August 29 Sunday School, Sermon,

Bulletin

Tom Fuoco Testimony

September Calendar and Newsletter

The Cottons are back on the map!  It has been so long since we have sent an update due to our move, travel and start of school, so we apologize.  But we are excited to share with you all.  Please check out our website to read our latest update and view pictures from our summer.  We do not have any pictures up yet of our new house, but they will come soon...

Bless you,

The Cotton Family

www.cottonfamilypanama.shutterfly.com

"One of the Least of These"

 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’"                                                 Matthew 25:34-40

We were privileged to minister to the hungry in New York City February 25-28 during the snowiest February in city history. The following testimonies from our team would not have been possible without the help of the entire church.  God bless you all.

Then Jesus said to them “Come after Me and I will make you become fishers of men” (John 1:16-17)
     What is there about an invitation that gets our attention? While we were in New York City working at The Father’s Heart the Lord put a young man on my heart who was one of my son’s friend’s from high school. I called him and invited him to work on Saturday at the breakfast. Guess what? He came and brought a friend and they had a great time and would like to come back again. On Saturday night I texted a young couple, Matt and Shanya Gehl, who attended our church and have since moved to Brooklyn. I invited them to meet us at the Brooklyn Tabernacle for church on Sunday. Guess what? They came and are planning to return. Listening to His still small voice and reaching out to others, expecting the unexpected and watching the Lord work. Thank you all for your prayers that sent us and kept us as we were His hands extended in New York City.
                                                 — Joan Sorensen
 

     It was at some point while we were in Worship at the Brooklyn Tabernacle that I leaned over to Pastor Mason and said, “We’ve been in the middle of a miracle for 4 days.” Many of us know what happens when we surrender ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Each in our own way, the eight of us, seemed to blend our higher state of God consciousness, facilitated, I am certain by the prayers of our Brothers and Sisters at home. certain by the prayers of our Brothers and Sisters at home.
     I do not know how many mouths were fed, the number of those we prayed for, or to what extent they felt a sense of gratitude. What matters to me is that we sowed the seed, that we represented what our Lord and Savior has done in us. I also do not know if any of this sowing took root, and that is none of my business. We are called to be available and to do the work, not to control the outcome, that’s God’s job. But this I do know. This experience enriched my spirit, gave depth to my compassion and brought about within me a greater sense of connection between all God’s people. “There but for the grace of God go I.” I feel honored that our Church Body allowed me to be of service, to be part of this longstanding outreach. Thank You.

                                                                                                                                       — Tom Cilvick

                                                                    Humble Servant

     “WHAT A TRIP!” This idiom is used by many to mean different things, but this trip to New York City was certainly a very special occasion. The only setback being the seven hours of driving thru slushy highways and snow covered streets. Our plans of reaching certain points in sequence didn’t materialize as hoped. But “God,” as always, shines where our maps fail. We bypassed New York City Relief in Elizabeth, NJ, and went straight to "The Father’s Heart" in the Lower East Side, made camp and proceeded to the Bowery Mission Thursday evening only to return the next day to the same. We were able to work in the clothing dept. and kitchen serving the many in need. But the highlight for all of us was doing the service in the evening with about 200 plus in attendance. Abbie playing the piano (Heavenly I might add) at the beginning of the service, Pastor Mason opening in prayer with introduction of Bob Stalker to give his precious testimony of his life change in Christ. Then came my talk to bring the message. I shared about doubting Thomas, (blessed are you Thomas because you see me and believe—referring to Christ after His resurrection, but more blessed are those who do not see Christ but yet believe. John 20:29). That’s us guys, is what I told all listening; who received this message with joy. There was much clapping and cheering when Bob was finished as well as with my mini message. To God be the Glory. As for me, how do I feel this venture went? Just as God planned—with the Lord you can only say WOW! What a Trip!!!
                                                    — Tom Derrick

             What encouraged me the most was the men in the 9-month program at The Bowery Mission. They all seemed to be doing so well that there was going to be a lot of changed lives. Such a transformation when compared with those who just came in off the streets.                                         —  Bob Stalker

             At the Bowery Street Mission’s chapel service, I was suppose to be there to play two songs during the scheduled half hour (or so I thought). But what blessed me most was the time spent beforehand familiarizing myself with the piano by playing through several hymns that some of the “in house” guys (those in the rehab program) picked out.

I have never felt such an anointing even in the midst of scrambling for the right notes in these hymns I’d never heard! But it wasn’t about playing perfectly, it was about joining some new brothers in worshipping an awesome Father God who had drawn us all together that evening for another glimpse at how BIG and LOVING and MERCIFUL He is.                              —  Abbie Kornhaus

Ready to Serve

Delia

"Today I stand before you whole and free and with a new heart with all the glory to God humbly, but God puts people in your life that lead you to that way, and Johanna from Finland was one of them and Monica was one of them."

• In March and May 2007 our church took short-term mission trips to New York City and partnered with the New York City Relief Bus Ministry to distribute soup, sandwiches, and clothing and pray with people. We met Delia Martinez at 124th and Park. Delia lives in "The Projects," low-income housing where 30 to 40,000 people live in a 15-to-20 floor apartment and most of the time the elevators don't work. Delia lives on the third floor with her son who was injured when a stray bullet hit him in the skull while he was sitting in their apartment.

• Delia was born in East Harlem, the second youngest in a family of 14. Her parents each brought 4 children from previous marriages and had six more children together. Her parents took her to church. They were good and caring parents and even though she had a humble background, they never went hungry. Four of Delia's older brothers did drugs and alcohol and she was exposed to it at age 6. At age thirteen she wanted "to do my own thing" and started to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and hid this from her parents for two years.

• "At age 17 my brother molested me and my sisters; we were taken from my parents and given to my mom's sister. When they came to arrest my brother, he committed suicide. This left me messed up in the head. I continued to use and by the time I was 17 I had a child, Julio. I abused alcohol and drugs when he was in my womb. The hospital had to get in touch with child protective services because of this. I wanted my baby even though I abused him in my womb. I felt rejected and said at least I have something I can love and I know it's going to love me back. So I complied with the program. When they gave me my son back, they gave me a worker from child services to check every month and see how I was doing. God had a plan for me because the worker they gave me was a Christian. Jose P. told me, "Delia, the Lord loves you."

• I told him, "There's no hope for me. I'm hopeless because I do alcohol and drugs and this is the life I am going to die in."

• Read Delia's journey to wholeness HERE.

Steve Pastor came for the weekend to share about the history of the NYC Relief Bus and his testimony. Here is a video on the NYC Relief Bus ministry we have partnered with in recent years.

Another view of the church...

Tom's Testimony (Adobe Acrobat)

Testimonies from N.Y. City ( Adobe Acrobat)