06 Oct Lots of News from Mason, Mich.

Annette Haines of Eden UB (Mason, Mich.) sent the following news items.

“Angela Oesterle returned at the end of June from working as a volunteer in the library of Jamaica Bible College. She helped catalog hundreds of books to be shelved in their new building. She also taught as a substitute in the college and worked with Jamaicans in Bible studies and Sunday school. She was stretched physically and spiritually from the challenge of working in a different culture. She had previously gone twice with a group from Eden Church for two-week missions trip, and she knew the Lord wanted her to give more time to Jamaica. Angela plans to return to Jamaica when several details are worked out, such as further education and finances.

“In August, we held VBS with the theme “Crown Him King.” This was for the whole family. Margaret Maybee, our music director, and her husband, Milan, one of our former pastors, organized the program. Wanting someone to minister to parents who is still raising children, they brought in Valerie Reynolds, the associate pastor at Mt. Hope UB church in Carson City, Mich. She talked about why God sends tests into our lives and how to handle them.

“While Valerie talked to the adults with young children, the older adults conducted the class time for the children. A staff person from the Lansing Campus Life chapter talked to the teens about learning to be like Christ in four specific areas.

“The missions project was to raise money to buy shelves for the Jamaica Bible College library. Over $800 was raised in five nights for this project. On the last night, 3-4 tornadoes touched down near the church, causing some unexpected excitement! The Lord protected Eden; no one was hurt and no property was damaged, although there was a lot of damage near the church.

“Phase 2 of a three-part building project has begun. Phase 1 was the completion of a new parking lot, because a Family Life Center is being built where the old parking lot was, behind the church. The Family Life Center, which will cover almost 22,000 square feet and cost $2.2 million (including the new parking lot), was begun by a ground-breaking ceremony on September 7. In this ceremony, six men who are church leaders, including the three pastors, turned over a shovelful of dirt. Then they each handed their shovel to a child, who then turned the next shovelful. This was a symbolic means of showing that Eden belongs to the present and to the future.

“The Family Life Center will include a gymnasium that can be used for many things besides sports events, such as receptions, concerts, and eventually, worship services. It will be open to the community as much as possible as a means of establishing relationships and reaching people for Christ. The building will also have classroom space for the Sunday school.”