To Give or Not to Give

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Today marks the beginning of many congregations with their “stewardship programs.”  Ever since I received the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” 35 years ago, I never did another “stewardship program.”  I have relied on the Lord to move in the hearts of His people.  And that is where I am today.

First of all, I thank the Lord for each of you who are reading this letter.  The Lord has a special calling on your life in your service to Him.  Only you can discern what that calling might be.  In Peter’s first letter to the Church, he says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

1 Peter 1.13

Usually when we hear the word stewardship, we think of our financial giving.  And that is part of what stewardship is, but only a part.  Stewardship also includes how we spend our time.  So, what ministries are you involved?  Where is the Lord leading you to be a witness for Him?  Are you being a “good steward” of the gifts that the Lord has given you?  That is the real question for each of us to ask.

Now, for me, stewardship should not even include raising money to match the budget.  But that is the common thinking.  And if we get more money than what the budget is…… “What do we do????” 

The scripture is clear that we as believers are to give a tithe (10% of our gross income) to the Lord’s work through His Church.  We don’t give an “offering” until our tithes have been made.  Interesting, isn’t it?  Malachi says that we “rob God” when we don’t tithe. (Malachi 3.6-12) 

The bottom line is this: “What is the Lord asking of you?”  He knows your situation….your desires, wants, and needs.  Seek His face and see what He desires of you.

It takes roughly $30,000.00 for our St. Mary’s Scholarship Fund for our teacher’s children.  Some of you who are reading this are participating in this fund already and I’m am thankful.   I know that the Lord will tell some of you “not to give” to the fund, but I also know that to others, He will want you to give to the fund.  All I’m asking is that you be faithful to that which the Lord tells you.

Be Blessed to be a Blessing,

Fr. Joe

The Reverend Canon D. Joseph Rhodes

Co-Rector, St. Mary’s Episcopal School

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

PS:  Email me and I will let you know how you can contribute to St. Mary’s Teacher’s Children Fund.

joetina71@aol.com

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Well, Labor Day has come and gone, and life has taken on the routine of the “real” year……school days are back!!!  We are into our 3^rd week here at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  The teachers, students and staff are getting adjusted at being back at school.  The beginning of school is a mixture of sweet and sour emotions….it’s good to catch up with your friends since last school year, but mixed feelings about the work that is before each student.  Then you have the children that have to make a break from their parents.  That’s always hard on the little ones…..and the parents!

As many of you know, life is hard for the people here in Honduras.  So what we would like to do is to help our teachers to have their children here at St. Mary’s.  In order to do this, we need to give their children scholarships.  We have 15 students that need help.  At present, we have 3 students that have scholarships from those who helped out last year, so only 12 more to go.  The fees for the children are as follows:

                   Pre K, K, and Prepa      $2,000.00/year

                   Grades 1-3                     $2,400.00/year

                   Grades 4-6                    $2,500.00/year

                   Grades 7-10                  $2,600.00/year

                   Grade 11                        $2,700.00/year

This amounts to $200-$270 a month for a 10 month pay period.

When I look at the “price tag” for the students; I start thinking, “How can I help one of these children get a quality education?”  As an individual, it is beyond my capacity; but if I can get a few others to join with me, then it is indeed possible to support a child.  If you are in a Bible Study group or some other group, maybe you could be the “champion” to challenge them to support one of our students.

In a recent article that I was reading, Pope Francis is asking the Church to “Help Kids Break the Cycle of Poverty” saying that it “Is our duty to do good.”  The article went on to say, “Well prepared, morally educated students can break cycles of corruption and poverty; the root causes of world hunger.  The educated students are the ones who will end these cycles in their communities.”  This is so true for the people here in Honduras.

Then I was reading a newsletter from a friend of mine who works in a hostile country in Asia and he wrote the following prayer which I’ve edited for his protection:

Lord, please move in me and in all who (read this letter), that we will spontaneously give ourselves first to You unreservedly and then also give ourselves to one another.  Work in us in such a way that all our giving of money, time, and talents would flow not from emotions and not from the excitement we feel when we hear a story from the field and not from some sense of obligation, but may our “ giving” flow out of Your purposes working in our lives and our obedience to whatever You tell us to do;  whether that is for our churches, for some other ministry, or for however else You might direct… Amen

So, the bottom line of this letter is to ask you to pray for the Lord’s direction in this matter and if so led to help one of our teacher’s children with a scholarship, please contact us.

Be Blessed to be a Blessing,

Fr. Joe

August 2014 Newsletter

To our Family and Friends,

            In our May/June newsletter, we shared about God working His purpose out in our lives and the season of change since Joe’s prostate cancer diagnosis.  During this season of change, we have been surrounded by such peace and love.  We thank all of you for your phone calls, letters, emails, texts, visits, and most of all the prayers that have come from the community of faith from all over the world!  We have been so encouraged and filled with hope.  This season of change has been full of “waiting,” so we have not had information to share but we can share that on August 5^th, Joe will take his first PSA blood level test since surgery and then on the 11^th of August, he will see the doctor for the results.  

            Since surgery, Joe has done very well and no complications….Praise God!  We will send out an update after the August 11^th doctor visit as we hope to know when radiation will begin and when we will be able to return to Honduras.  Radiation is an eight week process, so our desire is to be able to return as soon as possible to Honduras for the beginning of the school year and return home a few months later for the radiation treatment. 

            Our time home has been a blessing in so many ways and we have watched God working His purpose out.  This scripture has been so true for us…. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28  

During this season of waiting, we have had many divine appointments with old friends who we have not seen in years, present friends, family and strangers; times when you know God intended for you to be right there at that time and place.  Thank you Lord for these moments!

We also have had the time to transition into the Medicare-65 year old stuff!!  For those who have turned 65, you understand what this is like and what a blessing to be home and not trying to deal with this from a foreign country.  For those of you “young-uns” out there, it is a real education with lots of paper work dealing with Social Security and insurance companies.  We certainly have witnessed God working good in all this for us!

As August begins, we are believing for the Lord to work out our return to St. Mary’s School in Tegucigalpa.  School begins on August the 18^th, the same as here in Sumter, SC.   

Please join us as we pray for the following issues that are on our hearts:

1.       Our returning teachers and school families for their well-being and provision.

2.      New students (we need at least 200 students total)

3.      Scholarship Fund for the children of our teachers and staff (contact us if you or your group plan to continue sponsoring your student or if you would like to begin to sponsor a student ($1,100.00 a year)

4.      New roof on the lower school, gymnasium painted, and lockers repaired

5.      Musical instruments; still looking for instruments to begin a school band

6.      “Frequent Flyer Miles” – we need help in obtaining round trip tickets to Honduras….our departure and return dates depend on the results of Joe’s doctor visit on the 11^th of August.

7.      Our family, our health and for God’s purpose and plans for our life.

May you be Blessed to be a Blessing,

Fr. Joe & Tina

Holy Week 2014

 Holy Week 2014

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.   John 3:16-17  (NIV)

            The above scripture is a well known memorized and quoted scripture especially suited for this season of faith.  As Christians all over the world begin to focus on this week of “Holy Love;” may we take time to ponder, examine and remember how we each individually have been loved by God our Father, through this gift of His Son, Jesus.

            This week moves thru a roller coaster of emotions from the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the Last Supper; bread as His body and wine as His blood…the washing of the disciples feet; an action of servant hood.  Then moving to the quietness of the Garden with the pain and agony of surrendering to being obedient to the Father’s love in spite of the betrayal of one of his disciples… the mocking and scourging of the soldiers…the shouts of the crowd, “Crucify Him!!! Crucify Him!!  The pain of the crucifixion… “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  The death of Jesus on the cross…the darkness of the day to be followed by the stillness of three days of hopelessness and despair…and then; the empty tomb with the angel telling the women, “He is not here, He has risen!”

            We Christians are Easter people; a people of Hope and Love.  We believe in a resurrected life that operates out of love.  A love that commands us to love our enemies and to pray for those who mistreat or persecute us…..a big difference in comparison to other world religions.  In Romans 10:14-15, Paul tells us… “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (NIV)

            Dearest friends and family, we are so grateful to all of you for your support of our ministry through your prayers, finances, and the sacrificing release of letting us go and serve where we believe the Lord calls.  Our prayer for each of you as you experience this Holy Week is that you will meditate and pray on the scriptures above so that this Holy Week will be a blessed time for you and the outcome will be a renewed commitment to go forth into the world right where you are and make a difference – a loving difference!

            Since our last newsletter in December, our life has been quite busy.  Following is a quick catch up:

            On December 13, 2013…Noa Tavita Joseph Fua (our 9^th grandchild) was born to Stacey and Simon.  Tina left on the 8^th of January to help Stacey with their  three children and their move to Melbourne, Australia from Sydney.  Stacey and Simon are serving on the staff at the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Melbourne until they go to lead the YWAM base in Jeffrys Bay, South Africa.

            On the 10^th of January, Joe returned to Honduras to begin the second half of the school year at St. Mary’s.  Tina returned to the states at the end of January and after working through the “jet lag,” returned to Honduras on the 4^th of February.

            Our daily life in Tegucigalpa is very full and constant between school and church.  Beginning in November of last year, Tina hosted a DVD Bible Study by Beth Moore on “Esther” with some of the young adult ladies from St. Mary’s Church.  Upon returning in February, the group began another Beth Moore DVD study on “The Fruit of the Spirit.”  These young ladies come from various places (university studies, nursing school, school teacher, and banking career) all very committed to this weekly time.  It is not easy to get to our apartment from all the different areas they come from because of traffic; but each week the Lord arranges their schedules and transportation and we are blessed!

            In Nov-Dec, we did a teaching series on the “Holy Spirit” and will soon begin a teaching series on “Prayer” with the people from St. Mary’s congregation.  This  past Lent we enjoyed the Via de Crucis (Way of the Cross) each Friday evening at St. Mary’s.

            The Diocese of Honduras is working on a Christian Education program for all the bilingual schools in the Diocese and we have been blessed to be a part of this task force.  This will be such a blessing to have this curriculum in the schools.

            We have also been privileged to meet several teams who have come from the States and Canada to work in or around Tegucigalpa.  Some of the teams use our students as translators.  These students are chosen because of their good grades and their translating skills.  Many of them miss from 7 to 14 days of school to translate and have to make up the work.  We are so very proud of these students.  It is always a blessing to see how God is working. 

            Our new block system schedule at the school this year has been such a success for the students and teachers.  The extra added time at the end of each school day for clubs and other activities has greatly enriched the student life.  In fact, one of the highlights of our school year has been the Talent Show.  The St. Mary’s Talent Show involves all students and teachers, it is not just individual talent, but collective talent!  This year the Talent Show was at the Manuel Bonilla Theatre in downtown Tegucigalpa.  This theatre was built as a replica of a theatre in Vienna with the box seats and gorgeous architecture.  Because of the location in the city, it is not used very much so we were blessed to be able to have a real stage for this event!  We cannot begin to tell you how wonderful an experience this was for all.  You can view some of the evening on St.

Mary’s Face Book page.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Marys-Episcopal-School/175736555828511?v=wall  One of the highlights for us was the 6^th grade hand clap.  And the surprise of the evening at the end was a returning alumna who sang like Pavorotti….for real!!

            St. Mary’s hosted a girl’s volleyball tournament with 6 other bilingual schools in the area and we (St. Mary’s) came in second!

            As of this writing, we are home for the Easter holidays until May 6.  When we return to Tegucigalpa, we will be closing out our second year at St. Mary’s School.  Time certainly has flown by quickly!  We certainly could not do this work without your support, so again our hearts are filled with gratitude for you who enable us “to go and make disciples.”  Also, as you read through our prayer list,  please partner with us in prayer for  “Sowing  Seeds for the extension of the Kingdom of God.”

Be Blessed to be a Blessing,

Fr. Joe & Tina

Sowing Seeds for the extension of the Kingdom of God

List of needs:

1.       Scholarship Fund for St. Mary’s Staff, Teachers, Clergy, and families with special needs.

2.      New roof for St. Mary’s School

3.      Lower and Upper school needs painting along with the furniture in the preschool  and library.

4.      Covering for an eating area

Prayer Needs:

1.       We need at least 200 students for the 2014-15 school year.

2.      For the school to get out of debt!

3.      For the needed repairs on campus to be accomplished.

4.      For the Lord to raise up individuals and teams to come and walk with us at St. Mary’s.

5.      For every member of our St. Mary’s family to grow daily in their walk with the Lord.

Personal Prayer:

1.       Good health for us

2.      For Abney’s health and training at AMDA…American Musical and Dramatic Academy

3.      For all our daughters and their families here in the States and Australia

 

The Rev'd Canon D. Joseph & Tina Rhodes
2280 Clematis Trail
Sumter, SC 29150 www.win-gs.org
USA 803-469-0720 www.smestegus.com
HN 011-504-977-15431 www.sams-usa.org

Merry Christmas and a most Blessed New Year!

December 31, 2013

7th Day of Christmas

To all of our Family and Friends,

A very Merry Christmas and a most Blessed New Year!

As we reflect back on 2013, we are thankful for what the Lord has done in us, through us, for us, and in spite of us….we serve and love an awesome God! One morning this past Advent during our morning devotions, this scripture from Luke 2:40 captured Joe’s thoughts…“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was with him.”

So often we don’t think about this part of the Christmas story. Nicely tucked in with all the drama of the shepherds, angels, and animals. Several days pass and we are at the temple where Simeon blessed Jesus, Joseph and Mary; and Anna prophesied over the little one who was Immanuel, God with us. So much in that sentence. “The child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was with him.”

First of all, “the child grew.” I often wonder if I have allowed Jesus to grow in me. It’s easier to keep him as a child, to take care of him, to wait on him and not realizing who he really is. It’s just easier to tell him what to do than to let him grow up and be the one he was intended to be…..Lord of Lords and King of Kings….Immanuel, God with us.

At this time of the year, it is truly hard to imagine Jesus for who he really is. We in the West are dominated by the secular Christmas events. It’s a time of the year where a lot of businesses hope and pray that they can end the year in the black. Unfortunately, our Advent and early Christmas seasons are filled with events that can very easily distract us from the true meaning of Christmas, that God came to save mankind. And the only way that could be possible, was that God had to become man….born of a woman. What a risk God made! Would the child grow up to be who he was created to be? The same question applies to each of us as well: will we become the person that we were created to be? A big risk indeed.

In recent years, I’ve become more aware of those who have never had the opportunity to have heard the Christmas story. How sad it is to never have heard and even sadder for those who have heard and not believed! We have been privileged to have been told the story and the difference it has made in the lives of many people. But with the privilege, there comes the responsibility of letting others know. It’s not just about me or us; it is about the saving grace for ALL people.

So, our prayer for you and your family is that in 2014 you may grow and become strong; filled with wisdom and the grace of God. May you encounter those who do not know this Christ Child so that you can share the reason for this Blessed Christmas Season.

We love this time of the year because we receive cards, emails, and photos allowing us to “catch up” on you and your family. Thank you for keeping in touch! Our family has grown by two this year. Paul and Marie welcomed Colton Rhodes Jones on May 3 and Simon and Stacey welcomed Noa Tavita Joseph Fua on December 13. We now have 9 grandchildren (5 boys and 4 girls).

Paul and Marie still live in Sumter, SC with their 4 children. Daniel and Kerry live in North Lakes, Australia (just north of Brisbane) with their 2 boys. Simon and Stacey live in Sydney, Australia with their 3 children, but will be moving to Melbourne, Australia in the next month. Brooks and Ansley live in Columbia, SC and our “ultima” (Spanish for the baby or last child) is living in New York City and is attending AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy).

We continue to serve the Lord in Tegucigalpa, Honduras at St. Mary’s Bilingual School. Thanks again to all who support us through prayer and finances. We are grateful for your help in this Kingdom work. So, in 2014, “Go and make disciples of all Nations…” (Matthew 28.19) and where you are needed, go serve and be blessed to be a Blessing!!

We love you,

Fr. Joe and Tina