They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love

I wanted to share a couple of letters I have received recently from people whose lives have been greatly impacted by our Bethel Family.

The first letter is from Jill & Ryan Hartwig, our former ETC directors. As many of you know, Ryan & Jill moved to Colorado recently to resume a new position at Colorado Christian University. We will miss this couple so much.

Jill & Ryan wrote this farewell to us:
“ Dear Bethel Family,

How amazing you are! This simple card cannot even begin to express our hearts toward you: thankfulness, love and awe.

We are thankful for all that you have been to us, as our family and friends—our support while we’ve been in Indiana. We love you because you literally first loved us. We are in awe because you freely extend this love to everyone who walks through the doors of this church. You are Christ’s body, and you’ve been Christ embodied to us.

From the moment Ryan and I arrived—(one year apart) - you embraced us both. Pastor Ted has shared the story of Ryan coming to Bethel—very special, God-ordained!

My first initiation to Bethel was a hot, humid August day when I was taken to my temporary apartment on Purdue’s campus. I walked in only to find it decorated already by my own things! Candy Holt and MaeAnne Balschweid’s handiwork met me before I even met them. Later that week, I went to Bethel for the most special shower (wedding) I had ever attended, and it was in honor of me! My first introduction to the Bethel women was seeing them through a huge window of love, and a tall pile of presents that I sat behind. You all are amazingly loving and amazingly giving.

We are leaving tomorrow with full hearts and much thankfulness for the rich relationships that we’ll take with us. You are so near and dear to our hearts. We’ll keep praying for Bethel and for this “Bethel love” to just keep on growing. Keep in touch! After all, you are our family!

Love,
Jill & Ryan Hartwig”

Keep Jill & Ryan Hartwig in your thoughts and prayers. Here is their new address in Colorado: 180 S. Garrison Street, Lakewood, Co 80226; rthartwig@ccu.edu.

May I tell you how much it means to me as your Pastor, to know you are reaching out to others? I want to thank you for your loving expressions toward newcomers. You are actively demonstrating God’s love to those who come through the doors of this church. Thank you!

We also heard from Rachel and Kayla Parsons recently. Here are some excerpts from her letter.

“Greetings and salutations! Welcome to issue #4 of the Ghana Girls Gazette. I can hardly believe that I’ve lived in Africa for a whole year! I am absolutely overwhelmed with how much God has shown me in the past year. I am thankful that His mercies are new every morning.

I have been involved in a huge concert event with my choir on Palm Sunday. The program was called “The Reason Why We Sing”, and we sang 16 songs! I had a solo in one of the songs, but the most exciting news is that I had to learn 6 Twi songs for the concert! Everyone seemed to be pleased and impressed because I am Obroni who is learning the Twi!

In June my friend, Jessica Bowen, came to Ghana to work at the school and experience the culture for six weeks. My brother, Joseph, came to Ghana for pretty much the same reasons. Joe’s luggage didn’t arrive until 10 days after he did. So I got to experience buying men’s clothes from side-of-the-road vendors so he could have something decent to wear to church.

Also in June, Kayla graduated from pre-school! It was so precious to see her in a graduation cap and gown, holding her diploma. And it was so cute to see her posing for pictures with her other classmates. I might have cried if I hadn’t been so busy facilitating the award ceremony for the rest of the school and conducting the 4th & 5th grade choir who performed at the Award/Graduation Day.

I want you all to know that Kayla and I will be here in Ghana for one more year. I know originally when I sent out my first support letter I had indicated that I would be here for one year. But I will be serving a two year term. So I wanted to let all of you know that I am in need of your support, both spiritually and financially. For those of you who gave one-time gifts for my first year here, I would ask you to prayerfully consider giving again for my second year. For those of you who have pledged monthly, I would ask you to prayerfully consider continuing your commitment for another year. If you are unable to continue your support, please let me know, so I can try to make other arrangements.

Most of all, please continue to pray for us and for our school. It is great for me to talk to Kayla about prayer and about how much people love us and are praying for us. We really appreciate your prayers. God is faithful and has blessed us with wonderful friends and family. Thank you for being a blessing to us.

In His Service,
Rachel & Kayla Parsons”

Again, may I say how thankful I am for each one of you? I am thrilled to see the missions heart of this congregation! Without people like you, Rachel and Kayla would not have been able to answer the call of God to teach in Ghana, West Africa. Will you be willing to continue your support for them for another year? You can designate your gifts, “Rachel Parsons” and we will see they receive it.

Yes, God is doing a new thing among us! Can you feel His refreshing Spirit sweeping through this church? I am thrilled to be a part of what God is doing here.

Keep on reaching out and caring for one another. For the Bible says, “They shall know you are my disciples by the love you have one for another.” John 13:35

Bethel 2003 Stewardship Seminar Will/Trust Workshop

Sunday, October 19, 2003, Assemblies of God Financial Ministries will present a seminar on stewardship. The topics will include: wills, trusts, and estate planning. Every family, in fact every adult, needs to have a will in place that reflects your desires for your estate. The fact is that many, especially young families, do not. Most people don’t because they can’t find the time to do it or they can’t afford the cost of hiring a lawyer. If that describes you, then this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. By the end of the evening, you will have a good, solid will.
Other areas will be addressed as well, such as stewardship trusts, charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, and more. The seminar will be Sunday evening from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Then the next day (Monday, Oct. 20) appointment times will be available for those who wish to address specific needs. This will be a day you won’t want to miss – put it on your calendar now!  There is no charge for this workshop.

Bethel Christian Life Center Student Ministries

Special Service for 9-11

7:00 p.m. here at Bethel, we will observe the
9-11 anniversary with a special prayer service. We will focus on Homeland Security and the national leaders. Will you join us for this important evening?

Greater Lafayette Prayer Service

Tuesday, September 2nd, at 7:00 p.m.
At: Bethel Christian Life Center
Greater Lafayette area Prayer Service. Join us for an intense time of prayer for our community.

Notes From Pastor Zach & Liz

Pastor Zach reports that Sis. Linda Ivy excels in teaching missions to the Children’s Church. Presently they are studying the country of India. The children are doing a great job collecting money for the BGMC. (Boys & Girls Missionary Crusade) All monies from BGMC go to purchase literature for children around the world!

Our Bethel children are enjoying being a part of

“ Camp L.U.M.F” (LUMF stands for “Lamp unto my feet.” The children are learning about the library of the Bible based on the book, “What the Bible is All about for Young Explorers.”

Volunteers needed:

The Hope Thrift Center is needing more volunteer help for their non-profit store.

See Anna Colglazier for more details, or to sign up as a volunteer

Fall is fast approaching and it will be Christmas before you know it! Well, almost. So it’s time to begin to think about choir practice for the Christmas season. We will be presenting our musical this year on Sunday, December 7th. We’ve planned it early this year to avoid the seasonal “rush” and give those who normally don’t participate an opportunity to be involved.