Mission Blog

Over the past three years Sheridan has experienced tremendous growth in our service to the community. We have begin serving at Clinic with a Heart, started the Barnabas Project, adopted two schools through the Backpack Program, and partnered in building three Habitat Homes. With all of these ministries, comes the need to schedule hundreds of volunteer shifts throughout the year.

Last Fall we completed a volunteer opinion survey, sent out to over 200 volunteers with 88 responses. The survey had a number of questions (You can see the full results at https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/sheridanlutheran.org/gform?key=0AjgDHQ...) The most significant portion to us was the response to the statement, "Volunteer Scheduling & Planning - I would like to select my own volunteer shifts" Our volunteer's opinions were clear... 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, 20% were neutral. Not a single person disagreed with the statement that they want to select their own shifts.

So now, the chance is yours! After significant time investigating options we have settled on using an online solution called Volunteer Matters. Currently Volunteer Matters is configured to allow self-scheduling for shifts for the Barnabas Project, the Backpack Program and Clinic with a Heart. Combined these three ministries require over 1600 individual volunteer shifts throughout the year and represent thousands of hours of service to our community. I invite you to visit our volunteer scheduling site to learn more about Sheridan's volunteer opportunities and schedule yourself for one of our hundreds of shifts available throughout the year.

Volunteer Matters is available at www.sheridanlutheran.org/serve Please don't hesitate in calling the church with any questions you have.

Serving together in Christ,
Pastor John

With 11 homes under construction, the work site resembled a hive of colorful bees, buzzing around their assigned tasks with good-natured laughter.
El Salvador is a country bursting with youthful energy—young people who are dedicated to lifting their homeland out of the poverty exacerbated by the civil war. The local leaders of Habitat work tirelessly, long hours spent planning, caring for volunteers, encouraging and counseling homeowners.
Jody’s team, volunteers of all ages came from Nebraska, Florida, and Illinois—students, teachers, and retirees. Quickly, we are no longer team but family. We also are determined to do our utmost for this project. This is where God wants us to be.
After the first morning devotion we meet the masons who will supervise us. Smiling a warm welcome, they patiently show us our tasks. Some volunteers dig, some move piles of soil, some paint, several dig out tree stumps or apply chispa between blocks.
Luis and Ronald circulate, making sure the volunteers are hydrated, happy, and not over-exerting in the heat. At morning break time the young volunteers are sweaty, filthy—but elated to be in El Salvador.
One team member confessed, “I tried to ignore God—my life was all about me. Two years ago I realized that something was missing. God was calling me to service—to reach out to others.”
A college student spoke up. “It feels good to help others. Makes me appreciate what we have in the States. Digging out the stumps was my high point so far.”
One husky student worked beside his mason all day. At that end of that long hot day, the mason folded his hands, bowed his head, and said, “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Tears stood in his eyes as the young student shared this with us.
A young teacher expressed her feelings in the words of a hymn. “I keep thinking of the words, ‘Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord.’ We in the United States tend to be so prideful. I appreciate more my home and my family.”
We share stories of how kind and appreciative the masons are. We know it’s not easy working with volunteers who are willing, but inexperienced. Miguel says, “I want always to work with Habitat. I never had a problem with volunteers, and they help me with my English.”
At the end of the week, as we prepare to leave the worksite, a mason says quietly, “You American volunteers coming here to help are a blessing to us. You are indeed a blessing.”
We helped build homes – but most important – we built relationships with our sisters and brothers in El Salvador. We were blessed by their love.

Friday, June 25
Villa Esperanza
Santa Ana, El Salvador

We have been doing a lot of digging this week, including sidewalks and many kinds of holes for the cistern system. Jim was digging at the bottom of a 9'-10' hole on Wed. Chester dug a huge round hole buy himself with a little help from Jody. We also wheel- barrowed a lot of sand and bricks and did a lot of painting. Our team has served well on the build site.

On Wednesday we celebrated a cultural day with the community. After dinner we had the traditional soccer game with our El Salvador friends (masons, workers, community members) and also team members from the two other teams who were working with us. Anyone who wanted to participate was welcome and we all divided up and had a really fun game. Back at the community center women from the community were busy preparing a traditional El Salvadoran meal with papusas, being the highlight. They were happy to teach us how to make them. After everyone feasted, a traditional band entertained us. The young man on the pipes seemed very talented. Then of course, we had a pinata. The children were quick at gathering up the candy.

Friday is our last day at the building site. It is a very sad day because we have to say good by to all of the friends we've made. Even though they have new groups each week, I think our mason and worker friends are also sad to say good bye to us. We have made some very good friends which we see each time we return. Since we need to get on the road, we quit right after dinner and have the good bye ceremony. We are each presented individually with a certificate by one of the masons or workers. Then the day care children put on a very cute little program for us. Just when we're all feeling very sad a Mariachi Band bursts through the door and everyone cheers up and dances to the lively music.

Friday night we are scheduled to go back to San Salvador and on Saturday we are planning to tour the Flower and Coffee trail. It includes a visit to a coffee processing plantation and also several smaller scenic towns farther up in the mountains.

It has been a great week and anytime anyone wants to see pictures or talk about the El Salvador trip please let me know.

-Jody Simeck

Jody Simeck from the El Salvador team called today to update us on the trip. She said the team is doing great. Everyone arrived fine on Friday and then they drove to Santa Ana. On Saturday they worked with some local homeowners, doing painting and moving blocks and getting their muscles stretched out for the week. Sunday the team had a day of rest and enjoyed worshipping with Cristo Rey. Pastor Carlos, the pastor there, began worship by sharing more about the ministry of the church. The Sheridan team visits Cristo Rey annually, and enjoys time with this wondeful congregation. Currently there are three Habitat teams there working: one California and Texas, one team from Michagan, and the Sheridan team. They have been able to meet and spend time with some of the workers they have worked with in the past. One small joy is seeing a baby that was born last year on her first birthday this year. Sunday afternoon the group took an excursion to a lake by a volcano and enjoyed some swimming and R&R. Today they are starting two new houses and doing a lot of digging out roots and septic lines. Part of the Global Village is a daycare building, which was completed on the teams first year in El Salvador. In past years it has not been operational, but they were excited to share that the daycare is now open and serving community children. They team is all healthy and enjoying their time in El Salvador. Please join me in continuing to pray for the team, their safety, and their work in El Salvador. -Pastor John

It's been almost a year since I was last in Bolivia, two years for Michelle, and almost exactly three years since we left Bolivia as a family. This time three years ago was a struggle for our family. Up until that time we felt that God was clearly calling us to plant our roots in Bolivia. We felt, and continue to feel, that we are called to invest where we are called to serve. We believe we should not live transient lifestyles, but put all that we have into everything God calls us to do and where he calls us to be. So we bought a home here in Bolivia years ago and began our family. Then we had to leave. When we left Bolivia a little over three years ago we put our faith and our hope in the Exodus story. Specifically in Numbers 9:23 “At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out.” This comes from a larger explanation found in Numbers 9:18-23 which explains how the Israelites setup camp and remained but then departed at the Lord's command, sometimes after months, sometimes after just one day.

In the past three years we have clearly seen how the Lord works through situations that we don't always understand. In most cases the best we can do is see that cloud and try to follow it. We begin to confuse ourselves when we try to ascribe meaning to something we don't comprehend. But now, on the other side of this transition, we see now how the Lord has blessed our ministry and given our family a clear sense of calling where we are. We are truly blessed to be at Sheridan and part of such a vibrant faith community.

Now onto my main point. Being around the Kaya kids always gives me a renewed passion for what a gift our lives are. We (read middle class Americans) have so many blessings in life that we take for granted. Warren Buffet is famous for saying we won the lottery of the womb by being born into the time and place most of us where born into. But the kids at the Kaya center have a different reality than most of us could ever imagine, and this different reality gives them a fresh perspective on Life.

1st Peter 1:3 says, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading…" So often we forget what this means for our lives, to be given a second chance at life. Most of us know what it means for sin to have a grasp on us. Here in Bolivia these kids know what it means to have had the burden of societal sin weighing upon them. They know what it means to be abandoned. They know what it means to be beaten. They know what it means to be simply seen as an undesirable object that should be eliminated.

The main part of Kaya's ministry is to connect them with the God given dignity and hope that each child should experience. We do this by simple but powerful acts of treating them like children, giving them a place to live in dignity and space and support to experience this love and compassion. When you are able to show this kind of unconditional love children are transformed in amazing ways. Today at church I looked around. To most, the kids we sat with were just the same as any other adolescent in the church. For me, I couldn't help but think of their stories. To think back to vivid images of how they lived on the streets and how society treated them. To think to a time they once were taught they were rubbish and now watching them grown worshiping God for their new lease on life.

1st Peter also gives us a reminder of what this should mean for each of us. In 1st Peter 1:13 we are reminded, “Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.” This is one of the great miracles of what God dos through Kaya. That these children recognize their blessings, recognize their journey and their struggles and therefore prepare themselves to resist their temptations and to strengthen their minds and bodies for their journeys. If only we could do so well to remember the miry pit (Psalm 40:2) we came from, thank God for the blessings we have, and in return prepare ourselves for the course ahead and keep our vision on Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God." - I John 4:7-11

After the earthquake in Haiti, many of us were glued to our internet sources and television newscasts receiving the updates of how Haiti and the world responded to such devastation.
Now, much of the media is silent as other stories have reached the headlines.
But our partnership to Haiti remains as strong as ever. Following the quake, we held two incredible concerts (Loose Rooster and Resurrection Dance Theater) that benefited emergency relief and rebuilding efforts. Now, our Haiti ministry here at Sheridan travels to Haiti. This blog will keep you posted as a team from Sheridan travels to visit our friends and partners in Haiti, April 25th-30th.
Travelers are Al and Lori Beck, Pastor Rhonda Bostrom and Ronda Anderson (friend and colleague of the Becks). We are meeting with other US/HTF partners from Georgia, Wisconsin and Colorado. Our goal for this travel is to check in on our Haitian partners. As we visit family and friends following tragedy in our own communities here at home, we are seeing this visit as the same. The Becks will hold dental clinics to serve the poorest of the poor children. Pastor Rhonda is meeting with local leaders to assess spiritual care following the earthquake. For those who remember Jacque, he will travel with us for the duration of the trip.
A highlight will be a planning time among US and Haitian partners as we begin the process of building a community outreach center at Trinity House in Jacmel.
Keep us in prayer for safe travels and good health. We'll keep you posted on our travel through these blogs.

In Christ,
Pastor Rhonda

Overflowing is how to describe our trip to Tanzania this February. We brought the following gifts: 115 orphan sponsorships, the purchase of pews for the Vunjo school chapel, classrooms build at Masama Girls High School, 6,000 textbooks delivered to 14 Lutheran high schools, and the completion of the maize mill at Mudio parish. In return gifts flowed back to us: humble people, the hospitality shown to us, people who live their faith each day, and the love that binds all Christians together.

6,000 Textbooks

Each day was a working day. We arrived at the Christian Bookshop at eight in the morning and loaded up the boxes of textbooks for two schools. We drove over very bumpy roads to those schools which are operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church Tanzania, Northern Diocese. Students would carry the textbooks to assembly where a speech was given by me and then Rev. Joseph Mwakapi, coordinator of the secondary schools. Rev. Joseph is self-educated and became a Christian in his youth. His father died when he was a child and his brother was opposed to his becoming a Christian. Rev. Mwakapi would begin his speech with Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. The Head Boy or Head Girl would accept the textbooks and respond with a word of thanks. The school song and a Christian song were sung by the entire school. These schools have 300-500 students. A total of $40,000 was raised by the Nebraska Synod during Advent. This is 6,000 textbooks to be used in the schools where there is a severe shortage of textbooks due to poverty. Headmaster Emmanuel Lyatuua at Mtakuja wrote in his e-mail requesting textbooks, “There is no little help. All help provided to us is of high value.”

Graduation, Classrooms, Orphans

Schools in Tanzania, and in all countries in Africa, face enormous challenges. In spite of this, learning takes place with respectful students and caring, over-worked teachers and headmasters/headmistresses. Each school that we visited has its own personality.

The Nebraska Vision Team had the privilege of attending the Form Six graduation at Masama Girls High School. (The first van drove through the muddy road to the school but the second van got stuck and arrived 45 minutes late. Fortunately, I was on the first van.) There was so much excitement and school pride shown by the girls that morning. Receiving a Form Six diploma is an accomplishment because only 20% of students in Tanzania receive this level of education.

On February 6, 2010 Bishop Shao dedicated the Domestic Science building. This is a building that has one classroom for cooking which includes 9 stoves, 11 sinks, freezer, and refrigerator; and one classroom for sewing. It was an impressive building and necessary so the girls can receive instruction in cookery and tailoring. There are jobs in catering and tailoring so when a girl graduates she can be employed. Also, children are frequently sick in Tanzania and the girls need to know how to care for their sick children. I heard that one man wanted the students in the cooking classes to create new recipes because he was tired of eating ugali! Ugali is a staple dish made of maize.

115 orphans are sponsored this year by the Tanzania Orphan Scholarship Project. It is always a joy to meet these students. You see their smiles but know they are leading difficult lives. I regret that I never have enough time to spend with them. The scholarships are appreciated. The orphans are overwhelmed by our generosity. For the most part, all students are poor. Headmaster Foya at Natiro Secondary School told us how if a student took care of his pants, that one pair of pants could last all four years!

Mudio and Karansi Parish

On the first Sunday, we witnessed the dedication of the Mudio maize mill by Bishop Shao. This was a big event and included a choir from our other partnership parish, Karansi. The chairman of the village government spoke before the congregation and informed the congregation how this mill, in which Sheridan provided funds, would serve the entire community. The celebration of Pastor Mathayo Munisi’s retirement was that Sunday, too. Many gifts were given to Pastor Munisi including two cows and one goat. During the second Sunday of our trip, we worshiped at Karansi Lutheran Parish. This church is led by Pastor Joshua Laizer who has an eighth grade education. Pastor Joshua has witnessed to many Maasai and his parish now has four churches. This is always the amazing part of a vision trip to Tanzania, when you see God working among his people. This three hour church service had communion, blessing of the harvest, but the most meaningful part of the service was when Tom and I were invited up to the altar area to shake hands with the new 60 member confirmation class. Our trip to Tanzania concluded with a dinner at Bishop Martin Shao’s home. This year in his address to all the Nebraskans, he informed us about the goals he set when this partnership started. Those goals have exceeded expectations! Our gifts overflow to the Christians in Tanzania.

Linda Gapp

Dear friends back home in cold Nebraska!

Our days here in Tanzania are perfect. I mean to say that all the projects are going so well and are so appreciated.

First, our Agatha had exam results in division I and Larry's Respar's exam resutls are in division 2. That means those girls, along with most of the girls at Masama can go on to Form 5. Right now, they have Form 6 national exams and two police are at each school monitoring those exams!!!

The graduation of form 6 was wonderful and the Sheridan Staff's Theresia won two awards in discipline and good grades. I have pictures.

The Domestic Science lab is huge and impressive. 9 stoves and 11 sinks, 6 made in China sewing machines. On Monday I sewed on the electric treadle sewing machine. The sewing teacher, a male tailor, was impressed with my skills. The dedication on Saturday was wonderful and the plaque was correctly engraved. The school even gave gifts of coffee and fabric to each person on Martin's vision trip! I haven't had time to even open our gifts.

The textbook project is going smoothly and we have delivered half of the schools. Really like our team members they are a great help.

-Linda

Below is an update from Linda Gapp on the Tanzania Vision trip. Check back for more updates over the next couple of weeks!

The Mudio band greeted all of us at the airport. Pastor Joshua and the new pastor at Mudio was there, too. Joshua is going to take us to his home when we visit Karansi,

Tom and I spent all day yesterday at the Christian Bookshop. The Mission Team worked really hard. I am thanful for their help. We started out in the morning with losts of laughs but by 3 pm we were slapping the textbooks in the boxes. The total number of textbooks was 5,000 and that included over 200 Bibles! Tomorrow, we start visiing the schools and Agape is the first visit in the morning. Everyone here on the Vision Trip is excited about the textbook project.

We look forward to the Sunday worship and the home stays this weekend at Mudio.

Blessings,

Linda

The day of service today was great, even with the tornado and the unexpected mission. I have to admit that when I first found out about the ditches which we would be cleaning trash out of for our service day, I was a little skeptical. I could not get the thought out of my head that I would rather be doing a mission such as painting or building a house, working in somebody’s yard, or doing something that would directly affect a victim of hurricane Katrina in a positive way. The ditch next to the highway that we were instructed to clean though, still possessed the trash which we could tell was put there by the storm 4 years ago. We found bikes, a set of dishes that were shattered among tons of glass, a pillar, and even a bottle with some change in it, which we would clean off and give to the “Change for Change” charity at the Gathering that night. At the end of the day, it was apparent that just because the project wasn’t necessarily what a lot of people wanted to do with their service day, that didn’t mean that somebody didn’t need to do it or that the work wasn’t needed in the community.

Even though it was along a highway, there were homes along the road. One man came out into the road, thanked us for the service we were doing, and then proceeded to get us 10 big watermelons in which we then of course scarfed down.

One other big thing was when we first got into the Superdome at the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. I still remember the camera shot of the top of the Superdome getting blown away, and when the building that was said to be able to withstand 200 mile per hour winds got its roof annihilated by a hurricane. One of the first things I did at the dome was looked at the roof. The outside was fine, but inside not so much. There were still missing panels. There was still a missing part of the ceiling. For a second, it was as if I was reliving the shot on CNN of the cracking of the aluminum of the ceiling as it got blown away by a hurricane.

Blog written by: Cooper Domgard