Global Mission

world in handsGlobal Mission may be a new team at St. James but it is surely not a new ‘thing’ we are doing.  St. James has been active in support of global projects for many years through numerous projects. On November 9, 2014 the team organized “Global Church Sunday”. Taylor Stephens spoke to the congregation in worship about his trips to Nicaragua and Haiti. We gathered for breakfast during Sunday school and looked back over all the things St. James has done in the past through to the present. This served as a time to lift up and remember past projects but also to tell the stories to people who are new to St. James. 

 

It was refreshing and exciting to hear stories and remember the work St. James did with refugee gamilies resettling in the United States: the Nguyen family, the Vohkmintseva family and the Fazlijis family. In more recent years we have seen Fair Trade presentations and begun to serve fair trade coffee at church, Project Comfort has worked on quilts that have been sent around the world, we have collected shoes and money for Soles for Souls, the ELCA Malaria campaign has been highlighted in April for the last several years, Sunday school children have collected money for “God’s global barnyard” to supply families with livestock, we have supported youth and young adults who have traveled to Haiti, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Belize and Hondouras, and most recently we have worked to assist the Vision Alive orphanage in Kenya. Joy permeated the entire room as each of these projects was remembered and highlighted and we were graced with songs from Jayne Odyssey, founder of Vision Alive, and her family who were also in attendance at the breakfast.

 

Liebermans and kids   Olga and Zoya 1993   Photo 2

          Fazkijis Family Children                    Olga & Zoya               Nguyen Family

 

The Vision Alive orphanage has been a large part of the global mission team focus since the new team was formed. When the orphanage was damaged by floods in April of 2014, a small group from the congregation worked to hold a free will offering lunch to begin to raise funds for the orphanage to rebuild. Since that time, through contributions from the congregation as well as others in the community, Vision Alive has rebuilt, brought the children back to the facility, installed electricity to provide basic lighting, built bathroom and shower facilities, had running water brought onto the property and has begun a new farming project to help provide food to the facility and also to sell. What an amazing transformation we have been a part of!

 

The Global Mission team plans to continue working with Vision Alive, to work with the synod to connect with a congregation or ministry in our Companion Synod in Tanzania, and to keep various global needs, projects and opportunities in front of the congregation for all of us to work together and share the love of God with people everywhere

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