Bulletin for July 20

Ø Tonight’s service will be 5:00 p.m. and will be held outdoors weather permitting. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.

Ø There will be a brief meeting in the auditorium after the service this morning to share further information about Workin’ at the River, the CRC in Allegan.

Ø Five young men have expressed a desire to publicly proclaim Jesus as their Savior. Would anyone like to join them? Faith Friends begins Monday, Sept. 8 and we'd like to get you and a mentor connected and ready to go. Just fill out a form from the Faith Friends mailbox and return as soon as possible. Contact Lorie DeYoung with any questions or concerns. Remember, we do have an alternative plan for those who would rather go that direction to Profession of Faith.

Ø GEMS is in need of 4 new counselors in the fall. If you have a love for girls in 2^nd – 6^th grades and want to be used by God to impact young lives, we would love to hear from you! Please contact either Lonna Driesenga at 892-4808 or Rachael Taylor at 895-9414.

Ø Beautiful Womanhood is a Christian marriage mentoring program designed to strengthen marriages and build community among women. Beautiful Womanhood dinners are held once a month for one year using the Titus 2 concept: older women teaching younger women. Do you want to have incredible influence in your marriage and home? Do you long to discover God’s heart for women? Join us this September for a new season of Beautiful Womanhood with women from our church. The first 12 women to call (newly married through women in their 30’s) will be accepted. Please call Carol Scholten at 895-7497 or Jan Smits at 895-6804.

Ø Do you love working with children ages 5-10? Prayerfully consider becoming a part of Second CRC’s Church School team. You may teach a class alone or as a team. Contact Lorie DeYoung, Head of Discipleship Ministries at 895-7649 or Kristina Moelker, Church School Director at 895-5946.

Receipts:                            General Fund    Building Fund
      Collections                          $ 24,990          $ 6,794
      Budget                                $ 29,328          $ 7,778
      June Budget shortfall            $ (4,338)        $    (984)
      YTD Budget shortfall             $(75,400)        $(11,762)
        Benevolent Fund Bal.         $    7,662
        Faith Promise Fd. Bal        $    5,819
        Faith Pr. Budg. Env.           $    1,248
      Faith Pr. Collections           $      361

Ø If you are involved in a ministry at 2nd CRC involving minors and have not yet attended an Abuse Prevention meeting, reserve Tues., Sept. 16, at 7:00 pm. In order to comply with all the requirements, staff and volunteers must have the signed information on file AND must attend this meeting. If you attended last year, you need not attend again.

             VBS begins July 28 and more people are needed to help with registration, leading groups of kids around, taking photos, and nursery.
                          If you are in middle school or high school and wish to help, there’s plenty to do and we’d love your help! Sign up today at the table by the
                          ticket booth. Remember, helping counts towards Community Service for your school. At the Booth you’ll find items you can donate too.
                          Just take a ticket, keep one copy for your records and on the other put your name and phone number and place in the box.
                          Also needed: old shirts to use as paint shirts. Have any? Just put in a bag and write “Becky Spriensma” on the bag.

Ø The VBS nursery needs adults to care for the children of the volunteers. Help one, two, or all five days (7/28 – 8/1). Nursery time is 8:30 a.m. - 12:15p.m. If you love rocking babies, this is perfect for you! Contact Jenny Walters at 875-6075 or email mjccwalters@charter.net to get on the VBS nursery schedule.

Ø There will be a brief meeting on July 27 after the morning service for ALL workers and helpers of VBS.

Greetings from Lupwe, Nigeria! An Internet Cafe in the bush?? I know, pretty ironic, but I am going to take advantage of it, even if it takes 5 times as long to do anything on the internet! :) I hope this email finds you all well and enjoying your summer vacations. Can you believe it is the middle of July already?! The last few weeks have been full of wonderful, lifechanging experiences. I have seen God at work, and He is doing amazing things. Last week, we held a VBS in Takum. By Day 2, we had 1,000 kids! Yes, that's right...1,000 kids between the ages of 4-16. I was in charge of the little ones, ages 4-6, and I had 400 adorable, wide-eyed, smiling faces all week. It was a great week. This week is our last week of doing a VBS. We are in Lupwe, and by yesterday, Day 2, we already had 800 children! I have decided that it is the most "organized chaos" I have experienced. The week is off to a great start, and going too fast. Through out our weeks, while we are not running a VBS, we have been focusing a lot on the youth of the villages. We have gotten them together, talked with them, shared similar struggles that we have, and empowered them to step up at leaders in their communities. It has been so encouraging. We have seen these youth come together and realize that they can make a positive difference in their own communities. Next week will be a very busy week for my team. We will be doing a lot of "day trips" such as visiting seminaries, going to an orphanage for a day, and much more. We will be doing a lot of traveling around. The following week is our last full week in Nigeria, and we will be heading back to Abuja (the capital) to do some Urban Ministry, which includes a day of purity. My team is excited to have some nursing knowledge close at hand. :) Here are some ways that you can pray specifically for me and my team in the coming weeks: - Please pray for safety as we are traveling a lot the next 2 weeks. - For continued energy as these large number of children keep us on our toes! - For continued good health - For continued patience as I struggle with language barriers at VBS. The younger children do not speak English yet, and there are so many languages in such close areas. I have already learned the basics in 4 languages. It can be frustrating when your interpreter does not understand your English accent, so please pray for continued patience and knowledge. - For prayers in advance for a smooth transition home to a new house (my family is moving to a new house) and to a "different culture". It is my prayer that I can integrate this new person I have become into my life back home. I praise God for the person He has transformed me to be during the my time here in Africa. I have learned how to be independent, but yet completely rely on my God. I have learned the importance of community. I have learned to be INTENTIONAL in my relationships with others. God has showed me a new way to live my life, full of life, joy, friendship, contentment, and simply, while changing my priorities. This is all for now. I have so many funny moments that I can't wait to share with all of you when I return! Please keep my team in your prayers as we wrap up our VBS in Lupwe, and start preparing for our return on August 6. Thank you for your continued prayers! It is so uplifting to feel the power of prayer surrounding me from across the

world. Stay strong in your faith!

Schedule for This Week:

July 20-26, 2008

Sunday:
9:30 a.m. & 5:00 p.m. – Worship Services

Tuesday:
7:00 p.m. – Worship Planning Team

Ø Community Needs and Service People: Matthew Smits, Sgt. Jesse Vander Schuur, Love INC, Allendale Christian School, Unity Christian High School, Allendale Public Schools, Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, Allendale Family Life Center, GVSU

Ø “A heartfelt ‘Thank You' to all who have made those delicious meals for me in the past few months. Your short visits and thoughtfulness are truly appreciated.” -- Julia Bosch

Ø GEMS Counselors will gather for a Leadership Conference July 25-27 in Ridgecrest, NC. Pray for the participants, their families, and for inspiration to abound. Sara Ambrose, Lonna Driesenga, Rachael Taylor and Deb Zeinstra will be attending.

Ø Christian Reformed Conference Grounds news: Greater Vision will be in concert on July 26 at 7 p.m.

Ø Think green! Allendale Christian School has a trailer at the school this month for newspaper and phonebook recycling. If you have magazines and other recyclable paper, that can be brought to the paper gator located behind school.

Ø Nursery for infants and toddlers is available during both services. Partway into each morning service young children are invited to “Just Between” (for 2 ½ - 3 year olds) in room 122 or “Children’s Worship” (for 3-5 year olds) which meets in rooms 127 & 129.

Ø Sermons: Outlines, if used, are available on the carts in the back of the auditorium. Bibles are there also. Previous week’s sermons can be obtained at the Information Desk in CD format or can be accessed at the church website: www.2ndcrc-allendale.org. Click Here to go to the Sermon page.

Ø For those with special needs: The entire facility is barrier free. Large print bulletins are available at the Information Desk. The auditorium is equipped with a hearing loop. If you have a hearing aid, please set it to “T” for better hearing during the service. The best reception is at the center of the auditorium.