CHRISTMAS CARING PROJECT 2007

To the families that blessed ours, We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the gifts that your family blessed our family with this Christmas. Everything has come in handy for us. We feel really blessed that there are people out there that take the time to make sure that other families have a good Christmas. Our son was born when the delivery came in and when we came home from the hospital, I couldn't believe how much had been delivered. I started crying. We truly feel that God worked in our lives this year and with our continuing faith we know he will continue to work in our lives. We have been blessed with so much stuff. And, we want to thank you.

SYMPATHY

It was with great sadness that we learned of the recent death of Foothill Covenant's second lead pastor, John Bergman, who served us from 1969-1982. A memorial service was held for John on September 15th at Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue, Washington. This was the church to which John went after serving at Foothill. If you wish to write to John's widow, Nina, or to his daughter, Amy, see the addresses below.

Mrs. Nina Bergman 1822 152nd Ave NE, Apt 112 Bellevue WA 98007-4274 425-746-1168 nmbergman@comcast.net			Mrs. Amy Hunter 7907 Cortland Ave SE Snoqualmie, WA 98065 425-396-7188 jeffamyhunter@comcast.net

Save the Date! Harvest Soup Supper Saturday November 8 at 6:00pm Good fun, fellowship and food!

Daylight Savings Time Ends NOVEMBER 2

2009 SHORT-TERM SUMMER SERVICE IN CHINA

What? A four-week summer service opportunity teaching English to highly motivated Chinese, ages five through adulthood. There are also opportunities for teaching/coaching sportssuch as basketball/softball/ultimate frisbee/etc. Others may wish to help staff the Oasis Activity Center, a drop-in youth center/coffee bar featuring music, crafts, and games each evening.

Where? This summer program takes place on the campus of the Oasis Training Center inPingliang, China, a city of 300,000 in rural Gansu province about five hours by bus, northwest of Xian. Oasis is a two-year professional training center for adult students and was established in 2002. For summer term, classes are offered to every age group from kindergartento adult and attendance will number about 100.

Who? Open to people with a heart to help Chinese improve their spoken English as well asto share their lives including their relationship with Jesus. Teachers are needed for each agelevel so older teens and college students are encouraged to participate. Those who prefer notto teach will be assigned to staff the Oasis Activity Center, a drop-in youth center that drawsPingliang young people each evening.

This is NOT an overt evangelism project. We are guests of the Chinese government and willrespect their authority which means that we are responders rather than initiators in the manner of 1 Peter 3:15. Our goal is a summer of incarnating the faith that we hold.

When? Leave the US on July 6th and return to the US on August 3rd.

Cost? Approximately $1100 (you will purchase your own passport, visa, and roundtrip planeticket to Beijing) which covers all in-country food, lodging, transportation, and sightseeing.It does not include personal snacks, souvenirs, or individual activities with local people.

Goals?

1. To teach well and bring credit to our Lord and good will for the Oasis Training Center.
2. To establish a relational bond with students, seek to demonstrate God's love for them, and respond to their questions about our lives.
3. To gain a first-hand awareness of modern China, its people, and their hopes and dreams.
4. To worship with local believers and gain an appreciation and understanding of our brothersand sisters in this great land.

Typical Day? Mon - Fri: Teach classes from 9 am to noon; engage in informal activity from 2 pm to 5 pm; socialize with students in the evening.

Each person will be assigned to work two of these three segments of the day and each class will have a Chinese assistant.

Classes will be formed as follows: 6 to 9 year-olds, 10 to 12, 13 to 14, 15 to 18, and adults. Curriculum is provided and

Each class will have at least two teachers. The Chinese pay a tuition fee that is equivalent to one month's salary for an average rural worker.

Sat - Sun: Free time with opportunities to explore the surrounding area and visit a local church.

Perks? In addition to three weeks in Pingliang, there will be two days of sightseeing and shopping in Beijing (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) and one in Xian (Terracotta Warriors).

Questions? Contact Fred Wagner at 503.641.1993 or fredwagner@juno.com (Fred is a close friend of Pastor Jim's and a long-time InterVarsity staff member.)

CONGREGATIONAL CONVERSATIONS ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL BY-LAWS

will take place over the course of the coming year. A first "conversation" will be held on Sunday, October 19 at 6:30 pm. The focus will be on two sections of the By-Laws: Article 1 -Membership & Article 6 - Congregational Meetings. We will be working a few sections at atime over the course of the year. The following two conversations will be on November 9 &23 when we will look at Articles 2,3 & 5.2. Our goal is to fine tune the by-laws document intime for it to be "read into the minutes" ninety days before the 2008-09 Congregational Annual Meeting. Please join us so that we will be well prepared as we come to take action onthis important document in the coming year.