Inescapable to my introspection on these verses from Scripture is that concept which proceeds stating - “God gives and takes”. Yes, as much as we are given from God, we also lose much too. This latter reality is, or can be, brutally painful. None of us are exempt, Job thoroughly understood this, even at his darkest moment.

When the day is going well I believe it seems a bit easier to praise God; but at all times it is important for us to be faithful and not focus on ourselves first. Everything we look to in life should begin with God. With this approach we can see God’s gracious provisions, even in the midst of tragedy. We are given a grand perspective on life and living. Painful moments will be painful; but hopefully we can still praise God. This is the wisdom Job imparts. As the KJV translates, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”

So how can we focus on God’s gracious provisions?

Sometimes it is helpful to jot down the routine events of the day, journaling the activities so we are able to reflect on even the routine events. This straightforward practice can put real perspective on our current situation. We will discover that even while tragedy may strike with things taken away, yet we still find we are given much through those difficult and rough times. Each of our journals will have unique items; but much would be similar. Most important, I hope, would be our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

This month we are in the churches liturgical time of Lent. It is the build up to Palm Sunday and then Easter. Lent is a special time where we are afforded extra opportunities to reflect on all of God’s gracious provisions as we are meeting for worship, food and fellowship weekly on Wednesdays with our ecumenical celebration. This year we have collectively (Baptist’s, Lutherans and Presbyterians) determined ourselves to focus on the topic of “Christ on Trial”.

If you are here in town I hope that you can join in the series and reflect on how blessed you are to have such a loving Saviour. God be praised!

--Rev. Johnny Rhoad

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Secret Sister Tea a Success!

On January 25, the PW group hosted its annual Secret Sister Tea for the women of the congregation.  The Tea is a time of food, fun, and fellowship with our sisters in Christ, and a time to reveal our secret sisters from the previous year.  This year's theme was "Teacups and Teapots" and the tables were decorated accordingly with a variety of teapots.  Candy welcomed the group and provided a short devotional lesson, and then everyone got into the spirit by singing "I'm a Little Teapot"!  Margaret created activity sheets to get the crowd talking, and we learned things like who was a charter member of Oahe Presbyterian, who has been a Presbyterian for more than 25 years, and who can find at least two fire extinguishers at the church!  The activity sheets were followed by two stories: a funny short lesson on tea parties, and a longer serious lesson on the Potter's hand in making a teacup.  Finally, the crowd "looked into the tea leaves" to guess their secret sister from the previous year.  When all was said and done, it was a wonderful afternoon of food, fun, and fellowship.  Many thanks to everyone who helped with or attended this year's tea!  We look forward to seeing you again next year.

*Please click on photos to view enlargements*

2008 SECRET SISTERS REVEALED

Person who drew & names drawn
 
Theoda Blewett -          Shirleen Fugitt, Sandy Nelson
Roberta Cahill -             DeNeil Taylor
Meleta DeJong -           Tena Gaer, Pat Henderson and Vicky Tipton
Kate (Divis) Nelson -    Ruth Smith, Shirley Eisnach
Cindy Droppers -           Marsha Chase and Shirley  Jamison Fergel
Shirley Eisnach -           Cleo Thelen, Marijean Petersen
Margaret Ellefson -       Renee Sears, Theoda Blewett
Shirleen Fugitt -             Marian Williams
Marcia Graves -            Meleta DeJong
KayCee Hodson -         Mary Sherman
Mary Jenner -               Peggy Bechtold and Gladys Maberry
Kay Johnson -               Peggy Meyer and Leona Kannegieter
Ruby Jorgensen -          Marilyn England, Kate Nelson
Ione Manning -              TaiLi Rhoad, Lucille Tidball
Peggy Meyer -              Kay Johnson, Mary Edwards
Kate Nelson -               Missy Slaathaug
TaiLi Rhoad -                KayCee Hodson
Millie Ricketts -             Marcia Graves
Mary Sherman -           Ione Manning, Millie Ricketts
Ruth Smith -                  Glenda Woodburn, Kate Divis, and Mary Jenner
Candy Sowers -            Roberta Cahill, Paula Vockrodt
Vicky Tipton -               Ruby Jorgensen
Glenda Woodburn -       Charlotte Hyde, Candy Sowers

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A Prayer for our Nation
---Anonymous            

Heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the dishes & laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man that can't make correct change at the store is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity.

Yes, let us be more introspective, slow to judge and quick to forgive. God may you teach us patience, empathy and love.  

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Kay Olson of Sioux Falls First Presbyterian Church will visit Pierre on May 2^nd to speak of her Global Exchange trip.

Presbyterian Women will focus on how the changing political climate of Eastern Europe has affected women, the Church and the Roma1 people by hearing the cries of our sisters and responding with compassion, working for the end of all forms of violence, advocating for the rights of women and children, supporting our global partners and allowing ourselves to be transformed by partnership experiences.

1 The Roma people are itinerant ethnic groups in Europe, previously referred to in North America as Gypsies.

Recovering from the effects of more than 70 years of communism, the people of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine are struggling to adjust to new economic, political and societal realities. The people of these countries must deal with rapid changes in education, health care, environmental issues and social equality

The churches of Eastern Europe are working to renew a sense of cooperation, mission, servant-leadership and lay involvement

Ministry to the Roma is a central mission in the region. Churches are developing faith communities for the Roma, while addressing the issues of discrimination, poverty and social separation.

Local issues

Czech Republic – Emerging from a long period in which religion has been a source of controversy and enmity, our Czech partners feel a need to move toward grace and healing. 

Hungary – The problems of migrants, refugees and the trafficking of women and children are major concerns in Hungary. Our partners there are working to support the spiritual and community life of people who have lost their homeland.

Ukraine – In Ukraine, a nation of the former Soviet Union, multiple churches are reemerging after almost 75 years of state-sponsored atheism. Our mission partners are working to encourage cooperation between denominations and to build healthy connections with sister churches abroad

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WORSHIP ASSISTANTS     March 1  Peggy Meyer March 8 Megan Vockrodt March 15 Shirley Eisnach March 22               Ken Meyer March 29 Ron Woodburn     April 5 Kate Divis Nelson April 12  (Easter) Candy Sowers April 19 Shirleen Fugitt April 26 KayCee Hodson     May 3 Paula Vockrodt May 10  (Mother’s Day) Duane Jenner May 17 Mike Fugitt May 24  (Memorial Day) John Ellefson May 31 Mary Sherman     June 7 Kate Nelson June 14  (Father’s Day) Glenda Woodburn June 21 Candy Sowers June 28 Duane Jenner     July 5 Peggy Meyer July 12 Shirley Eisnach July 19 KayCee Hodson July 26 Shirleen Fugitt

March Birthdays   DANIEL CAHILL 3/1 KELLEY BECHTOLD 3/11 RAM RHOAD 3/11 SANDRA "SANDY" NELSON 3/14 CINDY DROPPERS 3/22 HARRIET ANDREWS 3/25 VICKY TIPTON 3/27

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PRESBYTERY NEWS                

The scheduled February meeting of the Presbytery of South Dakota was postponed a week due to a fast moving late winter snow storm. 

On March 5^th Boots Johnson and Meleta DeJong traveled to Platte to attend a pre-Presbytery meeting of moderators and on March 6 Duane Jenner, Pastor Johnny Rhoad, Ken Meyer, Peggy Meyer and Mary Sherman joined Boots and Meleta and attended the Presbytery meeting. 

The major item on the POSD agenda was the vote concerning the General Assembly amendments.  See VOTE TALLY below for the results of the vote of Presbytery.

The Great Plains Wee Kirk Conference is scheduled for May 5-7 at the Holiday Inn Sioux Falls City Centre.  Registration forms are available in the church narthex.

“The purpose of this conference is to inspire, equipm, motivate, encourage, and p rovide rest and refreshment for pastors, CLP’s and leaders of small Presbyterian congregations.

On May 1, in Huron, the Congregational Transformation/Development Committee will be  hosting an ecumenical Christian conference on “Spirituality, Growth and Development.”  This event will be held at the Convention Center.  Keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, former Chaplain to the United States Senate.  His topics will include spirituality and worship in the 21^st century.

It was reported during the meeting that the Presbytery ended the year 2008 in the black.  This was due in part to the church’s support with per capita and pledge mission support.  The major factor in reducing expenses was the reduction in Presbytery staffing expenses.

A large gift of land has been donated to the Presbytery for new camp development.  The proceeds of the sale of the land are directed towards the development of a larger camp facility either on the property near Rochford , SD (Camp Pioneer) or a new location identified by the Camp Committee under the direction of the Presbytery.  Because of this gift a task force has been established to look to the future of camping in South Dakota.  At the time of this newsletter the visionary task force members includes Rev. Jennifer Swier, moderator, Rev. John Armstrong (moderator of the camping committee), Jerry Collogan, Rev. Rolly Kemink and Larry DeJong.  Others who show an interest in participating on the task force are to contact John Armstrong.

The high school youth rally will be held in Pierre on the weekend of March 13-15.

Money from the Mission Coordination Committee is available to help churches or individual families cover the cost of heating through this winter.   If in need of funding contact either Pat Hammond, moderator of the committee or Meleta DeJong.

POSD VOTE TALLY OF GA AMENDMENTS

The Presbytery voted as follows:

08-A. Vows of Membership: On Amending G-5.0200 (Item 04-02)

08-B. Ordained Officers: On Amending G-6.0106b, G-14.0240, and G-14.0450 (Item 05-09).

08-C. Replacing the Word "Sympathy" with the Word "Compassion": On Amending G-6.0202b and G-6.0401 (Item 04-01).

08-D. General Assembly Mission Council Name Change: On Amending Throughout the Book of Order (Item 08-05).

08-E. Non-Geographic Presbyteries: On Amending G-11.0102 and G-12.0102k (Item 03-07).

08-F. Presbytery Membership of Certified Christian Educators: On Amending G-11.0407 and G-14.0730 (Item 04-23).

08-G. Synod Membership on Permanent Committees: On Amending G-13.0107, G-13.0108, and G-13.0202a (Item 04-18).

08-H. Five Ordination Examinations: On Amending G-14.0431 (Item 14-01).

08-I. Certified Christian Educators: On Amending G-14.0730 (Item 04-17).

08-J. Alternative Forms of Resolution: On Amending D-2.0103 and D-10.0202h (Item 04-15).

08-K. Ecumenical Statement with the Roman Catholic Church: On Ratifying a Common Agreement on Baptism (Item 07-08

08-L. Ecumenical Statement with the Episcopal Church: On Adopting an Agreement (Item 07-11).

08-M. Ecumenical Statement with the Korean Presbyterian Church in America: On Adopting a Covenant Relationship Agreement (Item 07-04).

08-N. Ecumenical Statement with the Moravian Church: On Adopting a Covenant Partnership

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22-28 Feb. 2009   A Week of Cancer and Preventing Cancer

*Please click on photos to view enlargements*

For the past two years the African country of Malawi has held a special interest in the hearts of the Oahe P.W.   We’ve been crocheting and knitting baby caps for expectant mothers in Malawi and have focused our world mission interests in that direction.  The following article was emailed to me by Dr. H. Gene Straatmeyer who, with his wife Jean, spent time in Malawi as Presbyterian missionaries.  This article is definitely worth reading.

In November, 2008, I shared the good news that a cervical cancer screening program was being started at Ntcheu District Hospital, a large government district hospital one halfway between Blantyre and Lilongwe, the two largest cities in Malawi.  Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer in women in Malawi.  The vast majority of women with cancer come for medical help in the late stages of the disease.  Most of them have never even heard of the disease or that it can be prevented.  It is a shocking and sad task to have to not only tell them that they have cancer, but that we health professionals have no radiation or chemotherapy to try to help them fight this disease when it presents in its late stages.

On Monday of this week, as a practicing gynecologist I had the sad job of informing three women in their fifties that they had incurable cervical cancer.  First at Mulanje Mission Hospital in the morning, then at Mulanje District Hospital in the afternoon, and then in the evening at Malamulo Mission Hospital, I needed to inform these unfortunate women of their diagnoses.

But all was not discouraging news this week.  I have just come from Ntcheu Hospital where we have just performed our first cryotherapy procedure to prevent cancer in a woman 29 years old.  It was no easy task to get all the elements together in order to achieve this first cryotherapy procedure in Ntcheu District.

First money was donated by Presbyterians in the United States to purchase a cryotherapy machine from a company in the United States last year.  The machine itself was hand carried by a helpful visitor to Malawi.  A carbon dioxide gas cylinder was purchased also with donated funds from a company in Blantyre.  The medical grade CO2 gas was transported to Malawi from South Africa.  Then I took the cylinder and the cryotherapy machine to a friendly, helpful local engineering firm to see if they could find the right fittings to connect the cylinder to the machine as the American side did not fit the South African side.  The men at the engineering firm were able to find the right fittings in Mulanje, and I thought all was ready for the trip to Ntcheu.

After the three hour trip to Ntcheu with the cylinder in the back of my Toyota Venture, I took the items into the Family Planning Clinic where we were planning to have our cryotherapy session.  Alas, somehow the two parts would not fight together correctly and the gas was leaking into the air instead of going into the tubing.  The friendly plumber at Ntcheu told me I needed “thread tape.”  I didn’t know what “thread tape” was, but I took his word that that was what was needed.  I took off in the Venture to downtown Ntcheu looking for hardware stores.  Sure enough, the young lady at “H and H Hardware” did not even blink an eye when I asked for “thread tape.”  She said, “That will be 40 Kwachas.”  This is about 35 cents.  So I said I would take two.

Back at the hospital the plumber was able to connect the machine to the cylinder correctly.  The gauge on the cylinder showed that the gas was at the right pressure, and all was in readiness for performing cryotherapy.  And so, as the nurses were watching I was able to do the 11 minute procedure which will definitively prevent our first patient from ever getting cancer.  In the future I hope to train the nurses themselves to be able to perform cryotherapy.  These are the same nurses who already have been trained how to visually inspect the cervix with vinegar to look for pre-cancerous changes. 

When I was in medical school and in training to become an obstetrician/gynecologist I had no idea that I would need “thread tape” and friendly plumbers to help me do my job.  Thanks to an exciting job as a medical missionary in Africa, I have had my horizons broadened and expanded.

*Please click on photos to view enlargements*

God’s love is an amazing and awesome wonder.  He brings people into our lives for his good works and for his reasons.   Some we meet for a moment while others will become lifelong friends.  All are welcomed as a sign of God’s love to us.

This past month eighteen individuals from South Dakota traveled to the Bolivar Peninsula at the request of an ex South Dakotan. 

Because Galveston Island is so well-known and the beach homes were primarily owned by wealthy individuals, Galveston received assistance almost immediately following the devastation of Hurricane Ike.

Dr. Gene and Mrs. Jean Straatmeyer

Presbyterians from Britton (Rev. Terry Sletto, Maurice Jones, Ed Jerde, Beverly Seidel, and Virgil and Sharon Menning), Mitchell (Rev. Don Reynen), Onida (Rev. Rolly Kemink, Zach Kemink, Luke Van Winsen, Lyle Sutton, Kenny Barber, Brock Aspelin and Bob and Doris Donner Porter) and Pierre (Duane Jenner and Larry and Meleta DeJong) met in High Island, Texas where the group would make their home for the week at the First Methodist Church. 

The South Dakota work crew

We took a break on Thursday afternoon to travel to Point Bolivar, hop the ferry and float on over to Galveston Island where we toured the First Presbyterian Church, wandered the previously flooded strand area and met the Straatmeyers for dinner.

And when at last the week was ended and the group was ready to make our departure back to the land of the cold we met at the ferry early Sunday morning and headed to Galveston Island to attend the Presbyterian worship service [currently being held at the Moody Methodist Church].   After church the crew said their farewells turned their vehicles towards home.

As with New Orleans, we didn’t make a dent in the re-construction but, hopefully, we healed a heart or two of the residents that still remain in what is currently a very forsaken strip of land.  A strip of land covered with

sand and debris and broken homes and hearts.  God be with the residents as they attempt to rebuild their lives.