Sixteen members and friends of Sheridan will be travelling to El Salvador on March 26th to work with Habitat for Humanity to complete homes in the Santa Anna region.  The country of El Salvador experienced a ten-year civil war, followed by two devastating earthquakes in 2001, which destroyed much of the housing in the country.  The current housing deficit in El Salvador is estimated to be around 630,000 houses, or 51 percent of the total population. Habitat for Humanity has worked in El Salvador since 1992, and to date has constructed 4,625 homes.

 

You are encouraged to talk to one of the team members to find out more about this trip and to find out how you can support them in your prayers.  This year's team includes Gary, Lisa, and Katie King, Amanda Prokasky, Jim, Mary, Jen and Josie Simeck, Phil Euler, Meredith Metcalf, Elisha Novak, Albert Sparks, Steve Clare, Chester True, Ron & Becky Herms.  The team will be hosting an informational lunch on Sunday, April 20th in Room 111.  Please RSVP to Amanda Prokasky (smokeygirl79@neb.rr.com) if you are interested in attending the luncheon.

 

"I originally went to El Salvador last year because I thought it would be a fun and exciting way to serve people less fortunate than myself.  I never expected that I would learn so much from the Salvadoran people (like how to praise God for even the tiniest of blessings), nor did I expect to feel like I had gotten so much more out of our experience than those whom we served.  This is why I'm returning this year and plan to go every year- it's my reality check.  Life isn't that hard when you look at things from a global perspective." - Amanda Prokasky, 2008 El Salvador Teamer Leader

 

Clinic with a Heart is a free clinic that works out of the Center for People in Need on North 27th street.  Clinic with a Heart was founded in 2003 to provide free short-term, nonemergency, healthcare to people in Lincoln who have met financial, language, legal or other barriers to healthcare.  The clinic is open one night a week and is run by volunteers (both clinical and nonclinical.)  The clinic provides medical, dental, chiropractic care and physical therapy to its clients.  The clinic also provides some medications that are donated by various individuals and groups, and has a limited pharmacy in the clinic.

 

The clinic is open one night a week, but currently there are only sponsors for three of four weeks.  Sheridan Lutheran will be "adopting" the second Tuesday of every month.  What that means is that we will staff the entire clinic and be responsible for the operation of the clinic for that night.  We currently have a little over 30 volunteers who are going through training, including healthcare providers.  We continue to need both clinical and non-clinical volunteers to help serve this ministry.  Sheridan will be responsible for the clinic one night a month, and the clinic is open from 5:30 until 7:00 PM, and the volunteer time would be from 2-3 hours depending on when the last clients leave, etc.

 

Please join with us in praying for this new endeavor!

 

For more information on volunteering with Clinic with a Heart please contact Deb Caudill at dcaudill@neb.rr.com.  You can learn more about Clinic with a Heart from their website at www.clinicwithaheart.org or by reading a recent Journal Star Article on Clinic with a Heart.

Haiti - Pastor Rhonda will share her experience of traveling to Haiti with the Haitian Timoun (Children's) Foundation. We will meet for this class March 2nd and March 9th at 11 AM in the Chapel. She will share pictures and a PowerPoint presentation on the work that the Haitian Timoun Foundation is doing. We will discuss life in Haiti and the church's response. We will also begin to explore how Sheridan can share in the partnership with the Haitian Timoun Foundation. Pastor Rhonda will also talk about future mission trips to Haiti planned for 2008.

 

Bolivia - Pastor John will share about the ministry of the Bolivian Street Children Project where he and his wife, Michelle, served for three years.  Come to learn more about the amazing stories of redemption of children who were abandoned to the streets, lived years of their lives on the streets and found a new family and a new life in the homes of the Barnabas Center.  More information on this ministry is available at www.bolivianstreetchildren.org.  Join us in the Chapel on March 16th at 9:45 AM.

 

August 16-24: Bolivia
Travel with Pastor John to La Paz, Bolivia to work with The Bolivian Street Children Project.  On this trip you will spend time with the children living on the streets of La Paz as we build relationships with them.  We will also visit the homes and schools of the former street children living in the "Barnabas Center" and spend time getting to know each of these children and their foster parents.  This trip will provide an intense exposure to poverty in the third world.  Due to the intensity of this experience and the nature of relating with children living on the streets we require all participants to be over the age of 21.  One of the main focuses of the street outreach is medical attention and medical professionals are encouraged to apply for this trip.  For more information on this trip and the Bolivia Ministry please contact Pastor John.

 

October 10-18: Haiti
This trip is designed for anyone who wants to visit the different agencies, schools and orphanages that receive funding from the Haitian Timoun Foundation. You will meet with the staff and servant-leaders of these places and you will be nothing short of transformed and inspired for greater service to God's kingdom of love and mercy. This would be an opportunity to dream and envision how our faith communities, churches, and Nebraska Synod can build partnerships with the people of Haiti. Pastor Rhonda Bostrom will help lead this trip. We will team up with folks from the Haitian Timoun Foundation in Littleton, Colorado.

 

January 2009: Tanzania
Mudio Lutheran Parish is located on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, where smiles and bananas abound.  Since our partnership began in 2005, members of Mudio and Sheridan have intentionally sought out ways to work with and support one another in ministry.  As part of Sheridan's 2009 Tanzania Mission Team, you will continue to deepen our relationship by working side-by-side on construction and/or farming projects, singing, dancing, praying, playing, and exchanging ideas.  You will also get to visit other ministry sites of the Northern Diocese, like schools and health clinics, as well as enjoy the beauty of the country on safari.