Sara Armstrong And Rusty Edmondson Visit Sharon Church

All:

I wanted to let you know that Sara and Rusty will be in Charlotte the weekend of December 1st and 2nd.

They are still working on their travel plans and schedule but I am thinking they will arrive on Friday, November 30th and depart on Monday, December 3rd. I think they are giving a presentation about their work in Peru during the Sunday School hour. I haven't heard if Sara will be preaching that Sunday.

Mark your calendars!

Thanks and blessings to each of you.

Randy

Meditation And Reflection

A place for meditation and reflection in the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lima, Perú.

Lord, do not forsake me;  do not be far from me, my God.  Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.  Psalm 38:21-22

Sky Lodge Adventure Suites

Rebeca Massõn... Destination United States

It looks like Rebeca Massõn's adventure to the United States will begin as soon as she completes her exams in Lima, Perú TODAY!

Rebeca is traveling to to Charlotte, North Carolina, United States by way of Panama and New York.  She should arrive in Charlotte the evening of December 2, 2016.

After her Charlotte visit, Rebeca will continue her travels to Stowe, Vermont.  While in Vermont, Rebeca will be working at the Golden Eagle Resort from December 15, 2016 - March 10, 2017.

Rebeca plans to return home to Lima, Perú on March 11, 2017 in order to arrive in time to continue her studies on March 13, 2017.

Our prayers will be with her as she travels!

Room In The Inn

Dear Teams:

Every year, the RITI church coordinators receive a summary report from the Room In The Innkeeper, Paul Hanneman, regarding the RITI season.

There were 17,191 bed nights city wide this year, Sharon Presbyterian Church accounted for 174 of these. There were 127 children this year, up from last year; Sharon had 17 children, the highest number we have ever hosted.

And there are more statistics...  but, more important, Paul goes on to say that "every spiritual tradition regards hospitality and charity as virtues to be practiced by the faithful. There are ways to offer - not a hand out, but simply a hand... of welcome, compassion, and respect." This is exactly what each of you did this past winter. Thank you for being a part of Room In The Inn at Sharon. Our guests appreciated, each in there own way, what you all made possible. 

As you went about the business of making RITI happen, I sincerely hope that you felt God tugging on your heart-strings - with a smile.

Again, many thanks.

David Beers
Sharon Presbyterian Church

Room In The Inn

To all,

Many thanks to each of you for your participation in Room In The Inn at Sharon this past winter. We had 172 guests; 23 came to our church more than once during the four months. We actually filled 197 bed-nights, part of 17,354 city-wide. There was a 61% increase in the number of families served by Room In The Inn over-all. Behind the scenes, extra social workers were brought on at the Urban Ministry Center to find more permanent housing for these families.

Beyond the statistics, you helped provide safe sleep, good food, and some bingo fun in a loving, hospitable manner. The drivers got our guests to SPC and back uptown, a distance that many of our neighbors walk frequently! The clean-up crews consistently left the facilities in fine shape which is really appreciated by the next group coming in to use the CLAB. Perhaps most importantly, you brought respect and dignity to people in a desperate situation.

Thank you for what you did and the way you did it.

Yours in Christ,

David Beers

Room In The Inn

Sharon Presbyterian begins hosting our homeless neighbors through the Urban Ministry Center Room In The Inn winter shelter program on December 7 and continues every Friday night through March.

Much help is needed:

• Set-up helpers
• Friday night preparing and serving dinner
• Friday night pick-up drivers
• Overnight hosts/hostesses
• Saturday morning return drivers
• Saturday morning preparing and serving breakfast
• Saturday clean-up crew

Please, prayerfully consider signing up for one of the above slots.  Descriptions for each of the duties will be available in the narthex on Sunday.

Room In The Inn Returns In December

In one month, Room in the Inn begins. Room In The Inn is an overflow shelter for our homeless neighbors sponsored by the Urban Ministry Center and involves over 100 churches and colleges over the four month winter season. Sharon Church will is a host site every Friday night and will provide 204 beds over a 17 week period.

Needed are many volunteers to help with set-up, driving, food preparation, dinner serving, spending the night, breakfast preparation, and clean-up. If you are interested in helping, please call or e-mail David Beers, dbeers22@bellsouth.net, 704-552-2201, or contact the church office. Specific instructions will be sent to you before you commit.

Also needed are bingo prizes - socks, gloves, hats, fast-food gift cards, wallets, playing cards, men’s and women's deodorant, umbrellas, Tshirts, men's boxer underwear, handheld games, shaving kits, etc.  Items may be placed in the RITI box below the mail boxes in the choir room hallway.

Thank you for making this most worth-while ministry possible.

David Beers

If Its More Convenient...

Everyone also has an invitation from Rev. John Odom of Starmount Presbyterian Church in Greensboro to hear Hunter Farrell.  Hunter will be speaking at their location on Saturday, October 12, 10-11 AM for those who can’t make the Saturday evening or Sunday morning events at Alamance Church.

View Perú Mission Network in a larger map

Join Us!

Interested in hearing about the work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Perú? Rev. Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson, partnerships and delegations coordinators in Perú, will be at Sharon Church on Sunday, September 16, 2012, for a presentation. Please join us at 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel for a visit with them.

Missions At Home

Democratic National Convention - 2012

A community-wide group of organizations serving poor and homeless people in Charlotte has asked the Urban Ministry Center to provide Room In The Inn overnight housing for those displaced during the DNC. These people include those who are homeless and sleeping in center city Charlotte, and families living in motels who are being displaced so that the motels can raise their rates during the DNC. Since school opens August 27, there is particular concern for families with school-aged children living in these motels. The shelters are at maximum capacity. There is no way to know for sure how many people will need RITI services, but several cities who hosted national and international events have been contacted for their experience and response. Motels in the area have also been contacted. Tampa, hosting the RNC, is engaging in similar efforts as being done here.

The decision has been made to open Room In The Inn from August 31 through September 7 when the need should be the most acute. The goal is to house 150 guests/night city wide. Priority will be given to families and women; men will be admitted as space is available.

Sharon Presbyterian has committed to host RITI Friday, August 31, and Friday, September 7. We will need volunteers for each of the functions – set-up, pick-up drivers, dinner preparers, dinner servers, overnight hosts/hostess, breakfast preparers, return drivers, and clean-up crew. Each volunteer will only work one weekend of the two we are hosting.

Your consideration to help with this extra effort is very much appreciated.

David Beers

Perú Visits Peru

Hola!

People continue to ask us why we love Perú and we answer "es la gente" (it's the people).  This video will give you a glimpse into the passion we live with "aqui en Perú" (here in Perú).

saludos de rusty y sara

What happens when Perú brings its culture to the small town of Peru, Nebraska?

The new ambassadors of Perú — including chefs Gastón Acurio and Javier Wong, surfer Sofia Mulanovich, writer Rafo León, comedian Gonzalo Torres and folklore singer Dina Paucar — eat ceviche, dance huaynos, drink pisco and more with the 569 residents of Peru, Nebraska.

Pastor Arana's Visit

Due to unforseen circumstances, Pastor Arana will not be able to vist Charlotte.  His wife has had an accident at home and has broken her leg. The doctor said she needs to rest completely for some weeks, no traveling allowed at all.

We hope that he and his family will be able to visit in the near future.  We will keep you posted of any future plans.

César G. Carhuachín

Rev. Pedro Arana Visit

Hi friends,

Thanks for your faithful yearly mission trips to Perú.

I want to let you know that the Presbytery of New Covenant in Houston (TX) have invited to the Rev. Pedro Arana, one of the well known Presbyterian leaders in Latin America to speak at their Presbytery meeting and other gatherings.  The Hispanic/Latino Ministries of the Presbytery of Charlotte have invited him as well to visit the Presbytery of Charlotte and speak at different meetings and churches, from October 14 to 16, 2011.  Pedro has been the President of the Peruvian Bible Society for many years, founder of the Latin American Theological Fraternity and is currently pastor of “Pueblo Libre Presbyterian Church” in Lima.  Probably you already know about him since you travel to Perú often.

I want to let you know about his visit to the Presbytery of Charlotte.  If you would like to invite to Rev. Arana, feel free to call me or email me, so we can include your church in his schedule.

César

Dr. César G. Carhuachín
Coordinator for Latino Ministries
Presbytery of Charlotte
5700 Executive Center Drive - Suite 200
Charlotte, NC 28212
Tel (704) 535-9999, ext. 5216
Fax (704) 537-3476
http://www.presbyofcharlotte.org/

Pastor Santos' Update 10

Theresa Wolf was be able to spend the afternoon with Pastor Santos Buendia today.  Theresa is formally from Port Orange Presbyterian Church of Port Orange, Florida.  We at Sharon were fortunate to have the Port Orange group join us on the 2010 Peru mission trip.  Theresa and her husband Rob now live in Atlanta and she wishes to thank everyone for the opportunity to visit Pastor Santos on our behalf.

Pastor Santos is doing great and will go for a checkup this coming week.  He has already been cleared by the doctors for the damage done to his face and eye.

Rest assured that Theresa made him feel much better...  and she said "he is so cool"!

Thank you Theresa...  you're the best!

Pastor Santos' Update 9

Hello William,

All seems to be going well with Santos’ recovery. He is having regular weekly appointments with the oral surgeon. Norma and Karis are home in Lima. We are trusting that Santos will be ready to return home the second week in July, if the Lord wills.

Grace

Pastor Santos' Update 8

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Pastor Santos is making steady progress. Last Friday, the oral surgeon attached wires that will temporarily hold his jaw in place while the bones knit together in the proper position. He will have weekly follow-up appointments for the next six weeks. Santos is well enough now that Norma and Karis plan to return home to Lima early next week so that Karis can go back to school.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Santos recovery. Please pray also for traveling mercies for Norma and Karis as they fly home next week.

Blessings in Christ,

Grace Swartz

Pastor Santos' Update 7

Dear Praying Friends,

Santos is recovering well from surgery and making noticeable improvement each day. Yesterday he had a follow-up with the oral surgeon. He is not quite ready for the bands that they will use to help correct his bite. He will see this doctor again on Friday. Today, he had a good follow-up with the plastic surgeon who did the reconstruction of his eye socket and cheek bone. He will see the plastic surgeon again next week.

Thank you for your continued prayers for a strong recovery!

Grace Swartz

Pastor Santos' Update 6

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

More good news today! Santos was released from the hospital early this afternoon. He has a good bit of swelling, but that is to be expected. He has follow-up appointments scheduled with both surgeons early next week. I know you will continue to pray that he heals well without complications.

Grace Swartz
Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church

Pastor Santos' Update 5

Dear Friends in Christ,

Good news! Santos came through surgery well at around 6:30 PM and Norma has been able to see him in recovery. Both surgeons felt good about the outcome of the operations. Amazingly, if all goes well in recovery tonight, Santos will be released from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for healing and no complications this evening and in the coming days. Norma is holding up well and has been surrounded by loving friends all day.

Praising God with you for these answers to prayer!

Grace Swartz