. Prayers: 1. Please pray for the over 62 leaders in PN who finished the Leadership in the Local Church module in August. It was Gene’s first time training with leaders in this country. Pray that they are enabled to carry out the call God has placed on them to share the Gospel in unique ways and settings. 2. Please pray for God’s wisdom, strength, and direction as we serve in Southeast and Japan. Pray especially, that we can invest even more into young Japanese men and women for the Gospel’s sake. The more you grow, the more productive & useful you'll be for the Lord. 2 Pet. 1:8   |
HubShareStay tuned to the latest LOTH news, articles, events, and community happenings! Archives
December 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
|
Light on the Hill at Mount Wesley is a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 83-3263624).
Site created by vMarque, LLC