Volume 4

Issue 2

August 2002

Washington Church of Christ

June - August News

2002

Home

Lightwater Valley

            On the 3^rd of June the church hired a bus and took over 45 people to a local amusement park for a great day out.  It was a  wonderful and relaxing day for all that went.

Refugee Week

            From the 16^th to the 22^nd of June Refugee Week was held in Britain to raise awareness of issues with regard to Asylum Seekers.  Events were held around the country in order to allow the general public to come along and visit with Asylum Seekers and to get to know more about them and the problems that they face.

            The Asylum Seekers that are in Washington were a part of these events.  On the 17^th of June 2 soccer teams went from Washington to participate in a tournament that included teams from across the Northeast of England.  These teams were made up of Asylum Seekers from almost every nation under the sun.  It was a great day out especially if you are a soccer fan, and it was wonderful to see people from so many different cultures working together to have fun.

            On Saturday the 22^nd of June we held a Fun Day at the Church building to which the Asylum Seekers were invited as well as the people of Washington.  We had a Barbecue, bouncy castles and a magician.  Many people brought food that represented their country and some even came dresses in traditional costume.  More than 200 people turned up and had a wonderful time getting to know each other.

Time to Eat	Cultural Diversity	Singing Group	Football Teams

Baptisms

            On Sunday the 23^rd of June Nader Shekhalian was baptised into Christ.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers for this family.  Nader is formerly from Iran.  He and his Farma are seeking Asylum in the UK.  They are wonderful people and have 2 beautiful children, Aryan and Paniz.  They have still not been granted permission to remain in the UK and are aware that they could be killed if required to returned to Iran because of their decision to follow Jesus Christ.  Please continue to pray that the British government will grant them permission to remain in the UK.

            On the 25^th of August, Daniel Dunn, the 16 year old son of Michael and Lesley Dunn was baptised into Christ.  Please pray for Daniel in his decision to follow Christ.  Also be praying for him as he has decided to join the army and may be leaving in the next few weeks to begin his training.

Nader's Baptism	Nader Shekhalian	Daniel's Baptism

4^th of July

            Once again Rodney was asked to speak at the American Independence Day celebration that is held at the 12^th century ancestral home of the Washington family.  There were more than 500 people present and it was a very special occasion that included a memorial for the victims of September the 11^th.

Travel

            On the 5^th of July Jonathan, Joshua and Heather flew from Manchester to Dallas.  They then travelled by car to Lubbock and attended Summer Summit and Rockcleft with the young people from the Broadway Church of Christ.  They had a great summer and arrived back in England on the 26^th of August.

            Michele, Rodney and Jared went to Cambridge for a few days before flying to Germany for just over a week.  Rodney went to the library at Cambridge to do some work on his PhD.  They then flew into Lubeck, Germany for less than $10 per person: great price on a new route for one of the low cost airlines.  They had a great time trying to test their German, but there was not any real need, almost everyone wanted to try out their English.  They also visited the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, which was truly a moving experience.

Chernobyl Children

            On the 13^th of July Michele planned a party for about 50 children and their sponsors.  We received funding for this from a British Charity called the Children’s Fund.  We had a Barbecue, bouncy castles, a magician, and a Karaoke.  We were expecting about 250 people, but we ended up with well over 450 people,( this is not a Preacher count but a Police count) but everyone got all they wanted to eat and we all had a wonderful time, despite us not being able to speak Russian and them not being able to speak English.

The Magician	Communication
How to explain?	Bouncy Castle

HBS 2002

            From the 16^th to the 18^th of July a group from the Broadway Church of Christ conducted Christian programs in local schools.  They were well received and had an opportunity to demonstrate that learning about Jesus can be fun.  Several hundred children were able to hear about the miracles of Jesus.

            From the 22^nd to the 26^th of July this group along with 2 people from Nashville, Tennessee ran a Holiday Bible School at the building.  We averaged about 40 children each day and it truly was an awesome week.  Everyone was so professional and so loving to the children.  It was a great week.  Thanks so much to Steve Sawyers, Brooks Loveless, Scott, Lendon, Devan and Kiefer Schellhase, Lindsey Rodgers, Karla Davis, Kathy Clark, Brad Ward and Jared Mott.

Working together	Fish?	Singing together	Smoking phone box
Its over there.	Gap Agent 0012	Parent's evening.

            On the 5^th of August I was asked to come and speak to the local Rotary club about the church and my work with the church.  Michele was invited to come along as well and we had a great evening.