Instagram bio

One of our high school students included the Core Values of our church in their Instagram bio.  How cool is that?!?  Or should I say, "How beyond is that?!?"

Mission Impact 10-22-15

In our last Directors meeting, Pastor Gary shared some exciting statistics that reveal how the generosity of Good Shepherd is going beyond to make an impact locally and globally.  Good Shepherd is:

· The #1 contributor to the Malaria Campaign in the whole Metro Chicago Synod (this Campaign recently reached its $15 Million Goal nationwide…and the monies have been utilized to reduce malaria and malaria related deaths in Africa by 60% while proclaiming the Gospel and watching many lives being transformed by God’s love).

· The #1 contributor to Feed My Starving Children in the greater Naperville area for Feed the Need as well as being the #1 contributor among churches in the whole Chicagoland area.

· The Primary Sponsor for Cheryl’s Children’s Home in Nairobi, Africa.

· Supporting the year of “Quadruple 2’s” (2 Mission Trips to 4 different locations this past summer and early fall…including Guatemala, Honduras, Michigan, and Pine Ridge, South Dakota)

If you give to support the ministry of Good Shepherd, you play a part in making all this happen.  Way to go!

From scraps to glory

Last Sunday our Quilting ministry covered the chairs and pews in our Worship spaces with the 159 quilts they made this past year.  Below they share what inspires them to go beyond in their generosity and how the impact of the ministry is going way beyond our church...

Quilts are a tangible way to help people. A quilt may be used in a third world hospital, might wrap an orphan, could be used as a sack to carry a refugee’s goods, serve as a baby carrier, it may become a sunshade or a warm blanket, or be used as a room divider.

What might be considered scraps are transformed into something God uses for His glory. We take what are seemingly minimal resources – donated pieces of fabric and discarded sheets in good condition – combine them with the generous ongoing contribution of batting by a member, and tie the layers together. Each quilt is not only a work of art but more so, a representation of love.

The quilts first go to Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and then to their affiliates around the world for distribution. Last year, nearly 500,000 quilts were distributed by LWR worldwide. We were able to track the last shipment of Good Shepherd quilts sent to Lutheran World Relief. They went to Nepal, the area of a devastating earthquake in April, 2015. Over 9,000 LWR quilts have been distributed there.

Other quilts made this year have gone to Malaysia, the orphanage in Africa, Lifespring of Wayside Cross, and Lutherdale’s annual quilt auction. Some small quilts and blankets were given to Hesed House. An interesting fact: The scraps left over after making the quilts are bundled and given to Wayside Cross to be made into rags and sold to help fund that ministry.

Our Quilt Ministry team has also sent quilts to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where winters are brutally cold. This year, our friends at the reservation requested help as they wanted to start their own Quilt Ministry to especially serve the elders and children. One member of our congregation helped buy sewing machines which were shipped along with several boxes of fabric and supplies.

Linda V.

Translating God's praises

One of our young adults is going beyond by serving in Madagascar for a year with Young Adults in Glogal Mission (YAGM). Recently, she got to join with kids in singing God's praises in both English and Malagasy. Read her story below...

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At my home church in Tanjombato, I work with a group of level 2 English students (who are amazingly smart and good at English after only 6 months). My students usually work through having conversations, so we had a 'get to know you' conversation about likes and dislikes. As an example, I said that I don't like to dance, but I like to sing. And of course, that lead to them wanting to hear me sing. Oof. But it turned out to be a good thing.

In my mad scrambling to try and find a song that was both 1) something I knew well enough that I could teach; and 2) easy enough that the students could remember it, the only thing that was in my brain was the Doxology. Lutherans are fond of singing it, before offering sometimes. Our YAGM group sang it often as a mealtime grace. 

You might know it:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen

So I taught my group of 15 Malagasy kids the doxology. And when we still had time left, we went over vocabulary. I asked them to try to translate it into Malagasy, and they came up with this:
Ry Tompon'ny harena o!
Fanatitra an'tsitrapo
Atolotray anao izao
Mba raiso ka tahionao!
Amen

I love it. Half of us sang the English, while half of us sang the Malagasy. The words mushed together, our voices melded imperfectly, our pronunciation terrible. But I believe God wept tears of joy in Heaven to hear us. It was beautiful.

Hannah K.