: News

Garden Project Update recently received into the SAMS office:

• Garden Project Update

CRAIGAVON CIVIC CENTRE, FRIDAY 7TH FEBRUARY 2014, 7.30PM

• Click to view FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE [pdf]

December 2013

Spanish Worship Night Pray for the volunteers who organise the Spanish Worship Night which seeks to connect people who have a heart for South America and/or Spain. The next gathering will be on Tuesday 17th December at 19:30 for tea & coffee (starting at 8pm) in The Hub (22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, BT9 6AY). Everyone is welcome!

Claire Holmes Pray for the various ministries in Concepcion. Give thanks for all the children and young people who meet regularly and have a growing hunger for God’s word. Pray for the Christmas Nativity plays and other events led by the children and young people. These will all have an evangelistic emphasis as Claire and the team aim to reach out to more families with the gospel.

Gwen Carlisle & Mags Southern Pray for Gwen and Mags this month as they conclude another school year. Their ministry is so significant but its also extremely demanding so pray that this Christmas will be a restful and affirming time. We are looking forward to seeing them in late December as they will be in the UK & Ireland for a visit.

The Chaco Pray for Chris Hawksbee as he works with a contact in the government planning department for projects directed to reducing poverty in the Chaco communities. Pray specifically for help and advice on project ideas which will be presented within and outside of Paraguay.

Red Box Project Give thanks for the ministry of Cecilia Valdiviezo. Pray for Cecilia as she arrives into Dublin on 27^th December. Pray for rest, refreshment and a real sense of Gods anointing as Cecilia will share with us for several weeks.

World Cup As we enter 2014 be prepared for complete saturation on all things linked to the World Cup in Brazil. As a mission agency we have a natural interest in Brazil, but we are also committed to helping churches here at home to reach out locally. A really useful resource for such outreach is the SAMS World Cup Weekender. Pray for this resource that it will be used widely and wisely and may many people come to faith during the 2104 World Cup.

Tester Family Paul, Sarah and little Sophia travel back to Peru on 29 December. Pray for them as they depart from the UK and pray also that they will settle quickly back into life and ministry in Peru.

Garden Project Give thanks for the ministry of Alejandro Deane. Pray for Macio Rojas, due to malnutrition at birth Macio is deaf and he can’t speak. Give thanks for this young Christian man who is growing in confidence and developing new skills through the Garden Project.

FUSION Give thanks for the ministry of Monica Almeida from city of Belo Horizonte, in the south-east of Brazil. Monica is serving for a second year in the parish of Magheralin. Pray for Monica and also pray for Monica’s family back in Brazil especially at this Christmas time of year. Pray for Daniela Alvarez from Santiago in Chile who is preparing to participate on the SAMS FUSION programme in late January. SAMS is working closely with the UK Border Agency so pray for the documentation process.

“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”

Friday Night Live 7^th February 2014

SPANISH WORSHIP NIGHT IS BACK!

Hi all! Spanish Worship Night is finally back! If you have a heart for Latin-American and/or Spain and like speaking the language, don’t miss this opportunity of worshipping our Lord and sharing between each other in Spanish. Save the date: Tuesday 17th of December, 19:30 for tea & coffee (starting at 8pm) at The Hub (22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, BT9 6AY). See you there! Blessings!

Penelope

VUELVE SPANISH WORSHIP NIGHT!

Hola a todos, les contamos que por fin vuelve Spanish Worship Night! No te pierdas un tiempo único de alabar a nuestro Señor y compartir en nuestro propio idioma. Te esperamos el martes 17 de Diciembre desde las 19:30 hrs en el Hub (22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, BT9 6AY). Nos vemos! Bendiciones!

Penelope

Chile: Elections
Prayer partners in Chile Alf and Hilary Cooper (Alf is chaplain to the President) ask prayer for the nation of Chile in the build-up to the presidential and congressional elections on 15 November – crucial to the way the government takes into account Christian values.

Uruguay: Prison ministry
Pray for Gonzalo Soria who has been invited to begin pastoral work in the prison. This is intriguing for a country that seeks to keep a separation between church and state.

Argentina: Christians come together
Mission partners Ed and Marie Brice in Tartagal, Argentina, give thanks for the evangelistic campaign held in the town in August by Carlos Annacondia: for the thousands of people who heard and responded to the gospel, and for the improved relations among the different Christian groups in Tartagal. One opportunity out of this was to go and join local Christians to pray on the streets of the most notorious district of the town. Pray for the continued follow-up, including Ed and Marie’s contact with the 34 people who live near The Good Shepherd church [which they pastor] and responded to the invitation during the Annacondia campaign.

Brazil: Alpha

Pray for Jess and Mark Simpson in Rio de Janeiro Anglican Cathedral who have just started an Alpha course.

Paraguay: FEISA Teacher Training

Pray for 3^rd Year students’ who are on placement within various state schools.

Pray for the training of church members who are willing to help with toy library visits. This is a really important ministry which shares in a tangible way God’s love in challenging circumstances.

Peru: Diocesan Youth Ministry team

Pray for Rachel Hill (Deacon responsible for youth ministry), Paul Tester (mission partner) and Lizbeth Varillas (Diocesan Youth Ministry Coordinator). Pray for guidance and inspiration for this key team. Pray for the youth leaders in Lima, that they will take the initiative to building a vision for the youth ministry in Lima. For the National Youth Leaders Retreat to be held in November (8th-10th), that they may hear the call to be the leaders that God wants them to be.

Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar. Refuse to be average or to surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment.

“For me to live is Christ …” The Apostle Paul

Friday Night Live 7^th February 2014

Photos of the recently completed new church at la Paciencia one of the Chaco villages in the La Patria community which thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Mission Paraguay has funded this year.

Dear SAMS supporters,

I have been made aware of two mission agencies in the UK that have had their records hacked into by scammers, in order to obtain personal details of supporters, such as telephone numbers and email addresses. Scammers are then using this information to contact supporters, posing as a representative of the mission agency and have in some cases asked for money to be sent to them. Although this scam has existed by email for some time, it is increasingly likely to be tried by telephone.

If you receive a call like this, put your phone down, wait one hour (in some cases, the caller will hold your line open for some time) and then contact SAMS on a number you know (not one the caller gives you), or one you can find from the SAMS website or from SAMS literature. Please remember that SAMS will never telephone you asking for money.

SAMS follows strict guidelines to keep personal information of supporters confidential. We ensure that our antivirus software is kept up to date and information is never passed on to a third party without permission. We at SAMS have not been affected by this scam, but I wish to inform you about it to make you aware of what can happen and ask for your vigilance.

As always thank you for your support.

Bishop Ken Clarke

SAMS Mission Director

When it comes to our spiritual lives, it’s more or less a universal tendency to compartmentalize. We recognize there’s both a personal and a communal aspect to the Christian life, that there’s a vertical and a horizontal dimension, that there are the things to be done within the walls of the church and things to do beyond those walls.

But so often we view these as competing priorities, failing to see all the ways in which they’re mutually reinforcing disciplines and practices for followers of Christ seeking an integrated way of life.

Prayer and action… can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation. If prayer leads us into a deeper unity with the compassionate Christ, it will always give rise to concrete acts of service. And if concrete acts of service do indeed lead us to a deeper solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying, and the oppressed, they will always give rise to prayer. In prayer we meet Christ, and in him all human suffering. In service we meet people, and in them the suffering Christ.

If we really understood this, we’d be on the whole a lot less frazzled, a lot less weighed down, a lot less distracted with endless “busywork” for God. And we’d be able to set aside more or less fruitless debates about the prioritization of evangelism vs. social action, or prayer vs. service, or community vs. mission, and get on with participating in Gods missional agenda.

SNAP September 13

• Please pray for SAMS Mission Director Bishop Ken and Chris Bloomfield from Fivemiletown Parish as they share in various ministries and identify and prioritize projects during their trip to Paraguay and Peru. Pray that the time spent with people will be an encouragement to all.
  Thursday 5^th:Flight to Amsterdam and Lima. Arrive in Lima 18.05   Stay overnight Lima.
  Friday 6^th:Depart Lima at 8.35 for Asuncion.
  Saturday 7^th:Meeting with Mags and Gwen, Bishop Peter and Sally Bartlett and others.
  Sunday 8^th:Sunday morning worship. Bishop Ken to preach. 15.40 Leave on bus for Iguazu to arrive about 21.00hrs. Meet Claire Holmes.
  Monday 9^th:Day off to see the famous Iguazu Falls. Travel to Concepcion on the overnight bus (9 hours)
  Tuesday 10^th:Full day in Concepcion for time with Claire, Gillian Neill, and Bishop Andres. In the evening Bishop Ken speaks at church meeting. Travel on overnight bus to Asuncion.
  Wednesday 11^th:Depart Asuncion at 10.55 for Lima. Arrive Lima at 17.50 Stay for 3 nights.
  Thursday 12^th:Friday 13^th: Programme is being arranged by Paul and Sarah Tester and will include identifying possible projects, meetings with Bishop Bill Godfrey, visit to the Seminary, visiting some churches and meeting with leaders.
  Saturday 14th:Depart Lima at 20.15
  Sunday 15^th:Arrive Dublin.

• Give thanks for the ministry of Cecilia through the Red Box Project. In the midst of a growing ministry pray for Cecy. Pray for Peter Harrison who departs on 9th for the RBP. Peter is participating with SAMS as part of his university degree placement. He will be working in a variety of settings, but specifically pray for him this month as he arrives in Argentina and settles.

• Give thanks for the ministry of Alec Deane and The Garden Project. Within the UK and Ireland the new SAMS resource is beginning to be used in various churches (do you have it?) please pray for a generation to be inspired through the written and visual resources.

• Pray for Claire Holmes in Concepcion as she disciples adults in the church, leads bible studies, visits parishioners and provides pastoral support.  Pray for wisdom and stamina for Claire and ask that the Holy Spirit will continue to fill and empower her. Pray also for Gillian who is presently working alongside Claire as a SAMS volunteer. Give thanks for the teams who have visited this summer as part of Mission Paraguay. They were a real boost to Claire and Pastor Andres as they accompanied them on their visits to the surrounding communities.

• Pray for Ana María the Head of FEISA and also the Coordinator of the Academics Department.  Ana has been working in FEISA for 13 years teaching several of the Diploma courses, such as Didactics, Educational Theory and Christian Worldview.

• The Rt Revd Abelino Apeleo in Chile asks us to pray for local pastors that God would stir up evangelism, discipleship, stewardship and social outreach programmes. Pray with Abelino for the youth of Chile. On a personal note please pray for Abelino and his wife Paty for the constant challenges they face in ministering to the different churches, each with its own set of issues. Pray too for safety on the journeys they make by car as they have not yet been able to purchase a four wheel drive vehicle for the rural areas.

• Gwen & Mags had a sad start to the month when one of their annexe pupils was killed when she was knocked down crossing a road on the way to a sports competition. She was in 9^th grade (15 yrs old) and the top pupil who was working hard to get into a good secondary school. She was the adopted daughter of a single mother. The mother is a Christian  and it was very moving to see her so firm in her faith. The girl was also a Christian. Pray for Gwen & Mags who have had some tough moments recently but in among them the Lord has sent encouragements. Give thanks for ex pupils who are strong in their faith and active in their churches. Gwen & Mags note that in many cases some of these people who have been pupils never seemed to listen much or show interest in spiritual things. It’s so good to see how the Lord’s word doesn’t return void.

• Pray for wisdom and direction from God for the SAMS General Council meeting on 26^th September.