First Explorers had a busy week full of winter and Christmas activities! They learned about snowflakes and made their own with 4H, made and ate waffles with Sandi while learning about Maine, and completed handmade potholders as Christmas gifts with Mrs. Cheryl. They also made multiple ornaments, helped decorate the First Explorers space for Christmas, and practiced their pageant. It was a fun week!
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Mission Moment 12.10.25
Lita Sample
Field Personnel in San Francisco Bay Area, California
"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child."
– Luke 2:1-6
I wrote this blessing based on my conversations with Afghan refugees. I can’t mention their names because of risk, but one of these refugees has become a believer and has hopes for others to come to know Jesus, too. I wrote this from his perspective.
A Blessing from a Refugee to Those Coming to America
My heart was heavy when I left my home country of Afghanistan to move to America.
I was hopeful that fleeing persecution into a free country would make me feel safe.
My family and I made this our home, and we learned the culture, the language and became part of community.
I found faith in Jesus, whom I realized I never knew. The church nurtured me as I grew in that faith.
We worked hard to become citizens and after we passed our test, we said the oath with pride.
Recently, we’ve seen others from our country who join us here out of necessity. They journey to our land because it offers protection and a new start.
They too left a familiar home and arrive with shock, overwhelmed.
But here, they begin their journey of trying to feel safe. However, today, their experience is different from mine.
These new refugees are filled with uncertainty as they are in a country that does not want them.
Where will they go if they must leave? What will they do? How will they survive yet another unfamiliar place?
My heart is heavy once again.
To them, I gently hand this blessing to be poured over them:
Where you are standing, in the dark place, filled with fear, you are not alone. I walk with you.
The uncertainty is always there no matter the circumstance, so with this, I pray for peace in the midst of this storm.
The longing to care for your family is one that I pray is strengthened in terrible times and that God will grant you wisdom.
When you feel frozen so that you don’t want to leave your house, I pray for a caring person who will bring you food and friendship.
I pray that the persecution that seems to be waiting in the shadows will be vanquished in the light of justice.
The believers in Jesus who stand with you are many. I pray that they, along with myself, will move to help the growing community who feel lost will feel safe once again.
And in the midst of all of this, I pray that you will come to know Jesus, whom I know. Because He is the one who will provide peace in the middle of war, hope in the middle of desperation, warmth in the midst of the coldness of your situation and love when all seems lost.
Jesus is my continued hope. I feel Him more now that circumstances seem hopeless, and He shows His goodness even though the world seems to take all goodness away. My hope is in Him knowing that one day, I along with others will finally find the joy and pure freedom of heaven.
I hope this for you too. This crisis is not the end but a means to hope in God who will carry all of us through to the end.
Pray...Give...Go.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
1st Explorers After-School Program Recap
The First Explorers only met one day last week, but they played and were excited for Thanksgiving!
Mission Moment 12.3.25
Gennady Podgaisky
Field Personnel in Krakow, Poland
He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more. – Isaiah 2:4
As I write these words on May 13, 2025, the 1,185th day of full-scale war in Ukraine carries on. A church we attended while living in Kyiv has prayed daily for the end of the war and for peace to come in Ukraine since the very first day of the war. Prayer warriors faithfully continue to meet every day, bringing “…prayers and petitions, with thanksgiving, presenting their requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). Despite the challenges and hardships, prayers for the end of the war and physical protection, there is also thankfulness and gratefulness. There is also a deep desire to be a blessing and faithful carriers of the Good News and God’s peace to near and far “neighbors.” Below are a few excerpts from my conversations and prayers with two Ukrainian ministers who live, serve and thrive in a war-torn country.
“I am thankful to God for my family, which is still intact and alive. I am grateful for God’s physical protection last night and the nights before. Even though there is some damage in the city from last night’s rockets and drone attacks, it could have been worse. I am grateful for God’s provision for my family. In the last several days, we lived like the Israelites in the desert—God fed them manna from heaven which was provided every day. We live in such a period when God provides our daily needs from different sources, and we have our daily bread.”
“Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace, that this day we have the opportunity to live and serve others. Thank you for your mercy that renews us every day, as it is written in scripture, ‘New, fresh mercies greet me with every sunrise. So wonderfully great is your faithfulness!’ (Lamentations 3:23). Thank you for your provision every new day and that we can do what you entrusted us to do every day. Thank you for people who support our lives and our service to you, who encourage us, who are praying for us, who carry us in the hands of prayer.”
“Thank you, Lord, for the special grace which you provide in order for us to serve others so that we, as your church, will be able to be present where there is great need and that we will be able to testify to people about your glory, to sow seeds of your Word in people’s hearts. Thank you, Lord, that we can stand firm and serve people in these hard circumstances for three years already. You lead us and protect us. You have a plan and intention for my life amid many hardships, challenges and war. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to serve others and to bring your Gospel to the people.”
Let us join these two persons and many other faithful followers of Christ in their prayers for the advancement of God’s Kingdom in people’s hearts in different parts of God’s world. Let us be a blessing to our spouses, children, extended family, neighbors, co-workers and anyone whom God brings into our path. I am a channel and not a well of God’s blessings. I am blessed to be a blessing! Let God’s blessing flow through me. Amen!
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
Mission Moment 11.26.25
Ashley Gill Harrington
Associate Pastor of Children and Church Communication
Georgetown Baptist Church, Georgetown, Kentucky
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” – Isaiah 11:1
Perhaps it is no surprise that in scripture we see God as a gardener, speaking and planting at creation, cultivating and tending the created world, pruning and grafting. In the Gospels, we hear Jesus refer to himself as the vine and God as the one who painstakingly cuts to make a way for a fruitful harvest. Only with care and connection do we flourish and produce fruit.
Not until we find dirt under our fingernails do we understand the patience and discipline in gardening. With spades and trowels, we dare to co-create something new that is beautiful and bountiful just as God did in Genesis.
A Blessing for Co-Creation
Blessed are we who plant seeds in the soil as a tangible act of hope.
We let go and trust that with time, water and care, we will eventually bear witness to the power and mystery that happens where we cannot see it.
Blessed are we who impatiently await the first signs of sprouts to break through the surface. And when they do—what joy!
Our hope was not in vain.
Our faithfulness in watering and waiting has helped to bring new life.
But we know our job is far from over.
We must now cultivate and tend, prune and graft.
Blessed are we whose prayers take the form of watering cans, compost and trellises.
Consistent prayers that keep the soil healthy, weeds and pests removed, diseases managed. A daily rhythm of nurturing that makes the difference between withering and thriving.
Blessed are we who also find unwarranted success with fruit that appears despite our neglect, who find failure in hungry bunnies who nibble away at delicate stalks and who water, protect, nurture, fertilize and simply hope for the best.
Blessed are we who hope that despite the unpredictable weather and the ecosystem of insects and the myriad of factors outside of our control, plants will grow and even flourish. Hope that can be harvested in flowers, fruit and vegetables. Hope that is manifested in a ripe tomato and blooming rose. Hope that is made real only when we dare to dig in the dirt.
Blessed are we who plant and toil when it feels like we labor in vain. May we plant the seeds of God’s New Day with the hope that it too will eventually break through.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
1st Explorers After-School Program Recap
1st Explorers had a busy week full of visitors and activities. 4H visited Monday with an interactive activity, Kaitlyn provided chapel for the children on Tuesday, and Sandi Allen shared all about Maine with RAs and GAs on Wednesday. On Thursday, Cheryl Beck visited with special guest Peter Koch, associate director of the Mountain Heritage Center at WCU. Peter brought some Cherokee playthings, shared some old photos of people at play years ago, read a couple of ghost stories, and led the children in making cornshuck dolls. Mrs. Cheryl brought her famous chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, and a great time was had by all. Friday we wrapped up the week with show practice with Mrs. Marina and lots of outside time.
Mission Moment 11.19.25
Kirk
Field Personnel in Southeast Asia
As one who has been involved in two Bible translations for people groups where believers comprise less than one percent of the population, I have had the opportunity to see people reading and understanding the Word for the first time. It is fascinating to hear their reactions and listen to how they feel what they have read would apply in their cultural setting. By contrast, so many of us in the United States are used to having dozens of translations on our bookshelves or smartphones—perhaps this wealth of scripture causes us to forget the incredible significance of the Word. I struggle to remind myself to approach the Word with humility—and give it my full attention despite mountains of internal and external distractions. Below is a blessing to use before you read scripture.
A Blessing for the Reading of the Word
As you open this book
May your mind be calmed
Your ears sharpened
Your heart quieted
May your reading inspire you
Challenge you
Break your heart
Heal you
May you be mindful of the wonder of scripture
Always there
Always waiting
A book longing to be read
May you remember those who have never known
The miracle of these words
In the language of their hearts
In a place of freedom
May you listen as God speaks
Silent in His presence
Still as a weaned child
The rushing world far away
And may you emerge from this time
A mustard seed sprouting
A light learning to shine
A blessing
Pray...Give...Go.