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The OPC Japan Team 2024 is busy! Continue to pray for this group as they work and serve with our missionaries, Cal and Edie and Woody and Laurie at the Joy and Nazomi Centers.
On Tuesday, July 16, the nine-members of Team Hungary began their long journey to Amsterdam on their way to serve in Miskolc, Hungary assisting the The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe (RPCCEE) in their annual English Camp. Please pray for traveling mercies and a productive time there.
On June 24, the Boardwalk Chapel raised the iconic garage-style door to open the 2024 season, now in its 79th year of evangelizing in Wildwood, NJ, with cheers and excitement from the summer staff and Harvest OPC, Wyoming, MI volunteers. Summer staff member Iley Hansen, now serving for her third summer says, "It’s been such a wonderful experience to spend my summers here with brothers and sisters in Christ, all working together for the glory of God."
Global STM Archive
Asia
I think of my time there as a drip in the seed-watering process. Long-term workers have been planting and watering seeds there for years through building relationships, translating literature, training leaders...
English Camp (Czech Republic)
Summer 2023 is gone just as quickly as it came. However, for the first time in multiple years, OPC Short-Term Missions is thankful to be able to look back on a summer full of teams traveling around the globe to assist missionaries, engage in evangelism, and to reach the lost with the gospel. This year, over 200 short-term missionaries went out to six locations: Quebec, Canada; two Czech Republic locations; Western Ukraine; Lanham, MD; and Wildwood, NJ.
Jim Hoekstra, pastor of Immanuel OPC in Anoka, MN, joined a team headed to the Czech Republic this past summer. While there, he helped host and teach English Camp for local children. In addition to standard vocabulary themes which are taught throughout the week, reading and conversation lessons are drawn from Bible stories. Pastor Jim speaks of the trip in this way:
Team Praha (Czech Republic)
Summer 2023 is gone just as quickly as it came. However, for the first time in multiple years, OPC Short-Term Missions is thankful to be able to look back on a summer full of teams traveling around the globe to assist missionaries, engage in evangelism, and to reach the lost with the gospel. This year, over 200 short-term missionaries went out to six locations: Quebec, Canada; two Czech Republic locations; Western Ukraine; Lanham, MD; and Wildwood, NJ.
“I really appreciated the opportunity to catch a glimpse of real-life mission work. I learned the importance of developing and investing in relationships and saw it carried out by the Farniks. It was through relationships and connections that they were able to invite people to the activities they hosted and connect with them on a personal level.”
Team Haiti
Sadly, for the first time ever, we had to cancel the team’s visit because of the unrest. Our priority is the safety of our visitors, and this year things are just too uncertain...
I told my pastor that I was interested in going, but that I didn't think my motives were right. He told me that I should go anyway, as I could be put to good use if I went...
One thing that really stuck out to me about this trip was the way everyone served so willingly and joyfully. The team was comprised of many, very different, members and yet the Lord knit us together into a strong and unified group that was able to serve him effectively...
Haiti Work Teams
Don and Jim traveled to Haiti to carry out maintenance tasks at the mission home in Kaliko, and on the mission vehicle on the island of La Gonâve...
Their smiling faces show their tiredness after a week of hard work. They all went above and beyond to plaster the inside of the guest house wall, the cistern, and three sets of stairs...
In May 2015, a team of men from OPC churches across the United States traveled to Haiti to do repairs on the mission homes. The Delfils’ family are grateful not only for the work that two men accomplished at their house, but also for the fellowship they enjoyed together . . .
Japan
The OPC Japan Team 2024 is busy! Continue to pray for this group as they work and serve with our missionaries, Cal and Edie and Woody and Laurie at the Joy and Nazomi Centers.
Team Japan, with 13 members from Cedar OPC in Jenison, MI, Harvest OPC in Wyoming, MI and one member from a nearby Bible church are serving a variety of purposes, like fixing fences and earthquake-damaged walls as well as participating in an English Cafe with the OPC Japan mission. Pray for them as they plan to return home on June 25.
This is the second report we've received on the RP Missions (RPCNA) team that served in Japan, in the summer of 2019. RP Missions regularly sends teams to Japan, which OPC members are welcome to join...
English for Kids (Quebec City)
The first day of English for Kids camp in partnership with The Reformed Christian Church of Beauce went very well under sunny skies. Praise the Lord! We welcomed 53 children aged 5 to 14. The 22 American missionaries came from Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the children who hear the Good News.
Sunday afternoon a lite rain passed over our house. A few minutes later, our son Kaelan called out, “There is a rainbow!” What a nice way to end our English for Kids Bible camp about Noah and the rainbow. When we went outside to look, there were in fact two rainbows! There is story behind the two rainbows. During our second summer in Quebec City, I was quite discouraged. Learning French was going very slow. Learning about the resistance of the Quebec people to the Church and the Gospel made me realise that evangelism would be even slower. The hearts are very hard. Discouraged, I went outside just as a storm had passed by. As the sun began to shine, I saw in the sky above Quebec City not one, but two rainbows! Reminded of God’s faithfulness to his promises, even his promises to preserve for himself a people from every nation, I committed myself to serve the mission in Quebec. Twenty-two years later, the double rainbows over Quebec City encourage me once again to pursue this mission. Thanks for interceding for me, for our family and for God’s people in Quebec!
English for Kids (St.Georges, Quebec)
Summer 2023 is gone just as quickly as it came. However, for the first time in multiple years, OPC Short-Term Missions is thankful to be able to look back on a summer full of teams traveling around the globe to assist missionaries, engage in evangelism, and to reach the lost with the gospel. This year, over 200 short-term missionaries went out to six locations: Quebec, Canada; two Czech Republic locations; Western Ukraine; Lanham, MD; and Wildwood, NJ.
6:00AM. “Time to make the donuts!” Mornings started early at English for Kids Bible Camp at the Eglise Reformee de Beauce (Reformed Church of Beauce).
This was my family’s second year serving with the OPC’s short-term mission to Quebec. Whereas I was a teacher last year, this year I had the unique perspective of working in the kitchen, providing meals for the U.S. team. Three things stood out to me.
So far this summer, one Short-Term Missions team has traveled to St. Georges, Quebec to serve the local children at the St. Georges English for Kids Camp and six teams have served at the Boardwalk Chapel in Wildwood, NJ. Here's what they have to say about serving the Lord, reaching out to the lost, and spending a part of their summer on mission!
English for Teens (Quebec)
The camping experience was great...Discussions about God the Creator and our stewardship were well received. A couple of spontaneous discussions about faith and church gave me insight into the teen’s spiritual reflections...
Each summer, a team of volunteers leads a Bible-centered, English-immersion camp for French-speaking teens in Quebec City...
I met many young men and women there who need the light of the gospel in every corner of their lives. In the short time I was there, I felt that those teens reached out for friendship and the Lord certainly worked in their hearts for good . . .
Uganda
I hope this letter finds you well. The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity here in Uganda, filled with both challenges and blessings. Let me share with you some of the highlights.
As the new year begins, I find it fitting to provide you with an update on my endeavors here in Uganda. Having returned at the beginning of November, I commenced a 1-year term as a missionary associate with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. My focus remains on continuing the maintenance projects initiated during my previous visit.
Some have likened Karamoja to the “Wild West” or referred to it as the “Ugandan Wilderness.” In this region there is a great need for the light of the Gospel to shine forth in the area’s culture and in the hearts of its people. Situated in the middle of it all is the OPC Karamoja Mission Station. The OPC Mission Station in Karamoja, Uganda has been in operation, ministering to the locals since 2000. As would be expected, living in a wilderness is not easy—not on missionaries and certainly not on the equipment and systems they depend on every day.
Ukraine
Uruguay
National STM Archives
Boardwalk Chapel, Wildwood, NJ
On June 24, the Boardwalk Chapel raised the iconic garage-style door to open the 2024 season, now in its 79th year of evangelizing in Wildwood, NJ, with cheers and excitement from the summer staff and Harvest OPC, Wyoming, MI volunteers. Summer staff member Iley Hansen, now serving for her third summer says, "It’s been such a wonderful experience to spend my summers here with brothers and sisters in Christ, all working together for the glory of God."
Hannah Foster, member of New Hope OPC (Frederick, MD), was, in one sense, nervous leading up to her trip to the Boardwalk Chapel. She shared, “To be very honest, having never been to the Chapel before, first of all I thought, ‘I’ve never done cold-turkey evangelism. That’s really intimidating.’ Second, I thought, ‘I’ve heard of this place, they have this thing called the Heaven and Hell machine that they set out for people. What is that about? What kind of methodology is this? What is their theology like?’”
Key West Evangelism Training
Andy and Beth said, "We had a great time with the project....So happy to be able to serve the Lord in this way..."
Naples, Florida
Once again this year at Spring Break, Reformed Missions Services (RMS.org) sent a team to Florida to serve at Christ the King OPC in Naples...
The reputation of our church, and the credibility of our cause for the Gospel, has been significantly enhanced among our neighbors based on these good works...
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico short-term missionary Jules Woody says, "In spite of language, culture, geographic 'barriers' God’s people have a beautiful bond through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing like a missions trip to give testimony to that connection! In spite of language, culture, geographic 'barriers' God’s people have a beautiful bond through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing like a missions trip to give testimony to that connection!" Jules and her family ministered in Puerto Rico from June 21-28, introducing children to Jesus through vacation Bible school.
This opportunity is new for OPC Short-Term Missions but is sure to be a fun one! Iglesia Presbiteriana Sola Escritura (OPC) in Guayama, Puerto Rico (part of the Presbytery of New Jersey) is eager to welcome individuals or a group of 8-10 people to help with the church’s Vacation Bible School, engage in opportunities for community evangelism, and possibly help complete tasks around the church property. The Vacation Bible School will take place June 24-28, 2024. Prayerfully consider joining this team this summer in this beautiful environment. Some have already inquired about this opportunity, so be sure to let us know soon if you may be interested by going to: Puerto Rico Short Term Missions Opportunity.
The takeaway and blessing of it all is that no matter what language you speak, God is God and we are all in need of the Savior...
San Antonio, Texas
It is both humbling and encouraging to experience the love and unity of the body of Christ in this way. Our church family loves this team dearly and feels a strong kinship for the saints at Trinity...
We thank the Lord that we have grown closer to our sister church through mutual service and encouragement in the Lord. We are so grateful for their generosity. They have given of their resources to build up the body of Christ in northeast San Antonio . . .
Menominee Missions, Zoar, WI
The team was often left physically and mentally tuckered out at the end of each day, but performing these labors to advance Christ's kingdom made them richly worth the effort ...
I appreciated all the hard work everyone put in and their willing attitudes to help wherever they were needed. I learned a lot from watching others on the team interact with and respond to the children...
NEW HORIZONS, October 2018: Focus on Menominee Missions 2018 and Uruguay English Club 2018...
Isabelle Ferguson, member of Grace OPC in Westfield, NJ and a former volunteer at the Boardwalk Chapel, has returned this year to serve as a Junior Staffer.