And . . .they're Off!

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

Sunday morning, we commissioned a new mission team to travel to the Dominican Republic. I can't help but remember we did the same thing in March of 2020 only to have everything cancelled by COVID-19.  I guess it is a sign that the pandemic no longer holds us in its grip, that, this time, there is no cancellation. 

For the past several months we've been collecting and storing supplies at SPPC. On Saturday, they were all hauled out and organized in preparation for packing into suitcases on Sunday after service.

The pictures at right show the wealth of school supplies donated by the congregation and the community. 

The pictures below show some of the medical supplies the team are taking to restock the medical clinic in Pedregal. In a lovely bit of synchronicity, many of those items came from the Compassionate Resource Warehouse, an organization that is supported by our congregation. The goal of the CRW is to get supplies to places in the world where they are needed. Often that means paying freight. In this case, our mission team will 

carry the goods in their bags, saving the cost of freight. It's a win-win-win. 

Note the lovingly assembled maternity kits. There is a package for the new baby including diapers, receiving blankets and a knitted cap and toy. A second package contains supplies for the mother, including some of those cotton dish clothes knitted so assiduously by members of our congregation.

I had to include this set of photos. Note the package of Tim Horton's coffee. How Canadian is that?

Volunteers can be few or many, but no one works well on an empty stomach.

There are six people going from SPPC are joining with volunteers from other congregations to form a large team of helpers. 

Packing -- Packed

Like the volunteers before them, our team expects to work to build brick houses, so much more durable than wooden ones, and to assist in the medical clinic. 

We wish them God speed, safe travels and the experience of a lifetime.

To cheer your spirit;

• Last week I dropped my Smile card outside of Thrifty's. When I realized it was missing, I called the store, but without much hope. As it turned out, some honest soul had found the card and turned it in, with the balance intact. How's that for an antidote to the endless bad news on our television sets?
• On Thursday this week, Friendship Coffee will be held at the church at 10:00 am. Come meet old friends, discover new ones, and enjoy a time of fellowship.
• Bible Study resumes at 10:00 am and 7:00 pm on Wednesday

Our mission team is ministering with the House Upon the Rock. To learn more about them follow this link. http://houseupontherock.net/  

DR Connections

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

On Sunday morning we welcomed Pastor Byron Knight to the pulpit. Byron is known to many in our congregation through his work with the House Upon the Rock. He has been leading mission trips to the Dominican Republic since 2009. He has been a youth minister on the peninsula for over thirty years but, in April, he takes up a new position as food manager at  Camp Imadene. Before that, however, he will be leading another mission team to the Dominican Republic, including six members from SPPC.

Speaking of the mission trip, on Saturday afternoon there was a pie auction at Saanichton Bible Fellowship. Proceeds went to support this year's mission team in their travel and work. They leave in just a couple of weeks.

The pies were fresh and delicious looking and commanded prices to make a baker drool. $70 for a gluten free lemon meringue pie, $70 for a carrot cake, and $400 for Peter's pecan pie. Two other pecan pies commanded high prices as well. I guess the bidders were big on nuts. 

In total, the event raised about $5000.00, all of which will go toward supporting our mission to the Dominican Republic.

 

Our team was well-represented with Will, Peter, Joan, and Diane. 

Keeley and Quinn came in later and took a turn as auctioneers.

Notice Diane is modelling her 2020 t-shirt. We had another team ready to depart just when COVID hit. They were commissioned on a Sunday, and on the following Monday in March 2020, travel was shut down. So, the 2023 team is carrying the spirit of the 2020 team as well

I was talking to Peter last week about all the packing required before the group gets on the bus. Everyone is allowed two suitcases. One they fill with stuff they will need for themselves, the other is packed with donated supplies -- mostly medical and school needs. Packing a full suitcase is one thing, but, since getting through DR Customs can be tricky, each item must be listed. All of the supplies the team takes with them are donations and, as such, are duty free. However, it pays to know exactly what is in each suitcase in case any get "lost."

Modern travellers tend to stuff a few t-shirts into a back-pack and off they go. Preparing to travel to Pedregal and House Upon the Rock, is a whole other kettle of fish.

Byron's message on Sunday morning was about the importance of prayer. As members of our congregation ready themselves physically for their mission, let us hold them close in our prayers.

Whew! September

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

After our summer holiday, September swept through the church timetable like a whirlwind. It seems every weekend held some event that involved refreshments. Just this past Sunday was a birthday cake for Emily as she celebrates 99 years.

kitchen crew

On Tuesday, our church plays host to Presbytery, including a lunch. Many thanks to our hard-working volunteers in the kitchen who provide squares, make sandwiches, simmer soup, set out table decorations and keep the coffee pots full, time after time.

*****

Also on the calendar this week, is the all candidates meeting on Wednesday. For this one we only need to set out the water jugs, not make coffee, etc.  If you are a voter in North Saanich you might like to come and listen to the candidates for mayor and council lay out their vision for the future of our area. Now that municipal elections only come around every four years it is easy to lose track of who is in and who is out, not to mention who's on first.  The meeting starts at 7:00 pm.

*****

 
As Hurricane Fiona has devastated  Canada's east coast, the Government of Canada announced that over the next month, it will match donations given to the Red Cross. Our maritime family needs our love, our prayers and our resources as they sort through the rubble that was their homes and towns.

Fortunately, the storm mostly spared Pedregal in the Dominican Republic, home of the Church Upon the Rock Ministry that SPPC supports. When we send a mission team to the DR, that is where they go.  Sharon reports:

We are inland, in the mountains and our province was in the red zone of the storm.  We had so much rain. So very much rain.  Hard, heavy rains for about 15 hours.  In our area, we had minimal winds but some people near the rivers had some flooding.  We have three rivers in our area and they really rose. 

We have a little creek on our property that usually at this time of year is about 18 inches wide and maybe 2 inches deep.  Yesterday, it was a full flowing river.  In our area, everything is very wet but no major damage. 

During the storm, about 5 km from our home, a young man died a freak accident when a tree fell on top of him as he was riding his motorcycle on the main road.

On the mountain highway, there is no waterfall but yesterday there was a waterfall, about 3 feet wide coming down the mountain onto the highway. 

An overpass collapsed on the main highway at the bottom of our mountain road, about 20 km from us.

*****

Here, in beautiful British Columbia, we continue to enjoy God's gift of sunny days and cool nights. Let us give thanks.

Count Down

   

 It's countdown time for our  team to the Dominican Republic.  They leave on their mission trip to Pedregal this Friday and will be gone until March 22.  How's that for a way to spend your March break?
           You may have seen advertisements for resorts in the Dominican but our team will be working away from the tourist areas, in the mountains. They will experience power outages that last from an hour to a whole day and no one will be able to tell them when it will come back on.  They will have only cold showers and eat rice, beans, plantain and chicken.  They will see lots and lots of flowers for export to our flower shops. The people around them will speak Spanish.    

       They will live in a "macho" culture where women and girls do not go out at night without an escort.  They will be offered extravagant hospitality from families whose average monthly income is $150.00 - $200.00 per month. They will have to tread a fine line between taking too little and being considered rude or taking too much and depriving their hosts.
         They may encounter wild boars but no snakes.  They may see frogs and cockroaches as pets.  Keeping a schedule will be a challenge since island time includes a two hour siesta in the afternoon and long visits and chats in the street.  Since most of the people in Pedregal only know North Americans from what they see on television, they will assume our team members live like movie stars in Canada.  They may experience theft -- after all, to the locals, our team is rich and won't miss whatever was taken. 
     They will experience a class society where those of European background are top of the heap while those descended from African slaves or Haitians are at the bottom.  The whiter your skin the more privileged you are.
      Family is the centre of society in the DR with three or four generations living together. The oldest male relative makes decisions for the entire clan. 
     Our team is going to help build a school.  In the Dominican Republic, school is compulsory until grade 8, although their definition of grade 8 is about the same as our grade 3 or 4.  The children must wear a uniform, including shoes.  Since many families are too poor to afford the uniform, children will stay home. The government supplies the school building and the teachers, but no supplies.  That's why our team is taking things like pencils and pens, rulers, erasers, glue sticks, markers, duo tangs, Geometry sets and backpacks.  There is a complete list in the narthex.
   The team will also help out at the medical clinic.  Since the clinic has very little in the way of supplies, our members will carry things like Tylenol and vitamins with them, as well as towels.  Again, a complete list is in the narthex if you wish to contribute.
    Our congregation has raised the funds for this trip, contributed supplies and encouraged our team members every step of the way. 
On Sunday morning we commissioned the team, sending them forth as ambassadors from our congregation to represent us in the work they do for God's glory.

 Now, while the team is in the field, we can continue to support them with prayer.  Pray for their health and well-being.  Pray that their work is useful.  Pray that they may model Christian love to all they meet.  Pray that God will use them and their gifts to His good purpose. Pray they return home safely.

Thanks be to God for his servants, Felicity, Diane, Maximilian and Linda.