ONWARD Page 2 SEPTEMBER 2006

(continued from P. 1)being used by God to minister to God’s children. At Friday evening vespers she said to the campers: “I went to Kenya prepared to give a lot, not realizing that I would be receiving much more than I could ever give!”

In Bethel, Alaska, Mark Ebert led a Mission Team of 5 Moravians from Wisconsin and North Carolina. From July 3 – 15, they removed moldy sheetrock from one house; installed exterior siding and windows of the future youth director’s house; installed a radiant floor heat system in the same house; and built bookcases for the Seminary Dean’s office. On August 2 – 13, a second team from Wisconsin and Indiana will travel down the Kuskoquim River to the village of Nunapitchuk to work on the parsonage there.

In Gulfport, Mississippi, Bill Byrd was part of a Mission Team of 16 Senior High youth and 6 adult leaders from New Philadelphia Moravian Church. They painted houses; tore out sheetrock from damaged ceilings; built temporary showers in Pascagoula; moved a lady’s furniture into her new apartment; cleaned the entire armory and trailers; and took part in an inspiring communion service on the beach, led by pastor John Rights. Bill writes, “all in all, we accomplished an incredible amount of work in 4 days!”

So, what is the common theme in all of these stories? TEAM! Brother Byrd points out that when we go out together in faithfulness to God’s call, we are “honoring God!” (Proverbs 14:31)

Katrina Teams

The BWM and the BEHM, through their Moravian Disaster Response ministry, have offered grants to congregations wishing to be involved in Katrina Relief efforts. The following congregations have had at least one member who has served on the Gulf Coast with support from these grants:

Advent, NC

Advent, PA

Altura, MN

Ardmore, NC

Calvary, NC

Canaan, ND

Christ the King, NC

College Hill, PA

East Hills, PA

First Moravian Greensboro, NC

Friedberg, NC

Fulp, NC

Glenwood, WI

Goshen, ND

Grace, NC

Graceham, MD

Home, NC

Hope, IN

Hope, NC

Kernersville, NC

Konnoak Hills, NC

Lake Mills, WI

Lititz, PA

Macedonia, NC

Moravian Theological Seminary, PA

Mountainview, PA

New Beginnings, NC

New Philadelphia, NC

Olivet, NC

Rudolph, WI

Rural Hall, NC

Second Moravian, IN

Sister Bay, WI

Trinity, NC

Waconia, MN

West Salem, IL

York, PA

Note: the list is growing constantly, so some congregations may have been (unintentionally) omitted!

Kindness to the Needy Honors God

Worldwide

On Thursday, July 20, after a 13 hour ride, our group of 16 senior high youth and 6 adult leaders arrived at the National Guard Armory in Gulfport. We were housed in temporary trailers on-site that thankfully were air conditioned. We formed 2 work teams of 11 members each. I am still amazed at the accomplishments of our youth and the leaders. I don’t have the space here to describe our deeds, but I’ll summarize.

On Friday and Saturday, we painted the entire exteriors of 2 houses. It was very satisfying to us and the owners. Ms. Oliver owned one of the houses and a gentleman by the name of C.W. was overseeing the rebuilding of his disabled nephew’s house. He appreciated our many efforts enough to take the 22 of us out to a wonderful dinner on Saturday night.

Sunday was our day of worship, rest and play. Mark Thomas, several youth and I attended First Baptist Church of Gulfport. Their church was destroyed by Katrina and they currently meet in the auditorium of Gulfport High School. We enjoyed a very good service and sermon. The others attended Pass Road Baptist Church. After lunch, some of us went to a water park and the others went bowling. We ate dinner at Chili’s, compliments of an anonymous donor from NPMC. Everyone was so thankful for the donation and a good meal.

On Monday, our team tore out sheetrock from the ceilings of a damaged house and the other team began painting George and Bobbie’s house. Both teams worked very hard to finish painting this house on Tuesday. George, a Deacon in his church, cried openly after we finished. They were so humbled and thankful for the work that we did. In addition to these projects, we built temporary showers in Pascagoula, (Continued on P. 5)