Church Visits - Great Cities Missions

Volume 1
Issue 12
January
2013
In This Issue:
Church Visits ................................ 1
Key Dates ..................................... 1
La Paz Mission Team (pic).......... 2
Katie’s Corner.............................. 2
Sponsoring Church Workshop... 2
Thought for the Month ............... 3
Reese and Ellie (pic)................... 3
Key Dates to Remember:
January 13
Snellville Church of Christ Visit
January 20
Central Church of Christ Visit
January 24
Depart for La Paz, Bolivia
Page
1
Church Visits
By the time we leave for La Paz on January 24th, we plan to have
visited each of our supporting congregations. If everything goes
as scheduled, we will complete these visits by January 20th. We
have visited churches in Georgia, in South Carolina, and in Florida
and we have truly enjoyed spending time with each of these
congregations. We are blessed to have the support of each of
these congregations and their members. Every issue of our newsletter includes the names and addresses of the congregations
that support us on a monthly basis. But there are also additional
churches who have been and continue to be very generous to
us. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize each of these
congregations. If you are a member of one of these churches,
you can be proud to know that you are a member of a church
body that is deeply committed to the Great Commission. These
churches are: Central Church of Christ in Spartanburg, South Carolina; Piedmont Road Church of Christ in Marietta, Georgia; Snellville Church of Christ in Snellville, Georgia; Crawford-Lexington
Church of Christ in Crawford, Georgia; Port Orange Church of
Christ in Port Orange, Florida; and Williston Church of Christ in Williston, South Carolina. The generosity shown to our family by each
of these congregations has and will continue to be a blessing to
us. This ministry and the work in La Paz, Bolivia could not be possible without your help. It has been an honor and a privilege for our
family to have had the opportunity to spend time with our supporting churches during the months prior to our departure for the
mission field. You are an encouragement to us and we value the critical role you have in this ministry.
Thank you for your prayers and for
what you do for our
family.
Sponsoring Church
Workshop
La Paz Mission
Team
(minus Damira)
Katie’s
Corner
2012 has been a very exciting year for our family. We have lived in
three cities, five different apartments and spent time in six countries.
Our family was given the opportunity to meet hundreds of people from
countless cities across North and South America. We are forever
changed from the experiences 2012 brought to us.
Throughout the year we had our ups and downs as a family, good days
and not-so-good days. But, overall, it was a great year! One of the
most significant things I will take from this year is the reassurance that
God is in control. He has taken care of our every need each step of the
way during our journeys of 2012. There were days when we wondered,
“where will we live?” or “where will the children go to school?” or “how
will we pay for that?” This list goes on and on, but we were ALWAYS taken care of. Always. God continuously led us to the right places, sent
great people into our lives, and provided for us financially.
What does 2013 have in store for the Brooks family? I am very excited to
find out. I can only imagine the people we will meet, the places we will
see, and the experiences we will have. I would not be telling the truth if
I told you I am not a little nervous. After all, we are moving to a foreign
country in about three weeks! Please pray for our family as we transition
to our new home in La Paz.
In many parts of Latin America the people say “Chau” instead of
“Adios.” They do this because chau is much less permanent than adios.
So, in our family we have adopted this concept and prefer to say “See
you soon” as opposed to “goodbye.”
So, to all of our stateside friends and family, “Chau, and we will see you
all soon!”
In Him,
Katie
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2
On Saturday, December
8th in Spartanburg, South
Carolina the La Paz Mission Team held a Sponsoring Church Workshop.
Among those in attendance were leaders of the
sponsoring churches of
each of the three couples
on our mission team. We
were also excited to have
one of our new teammates, Luis Garcia (who
flew in from Honduras),
and a representative from
his sponsoring church in
attendance. The workshop provided the unique
opportunity for leaders
from
our
sponsoring
churches to meet each
other and begin building
relationships that will be
very important as our
team begins the work in
La Paz. One of the highlights of the workshop was
a session called “Mutual
Expectations.” During this
session, the missionaries
and
our
respective
churches were given the
opportunity to share what
we can expect from each
other and what can be
expected from both sides
as we work together to
share the Gospel in La
Paz. It was a great day,
both for our team and our
sponsoring churches.
Thought for
The Month
In the first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul says the following to his young
friend: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). Over the past several weeks,
Katie and I have been spending our time preparing to depart for Bolivia. Much of that preparation has included spending time with our
parents, with our siblings, and also with our extended family members.
For Katie and me, our grandparents have always played significant
roles in our lives. Although our grandfathers are no longer with us, I still
have one grandmother and Katie has two. It was a privilege for both
of us to see each of our grandmothers during the month of December. As we visited with our grandmothers I remembered those words
Paul wrote to Timothy. The four grandmothers who each had a profound influence on our lives have also been tremendous blessings to
us. It is because of the faith of each of these women that Katie and I
have a faith that “now lives in [us] also.” So this month Katie and I
want to say thank you to each of our grandmothers, both living and
deceased—Lula Brooks, Carole Jessup, Peggy Kimberly, and Katie
Smith. It is because of you and your sincere faith that our families have
stayed faithful. Thank you for all you have done. We love you all!
llie
nd E s on
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Rees the light
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enjo
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the C
Supporting Churches:
Central Church of Christ
2052 North Church Street Place
Spartanburg, SC 29303
Reese and Ellie with
Papa and Grammy
Piedmont Road Church of Christ
1630 Piedmont Road
Marietta, GA 30066
Snellville Church of Christ
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3
3025 Lenora Church Road
Brad, Katie, Reese and Ellie Brooks
www.brooksmissions.com
Snellville, GA 30078