Missions
Egypt volunteers:
Trinity has a long-standing tradition of supporting missionaries. During our years of sponsorship to missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya, two groups of Trinity members traveled to Kenya, and members sponsored children in nursery school and women in sewing school and donated money to help drill a much-needed well. Pastor Bob and Denise Schmalzle have now returned to a pastorate in the U.S., however, and the project has been taken on by the Lutheran Church of Kenya, so we no longer are needed there.
Our new sponsorship is with a group of missionaries in Cairo, Egypt, connected with St. Andrews Church there. One of their main projects is St. Andrews Refugee Service, which, since the 1970s, has served the many refugees who migrate to Cairo from the Horn of Africa countries, often with no hope of employment. Refugees from 32 countries, with the majority coming from southern Sudan and a few from Iraq, are currently being served. They offer five programs, including a school for refugee children; adult education to teach employment skills, parenting, English, and conflict resolution; an arts and crafts program which generates income for 30 people; and a youth program for at-risk Sudanese youth. Services are offered by need and without regard for nationality or religion. More information, including their need for volunteers, is at www.standrewsrefugeeservice.org.
We now have a missions committee at Trinity which is planning ways for our congregation to connect with and serve the needs of this mission in Cairo. The most recent pastor at St. Andrews Church is now on a speaking tour in the U.S. and we hope to be able to have him speak at Trinity sometime this fall. If you plan to be in Cairo, please let Pastor Mitchell know so that a visit could be arranged.
Mike and Judy White,
Dave and Kim Wolbert,
Trinity's Missions Committee