Montesano Presbyterian Church Newsletter April 2020

Congregational Life: Our church family is

in our prayers. We are canceling Fellowship

Hour and all group activities such as game day

and Life Groups until further notice.

We encourage everyone to stay home if you

feel sick, stay home and away from other

people if you are in a vulnerable group (older

or have serious underlying health conditions),

avoid discretionary travel, shopping trips, and

social visits, wash your hands for at least 20

seconds, frequently sanitize high

touch/frequently used items and surfaces

such as door knobs, faucets, appliance

handles, steering wheels, avoid touching your

face with unwashed/sanitized hands; practice

social distancing – at least six to ten feet away

from others, and follow the recommendations

to avoid gatherings of more than 50 people

(Governor Inslee) or more than 10 people

(President Trump).

Pray for each other. Take a break from the

media. Go outside and enjoy the spring

weather (while practicing social

distancing). Start the project you have

neglected for lack of time. Keep in touch by

phone or internet with friends and family.

Don’t panic, remember, most of those tested,

have tested negative. Most who get the virus

survive.

Well, we are mostly here, and

if asked, I would say the essential half is still

in Texas. Melani is doing well and working hard

to maintain motherly obligations and sell the

house, but we miss everyone a great deal.

Soren and I are now living in the church and

time is standing still it seems.

Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not

in the counsel of the wicked, nor sits in the

seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law

of the Lord; and on his law he meditates day

and night. He is like a tree planted by streams

of water that yields its fruit in its season, and

its leaf does not wither.”

From Stephen Covey and the Speed of

Trust.

The tree is rooted in INTEGRITY. Integrity

is the character that God creates in each of

us.

The base of the tree is INTENT based on

character, which will grow strong if nurtured

and pruned properly.

The branches and foliage are CAPABILITIES,

and the fruits are RESULTS. This personal

development gives way to competence.

Montesano Presbyterian Church

201 E McBryde Ave

Montesano WA 98563

360-249-3845 1883 - 2020 Author is licensed under

Covey says, "If the trust is high, things

happen faster and at a lower cost than when

trust is low. According to Covey these are our

core elements of trust. Trust grows where our

motives are straightforward and based on

mutual benefit."

Sunday March 22, I preached on the Sower

and the Heart. Like tree’s roots, the hearts of

our faithful family extend deep, sometimes

for miles as strong interconnecting, fostering,

restorative, vital organs that allow each tree

to thrive, grow, heal and live. We are just like

the Spruce, the Fir, the Cedar and the

Hemlock (I went hiking yesterday at Lake

Sylvia and learned my trees). Each and every

tree is unified by a rich soil, plenty of

nutrients and a system that works together to

benefit the forest, its life and the beauty of

all who come to find peace within it. Our

church family is no different; we are

connected in Christ to grow the Kingdom of

God and share the love we have for our Savior

and those He as redeemed.

P. COBB <><

Who’s Doing What & When

Welcome Team April 4 L. & T. Bullington

April 12 Jarvis & McCombs

April 19 McCullough Family

April 26 L. & J. Schallon

*Indicates change

Worship Leader

April 5 *P. Hildreth

April 12 G. Dalan

April 19 *L. Taylor

April 26 A. Oestreich

*Indicates Change

Coffee Hour

April 5 Open

April 12 Easter

April 19 C. & B. McDougall

April 26 P. Winkler

Birthday Lunch

Since there are no ladies having

birthdays in April there is no birthday

lunch scheduled for the month. If you

have questions about this event or you

want your name added to the birthday

list, please contact Sue Gurney at 360-

249-1488

Family Promise In order to protect our volunteers, the family

being hosted by Family Promise spent the past

weeks at the Day Center. They are on their

own now, though receiving some social

services. Interviews took place at first, then

by phone, but enrollment is now on hold. With

the two week “stay at home” order,

caseworker, Mike, will collect unemployment;

there is nothing for him to do right now.

Director Charles has Family Promise office

work, grant writing, coordination with social

service agencies, and contact with our

graduated families, plus another part time

job. We will keep reassessing as the pandemic

period go on. One project, for which a grant

to is being written, is purchase and installation

or a security/surveillance system for the Day

Center which will serve a number of useful

purposes.

Uganda Trip

We want to thank all of you who were praying

for us during our recent mission trip to

Uganda. We traveled safely and returned

home March 11. We have been 'isolated' since

then. While in Uganda we spoke at ten far-

flung churches attended by more than thirty

pastors and more than a thousand people. We

were also able to begin the purchase on one

at-risk church property, cover a number of

medical needs, and distribute Bibles in several

local languages. We hope to have a minute-

for-mission presentation at the church when

things have settled down a bit.

In Christ,

Jim and Donnie

(A little humor in this time of stress)

“Poverty Social” February 22, 1895

If ever there was a poverty-stricken looking

crowd in Montesano it was to be seen at the

“poverty social” given by the ladies of the

Presbyterian church, Tuesday evening, in the Byles

storeroom. The distress of the beggar Arabs, in

the streets of Cairo, would not call for more

sympathy than the tattered garments and woe-

begone appearance of some of the guests. The

room was too small to accommodate the crowd, and

considerable confusion resulted, but this did not

prevent the social being a financial success, the

ladies announcing their total receipts to be

$29.97.

(Taken from the Feb. 20, 2020 Vidette)

Mission Meals April 21

Linda Anderson Delivers & Devotional P. Hildreth 470-1973 Hot Dish

S. McCombs 249-3338 Hot Dish

P. Gillespie 249-5601 Hot Dish

S. Royce 240-4262 Salad & Dressing for 20

J. Morrill 581-2551 Salad & Dressing for 20

L. Taylor 249-5948 Salad & Dressing for 20

Furnishing dessert for 60 Diana Hill

March 17 Delivers & Devotional

J. Tanner 249-2074 Hot Dish

K. Jarvis 249-5502 Hot Dish

R. Toyra 249-5888 Hot Dish

K. Case 249-6392 Salad & Dressing for 20

S. Jobst 581-2551 Salad & Dressing for 20

J. Wills 593-0558 Salad & Dressing for 20

Furnishing dessert for 60 Don Bingham

Monte Pres always furnishes the meal on the

third Tuesday of each month

From our friends Patty and Stan

Dear friends and family,

As all of you are experiencing many changes

to your lives because of the virus causing the

Covid-19 sickness, we also have been. Last week

we emailed you on Wednesday 18th that, as per

the doctor’s request for high-risk people to leave

PNG, we were preparing to return to the U.S.

because of the pandemic. On Friday we looked

into buying tickets but it was going to be around

$10,000 1-way for both of us because one airline

had drastically increased their price, so we

thought we couldn’t do it. Then on Saturday that

price went way down, so we booked flights to

depart from Ukarumpa Monday morning, from

Port Moresby Wednesday to Singapore, then on

to San Francisco. Australia had already banned

entry of anyone even transiting through their

airports because of the virus, so we couldn’t go

that route. Then on Sunday the news came that

Singapore had also imposed a ban on people

transiting through their airport as of midnight

Monday. There were several people from

Ukarumpa who were booked on our Wednesday

flight to Singapore. So we’ve all had to cancel and

just stay here, as there were no other routes

out. Sunday afternoon we gave our refrigerator

food to our neighbors, as we were to leave

Monday morning. And thankfully they were

happy to return it Monday morning, because the

store was unexpectedly closed for all the

managers to meet. We really enjoyed our

breakfast.

So now we’ve spent hours on the phone and

internet canceling flights and trying to get ticket

refunds. And we are de-stressing about the trip,

which would’ve included spending the night

sleeping on the Changi Airport floor in Singapore

with air conditioning and no blankets amidst

crowds of people with theft going on—and also

finding a place to live in the U.S.

Yesterday all Ukarumpa residents received

orders for each household to begin practicing

isolation, as you in California are familiar with,

and to keep a 'social distance' of two meters

between people when visiting together. Two

days ago the Clinic discovered the first person

with Covid-19 symptoms, but there are no test-

kits here. If you would like to be praying with us,

following are some prayer needs:

1) For God's peace to reign over all of us here at

Ukarumpa, and over all of the PNG people.

2) for good physical and mental health for

everyone here, especially that no more people

would get the virus. (There’s only one confirmed

case in the country as of today.) There are no

medical evacuations of Covid-19 patients allowed

into Australia. And there’s a very small supply of

oxygen canisters at our clinic.

2) for Dr. Tom and the Clinic staff—for God’s

strength, grace, wisdom, coping ability, and rest.

3) That the course of the virus will finish quickly in all the world, and that people will turn to the Lord through it all. We had good times in prayer this morning,

took communion together, and are thankful that

we belong to God and His wonderful family. And

also thankful for a beautiful day here.

Thank you so much for praying for us during

this time. We so appreciate your standing with

us, and are praying for each of you to be

experiencing God’s peace and blessings in the

midst of all of the turmoil. Please let us know if

there's something we can be praying with you

about.

With much appreciation,

Stan & Patty