Mission:Uganda! Thank you!

This past Sunday, we ended our series of 7 exploring missions, our faith, Uganda, and the ministry of YCVM.

All in all, we had a wonderful time:

We give thanks for the committed and heart-felt leadership of Jenny and Wendy - they truly stepped up and stepped out!

We give thanks for the steady accompaniment and mentoring of Becky.

We give thanks for each of you, faithful participants and co-explorers.

We give thanks for all that we learned, practiced, and sought to respond to.

We give thanks for our brothers and sisters in Uganda who continue to pray with and for us as they respond to their call to be in mission.

We give thanks for each and every sponsored child.

We give thanks for the work ahead of us - to discern and understand missions as who we are and that which we're called to as followers of Jesus, to discern next steps of our walk with YCVM, and to be faithful responders to the movement of God in the world.

In conclusion of the Sunday School, a Mission:Uganda! worship highlighted 3 testimonies from Jenny Wong, Wendy Lee, and Aeri Lee.

 

Message from Rev. Martin Odi

On Sunday, Aug. 1st, CCUMC wired $42,000 to YCVM. Of that amount, $40,000 was designated for building the first wing of the boarding school and $2,000 for the ministry to vulnerable orphans. Below is the response from Board member, Rev. Martin Odi, to an email from Becky regarding the transfer of funds.

Awesome! On behalf of YCVM I am so grateful to hear from you. And thank you for the wire made. Grace our treasurer or Silver will let us know when the funds arrive.

I am glad that we are on the same page, willing to learn and know each other well and build a relationship which is not based on money but on the blood of Jesus Christ. I hope Aeri has a brief profile of each of us. If not I will ask Grace and Silver to compile a few details about each of us in YCVM including the orphaned children so that as the [Sunday School] series go on you will be able to paint a picture of each of us.

Please, as a church family, do remember me in person as I travel in the Great Lakes region of Africa (7 countries) to teach the Good News of the Kingdom and train pastors and church leaders. Specifically I need more of God's love in me then I can love his people, I need to know Christ more and the power of his resurrection, I need to walk in His holiness, I need security in my travel, and home, and I need the hearts of those I teach to be receptive and willing to change.

I am so committed to praying for you all. I love you, and love you and love you.

"The Only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" Gal 5:6b NIV
Rev. Martin Odi

Summer Sunday School

Summer Sunday School Experience~
We would like to tell everyone about the wonderful Sunday School experience that we have had this past month.  We have not gone to Sunday School since we last taught (so long ago)!  Wendy & Jenny have given us a wonderful experience in learning about Uganda, their history and all the trials and tribulations they are living with day to day and how our church is working with YCVM.  We appreciate Jenny and Wendy's long hours of loving labor in thinking of all the different way to teach us and to keep the adults quiet and interested.  You two are the best and we are all very proud of you.  Keep up the good work, God has blessed us with you both.
Love and peace,
Ed & Arlene

Spiritual Help is On the Way

Spiritual Help is on the Way / Steve Chan-
A small group ministries discernment team has been meeting to discuss and discern the purpose, need and the how-to of launching a new small groups ministry at CCUMC for the last several months. This new ministry is to help build, strengthen, nurture and grow each of us in our spiritual lives. To walk with God, we need to talk to Him. To do his will, we need to know his Word. Participating in a regular small group is designed to help build and strengthen our relationship with God and also to help build and strength our relationship with one another.
At this time, we are targeting the launch of new small groups in October. The first cycle will invite participation for 2½ months (October – mid-December.) The second cycle will convene from January to through the end of February. Small groups will meet weekly during those times. You are invited to begin praying about your participation. We hope that you will consider, intentionally, being a part of this new ministry.
I personally decided to get involved with the discernment team because I realized that I was not walking with God and very probably hiding from Him. Moreover, I was definitely not growing spiritually. I recognized this when I noticed that attending church and Sunday school had become a habit. It was a good habit, but one that did not produce any positive or measurable results. I didn’t love God any more because of it and I certainly didn’t love my neighbor any more. I now know that worshipping God on Sunday is not enough to carry me through this long journey. I seem to be stuck in the same rest station. I go ahead a little bit but always end up back at the same rest station. I have come to the realization that I need to know his Word more deeply in order to walk with Him and to do his Will. I also realize that I need the help and support of others in this journey. So please join me and others in this new possibility!
If you have any questions or would like to know more, please connect with me, Charlie or Pastor Emily. A questionnaire will be distributed soon to get your input. Please keep an eye out for that.

Benefit Dinner for Youth and Child Visionary Ministries (Uganda) Raises $15,000

(written by Becky Wong)

Bricks, Mortar, & Steel: Building a Hope and a Future

To the spirited rhythms of African music playing in the background, 250 dinner guests were “transported”  via song and story to the village of Kumi, Uganda, on a spring evening in April, 2010. They were attending the first major fundraiser to build a Primary Christian Boarding School in Uganda, sponsored by Chinese Community United Methodist Church of Oakland, CA.

The event was truly an evening of “East meets West”, for while attendees feasted on a sumptuous 9-course Chinese banquet held at Legendary Palace Restaurant, they learned words and songs in Ateso and Swahili, and heard stories from the Mission Team of 8 who travelled to Kumi last summer. Aeri Lee, team leader, shared how the unique partnership developed between Kumi and the small church in Chinatown, which felt called to respond to the needs of orphans in this Ugandan village. 

People were captivated by Peter Chu's accounts of the humble tools used to lay brick, mortar, and steel on the cement foundation. Smiles of glee spread on faces who sang of a “Biggy, Biggy God-O”, a familiar song of the YCVM praise band. And the response was enthusiastic as donations were collected to fund the building project. Altogether the dinner raised $15,000 towards the goal of $25,000 needed to finish one wing of the school. The “Little Church in Chinatown” has truly felt the hand of God moving in surprising and amazing ways. They continue to pray for the project to move ahead towards completion, praising and glorifying our “Biggy, Biggy God-O!”

For more information on Youth and Child Visionary Ministries, visit www.ycvm.org

CHINATOWN SHOWS ITS GENEROSITY FOR QINGHAI EARTHQUAKE

http://calnevumc.org/news/detail/2100

(written by Peter Lau)
After receiving news about an April 14th earthquake in Qinghai, China, which took the lives of 2,220 people, injured over 11,000, and caused immeasurable damage, CCUMC’s Chinese-speaking Ministries Committee decided to take to the streets to raise funds for the relief effort in partnership with the American Red Cross. Sisters and brothers on English-speaking side were also invited to participate in this fundraising effort. I was impressed and touched by our two congregations working together with joyful heart and one mind.

10 choir members, under the leadership of Yvonne, performed songs in front of the church to attract the attention of the general public Saturday and Sunday afternoon, May 1-2. We were so proud that our two great musicians were able to accompany us, and two able men helped set up the equipment. 8 pairs of brave sisters and brothers, including youths, were stationed at the four corners of the crosswalk at 8th Street-Webster and 9th Street-Webster to ask for public support, while about 6 brothers and sisters faithfully carried posters up and down the streets to encourage people to give.  An American Red Cross emergency truck brought in by Burt, was parked in front of the church and was open for public viewing on Sunday afternoon.
The people of Oakland Chinatown responded enthusiastically and monetarily. 7 buckets were filled on Saturday and an additional 7 buckets were brought in on Sunday. The amount of donations was $5,149.67! Additionally, two major donations amounting to $3,200.00, were made directly to UMCOR via CCUMC for specific reasons. Hence, the grand total of donations to date is $8,349.67! We praise the Lord for this opportunity to bear witness to God’s love for the people in Qinghai.

Aeri’s weekend report

Monday, July 19, 2010

Dear Community,

This past Saturday, I was invited to speak at a worship conference organized by a worship training ministry called, Streams of Worship Ministry Africa (SOWMA) which was founded by my former RTC music student and friend Bosco Andama. Bosco was only a teenager when I first met him in 1997, in high school and working for the RTC missionaries. When I next came to Uganda in 2001, he was enrolled as a music student at RTC, proving to be one of my most musically gifted students. Since graduation, he has steadily grown in his reputation as an extraordinarily gifted music teacher and worship team trainer all over Kampala, and Kenya where he was a missionary for 2 years. He currently works at his church in Kampala, and teaches at RTC, as well as heading up SOWAM, in working with area church leaders to train their worship teams.

The day began with the gathering of the worship team that was to be the leaders of all of the worship sessions that were to intersperse the 2 main teaching sessions. I was asked to speak on ‘the role of music in worship’, addressing the common phenomena in many African worshippers to mistake music as worship itself, and on the other side of the spectrum, the tendency to make worship into religious entertainment, 2 situations that may not be so uncommon in the US as well.

Along with me, the other speaker for the day was Emmanuel Candia (pronounced ‘Chandia), a wheel chair- bound (from childhood polio) lawyer, a long-time friend of Bosco, a self-taught Bible scholar with an impressive working knowledge of Biblical Greek, a passionate worship leader, a faithful man of God, and apparently a powerful speaker. He spoke on the topic of ‘bearing fruit’ as worshippers, as he reflected on the text of John 15 (“I am the vine, you are the branches….). I left RTC at 7am, and did not return until 11pm, thoroughly exhausted, but full of gratitude.

The lady kneeling in the front is May, Bosco’s wife, currently remaining with 2 weeks until her due date, to deliver a baby girl, to be named “Gracious”, who will be their third child. Imagine leading worship when you are 9 months pregnant! The rest of the worship team members come from various area churches and Bosco’s current and former students. Tomorrow evening, I plan to visit Bosco’s home in the suburbs of Kampala, where he lives with his family of 4, his in-laws, and 3 of his music students that he is currently housing (and discipling, from what I can gather).

 

RTC music students are pressing on in their third week of intensive classes with me, already having to face exams next week. Pictured on the right are my second year students flashing a rare smile in my music theory class. I say ‘rare’ because most of the time they are frowning in concentration, or is it consternation?!? Modeste, the one whose foot is now completely healed is the skinny young man in the second row with a white shirt and grey checkers. I hope to teach you a song he composed when I get back.

The upcoming weekend looks as though it will be very full. Silver will likely travel from Kumi to see me, I will visit Veronica and Solomon, Anne Nyarangi’s younger siblings, I hope to make an appointment to interview Sylvia Achana, the lady who heads up UNEB (Ugandan National Education Board) to interview (it’s a homework assignment from Jenny, your fearless Sunday school teacher!) , and go shopping for all the requested items from friends in the US.

Then the following weekend, I’ll be heading back home. I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Aeri