08-17-20 Newsletter- 牧師家書

Dear Friends at 5C:

Thank you for your prayer! We returned home safely from St. Louis, Missouri last week. It was surprising to see a lot of people traveling during the pandemic. However, our way of life has indeed changed dramatically. Almost all the people on the plane or on the ground were wearing masks, and social distancing was encouraged in all the circumstances. In addition, people were washing hands more often and thoroughly. According to the CDC, the three are essential to keep the virus in check as we struggle to return to our normal way of life. 

Please pray for freshman college students of this year, their high school graduation and first-year college experience have been tarnished due to this pandemic. Many decide to delay their enrollment, and others have to take all classes online. It is a tough time to enter the world as young adults at this time. We have three new college students in our church this year, Amanda Chen (Pastor’s daughter), Jenny Zhan (Annie Tan’s daughter), Hannah Guan (Li and Melissa Guan’s daughter). 

In addition, Praise the Lord for listening to our prayers as we pray for Crystal’s uncle in South Korea and our sister Gigi Kidd.  Both of them underwent surgeries recently and they are on the way to a full recovery. God is good, and His love is far beyond our imagination.

Thanks to Pastor Ray’s message on Sunday!  It was thrilling to hear a solid presentation to defend Christian faith, Pastor Ray is very good at apologetics and he has a great passion for lost souls. As a matter of fact, it is the first time for me to see the Periodic Table during a sermon, which brings me home (I was a chemist before). 

It seems that this pandemic may drag on for years, please exercise our spiritual gifts to help and encourage one another. Our church as a family should be a place of comforting, accepting, and loving. Thanks to each one of you for being so courageous and supportive. I have been witnessing many of our members become a good resource of others in times of need. Praise the Lord for this wonderful spiritual home that He provides for us, and I am fortunate to be a part of this community during this special time.

Ministry Update:

  1. Virtual prayer meetings at 7:30 pm Monday and Thursday.
  2. Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours every Friday 10:00 pm-12:00 pm.
  3. Chinese Sunday school (Pastor Chen) and English Sunday school (Rachel Ma).
  4. We will resume the sermon series this Sunday “The Stories that Jesus Told”.
  5. The deacon nomination committee is working to nominate new deacons for next year.
  6. Deacons board approves the Good Samaritan Committee guideline.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for Gigi Kidd’s successful surgery on Aug 11 and please continue to pray for her speedy recovery.
  2. Pray for new college students of 2020, Amanda Chen (Pastor’s daughter), Jenny Zhan (Annie Tan’s daughter), Hannah Guan (Li and Melissa Guan’s daughter)
  3. Pray for Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world.
  4. Pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of our church members.
  5. Pray for God’s protection for people who have to work outside the home.
  6. Pray for Samuel Lee’s epidermal inclusion cyst on his back, waiting for a surgery date to remove it
  7. Pray for expecting mother- Crystal Cui
  8. Pray for Annie’s sister who suffers Parkinson’s disease.
  9. Pray for Ed Sherman’s son Lane who undergoes treatment for brain cancer.

Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang

親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
感谢各位的祷告!上週我們已从從密蘇里州的聖路易斯市安全返回家中。非常驚訝在疫情期間旅行的人仍有很多。但是,我們的生活方式確實發生了巨大變化。飛機上和地面上幾乎所有的人都戴著口罩,隨時都能聽到敦促大家保持社交距離。而且,人們洗手的頻率也隨之提高且更徹底。根據 CDC 的推薦,在我們努力恢復正常生活方式的過程中,這三個舉措對控制病毒至關重要。
請為我們教會今年的大學生祈禱,他們的高中畢業和大一的經歷,由於這此疫情而變得異常艱難。許多人決定推遲入學,而有些人則不得不改為在線修課。對即將邁入社會的年輕人來說,現在真是一個艱難時期。今年,教會有三名高中生升入大學,分別是 Amanda Chen(陳牧師的女兒),Jenny Zhan(譚東英的女兒),Hannah Guan(關力和陳慧珍的女兒)。
另外,感謝主,聆聽了我們為崔琳在韓國的二姑父和我們的姐妹 Gigi Kidd的祈禱。他們兩人最近都接受了手術,目前正在全面恢復。上帝是仁慈的,祂的慈愛遠遠超出了我們的想像。
感謝裴牧師週日的講道!我很高興聽到這樣捍衛基督教信仰,且堅實完整的演講,裴牧師非常擅長護教,他對傳福音給失喪的靈魂懷有極大的熱情。事實上,這是我第一次在講道中看到元素週期表,這使我有種回歸的感覺(我以前是化學專業)。
這場瘟疫似乎會持續很多年,讓我們大家各以屬靈恩賜來互相幫助、相互鼓勵。我們的教會作為一個大家庭應該是一個能得到安慰、彼此接納和充滿愛心的地方。感謝你們每個人的勇氣和支持。我一直在目睹許多成員在別人有所需求時的及時幫助。讚美主,因為祂為我們提供了這個奇妙的屬靈的家,我很幸運在這個特殊時期成為這個家庭的一份子。

事工更新:

  1. 線上禱告會於週一和週四晚間 7 點半舉行。
  2. 陳牧師辦公時間:每週五上午 10 點-12 點。
  3. 中文主日學將由陳牧師帶領,英文主日學由馬若曦姐妹带領。
  4. 本週日我們將繼續講道系列-耶穌所講的故事
  5. 執事提名委員會正在進行明年新執事的提名工作
  6. 執事會已批准好撒瑪利亞人委員會的指南。

禱告事項

  1. 讚美主,8 月 11 日 Gigi Kidd 手術成功,請繼續為她的恢復禱告
  2. 為 2020 年的三名新大學生,Amanda Chen(陳牧師的女兒),Jenny Zhan(譚東英的女兒),Hannah Guan(關力和陳慧珍的女兒)。
  3. 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
  4. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健
  5. 為那些必須在外工作的人們祈禱上帝的保護
  6. 為李碩俊后背的表皮囊肿祈禱,等待進行手術將其取出
  7. 為待產的崔琳姐妹祈禱
  8. 為裴師母正在遭受帕金森困擾的姐姐
  9. 為 Ed Sherman 的兒子 Lane 祈禱,他正在接受腦瘤治療

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