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Please keep our summer “missionaries” in your prayers from July 8-18!  Use this adaptation of portions of Psalm 113, 91, and 150!

Praise the Lord!  Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.  Praise the name of the Lord!  Blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever. Everywhere –- [from Houston to Cameron to Quitman to Panama] –- praise the name of the Lord.  I will say to the LORD, "You are our fortress and our place of safety; you are our God, and we trust you."  The Lord will keep you safe …Elizabeth, Mike, Kendra, David, Trevor, Walt, Royce Anne, John, Keith, Jim, Zachary, Kristin, Kali, Sarah, Jade, Shelton, and Antonia … from secret traps and deadly diseases.  God will spread wings of protection over you and keep you secure.
Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!    Amen. 

Thursday, July 8

Pray for safe travel … and a good night’s rest for our mission teams:  The Panama Team, including the Nebraska UMVIM team, is traveling to Panama City and our Mid-High Team is traveling to Cameron, Texas.

Friday, July 9

Pray for openness as our missionaries prepare their hearts for a terrific mission adventure!  Pray that each one will seek God’s presence as they work and play.

Saturday, July 10   

Pray for relationships as they develop between team members and with the people they serve.  Pray that each person will seek the face of Christ in others and that Christ will be seen in each one as they work.   Pray for safe travel for the Panama team as they continue their long day’s travel into the mountains to Bongo.

Sunday, July 11

Pray for safe travel … Our Mid-High Team is on the way home so pray that they welcome the inner changes that God has begun within them and that they treasure the memories they’ll share with others.    Our Sr-High Team will be making a way to Quitman, Texas for their mission adventure!   Pray for our Panama team and spiritual unity with the Panamanians as they worship with the church in Bongo! 

Monday, July 12   

Pray for a peaceful spirit to fall upon all of our missionaries and for an openness to the leadership that is provided so that all goes well as the teams begin work in their mission field. 

Tuesday, July 13   

Pray that relationships deepen as they are nurtured through working in cooperation with others for the benefit of those less fortunate.  Pray that God is known in a deeper way by everyone who is involved … whether they are serving or being served.

Wednesday, July 14   

Pray for children this day as they watch God’s love in action.  Pray that they find that there are people in the world who offer the love of God without expectations.

Thursday, July 15   

Pray for patience as times goes on and tiredness begins to set in.  Pray that each person gets a full night’s sleep and is strengthened for the next day’s work.

Friday, July 16   

Pray for endurance as the week winds down and our missionaries prepare their hearts to leave their new friends.  

Saturday, July 17   

Pray for joy to be the song in each heart tonight as our missionaries prepare to come home.  Pray that sadness will season souls as each one says good-bye to new friends they have made.   Pray for safe travel as our Panama team makes the way back down the mountain from Bongo.

Sunday, July 18   

Pray for safe travel as our missionaries begin to travel the long road and the long flight home!  Pray that each one welcomes the changes that God is making in them as they are invited to live a fuller life by following Christ in a deeper way.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MISSION TRIPS

UMVIM Adult Miission July 8-18, 2010 
Our 2010 mission trip to Panama will again be to the village of Bongo in the Chiriqui Province of Panama. The plan for 2010 is to make restrooms for the rural school in Bongo and do some painting. It is exciting to see the community’s enthusiastic support for these projects!   Ashford’s Bongo missionaries this year are:

The Keahey family… Elizabeth, Mike, Kendra, and David

who’ll be joining a mission team from Nebraska
UMVIM is a missionary movement within the Methodist Church designed to provide an official channel whereby Christians, both lay and clergy, may offer their skills and talents for Christian service at home and around the world on short term assignments at their own expense.   Check the UM Website for more information at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/mv/resources/mv-resources/what-a-way-to-serve/

BIG HOUSE July 8-11, 2010 
Our Mid-High Youth (6-8th grade) will be going to Cameron, Texas … Ashford’s Big House missionaries this year are:

     Walt Henley
     Trevor Miller
     Royce Anne Henley

BIG HOUSE is an acronym which stands for Believing in God, Helping Others Understand through Service Everywhere. Our mission is "To prepare youth and adults to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, by providing opportunity to be in mission to churches in need everywhere."   Follow Big House at http://bighousetx.org/

UMARMY July 11-17, 2010 
Our Sr-High Youth (9-12th grade) will be going to Quitman, Texas … Ashford’s UM Army missionaries this year are:
 
     John Henley
     Keith Etzel
     Jim Mills
     Zachary Fisher
     Kristin Etzel
     Kali Howard
     Sarah Corder
     Jade Boothe
     Shelton McPhaill
     Antonia McPhaill
 
U.M. ARMY is an acronym which stands for United Methodist Action Reach-Out Mission by Youth. Our mission is “to provide Christ-centered, quality youth work camps that serve people in need and promote spiritual growth and leadership development in youth.”  For more info on UM Army go to http://www.umarmy.org/conference/texas/index.html