Archive for the ‘Missions’ Category
A group from Knox will be volunteering down in Charlotte, NC, at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center. Please join us as we support a great cause, and enjoy a weekend of fellowship. Our volunteer time is late Saturday afternoon, so the group could leave early Saturday morning for Charlotte. We’d spend the night in Charlotte, and then attend a local PCA church Sunday morning, before returning to Richmond.
Please let Sally Rudkin know before Thanksgiving if you’re interested in attending, so that we can make hotel reservations.
It truly is a special time together, and we hope you can join us!
As we prepare to come together on Saturday, November 13 for Knox’s OCC Boxing Day, and also as you consider joining us at the Charlotte Processing Center in December, I thought you’d like to know more about what the power of these simple shoe boxes can be. Take a few minutes and watch this video from Operation Christmas Child about just what these boxes bring to children all over the world.
Then, also consider joining others around the world in prayer during the OCC Box Collection week, November 15 – 22.
Here’s an update we just received from Craig and Ree Coulbourne, MTW missionaries from Japan.
Outcomes of Previous Prayer Requests
- [Oct. 2010] Thank you to many of you who have contacted us about your preferences for receiving our prayer information in the future. We’re sorry that we couldn’t personally respond to each one of you. It’s not too late to contact us if you still haven’t done so.
- [Sep., Oct. 2010] Thank you for your prayer for Mrs. S and Mrs. H in Urayasu City. God seems to be at work in both of their families. Mrs. S’s father-in-law, who lives with them, has shown increased openness to things related to Christ recently. And Mrs. H’s teenage son has begun attending church regularly of his own initiative. In addition, a non-Christian has begun attending a new Bible study they have started. Please continue to pray that God would be at work through these women, both in their families and among their contacts in Urayasu City.
New Prayer Requests This Month
- Craig’s ordination exams have begun. He took one preliminary ordination exam in late October. He will have further preliminary exams on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. If all of these exams go well, he will be examined by a presbytery committee on Nov. 10. And if that exam goes well, he will take the final ordination exam at a presbytery meeting on Dec. 4. Please pray for Craig’s preparation for the preliminary exams, as there are many things related to seminary and returning to Japan that also need his attention, and as the exam schedule was pushed forward due to scheduling difficulties (meaning less time to prepare). Pray that God will enable Craig to make the best use of the time he has to prepare for the exams, and pray that God will give him quick recall (something that is slowing down as that age number keeps going up) when he actually takes the exams.
- Please pray for God’s continued work at Makuhari Church, the church plant where we worked with Pastor & Mrs. Hirohashi from 1996-2008. Thank God that another of the ladies who attended the Bible study started by Mrs. S (before she moved to Urayasu) has decided to be baptized. Continue to pray that God would raise up a young man to come as assistant pastor, to work alongside Pastor Hirohashi (now 71) for a time and then to succeed him.
Find below an update we received from Peter and Sharon McMillan in early October, but did not get uploaded to the website.
We’ve recently spoken with them, and their support is now at 97%, and they are looking at heading to Spain sometime in November.
Continue to keep them in your prayer as they work through the final logistics of moving to Spain, and joining the rest of their team.
It’s that time again – Christmas is coming! And what does that mean for Knox? It means that our annual Operation Christmas Child Boxing Day is coming up.
Join us on Saturday from 3:00 until 7:00 at the church to pack our boxes, and get them ready for travelling to the children around the world who will be receiving them. All you need to bring is yourself, and friends.
Many hands make light work. After the boxes are packed and ready, we’ll enjoy a pizza dinner.
What a great way to kick off an early Christmas season!
Here’s an update we just received from Craig and Ree Coulbourne, MTW missionaries from Japan.
Outcomes of Previous Prayer Requests
- [May, July] Craig had a busy but productive summer of seminary classes. He was able to complete 3 courses and most of a 4th (except for the research paper). As a result, the fall semester will be a somewhat lighter load than the previous semesters. In addition to the unfinished research paper, Craig will be taking his final three courses during the upcoming fall semester. This should enable him to finish his seminary degree in December. Please pray for God’s help in finishing the research paper and getting off to a quick start on the courses for the fall semester.
- [May] Our car continues to perform workhorse duty as we travel to visit those precious churches and individuals who have stood alongside us for many years now. It’s clear that it is starting to get old, but it only needs to last until we go back to Japan (hopefully in January). Please pray that God will keep it going for the rest of our time here. We have seen His faithfulness to provide for our needs again and again, so we are confident that, one way or another, we will have the transportation we need.
New Prayer Requests This Month
- One of the difficult things about doing a seminary degree during our home assignment is that we seminary has been so all-consuming that we have not been able to visit many of our individual supporters yet. However, with a lighter final semester this fall, we are anticipating being able to see most before we go back to Japan. Please pray that God will enable us to schedule these visits, and that He will grant good visits with these dear partners through whom God has enabled us to be in Japan.
- We have been able to make use of Skype to talk and pray with Mrs. S and Mrs. H, the two Japanese Christian women we know in Urayasu City , the new location to which we plan to move when we return to Japan. (Both were baptized at Makuhari Church, where we worked until we left for our home assignment.) This has been a good time of mutual encouragement and strengthening our relationships. Please pray for these two women as they live as Christ’s ambassadors in this city. Pray also that their husbands would come to faith, and that their children, who attend church with their mothers, would make their own professions of faith (Mrs. S’s daughter already has.).
A Missions Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00 pm. Interested in getting involved and joining the committee? Please plan on joining us and finding out more. If you have any questions, just ask RE Jim Rudkin. We look forward to seeing you there.
Interested in joining a group from Knox as we travel to Charlotte to volunteer at the Operation Christmas Child processing center? Join us the weekend of December 10 in Charlotte. We need to get an idea of how many people are intersted, as well as get hotel rooms reserved. Our scheduled volunteer time is on Saturday, from 6pm – 10pm, so we can travel up either on Friday, or even Saturday morning. Please let either Jim or Sally Rudkin know if you’re interested in taking part in this, and how many nights you’ll need. Closer to time we’ll coordinate travel plans. What a great way to kick off the Christmas season for a really great cause!
We just received an update from Peter and Sharon McMillan – preparing for their move to Spain.
A year ago, we did not know that we would still be here in the U.S.A. But after Paul and Barnabas’s 1st missionary assignment they stayed in Antioch a long time with the disciples, reporting all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. We are not finished reporting yet and challenging churches to be concerned about a corner of the world called Las Tablas. When we leave for Spain, the Lord will have tripled the number of people who are praying for this work! At present we are up to 84.5% support. We are in the process of generating, certifying, and translating various documents like police clearance, medical clearance, and marriage license. After we receive the letter of invitation from Spain we must take all of the documents and the applications to the consulate in D.C. After Spain’s Consulate receives our requests for working visas, it will take about two months for them to be approved. By this time the remaining 15.5% of support needs to be in place before we can purchase plane tickets.
Prayer Requests
- That our letter of invitation will be processed quickly at the Dept. of Justice in Madrid
- That we would be renewed at each new presentation with enthusiasm and zeal.
- That our remaining needed support will be pledged by the time our visa is approved.
Please continue to keep them in prayer as they prepare to begin their new assignment in Spain.
Ready for Christmas yet?
Well, the temperature outside may be hot, but the planning has begun for our 2010 Operation Christmas Child effort. Again, we are giving you the opportunity to “adopt a box” by donating $20.00 per box. Simply write a check, and in the memo section note how many boxes you’d like to “adopt”. “Adoption” deadline is August 29.
Our Knox Boxing Day is going to be held on November 13, so make sure to put that on your calendar.
Also prayerfully begin to consider joining us as we travel down to Charlotte, NC to spend a day volunteering at the OCC Processing Center in early December. Keep an eye out in your bulletin, and on the website, for the dates we’ve been assigned.
For more information and photos from past Knox OCC events as well as where our boxes have gone, take a look here.
If you have any questions, or interested in helping out, contact either Jim or Sally Rudkin.