Potty Humor

Recordings from Sunday

I am happy to report that our recordings from last Sunday are on our website's Sermons, Etc. page.

Dewey's sermon about the Wilderness was fabulous, so be sure to listen if you get a chance. And Steve got some good music recorded from our singing, especially a great recording of Mighty to Save. That song plus a couple more are on the site as well. Enjoy!

Laminin!

Here is Louie Giglio with an interesting illustration of Colossians 1:15-20.

A great weekend!

We had a great weekend here at New Hope!

I wasn't able to stop by personally, but I hear the Garage Sale went very well on Saturday. Over $500 was raised, which met the goal of covering expenses for some kids to go to camp next week. Praise the Lord! And thanks to everyone who brought items to the sale and volunteered to pull it off!

Sunday morning was just great. We had 147 in attendance, and if you weren't one of them, I'm sorry you missed it! I was very happy to have our whole New Hope Worship Band together again for the first time in weeks, and the songs we all sang seemed to really connect us to God's greatness and grace. And Dewey's message about living in the "wilderness" was terrific. I'll have it up on the website soon, so if you missed it, be sure to take some time to listen online!

We then enjoyed another summer barbecue together at Dancer Park. The weather was beautiful, and I got a chance to talk to some folks I don't normally get to, so it was a nice time of fellowship. Repko cooked up a bunch of hamburgers, chicken, german sausages and hot dogs--yum!

Our softball opponents forfeited, so we had fun just dividing up our players and scrimmaging against each other. Only two games left in the season!

If you're part of our New Hope family and are away travelling or on summer break, just know that we miss you look forward to seeing you again when you're back!

Garage Sale on Saturday, 8am-2pm

Lots of cool stuff for sale here at the church! Be sure to come out Saturday and buy some treasures!

The Hot Water Bottle

I had this story forwarded to me last week. I read it through, had tears in my eyes, and then figured it must be an urban legend of some kind. So I went to TruthOrFiction.com where I check out all the stuff that gets sent my way, and it turns out it was true! Wow!

The story comes from Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor from Northern Ireland to what was then called the Belgian Congo. It's a beautiful testimony of God's provision, and if you've never read it before, it's really worth your time...

THE HOT WATER BOTTLE

One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.

We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.

A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "...and it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby'll be dead; so, please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, " ...And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then, there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - - that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, "A brand-new rubber, hot water bottle!" I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months earlier in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "That afternoon!"

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

Another song to share

I wanted to share a link to a song called Ready to Fly, a beautiful song that talks about our yearning for heaven. It's written and performed by The Zach and Sarah Blickens Band from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Enjoy!