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A New Era in Haiti

Continuing to do mission work in Haiti without our sister Roberta is a new era indeed. We counted on her faith, energy, wisdom, and enthusiasm to make good things happen. It requires many people to do what she was doing, and the fact is that we will never replace her. It is the Lord’s work, however, and that is never supposed to depend on just one person.

Martial and Ketsy Viciere are the new houseparents employed by the Estes congregation to care for the children at Sonlight Children’s Home. They have two children of their own, a daughter and a son. They love these young people and are doing a good job. It is always difficult when a family loses a parent and then others have to step in to provide care. Please pray for the children and the Vicieres in this transition.

Widlord and Karen Thomas are the new innkeepers at our guest house for campaign teams. Karen is from Paris, Texas, and she is jumping into the work with both feet. She is already learning the language and is ready to tackle any challenge. Please pray for these newlyweds as they both adjust to married life and as Karen integrates into Haitian culture and ministry as a missionary.

Another element of this new era is the transition of older young people (over 18) out of the children’s home. Estes is committed to helping them transition to greater independence over the next two years. Unemployment is high in Haiti (60-70%) and it is not simple for them to get a job and become self-sufficient. Recognizing that each one of these young adults is unique, we have been working for several months to develop transition plans for each one. The intent is that they will have food, clothing, shelter, educational opportunities, and spiritual guidance during this time. Please pray for them to be able to find meaningful work and to continue to grow as disciples.

–Jesse Robertson

Estes Echo

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Don’t Miss It!

On the morning of Jan. 12, 2007, a man stood in a metro station in Washington DC and began to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces in a span of about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle-aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but soon looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother nudged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Just two days before this incident, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

On this day, the tremendous talent and skill of a virtuoso went largely unnoticed by most of the passers-by. Is it possible that we might be missing something even greater? God has put his virtuosity on display throughout time: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). Don’t miss it!

–Mark Blackwelder

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Upcoming Ladies Events: Get Involved!

So imagine this: you are running errands in Jackson with your small children when you see a sad-looking couple parked at the edge of the parking lot. They look tired and dirty. Their hood is up. They have crafted a sign out of a cardboard box telling you that they need help. Your seven year old pipes up from the back seat, “Mom, those people need help. Can we help them?” Your heart melts. This is the idea behind “blessing bags” that you can have on hand when someone—a stranger on the street, a friend who is having a hard time, or a family who has just experienced trauma—needs to be lifted up. You keep blessing bags on hand or in your car to give people you encounter in your journey through life. Estes ladies will be making blessing bags on July 25, but that is only one of the many activities coming up.

Until Sunday, June 19: Collection of Items for “Blessing Bags”

  • Kindergarten – Boxes of individually wrapped hand wipes
  • 1st Grade – Packages of peanut butter or cheese crackers
  • 2nd Grade – Granola or other type of snack bars
  • 3rd & 4th Grade- Small tubes of toothpaste
  • 5th & 6th Grade- Chap Stick or Lip Balm
  • Youth Group – Boxes of standard or large size band-aids
  • Adult Class (Missions Room) – Adult-size white socks
  • Adult Class (Room 5) – Bottled Water or Packages of Gum/Mints

Get your kids involved in helping others!

June 20: Card Ministry Meeting 6:00; in the fellowship room. Come make a card to lighten the load of someone on our prayer list!

June 25: Blessing Bag Assembly, Devo, and Breakfast Fellowship 9:00. Come help others and be uplifted!

July 8: Movie and snack night 6:30. Come enjoy some fun and fellowship!

July 17-20: VBS at Estes. Get ready to sing!

August 2: First full day of class at Chester County Schools

August 22: Fellowship and Devo “Building Our Spirits” by Sylvia Scott (7:00-8:00). Come to be built up!

August 24: First Day of Class at FHU

September 9-10: Ladies Retreat at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park Group Lodge. Cost is $25.00 per person; see Ashley Estes if you want to attend; sign up lists will be posted later in the summer for food and jobs. Activities will begin at 6:30 on Friday evening and end by 3:00 on Saturday.

Come spend some quality time with your sisters in Christ!

Estes Echo

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The Lord is My Portion

As the summer begins, our friends’ Facebook pages fill with images of fun-filled days, vacations, and people brimming with happiness. We should, of course, be thankful for those blessings for ourselves if we have them and for our friends as they enjoy life, family, and God’s blessings. We should, however, also consider the other side of these images. Recent studies have suggested that social media add to our feelings of alienation in the modern world and sometimes even build a sense of envy as they lead what psychologists call “social comparison.” While everyone seems to be posting the good things of life, we can also develop a distorted version of reality: everyone else is living this exciting life while I seem to have hardship after hardship. Indeed, those around us, our families, ourselves have real problems that social media cover over with a one-sided version of life. Lamentations 3 reminds us of the age-old plight of God’s faithful people working their way through life.

Verse 1: I am the man who has seen affliction Because of the rod of His wrath.—God’s people see affliction. Sometimes when they have turned away from God; sometimes when they have remained faithful.

Verse 4: He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away, He has broken my bones.—God’s people suffer from illness: cancer, autoimmune diseases, broken bones and other injuries.

Verse 6: In dark places He has made me dwell, Like those who have long been dead.—God’s people deal with mental and emotional illness and disorders.

Verse 7: He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.—God’s people sometimes deal with financial, job, and material problems and burdens.

Verse 8: Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer.—God’s people are often plagued with doubt and indecision.

Verse 9: He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.—God’s people face temptation.

Verse 10: He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places.—God’s people face physical dangers.

Verse 14: I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking song all the day.—God’s people sometimes face ridicule from others because of their faith and for other reasons.

Verse 18: So I say, “My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the Lord.”—Sometimes God’s people get to the end of their tethers and feel as though their only recourse is to give up.

But Jeremiah continues by giving God’s people then (and now) the solution to all of these problems. This solution is not the immediate kind of solution that we are programed to trust in today in our wi-fi world. This is a long-abiding, faith-built, peace-filled solution that we need to remind ourselves of daily.

Verses 21-24:
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

–submitted

Estes Echo

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Accepting Charity

When Linda and I were in our late 20s, life was tough. Linda’s sudden onset of rheumatoid arthritis landed her in a wheelchair and seemingly derailed a good many of life’s plans. With two children under the age of five, a wife with a serious long-term medical condition, and a career path in its infancy, life became very challenging.

My bootstraps mentality shunned those who tried to help, which led to eventual exhaustion – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It was always easy to give to others in need, to extend charity to someone less fortunate and with less dignity, but for me to accept charity was to admit my desperation. It would insult my dignity. It would hurt my pride. It would mean that I had to admit I could not take care of my own.

Through the patience and encouragement of others, my pride surrendered, and we let others begin to help. Through their efforts, the advancements of medicine, and God’s blessings, things began to move to a new normal, and life’s path eventually began to be navigable once again.

Spiritually, all of us are in a frail, terminal position. Life is short, and humanity exists in a condemned, eternal condition. God has already offered his help. He has extended charity through His son’s life, teachings, sacrifice, blood, and resurrection. Charity has also been extended through the Holy Spirit, the church, prayer, and through the scriptures.

Are we willing to accept these gifts? Are we above accepting God’s gifts of grace, mercy, comfort, peace, and salvation? Am I too proud, or do I have too much dignity to keep me from receiving this charity? I mean really accepting it – far more than the way we accept that unwanted, unneeded, and perhaps even offensive gift at Christmas; the one we accept and place at the back of the closet; the one that never has its intended impact. These are very tough questions for me to answer yes. I believe it is superficially easy for me to accept these gifts, but to accept these gifts in a way that impacts every fabric of my being is challenging. To accept these gifts in a way that leads to complete personification is a big, very big, challenge.

Have I fully accepted the unprecedented, bountiful, beautiful, life-changing, eternally-impacting charity that God offers?

–C. J. Vires

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We’re happy to announce that Brett Giselbach will be serving as our summer youth intern this year. Brett is a junior Communication major at FHU with a minor in Youth Ministry. Born in Cincinnati, he has also lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and in Jackson, Tennessee. He currently calls Florence, Alabama home. The Estes Echo interview staff sat down with Brett recently to get to know him better.

Estes Echo: First, everyone wants to know: How do you pronounce your name?
Brett: Ba-reht.

Estes Echo: [Thinking we were talking about his last name]: What does that rhyme with?
Brett: Pet.
Brett: My last name is pronounced Gizz-uh-bah. Rhymes with fizz-uh-kah.

Estes Echo: What do you like to do in your free time?
Brett: Read, play videos, watch videos!

Estes Echo: What’s your favorite Disney movie?
Brett: Camp Rock 2 or Fantasia 2000.

Estes Echo: [Thinking those are odd choices]: What about pizza toppings? What do you like?
Brett: Anything except seafood and mushrooms.

Estes Echo: Cat person or dog person?
Brett: Cat person, but only because dogs stink more often than not.

Estes Echo: What are you looking forward to about your job this summer?
Brett: Camps and relationships!

Estes Echo: What are your goals for the Estes youth group this summer?
Brett: Spiritual growth and realization of our value to God and to each other, both as a group and individually.

Estes Echo: Who influenced you to want to go into ministry?
Brett: My father, my brother-in-law, and my last two youth ministers!

Estes Echo: What’s a scripture you return to again and again?
Brett: “My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter: all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”—Ecclesiastes 12:12-13

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Burgers with the Bishops

“Burgers with the Bishops” is the annual summer missions send-off hosted by the bishops/overseers (NT Greek episkopoi) of the Estes church (1 Peter 5:1-4). This year the gathering is scheduled for Thursday, May 5th, in the fellowship room of the Estes church building @ 6:00 p.m. Anyone involved in a short-term summer mission effort (whether stateside or abroad) is invited to attend, as well as all others who are interested in missions.

There will be a meal (hamburgers as the main dish) provided by the Estes elders, followed by an opening greeting, introduction of the various campaign groups and individuals (particularly those affiliated with Estes and Freed-Hardeman University), a charge to the campaigners, a special prayer for the campaigners, an exhortation and send-off, final words of encouragement, and a closing group prayer.

While the local church is God’s missionary sending agency, not all supporters and senders can gather in one place at the same time. Even though the Estes congregation is not officially sending all who are participating in these summer campaign efforts, the “Burgers with the Bishops” send-off is more of a symbolic gesture to encourage short-term missionaries and to offer the blessing of a mission-minded eldership. “And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:15a, ESV).

To estimate the amount of food to prepare, we need to know ahead of time if you plan to attend. Estes members are asked to sign up on the Activities Board in the lobby. FHU students, faculty, and staff who have not signed up, please inform Kevin Moore (kmoore@fhu.edu), who is also collecting information about summer mission efforts and welcomes any information you have.

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

–Kevin L. Moore

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Join the ladies of Estes as Doritta McDaniel discusses how our lives can be a gift to Jesus and to one another.A luncheon will be provided by the Estes ladies. Babysitting for children five and under will be provided.

Saturday, April 23

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Godly Joy

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!” (Hab. 3:18). We often emphasize the need for our sorrow to be godly sorrow, but is it any less important for our joy to be godly joy? If it is dangerous for worldly thinking to infect our sorrow, is it any less of a problem when it jeopardizes our joy?

To begin with what is it about godly joy that makes it “godly?” The answer is not hard to find. Just as godly sorrow is focused on God, rather than self (it grieves what our sins have cost Him and not us), godly joy is also focused on God. It rejoices in whatever God rejoices about: the accomplishment of His purposes, the triumphs of His cause, the redemption of those who accepted His salvation, and yes, even the carrying out of His justice.

I believe one prominent feature of godly joy is that it rejoices in the life-path that God lays out before us. That is, it finds joy in following the path that God indicates rather than the one we might have chosen. It genuinely rejoices in the accomplishment of God’s will, whatever that might mean for us personally. As Evelyn Underhill put it, “This is the secret joy. We shall no longer strive for our own way, but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God’s way, acquiesce in his will, and in so doing, find our peace.”

Jesus is obviously the great example here. He experienced no greater joy than being a part of the fulfillment of His Father’s purposes, even when the role required of Him was painful and difficult. On one occasion He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). He derived more joy from obedience than most people get from a great meal.

Without the focus that Jesus had on the Father’s glory, joy tends to degenerate. It becomes the product of nothing more than the selfish indulgence of our desires, with little or no regard for whether that indulgence helps or hinders the outworking of God’s purposes in the world. And in the end, that kind of “joy” (if it even can be called that) is a distinctly unsatisfying thing. It leaves a dry, dusty taste in our mouths. But GODLY joy, that is a different thing altogether! When our joy is the overflowing of GOD’s joy, well, that is what Eden was about. And our Father has not given up on it.

–Gary Henry (from the “Sound Words” Bulletin’s online collection, Tomlinson Run Church of Christ)

Summer Series

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We are excited about our 2016 Summer Series: Victory Through the Lamb: A study of Revelation. Please join on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.

May 20
May 27
June 3
June 10
June 17
June 24
July 1
July 8
July 15
July 22
July 29
August 5
August 12		 The Head of the Church
Author and Finisher of our Faith
The Good Shepherd
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Our High Priest
The True Vine
Our Mediator
The Light of the World
The Son of God and the Son of Man
Vacation Bible School
Our Advocate
The Suffering Servant
The I AM		 Allen Walker
Mike Johnson
Ray Pack
Matt Cook
Harold Pirtle
Ben Flatt
Billy Smith
David Falkenheim
Jeremy and JT Northrop
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Roy Sharp
James Dalton
Jason Lockridge