Milestones | Looking Ahead

LOOKING AHEAD

MILESTONES

Marriages & Births

• John McKenna married Lauren Schweitzer at College Church on August 29. John is the son of Steve and Lisa McKenna.

• Emmanuelle Enlin was born to Nathan and Grace Bliss on August 19. Emmanuelle joins her brother, Moses.

• Ethan Timothy was born to Edward and Kathleen Herbert on August 10. His paternal grandfather is Ned Hebert.

• Isaac “Zaks” Michael was born to College Church missionaries Stephen and Karis Rigby on August 10 in Nairobi, Kenya. He joins his siblings Abigail and Eoin.

• Isaac George Warren was born to Paul and Ashley Glaze on July 28. He joins excited siblings Noah, Emeline, Eden and Levi.

• Jonah Casey was born to Ryan and Emily Bourque on July 23. Jonah’s maternal grandparents are Kevin and Carol Casey.

• Liam Matthew was born to Kirk and Elizabeth Heuer on June 10. Liam's maternal grandparent are Do n and Heidi Lomasney.

• Luise Adelheid was born to Chris and Gisela Gottlieb on May 5. Luise joins her siblings Renate and Johannes. Her maternal grandparents are Henry and Cheryl Parker.

Condolences

• Pray for Alta (Paul) Johnson and family as they grieve the loss of Alta's mother, Virginia Morries, who passed away on August 25 in Warrenville.

• Pray for Norm (Sue) Kapp and family as they grieve the loss of Norm's sister Carolyn Mardirosian, who passed away on August 22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

• Pray for Donna McAlister, Lindsay (Dave) Terhune, Kris (Steve) Roth, Meg (Mike) Zaino and other family and friends in the unexpected loss of Donna’s husband and Lindsay, Kris and Meg’s father, Ron McAlister, on August 20. Ron died in a private plane crash near Rockford.

• Pray for Jon (Sarah) Gieser and family as they grieve the loss of Jon's father, Paul, who passed away on August 18.

• Pray for Paul (Linda) Murphy and family as they grieve the loss of Paul’s sister Sharon, who passed away in Virginia on August 18.

• Pray for Heidi (Don) Lomasney and family as they grieve the loss of Heidi's mother, Mary Pfingsten, who passed away on August 10, in Danforth, Illinois.

• Pray for Dr. Ben Kietzman, Dr. Tim (Laurel) Kietzman, extended family and friends as they grieve the loss of Ben’s wife and Tim’s mother, Sylvia, who passed away in Carol Stream on August 7.

• Pray for Mary Anna (Wes) Steffen and family as they grieve the loss of Mary Anna’s brother, Hudson Moore, who passed away in Newport News, Virginia, on July 23.

Missions & Community Outreach Festival 2020

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace, at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

As we take stock of what life looks like here in Wheaton and the mandates in place, we have reconsidered our plans for October’s Missions & Community Outreach Festival. The Board of Missions agreed that the wisest choice was to move to an online festival for this year.

We will still celebrate Global Missions Sunday on October 11, Community Outreach Sunday on October 18 and Missionary Christmas, but it will look different than previous festivals. We’ll focus both Sundays on The Faith Centered Mission—how faith is an indispensable part of God’s plan for the world. Keep an eye on the Missions section of the Friday Church Family News email as well as our website page as we firm up what this year’s festival will look like.

We hope to have a few smaller in-person gatherings which you are invited to join as you are able and comfortable. We will continue to follow the guidelines set by the State of Illinois and the CDC. If you are interested in participating in these gatherings or connecting with one of our missionaries, please email Michelle at mkelley@college-church.org to let her know.

To say that this has been a difficult season is an understatement, but through it all, our missionaries have persevered as lights and witnesses to their families and neighbors. It’s encouraging to see how they have weathered transition and change with great faith and to see how God has answered prayers for healing, strength and new opportunities to share his gospel.

In Connections and in our weekly emails, we have already shared some stories of how God has been at work around the world, and we look forward to sharing more with you as well. Stories about. . .

Isaac and Jennifer Stough in Spain who ran five modified weeklong summer camps. They had conversations with many young people and witnessed spiritual openness and growth. Jesus worked in the life of one student, teaching her about forgiveness and his love for her and allowing her to be honest about her failures and be changed by him.

Greg and Faith Hurst report that in Bolivia, lights of Christ shine throughout La Paz as children invite their friends to virtual Sunday school, women participate in Zoom Bible studies, and church members drop off food and money to those whose income was wiped out by quarantine. People are being the hands and feet of Christ as they pull their resources together for the good of the church.

Joe and Holly Greeson in Alaska experienced God’s power and presence during a virtual teen retreat for missionary kids as they explored the theme of God’s faithfulness and discovered different ways to play games and deepen relationships, creating community and bringing encouragement.

Though we are not able to be together in many of the ways that we want to be right now, the Lord is with us. Let us rejoice at this truth, and marvel at ways he is at work in Wheaton and around the world.

Missionary Christmas

Help us bless our missionary family. We want to continue the tradition of Missionary Christmas this year—virtually! Please consider giving online, starting October 1, in order to give our workers a special Christmas gift for non-ministry related purposes.