The Academy is excited about participating in this years East Cobber Parade. Many of our students including our cheerleaders and athletes will be marching on Saturday. Our head of school, lower school principal, and athletic director will be riding in cars and an MBCA float, carrying our mascot, is sure to be a hit.
Join us for this great community building event as we let our neighborhood know that we are here to serve!
Praise the Lord! After a major detour to Chile, Carey Akin, Jon Ponders, and ten other MBUMC members are safely home from Quesimpuco, Bolivia. They said it was a truly amazing mission trip but the most physically exhausting thing they had ever done!
After landing in LaPaz at about 13,000 ft altitude and riding a bus for 12 hours, they had to pack down about 4,000 feet in altitude to the worksite and then pack back out again at the end. In between they moved 1500 lb. cables from one side of the river to the other. SIFAT will send future teams to finish the bridge.
SIFAT did a great job of getting them home when their flights were suddenly canceled and by the Grace of God, no problems but extreme fatigue! Their families are greatly relieved, since they were supposed to be back on Saturday!
If you attended church yesterday, you saw a short video that shows just how life-changing our Habitat for Humanity ministry can be. If you haven’t seen the video yet (or you’d like to watch it again), click below to view it.
The following e-mail was sent to us last night from Rev. Carey Akin, who is currently in Bolivia with our mission team:
Dear Family and Friends of the Bolivia Mission Team,
The mission trip has been a great success. We all can´t wait to get back and tell you all the wonderful things that have happened. Unfortunately due to very recent political issues the US Ambassador has been asked to leave the country. As a standard precaution, American Airlines has suspended all incoming and outgoing Bolivian flights. The unrest is currently isolated in a distant part of the country, and both the mission team and SIFAT feel that we are safe with no need for worry; however, this has caused us to make alternate arrangements to return home. Together with SIFAT, the following itinerary has been scheduled:
Depart La Paz via Lan Chile Flight 965 to Santiago on 9/14/09
Depart Santiago for Miami on American Airlines Flt 912 on 9/14/08
Arrive Miami at 5:10am on 9/15/08
Depart Miami Flight 1664 at 8:15am arrive Atlanta 10:20am on 9/15/08
We are all looking forward to coming home and seeing our loved ones. Right now we are headed out the door to go eat lama kabobs!
A fun little picture from this morning. Miss Inge and Miss B.A.’s two year old preschool class celebrate America and remember 911. We love to wave the American Flag!
This month, Nic and I talked with Carey Akin, Mt. Bethel’s missions pastor, about our strategic partnership with the 410 Bridge and our work in Kwambekenya. We also had several special guests in the studio: Ashley Fryar, formerly Mt. Bethel’s Missions Director now with 410 Bridge, and fellow co-worker, Jack Odhiambo, formerly a resident of Kwambekenya. We also had Justin Brasuell in the studio, who is co-founder of BrightPoint for Children and a Mt. Bethel member. BrightPoint has an incredible mission to provide for the children of Kwambekenya. I hope you’ll tune in to here their exciting stories.
I promise you will be blessed to hear about what God is doing in the lives of the people of Kwambekenya and the people of the Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church!
On Sunday, August 24th, 115 backpack Bibles were presented to our 3rd grade children, it was an exciting day in the life of our 3rd graders, their families, and their Sunday school teachers. And the adventure was just beginning…this past Friday over 70 children and adults joined us for our very 1st 3rd grade lock-in from 6:00-10:00pm in the Fellowship Hall, as they began the journey of “Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible”.
The night began with pizza and an opening session with “Indy” and “Professor” before children began traveling to 4 different libraries that would teach the children about the books within the Bible. The Library of Law (God’s Mighty Acts), Library of History and Poetry, Library of Prophets and Gospel Writers, and the Library of Acts and Letters. In each Library children used their Bible and a Treasure Code Guide Book to decode scripture and learn how to look up a book, a chapter, and a verse. Children were given an item as they left each library such as: a compass - God’s word is the same today, as it was yesterday, as it will be tomorrow; a coin - the true treasure is within the pages of the Bible; a glow stick - Jesus is the light of the world; and a lock/key - all you have to do to unlock the mystery of the Bible is to open the cover, read, study and pray.
The night closed with decorating their backpacks to carry their new treasure in and a treasure seeker sundae topped with goodies that also themed with the night. M&M’s represented the rainbow God placed in the sky; candy hearts represented God’s love and forgiveness; gummy fish represented the life and teachings of Jesus Christ; and chocolate syrup represented the “acts” of spreading the good news.
Fun was had by all! The blessing was the excitement I saw in the eyes of the children on Sunday, and the feedback from parents that their children came home excited about their new treasure and eager to practice reading and looking up scripture in their new Bibles. The mystery has been unlocked, the treasure revealed, the adventure began…the journey for these children in God’s Mighty Word begins now. Glory be to God for all His blessings on the lives of His children and their parents as they experience this adventure together!
A team of 8 people spent 5 days in Iowa, doing disaster relief work following the recent floods there. The team was composed of Jamey Killingsworth, Lloyd Boone, Janet Luisi, Karen and Don Webster, Gale Koven, Tem Marshall and Paul King. Gale Koven is from this area and her parents treated the team to a wonderful dinner at their home one night. Our work assignment was mostly cleanup of debris and other yard work. We worked on 17 different properties while there. A Presbyterian church hosted the team and made the trip very enjoyable for everyone. Ask anyone of the team about the Mission trip if you would like to know more.
The Academy is excited about participating in this years East Cobber Parade. Many of our students including our cheerleaders and athletes will be marching on Saturday. Our head of school, lower school principal, and athletic director will be riding in cars and an MBCA float, carrying our mascot, is sure to be a hit.
