Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest
This "blog digest" is brought to you by the ELCA Global Mission Support team. Here you will find posts and re-posts by ELCA missionaries, ELCA Global Mission churchwide staff, and other friends.
Giving thanks: Pr. Dana Nelson and Thomas Ososki
This is the next in a series of “Give thanks!” moments offered by ELCA missionaries and sponsors. Learn more about Operation Thanks-Giving at www.elca.org/handinhand. –Pr. Twila Schock.
Pr. Dana Nelson and Tom Ososki write, “On our first Thanksgiving here in Peru as a missionary family, it was really important to me that our kids get a chance to eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Yet, I didn’t have time to cook! So we made a ton of unsuccessful phone calls and drove all around the huge city of Lima trying to find a restaurant that served “Thanksgiving food.” We finally found one, after it was already dark out. It was inside a golf-hotel far on the other side of the city. I remember looking at our small kids across the table in a huge formal dining room that was practically empty. Our second year in Lima, Thanksgiving was totally different. We were not alone! We found a church that has a big, welcoming pot-luck Thanksgiving supper and an ecumenical worship service. Dozens of people were there from all around the world. I met other missionaries working in Peru and many other folks as well. My husband and kids and I shared a table with a Peruvian family. It was a wonderful evening!
ELCA missionaries Dana Nelson and Tom Ososki work in parish ministry in Peru. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peru (ILEP) is a young church of over 1100 members, committed to working with the most vulnerable in society. Its congregations are mostly in Lima, with one each in Cusco and Iquitos. The ELCA accompanies the ILEP in the areas of leadership development and mission outreach.
Trinity members give thanks
Members of Trinity Ev. Lutheran, Vale, NC, made “Operation Thanks-Giving” cards prior to worship. They mailed 90 cards to Global Mission Support to be distributed as a “random act of thankfulness” to ELCA missionaries. Pr. John Locke writes: “From the preschoolers to the senior seniors, everyone created and sent a greeting, expressing love and thanks to [missionaries]. …We have been blessed to part of this ministry, being able to convey our love, support and thanks to those who carry God’s message of love and redemption to all corners.”
Learn more about Operation Thanks-Giving at www.elca.org/handinhand. There’s still time to participate! We’ll distribute cards for as long as we receive them.
Hand in hand, Sue Edison-Swift
Unexpected Thanksgiving Joy
Thanksgiving 2008 Bratislava, Slovakia. Check out the turkey art!
I am 100%, totally, completely all about this Operation Thanksgiving thing. I think what excites me most about it is imagining my friends and former colleagues in Slovakia getting a card in their mailbox at school: getting an unexpected boost of joy first thing in the morning, taking it to their English classes, maybe posting it on the bulletin boards. I imagine them feeling connected and supported by us here in the US during what can be a really difficult month for missionaries. And I love the idea of being part of that connection: praying for and supporting other missionaries the way my husband and I were supported during our year of service in Bratislava.
November was a difficult time for us: we thought we were done with culture shock, only to get hit with another, unexpected wave of it. We felt especially far from home. Our community Thanksgiving celebrations were a welcome source of joy–the kind of joy I imagine those first year missionaries will feel when they receive an unexpected turkey card in their mailboxes: someone from the US, remembering them at a most welcome time.
Sean and I recently did an adult forum about our year of service in Slovakia at St. Luke’s in Park Ridge. At the end of our presentation we introduced Operation Thanksgiving and invited everyone to make cards. Here are some of the messages my congregation is sending out—to the individuals who will receive these cards and to all our missionaries:
“God’s richest blessings to you this day.” “We give thanks for the abundance of your ministry!” “When the world gives you a bunch of turkeys … make Thanksgiving!” “Thank you for all you do!”
Thank you for all you do to support ELCA missionaries!
Click here to learn more about how you and your congregation can participate in Operation Thanksgiving.
–Anne Edison-Albright now lives in Park Ridge, Ill.
Received Operation Thanks-Giving cards?
An Operation Thanks-Giving card from Bethany Lutheran, Star Prairie, Wis.
It’s delightful to open the packages of “Operation Thanks-Giving” cards sent to Global Mission Support to distribute to ELCA missionaries. Here’s one example of the nine cards prepared by children at Bethany Lutheran in Star Prairie, Wisconsin. In addition to the “random act of thankfulness” cards, congregations and individuals are busy making cards to send to the missionaries they sponsor and other service personnel.
Giving thanks: Pr. Kevin Jacobson
This is the next in a series of “Give thanks!” moments offered by ELCA missionaries and sponsors. Learn more about Operation Thanks-Giving at http://www.elca.org/handinhand–Pr. Twila Schock.
Kevin Jacobson (Suriname) writes: “My first Thanksgiving in Suriname was in 2008. The United States Ambassador invited all employees of the US Embassy, Peace Corps offices and other Americans to her home for a Thanksgiving feast. She, with much assistance from others, cooked a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It was a blessing to spend the day in her beautiful home along the Suriname River with 200 other people. With the temperature soaring to nearly 100 degrees, the Ambassador’s pool offered its own refreshment.
The Ambassador asked me if I would be willing to give grace before the meal. Knowing that the group gathering were people of many faiths and traditions I chose to read Chief Seattle’s prayer. Since that day I have been asked by people of many faiths who were in attendance to lead an opening prayer for various occasions around the city. I give thanks to all wonderful past leaders like Chief Seattle who through their vision and wisdom continue to open the doors for those of us and future generations.
I also give thanks to Any Inkt, the 18 year old son of the caretaker of Martin Luther Church in the center of Paramaribo, for driving me around the city and the streets so that I could learn how to safely navigate them. ”
The Rev. Kevin Jacobson (left) is an ELCA missionary serving in Suriname. He works in parish ministry and leadership development. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname has four congregations and about 4,000 members. With historical ties to the Netherlands, the people of this country in the northern part of South America speak Dutch.
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