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Family Lines Newsletter, May 19, 2005
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**Thanks for Going to Macedonia!**
By David Chadwell
 
Acts 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
 
This verse always floods my mind with Cameroon memories.  When Joyce, our three children, and I were in West Africa, never was there more than six American families where we were.  One or two of the families were led by medical doctors.  With the help of single nurses (our Deborah Wilson was one of them!), the doctors conducted mobile clinics. 
 
They maintained routes to larger villages with no access to medical treatment.  Several times weekly the doctors and nurses loaded a long-wheel base, four-wheel drive Land Rover and traveled to a village on their route.
 
Few paved roads then existed in that area.  Travel was slow and tedious.  The people were a gracious, gentle people—unless a vehicle hit a person or an animal.  When that happened, volatile emotions erupted, and the reaction of the crowd was unpredictable.
 
One of the clinic’s routes traveled through the village of Kwa-Kwa weekly.  As the doctors and nurses approached Kwa-Kwa one morning, the road disappeared into a massive crowd of people.
 
Immediately the doctors and nurses wondered aloud if they unknowingly hit an animal when they last passed through.  Quickly the vehicle was surrounded by a throng of people pressing close to the Land Rover.  Just as the medical team feared the worse, a small man named Nusudo stepped out of the crowd, handed a doctor a note, and the crowd immediately opened to create a path for the Land Rover to continue its journey.
 
The note simply said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
 
Nusudo, not as tall as my seven-year-old son, was converted and became the village’s preacher.  Soon Kwa-Kwa had a thriving congregation because someone “came to Macedonia” and taught them.
 
This week a large shipment of Bibles, books, and medical supplies began the journey to a remote area in Cameroon.  Seven clinics and hospitals in the Wum area will receive a huge shipment of medical supplies.  A preacher training school will receive books for its library.  Congregations (some quite new) will receive Bibles.  Eugene, once a teenager in the preacher training school who is now over 50, will receive a bicycle to assist him as he travels to remote areas to teach.
 
Thank you!  For your generous gifts, for your countless evenings of work, for your interest and encouragement, thank you!  Thanks to Bob Fisher for his patience in finding as many supplies as possible!  Thanks to Kevin Vaught for “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s” as he coordinated the work!  Thanks to Ron Moreton and Jim Selig for driving trucks far and wide to gather and take supplies!  Thanks to all the volunteers, the women who packed and made manifest lists, and the contributors who made it happen.  All of you “went to Macedonia.”  On behalf of those who will never see or know you, thanks!
 
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**In Our Thoughts & Prayers**
• Don Green has prayer pager 441-2593.
• Wendell Fenton (Natalie Nelson’s father) has prayer pager 784-7490. He is beginning the procedure to collect stem cells, which can be very uncomfortable. If you would like to send a card, the address is:
 Premier Suites
 Attention: Wendell & Anita Fenton
 11601 W.  Markham, Suite D
 Little Rock, Arkansas 72211
• Bill Moss’s surgery has been rescheduled for Monday (5/23/05). He will go to Sparks Hospital at 11:00 a.m. Surgery will be about 12:30 p.m. Bill has prayer pager 441-6639.
• Maile McDonald went to Little Rock for a treatment, but was unable to have it due to a mild case of pneumonia. She is getting better and will have the treatment later.
• Helen Branum and Louise Cline have returned from their appointments at the Mayo Clinic.
• Frieda Belote (Ron’s mother) is home from the hospital, but still very sick.
• Robin Harper’s check-up at MD Anderson was good. All her tests were clear. The bone marrow test results will come in a few days.
• Treva Hill’s grandfather, Charles Hill, is in ICU at  St. Edward Hospital.
• Helen Autry, Stephanie McClendon’s grandmother, is recovering from knee surgery in Dallas.
• David Collins (Jennifer’s husband) is having out-patient tests.
 
**Continued Prayers**
• Adam Jenkins
• Anita Maxwell
• Ashley Pistole (Joe’s niece)
• Betty Pence, mother of Cyndi Glidewell
• Bill Beall
• Bill Houlker (Roy & Joyce Dunavin’s son-in-law)
• Chuck Cunningham
• Fred Jackson
• Gene Smith
• Jay Wood
• John Fowler
• Kathryn Simms (Melody Priester’s grandmother)
• Larry Treat
• Paul Flippo
• Paul Tucker
• Therese Wieser
• Vicki Varvel (daughter of John and Nadine Hawkins)
• Wilma Son
 
**Missionaries in Prayer**
• __________ in Laos
• Thomas & Kindy Kweekul in Thailand and Laos
• __________ in Vietnam
• John Paul & Ruby Lee Hundley (home from France for a while)
 
**Prayers for Men in Service**
Continue to pray for Matthew Faries, Shane L. Newton, Daniel Kweekul, Aaron Bailey, Philip Lux, Adam Morrissun, Ronnie Wheat, David Jennen, and Jacob Roper. Praise! Matthew Faries is scheduled to arrive in Fort Smith from Iraq on Thursday afternoon (5/19/05) for a visit with his family.
 
**Welcome New Members!**
Tom, Sheila Lemley 
James, Samantha, John & Jennifer   
1804 Cypress Circle
Greenwood, AR 72936
Phone: 996-4001           
 
**Church Directory Update**
Please stop by the table in the foyer and check your family’s directory information (names, address, children living at home, and telephone number).  This is “Phase 1” of a project headed by Mat and Jo Griffin to produce an in-house pictorial church directory.
 
**Notes of Thanks **
Thank you for the donations of money for sunglasses and for sunglasses. We now have a sufficient supply for Guyana. We appreciate your help with this need.
 Glenda Lewis
 
Church of Christ,
Thank you so much for the beautiful quilts you donated for our scholarship fund. We raised $360 which will help the two students with their education. Thank you for your kindness and support.
 Portia Davis
 SCH Alumni Reporter
 
Dear West-Ark Quilters,
Brian and I want to thank all of you for the beautiful quilt. We hope to use it for many years to come. We will always remember the wonderful ladies who gave up their time and energy to make us such a great gift. We are blessed to have the love and support of so many.
 In Christian love,
 Julie Smith and Brian Forse
 
We would like to express our appreciation to so many for kindness shown to John F. Hundley and to us at his passing. Some of you saw that our monthly email reports from France were printed and taken to John. Once he told us that 25 of you came to visit on a Sunday afternoon when he was in the hospital. Several elders and members went to see him on a regular basis at Peachtree Village. His church family was there at times we could not be!  To those who made memorial gifts in the name of French Missions, a special thanks. Those who served a meal after the funeral to our family also gave their kind sympathy. You have been a constant source of support in every way.
 May God bless you all,
 The John Hundley Family
 
The family of Charles Spurlock wants to express a big thank you in our loss of our loved one. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. The family wants to thank all who brought food or sent flowers and kind words of comfort. Our loss was unexpected and quick, but the love was outpouring.
 The Charles Spurlock Family
 
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**CURE Work Day**
Sunday afternoon at the Vicksburg warehouse.
Harding University has donated 50 rooms of dormitory furniture that is being shipped to a Malawi hospital. There is lots of space in this container for smaller items – and that is where CURE comes in.
• Sunday afternoon at the Vicksburg warehouse, we will be sorting and gathering smaller items to be included in this container shipment.
• CURE also needs to develop a crew of people willing to work during daytime hours.
Please see or call Bob Fisher or Kevin Vaught if you can help Sunday afternoon or be on a daytime “crew” roster.  Thanks!
 Bob Fisher, cell 651-6591
 Kevin Vaught, cell 414-4304
 
**Summer Camp! **
Help a kid take a break from the pressures of this world by sending him/her to camp for a week. The cost is about $100 each, and we have 15 to 20 children in our inner-city programs who would love to go.  To help, make your check payable to the church and mark it for “camp.” Questions?  Call Jack Lewis at 459-0168.
 
**Inner City Meal**
We will be serving a meal Saturday, May 21st, at 11:00 a.m. “under the Bridge” on Garrison Avenue. This ministry provides a meal, clothing, and a devotional for those who are homeless or impoverished in the Fort Smith area. New workers are welcomed!
 
**Needed for Guyana Mission**
• Old full-size bath towels.
 
**Dishes Returned**
Dishes from the Motherly Love Dinner have been returned and put in the church foyer.
 
**Congratulations Graduate!**
Chris Moss graduated May 14th from Arkansas Tech University with a Masters of Science degree in Information Technology. Chris is the son of Bill & Margaret Moss.
 
**60+ Potluck**
Our next supper is planned for Saturday, May 21, at 6:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center. We’ll have special guests!
 
**Sunday Morning**
Graduation Sunday
Brad Pistole, Speaker
 
**Sunday Evening**
A Function of Loving Each Other
David Chadwell, Speaker
 
**Happy Birthday**
 
May 29
Jerry Canfield
Billy Hines
 
May 31
Elizabeth Harper
Bailey Williams
 
June 1
Eleanor Casey
 
June 2
Adam Davis
Bob Faries
 
June 3
David Chadwell
 
June 4
Benton Anderson
Alize Boatright
Glenn Gilley
 
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**Family Life Ministry**
By Brad Pistole
 
**Congratulations Senior Class of 2005!**
Amy Bailey – GHS
Jessica Bryant - GHS
Emily Kamp - SHS
Ryan LeFleur - GHS
Reanna Pearson - AHS
Jamie Redmond - AHS
Anna Sipathoum – NHS
Anny Teng - SHS
 
Be sure to join us for a special day Sunday, May 22nd at 10:30 a.m.
 
Please join us for a special worship service as we honor the graduating seniors at West-Ark. We want to recognize this year’s class and their families and bless them as their new journey in life begins. Shane Bocksnick will be leading our singing. I will  present a special message to our senior class, and we will give each senior a gift from the West-Ark congregation that will bless them in their spiritual walk with Christ.
 
**A.M. Nursery**
Berniece Rogers
Sharon Faries
Tracy Risley
Donna Roper
 
**P.M. Nursery**
Angela Dunavant
Denise Lusby
 
**Attendance and Contribution Count**
Sunday AM Worship 690
Bible Classes  476
Sunday Evening 292
Wednesday PM  340
Contribution   $17,372
Children’s Home   $188
Hispanic Contribution $132
AM Hispanic Attendance  48
Laotian Contribution $216
Laotian Attendance 25
The Way Contribution $97
The Way Attendance 48
 
Office Phone (479) 452-1240
Fax  (479) 452-5767
office@westarkchurchofchrist.org
www.westark.org
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"Making disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others."
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