Excitement is in the air!!!!  We are scheduled to begin our renovation/major maintanence project this week!  As you should be aware, the bulk of the plans call for the church office to be renovated into a classroom with a bathroom, the church office to be located to the library area, air conditioning to be installed where there currently is none, insulation and sheetrocking of the beamed hallways and library area, re-roofing of the school/Pastor's office areas, sealing of the parking lot, etc.

When coming to Worship please enter the facility through the double doors near the playground as you will be unable to access the Sanctuary if you enter the facility by the preschool entrance. Please refer to the illustration in the weekly church bulletin for access to restrooms should they be needed before, during or after worship.  Temporarily Pastor's desk will be set up in Becky's office (on the far side of the kitchen) and my "desk" will be stationed in the preschool office. 

Also, take time to review the drawings of the anticipated renovations which will be posted on Sunday mornings beginning 7/10.  Please feel free to ask me questions or make comments.

We are pleased to inform you that we have received approval for a low-interest loan from Lutheran Church Extension Fund in the amount of $175,000 to help fund this renovation project.  Plans are currently being developed to determine the best way to pay down this debt in a timely manner, and to sustain the church's mission in the future.  We ask you to pray about this program, and ask you to seek God's guidance as to your role in it.

We thank God for placing these challenges before us!  What a blessing it is for us to have the need to expand our classroom space for educating others about the Jesus!

- Cheryl Delgado, Church Adminstrator

HOUSE CHURCH UPDATE FROM VICAR DANIEL FENCO

Everyone in the Figueroa's family is very excited about our Evening Vacation Bible School.  Heather Christian and I went around the businesses in Bernardsville and posted our flyers on community boards.  I also went with Manuel Figueroa around the neighborhood giving out flyers to neighbors.  We figured that just among friends and family, we will get about 12 children for our VBS.  We will continue giving out flyers and hopefully we will get 20 to 30 kids for our VBS.

Our Bernardsville house church has changed their meeting date.  Since June, we started meeting on Tuesdays instead of Monday nights. This change was due to conflicts in schedule.  We will continue to meet during the summer.

 Our Livingston house church has been meeting consistently every Thursday since May.  We are planning a Spanish speaking service in that area of Livingston to reach the large Spanish community in the area.  We are working on the details but hopefully it will be in Mid-July or in the beginning of August.

Thank you for your support and your prayers.  Please continue to pray for our VBS and also for the Spanish speaking service that we are planning in July-August.

SHLC'S 2011 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES 

From left to right:  Mike Noelke (University of Notre Dame), Alyssa Moore (Susquehanna University), Zac Stager (Westchester University), Katie Gacos (Univerity of Alabama), Josh Rickert (Villanova University), SHLC's 2011 Plainfield High School scholarship recipient Samanta Naiken (Union County College) 

Samanta Naikem center.

On June 19th we were pleased to offer our 4th SHLC Plainfield High School scholarship.  Initiated by a donation from an SHLC family, this year's scholarship was awarded to Samanta Naiken.  Samanta hopes to pursue a career as a diagnostic medical sonographer.  She is graduating in the top 10% of her class and is described by her teachers as intelligent, determined, motivated and responsible.  She has been involved in school and community activities, and has overcome great personal obstacles.  We are pleased to be awarding her this scholarship to help her pursue her dreams.

                     

 YOU'RE INVITED!!!

SHLC Summer Celebration
 

 Tuesday, July 12th
 

6-8pm
 

This event will have FREE food, live music, and family fun including a giant inflatable jumper!  Mark your calendars now, invite your friends and hopefully we will see you there!

ALSO- check out our facebook event and RSVP (not required!) here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137858242958863

 DR. KRISTEN SCHMALTZ

 COMPASSION EVANGELICAL HOSPITAL

 GUINEA WEST AFRICA

June 2011 Newsletter

EASTER CELEBRATIONS AND BAPTISMS

Belated Easter greetings to you all from our churches in Guinea!!! Last week we celebrated both Good Friday (it was and is indeed good news that Christ died for our sins) and Easter (greater news He is risen and our sins are forgiven forever). The sun shone bright at sunrise on Easter day as we heard the story of His resurrection and sang songs of praise and joy on the hilltop together!!!

Normally our yearly baptisms happen on Easter.  This year our pastor was stranded due to their truck breaking down, so we had baptisms this past weekend.  Two adults, SB and KT, plus two children were baptized/dedicated. What a joy to witness!!  Both persons have worshipped with me as members in my church for several years now. One has helped at CEH in evangelization and spent time with the construction workers Bible reading time.  I was at the baby's (NH) naming ceremony last summer and have treated her brother (DD) when he was sick in the past. Please welcome these new members into our church and the family of believers.

NETWORKING AT THE RECENT FULBE PARTNERSHIP MEETING

About once a year all missionaries who work amongst the Fulbe get together and discuss our respective work in our region of the Fouta. In April about 25 of us met for 2 days to present our ministry summaries for the past year, pray with, and encourage each other. What a thrill to see fruit of many years of efforts in some places. What an opportunity to share with each other. Some ministries do seminars for believers, some share biblical literature, others teach health, still others are in church development and kids ministry .....One colleague and his wife expressed an interest in helping with dental work at CEH before their furlough (see below). We will see if it can work out.  One friend has done over-the-phone consults with me for several seriously ill children and it was great to see her in person at this meeting. She is very busy as I am daily, but is slowly working at language learning while working full time, so we encouraged each other and prayed for that.  I met a missionary who came to Guinea in 2007 by road from Switzerland and sold us the red minibus for our work here in Africa... she is now here for 2 years, in language training and doing work amongst the Fulbe.

I have been asked to be the facilitator for this group for the next year and decided with counsel that it is a wonderful opportunity.  Soon I will be traveling to different regions in the Fouta once a month to start this job and in January we will have our next meeting. Please pray for this challenge. I am thankful my truck is newly maintained and functioning well for this effort.

A BEGINNING FOR DENTAL CARE AT CEH

In the middle of June I will meet with missionary dentist friend Cibelly to go over proposals for her to work with us at CEH.  Dental care is so needed!!  We will look through all the generous supplies you have sent to start the dental work and see if it is possible to open a part time clinic here and to start to train a national worker. After having met each other at the Fulbe missionary conference earlier in the year, I am excited to see Cibelly and her husband Wellington again.  Please pray for these endeavors!! CEH is growing and recovering from economic difficulties with increasing numbers of patients coming.  We have lots of sick kids and adults now that rainy season is upon us.  Many have dental problems even at a young age. Amongst our CEH staff, 6 people have asked for dental care while we wait for Cibelly to come. Welcome her with us. 

CRITICAL CARE FOR THE YOUNG-A TOO FREQUENT OCCURRENCE

MLD, a 2 year old Guinean malnourished boy, came to CEH last week with severe malaria and needed IV Quinine treatment and a blood transfusion.  We started treatment and he did respond some but I felt he needed blood to help him better as he was somewhat anemic and had a critical respiratory event during his treatment at CEH.  We sent him off to a hospital where he could get blood (we at CEH are not registered to do that yet), only to have him return at the very end of the day right before the bus left with all workers.  No blood transfusion sets (filters, tubing, plastic IV bottles) in any public hospital in Guinea!!  This was a crisis announced on TV but I have no TV access so I did not know!  So, I urgently gave him iron pills and oral meds for malaria and we pray he will recover.  I will see him next week for follow up if his parents can find transport money from their distant village.  There are always lots of sick kids in rainy season; I have had up to 5 in our IV treatment room while I was consulting in the clinic with adults and kids.

This coming weekend I will participate with our administrative committee of Etienne and Jean Paul in interviewing and hiring around 10 new medical workers to train and be used in our efforts to open the internal hospital and OR later this year. We have been reviewing CVs of all these medical and paramedical workers. We have been praying that God send those to us with hearts open to serving Him at CEH and reaching the lost.  Please join us in prayer for us all this weekend.  Thanks.

 PRAYER REQUESTS  

1) Pray for us during these difficult economic times in Guinea as in the world and for how that influences which patients can or cannot come for care to CEH.
 

2) Pray for successful hiring of additional staff for CEH.
 

3) Pray for recovery for a dear missionary friend of mine just coming back to Guinea.
 

4) Pray for the addition of dental work at CEH and for the Fulbe partnership.
 

5) Pray for Dwight Slater ercovering in the USAfrom an emergency appendectomy. 

SOMERSET HILLS LUTHERAN CHURCH

July 11 - 15

9 am - 11:30 am

For children ages 4 (on or before October 1st, with preschool experience) through Grade 4 (completed).

Registration forms are available in the church office. 

Sally and  I want to thank the members of Somerset Hills for remembering our 50th wedding anniversary with the fellowship hour last Sunday.  We enjoy being with the congregation and gladly worship with you.  We've learned to take one day at a time and this is the day the Lord has made.

We are thankful for them. 

Pastor Paul Sparling

 September 1, 2011

7:15 pm

It is important that all teachers attend! 

Thrivent Choice is a charitable grant program where Thrivent Financial for Lutheran members can participate at different levels based on their involvement with Thrivent.  The program actively involves members in how Thrivent Financial distributed some of its charitable grant funds.

Since it's inception in 2010, SHLC has received over $2,700 in Thrivent Choice designated dollars.

However, only 53% of the eligible members in 2011 have designated where their allocated dollars should go!

If you are not sure if you are an eligible member, please go to the Thrivent website at www.thrivent.com or contact Cheryl Delgado, SHLC Lead Congregational Advocate at 908-766-2858.