Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
What a blessing it was to have our very own David Msseemmaa come talk with us this weekend. I really do mean our very own. Some of you remember David running around St. John’s as a young boy. For those of you who missed this weekend, David is now a missionary in Tanzania. His wife Kellen also was able to talk to us after service on Sunday. There she was able to explain what she did by empowering girls in her country. Patty and I have raised two daughters. To hear Kellen speak about the life these young girls have is frightening. To be traded for a cow and to be married at such a young age to a man who is significantly older. It is still shocking to hear it even though I have heard it before. They both do tremendous work of mission that this church should be proud of that it has played a part in this. Well done.
It was also our pleasure to host them for a night. Not only are they a great couple, but their two youngest children are a lot of fun. They are doing so well as a family. Their children are very personable. Some of you probably won’t know what this is but we spent some of the evening watching diecast racing on YouTube. My grandsons love watching this also. We were all able to pick a car and then see how it would do through a series of racing on a homemade track. It was fun, but Patty said she will never get that hour back. Oh well.
It was good to be back at St. Johns. I had a wonderful time worshipping in Moline and Lockport but I feel that Peru is now my home. It was good to be home.
Thank you to all those who participated in decorating our sidewalk leading to Northview. You should be proud of the relationship we share with both Northview and Parkside. For those of you who are planning on donating the items that Northview requested, please have them turned in by this week. Thank you for doing this. I know it means a lot to them.
For some, school has already started. For others, school will be starting on Wednesday. Wow, what happened to summer? Rally day will be happening soon. Confirmation classes will also begin. It is time for the church to get ramped up again. Please spend some time praying for our students and teachers, keeping them safe and to be open to new learning.
As you can see from all the vegetables that were put out before service, the garden is going crazy. Again, I have said it so many times, please feel free to come and help yourself to what we have. If you wait until the weekend, some of the stuff will go to waste. We are also adding these items to the blessing box. Please come and enjoy God’s bounty.
I am glad you are hearing some different voices preaching these last few weeks. Sometimes a different voice will trigger something in you that will last. I am looking forward to preaching to St. Johns again.
Don’t forget that next Sunday will be our last scheduled outdoor service, weather permitting. Depending on the weather in September, we may try to go outside again. Make sure you look at our Facebook page or a webpage to keep up-to-date. We try to keep everything current. That is our goal for this new web design. I know when I was away, someone came at 10:15 a.m. on a Sunday. I went to our website and all over the place it said 9:00 a.m. I asked Eloide what could possibly have happened.? It is located in the tiniest spot. It did say 10:15 a.m. For some reason, they ignored all the 9:00 a.m. and grabbed the 10:15 a.m. It was our mistake. We are doing our best. It is now corrected.
Hope you have a great week.
Things to remember:
“God’s grace is sufficient…” (2 Cor. 12:9). Always is and always will be.
Scatter seed!
Be like Andrew and bring people to Jesus,
Don’t ever forget who you are and whose you are. You are, yes, you are a child of God. Alleluia !
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for 14th Week after Pentecost – August 24th & 25th
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Psalm 34:15-22 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69