Mark 5 Ministries

Greater Europe Mission invited the Mark 5 Ministries technology team, of which we are a part, to attend their all-Europe Missionary Conference in Willingen, Germany.  M5M has been a part of the GEM conferences for 6 years.  This was Craig, II, 4th year and Mary’s 2nd year. Missionaries frequently live in areas where easy access to computer repair and maintenance is not available. This is where our team comes in. Our team formed up at the airport in Amsterdam on August 1 and together we flew to Berlin.

 This year will be the 25th anniversary of tearing down the Berlin Wall. We spent two days in Berlin becoming aware of all that this has meant for a nation that was divided, brother from brother, family from family. The history that Berlin holds in over 775 years is amazing and yet sobering. 

 On Monday, August 4, we took 4 train rides to get to Willingen, where the conference at the Sauerland Stern Hotel was held again this year.  It was a beautiful train ride with quaint towns and train depots.  It was so green in the mountains and reminded us of Oregon in the spring.

 When we arrived in our tech room, it was already set up for us and ready for us to serve the missionaries.  There were 2 stations where the missionaries could come in to check their email.  We had an intake desk to help the missionaries fill out paperwork to let us know what problems they were having with their computer or what they wanted us to focus on.

 The tech room opened at 7am every morning and closed between 9-10pm each night.  We ate in shifts, so someone was always there if a missionary came in and needed help.  In addition to their computers, we had missionaries walk in with questions or issues regarding their phones, iPads and tablets.  Additionally, a couple of team members did one-on-one training with some of the missionaries. The team helped over 90 missionaries with technology related problems.

 We received this note from the President of GEM, Henry Deneen: “Thanks to you all for blessing our GEM family incredibly during Annual Conference. We are all grateful for the sacrifice of your time, energy, and resources and truly appreciate your humble, gentle spirits as you facilitated all that took place during the week. I trust you were richly blessed as well and that you know how your efforts encouraged, enriched, and deepened our walks with Christ.  One of our colleagues said that he had never seen a team like yours blessing a mission family and he was deeply appreciative of the work you were doing. I echo those sentiments.”

 We are thankful to the Lord for the amazing team members He brought together, for the safe travel, for the missionaries we could help and interact with, and for all those who have supported us in prayer and with finances.  We had many missionaries thank our team over and over again and say how grateful they were that Mark 5 Ministries could come to the conference.  To God be the glory!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zqX8Xhwfts

 Thank you and God bless you all.

 --Mary & Craig Pruitt, II

A True Act of Love

There are many small communities within the large community that is Salem First Baptist Church.  This is a story about one community within the body.  It tells of speaking the language of love into the lives of one of its families in the midst of their trial. 

While on an extended adventure, traveling without a specific timeline, illness showed up.  A husband, father, grandfather, fell ill.  Not just a fleeting illness but leukemia.  He was admitted to the hospital immediately and chemotherapy was prescribed.  Not just one round of treatment but several rounds with much time in between.  Thankfully they were able to move in with family members for the duration of the treatment.  This was a godsend for them. 

Back in Oregon the larger community that is First Baptist and the smaller community that is the family’s community group, began to pray.   They prayed for healing, patience, endurance and the peace of Christ on this family.  They also prayed for all of the people caring for them and the treatments that were given.

It is at the beginning of this time that two women in the smaller community at First Baptist had an idea.  Not just any idea but, in fact it was laid on their hearts to do something tangible for their friends.  But what could they do with so many miles between them?  Here’s what happened next: small gifts, “pick me ups”, were sent; CDs, verses, coffee gift cards, slippers, word puzzles, just some of the things sent.  They truly were just little reminders for their friends that they were really being thought of.

These little pick me ups were sent every two or three weeks and during that time something was also happening to the two women.  As they prayed for and thought about their friends daily, weekly, and monthly, they found that their love for them just expanded in a way they never expected. 

After months away it was finally time to come home.  The treatments, setbacks, and hospitalizations could be put in the past.  It was time to look forward.

With so many months away from home there was work to be done at the house in Salem.  Their own families were hard at work sprucing up, but lots more inside and out of this large house needed to be done.  Overwhelming!

Two smaller community groups from SFB came together to speak the language of love in a tangible way.  One group was the family’s community group and the other didn’t even know the family.   A true act of love.

On a Sunday afternoon approximately 22 people came together at the home for a work party.  Inside, the bathrooms were cleaned, the kitchen was wiped down and dusting throughout the house was done.  One dear soul cleaned window blinds one slat at a time!

Outside, a large crew pulled weeds, raked, mowed, sprayed and all kinds of other outdoor projects were accomplished.  By the time the dinner bell sounded a group of sweaty, happy people were more than ready to eat!  Yes, being a community of Baptists, there was food and fellowship!

The family is home now and they remain in the Lord’s hands.  They feel love and are loved by the community that is Salem First Baptist!

In His faithful grip,

Laura Von Flue

 

God Hears Our Heart Cries

My daughter and I have always been close. We loved critiquing the movies we watched and the books we read, brainstorming life issues and sharing ideas (pre-Pinterest). When she and her husband moved to San Diego in 2001 I was torn. I thought the move was a good idea. As newlyweds they wanted to experience life in another area of the United States. Good for them.
The Bible tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” I believe the Spirit heard my heart cry. It was a heart cry I didn’t even know I had. “You miss your daughter. Let me give you 20 daughters, 30 daughters. And grandchildren? Let me give you 10 newborns, 15 newborns a year and dozens of moms and their families to love and nurture.”
When Karen Folkerts and I were asked to come on board as mentors to M2M’s leadership team I had no idea that my response would result in 10+ years of commitment to this ministry. Clearly, God had a plan and He blessed me a thousand fold through M2M. By God’s grace, through the M2M ministry, Salem First Baptist has welcomed over 160 newborns and innumerable unchurched families in the past decade.  Much of M2M’s missional impact can be attributed to the more than one hundred prayer warriors who intercede weekly on its behalf.
M2M is a community of encouragement and support for moms with young children.  The goal is for moms to be confident, well-equipped and skilled stewards of their homes.  Training and resources are provided for those in leadership.  Many have transitioned to leadership roles in other arenas in our church and continue to make a difference.
God unexpectedly drew me into this ministry, and has changed my life because of it.  Now He has a “new thing” He is birthing in me -- I know God holds us (both me and M2M) in the palm of His hand. I am not sure what the future holds, but He is already establishing new hopes and dreams for M2M and I am giddy with anticipation as I wait for Him to reveal His plan.
--Rhonda Guisinger