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Last updated on
Aug. 13, 2002
Thank you so much for telling us about your congregation, and sharing with us your joy and hope in the Lord--even as your people experience violence, and death threats. The insecurity your people live with is quite unimaginable to the majority of us who have been fortunate not to have experienced war.
You continue to inspire us and challenge us to be involved. We are humbled that under your circumstances you even ask how you can pray for us!
You asked about our congregation:
We are a small congregation with a little over 30 adult members and 20 children. Most members live in and around the rural community of Petitcodiac. Five families travel from farther away. Next year, 2003, we will celebrate our 25th anniversary as a congregation.
The pastor's parents (Hielke and Siegelinde De Jong) were born in Holland and Germany. They have lived in--and have travelled extensively to various countries. Siegelinde, a Mennonite refugee of World War II, immigrated in her youth to Uruguay where she learned Spanish while working and also attending school. She is now our English-Spanish translator.
Our pastor, Werner, and his wife Joanne, spent two years in short-term missions work in Europe. One couple from our church were born in Russia and served with MCC after world War II managing a refugee camp in Germany. Another couple is currently in their last year of a three-year term with MCC in Ukraine. Still another couple grew up in the Netherlands before coming to Canada, while two other couples grew up in Germany before coming here. Our church is quite international for its size!
Members of our congregation include farmers, teachers, computer consultants, and health professionals. Some members are retired. They and others remain actively involved in community activities such as prison visitation/ counselling, Mennonite Disaster Service, Ten Thousand Villages sales, and so on.
One of our members, Brian, has set up a website about our church. He is wanting to put all correspondence (in both English and Spanish) on this website.
http://www.petitcodiacmennonitechurch.org/
You asked what prayer requests we would like to share:
- We live in an affluent nation in which it is easy to take the goodness and faithfulness of God for granted. Please pray that we in the church may not be distracted by worldly things, but that we may give ourselves with passion and energy to the work of the Kingdom of God.
- Please pray for the ministries of our church: for our Sunday School, for our teachers and our children; for our Ten Thousand Villages program which is administered by Joanne, our pastor's
wife; for the prison ministry work of Siegfried and Margaret Janzen, our former pastor and his wife; for Peter and Ada Bunnett, who are
serving in the Ukraine, assisting the church there with issues of agricultural development, as well as with the development of a children's home for orphans; for Mark and Mary Hurst, associate members of our church, who serve as missionaries in Australia, helping to foster an understanding of Mennonite/Anabaptist faith, as well as assisting in church planting work.
- We are challenged by your question about evangelism. This is an area where we need to grow, and we are deeply challenged by your example and courage to share the good news of Jesus Christ in often very difficult circumstances. Please pray that Jesus will be proclaimed through all of our efforts at service, and please also pray that all of us will be bold and take the opportunities presented us to share the gospel.