Rakai Team Meeting, Oct. 4 at 12:30pm

It's been awhile since we've met, with the busyness of the summer and all, but we're getting back into the routine this Sunday, Oct. 4th at 12:30 PM (or as soon as you can be there)! Both Connections Community Church (formerly The Prairie Chapel) and New Hope Fellowship folks will meet at Miracle Camp (10 minutes from both Lawton and Schoolcraft) at Kyle and Nikki's house. We (Kyle and Nikki) are in the process of moving, so there's plenty of room! Directions are below.

Also, I'm out of town this weekend in Maine, so Ted Manning, one of the travelers to Uganda this summer, will be leading the meeting. Ted is going to share about the trip and the team will decide which project to put the $1,800 raised by Connections towards. It will be a great time to catch up and hear the latest on the partnership with Rakai. A lot is happening so don't miss it!

Feel free to grab a quick lunch or bring something to munch on. Please contact Ted if you're a regular attender but WON'T be able to make it. His phone is 269-679-5547 and email is TMann2388@yahoo.com.

Directions to Kyle and Nikki's (old) house:

25317 80th Ave., Lawton, MI 49065


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PenPal Party - Thursday night (Sept 10) at 6pm

The letters are back and we're ready to process and deliver them! We have a table reserved at Connections Church (formerly TPC) and New Hope Fellowship for the next two Sunday mornings (9/13 and 9/20) to deliver letters, but before we can deliver them, we need to record them! Please help us this Thursday night, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm out at Miracle Camp and Retreat Center (25281 80th Ave., Lawton, MI 49065).

So, what will I do? We'll have computer stations set-up where teams of two will process and enter letters. It's easy:

1. Helper 1 reads the letter and makes sure there's no prohibited content (if there is, it's set aside).
2. Helper 2 looks up the letter PenPal's name in the database.
3. Helper 2 enters the new letter under the PenPal's record.
4. Helper 1 marks the letter as read and files it.

Super easy and fun! It's a great way to get to know the African children. The database is very simple to use and everyone will be trained on how to search for PenPal's, record letters, and file. We will not go longer than 8:30 pm, but leave when you need to. Bring a friend to work with if you want! The more people we have the faster it goes.

Any questions, call Kyle (269-365-2697) or Sheryl (269-679-4069). See you there!

Directions to Miracle Camp:

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RESCHEDULED: SW MI Rakai Team Meeting, Sunday July 12, 2009

Hi, everybody! In light of the holiday weekend, we have rescheduled our July 5 meeting to Sunday, July 12, 2009 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm at Miracle Camp & Retreat Center (25281 80th Ave., Lawton, MI 49065). We will meet in Bankson Lodge (the big building) upstairs in conference room C. This will be our first official meeting with both New Hope Fellowship and The Prairie Chapel.

On the agenda will be a continuing discussion of Richard Stearns' The Hole in Our Gospel (which I'm finding extremely challenging and poignant), as well as project discussion. We now have two project proposals back from GOCCDI (one for church instruments and one for education). We'll talk about taking next steps with our churches for these projects. We'll wrap up with prayer for the upcoming trip.

See you there!

Prayer Campaign for July 2009 Uganda Trip

Starting next week through the middle of August 2009, we will be inviting people from our churches and communities to pray with us for Rakai, specifically focusing on the trip of several travelers from OJM and The Prairie Chapel to Rakai from July 17 to Aug 9, 2009. We're asking people to commit to pray at specific times and as often as they think of it during that time.

There is much to be done in Africa/Uganda/Rakai/Dwaniro, and it's obvious the Lord is at work. Local people are organizing and committing themselves to caring for orphans and vulnerable children and we want to support them in that endeavor, in ways that avoid creating dependent relationships. Kyle Douglass, Executive Director of OJM, will be working with the local leadership to strategically think through project development related to the OJM partnership so that the community can be equipped to care for their children. Other team members, such as Ted Manning of Schoolcraft, MI, will be working specifically on clean water projects and evangelism training. We pray for strong relationships and wisdom for all parties.

Please pray for us and tell your friends to pray for us. We will have a sign up at New Hope Fellowship in Lawton, MI and The Prairie Chapel in Schoolcraft, MI on July 5th and 12th, 2009, but if can also email us at info@orphanjustice.org and let us know when you're praying. We'll send you a bookmark with trip information and names of African leaders and U.S. travelers as a reminder.

Thanks for partnering with us!

Preparing for the Rakai Series

As February quickly falls away, we charge into March, the month that holds the first two messages in our three part Rakai Team series at The Prairie Chapel. We couldn't be more excited about this opportunity to promote the work the church is doing in partnership with Orphan Justice Mission. It will be a series raising awareness of the global orphan crisis, it's causes and solutions, as well as a celebration of our friends in Rakai, Uganda, and the work they are doing to care for the children in their communities.

The Rakai Awareness Team recently had a planning meeting for the series and we are excited about the video, music, picture, and speaking elements that are being worked on by various members of the team. Rich Fitch is developing an intro video for the first Sunday that will give us a sense the global orphan crisis as well as show Rakai in relation to Schoolcraft, MI. Cammy Lenning has been identifying songs that introduce our emotions to the power of taking care of the "least of these" and Kyle Douglass and Dave Sanders are working on the various teaching elements that will be incorporated into the series.

We've also introduced a Lent reading guide, which starts this Wednesday, February 25, 2009 (Ash Wednesday), as a way to begin saturating our hearts and minds with scriptures that speak about the reasons for our involvement with Rakai and other service projects. We hope that the reading guide, as we move towards Easter, will help remind us of the fact that Jesus didn't hold anything back from us in our need, giving his own life, and he's calling us to do the same for those who can't care for themselves. Click here to download the Lent reading guide.

January 20, 2009 - Awareness Team Meeting

January 20th, 2009. 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Miracle Camp & Retreat Center (directions).

This meeting is for the Awareness Team or for anyone who wants to be a part of the upcoming February 1st Rakai Announcement or the March 29/April 5 Rakai Team Series. We will be discussing themes and communication elements. This series is an incredible opportunity to introduce our church family to the exciting work God is doing through our partnership with Orphan Justice Mission and our friends in Rakai, Uganda. We hope to see you there!