- Walnut Hill Bible Church

Church
MESSENGER
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2014 NEWSLETTER
www.walnuthillbible.com
Well Done, Walnut Hill!
Last month we once again joined together our gifts and talents and completed our 8th annual immersive dinner theater outreach, the Buzz in Bethlehem. Through this event we welcomed 780 guests and
gave them an authentic experience of the sights, sounds, tastes and times of Bethlehem in the days of
Jesus' birth. Our prayer for our guests has been that God would use this outreach as a tool to
"encourage the saved and save the lost" and based on the response received from those who came we
feel our prayers have been answered. Praise the Lord!
The Buzz has gained a reputation over the years as a high-quality production which truly immerses it's
guests in the culture. This has not come without GREAT effort and support from many at Walnut
Hill. This year's event assembled a small army of 150 volunteers, all but two from WHBC, who gave up
their time to serve the
Lord. Many who came to
Well Done continued . . .
serve our guests entered with the intention of being a blessing to
someone else through their service but left being blessed themselves
for their service to the Lord. Thank you to all who helped make
this year's outreach run as smoothly as it did. To the praise of
His glory!
And I must say that Expeditions Unlimited continues to be the most
gracious and helpful hosts imaginable. They care about this event
and how it reaches our guests. They're the ones who stand in the
cold and park cars each night, who make sure that the grounds are
safe and snow plowed, who light the paths to beautify the trek to
Bethlehem, who make sure the furnaces are running properly so that
we have heat... and on and on and on. The Expeditions Unlimited
crew plays a huge role in this event and I couldn't ask for a better
crew to work with.
Again, well done, Church! Thank
you for your prayers and support.
Walnut Hill Bible Church
1900 East Street
Baraboo, WI 53913
608-356-3111
[email protected]
www.walnuthillbible.com
Church office is open Monday through
Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Senior Pastor
David M. Hutchens
356-3111 ext. 102
[email protected]
Associate Pastors
Dan Gunderson
355-3111 ext. 104
[email protected]
Jim Wright
356-3111 ext. 103
[email protected]
Continue in Him!
Tyson
Coordinator of Worship & The Arts
Tyson Suemnicht is the Coordinator of
Worship & The Arts at Walnut Hill Bible
Church. He can be reached at 356-3111
or [email protected]
Tyson Suemnicht
356-3111 ext. 106
[email protected]
Youth Director
SAVE
THE
DATES!
MIRROR LAKE CAMPOUTS
Men’s — May 2-4
Women’s — May 16-18
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (VBS) June 23—27 (evenings)
We collected 328 shoeboxes from the Walnut Hill family
and 1,771 boxes from our area during the national collection week. Our region (southeast WI) collected over
12,000 shoeboxes. We set records in both our region
and nationwide with over 7.5 million shoeboxes donated
in 2013. This year the shoeboxes collected from our
region will be traveling to Madagascar, Zambia, Kenya
and India.
A huge thank you to the 30 individuals who volunteered their time during the national collection week for Operation Christmas Child. Your efforts and commitment was
amazing. God Bless you and your service, Tracy Pelland.
Nathan Sundsmo
608.963.7020 cell
[email protected]
Children’s Ministries Coordinator
Mary Hackbarth
608.963.1381 cell
[email protected]
Office Administrators
Patti Beach
[email protected]
Anne Hutchens
[email protected]
Facilities Maintenance
Brenda David, Custodian
Fred Kolmorgen, Building Repairs
Missions Update
Babies, Babies!!!
Welcome to the
twins! R&N R
The Bryants. . .
Kelly, Sarah, and baby Jemimah visited the weekend before Christmas.
They are entering their final semester of training with “To Every Tribe” and
will be graduating in the spring. They will then begin raising support as full
time missionaries in preparation to go to Papua, New Guinea as church
planters. They are currently living in south Texas while they go to school and
participate in short-term work in Mexico as part of their training. Please lift this
family up in prayer. Also there will be significant needs for support and it
would be extremely helpful for them to be able to take a short-term trip to
PNG prior to them moving full time as Sarah has never been there and would
find it helpful to know how to plan and prepare and also prepare to raise a
baby there. www.bryantstotheunreached.com
Meet the Wilkoszes. . .
At the quarterly business meeting, Walnut
Hill voted to accept Joshua and Johanna
Wilkosz as full time missionaries from the
church. As the home church for Johanna
and Josh, we are excited to partner with
them as they work with another one of the
ministries
and
missionary
families,
Expeditions Unlimited and Steve and Lynn
Higgins. “Expeditions Unlimited exists to
impact the lives of youth and adults
through the use of God’s creation and
outdoor adventure experiences,” and the
“main goal is to create an atmosphere where teachable moments can be
used to change lives” [www.expeditionsunlimited.com/mission]. While they
will also have responsibilities as guides serving ‘intact’ groups and other
camp duties, Wilkoszes have been brought on staff with a unique mission.
They are starting and working with two new programs that will disciple and
mentor groups for longer time periods.
The high school “Sherpa” program runs for
three months during the summer. The
students volunteer to serve by taking care
of the basic needs of the camp. This builds
a service ethic, allows the Sherpas to
shadow the guides, learn a wide variety of
skills, have directed Bible studies and daily
devotions, and one-to-one mentorships.
Joshua and Johanna worked with the first
group of Sherpas this past summer before they came on as permanent staff.
Applications for the programs are accepted through Expeditions Unlimited
starting in January for the summer session. The program is for students
entering 9th through 12th grade and has limited space in order to provide
individual guidance, discipleship and accountability.
The college age “Compass” program will be starting Fall of 2014 and run for
nine months with an optional 3-month internship at the end. It is a ‘gap year’
program designed to ground faith, explore vocational options, gain
and their three
children
welcome two
more wonderful
little boys. Reed
and Isaac were born early, healthy, and
happy on November 24, and in a hurry to
get here, almost 7 weeks early. They were
both just over 5 pounds and are sure to
keep everyone hopping for a while. The
family made the unplanned trip back to
the states from M’zam’bq at the end of
October, having only found out there
were twins coming in September after a
lengthy 4-wheel drive trek to the doctor
and urban facilities. They hope to return
in about March to their work in their
remote village, but will need a 4-wheel
drive vehicle that will fit a family of seven
plus supplies. Grocery trips are six hours
one way, four of which are on tracked dirt
roads. Pray as they will also need to
increase their support level to
accommodate seven family members.
Jonathan and
Nicole
DeJongh and
big brother
Noah welcome
Quinten, born on December 24. Jonathan
continues to teach aviation at Moody in
Washington state. Pray for them as they
get to know this new little one. Pray also
for Nicole’s outreach and Noah’s
adjustment to being the big brother.
And, a mama in waiting. . . Pray for
VonRuedens as they await the arrival of
their first child (And for Ken and Judy Boll
as they patiently await this grandchild.)
A&BG. . .
Wilkoszes continued. . .
experiences, and like a compass, find direction. There may be opportunities to
job shadow a wide variety of Christian and secular work, serve in different
settings, learn outdoor skills, go on missions trip(s), study, and learn what they
really find joy in doing… and what God has designed in them as talents and
passions. The applications for this program are also available through
Expeditions Unlimited, and they are accepting applications for the start of the fall
program, September 2014. The program is for post-high school students.
Please pray for Joshua and Johanna as they prepare for the students to come,
that they would be in tune with God’s heart as they go through the applications.
Pray also as they raise support as new missionaries. Join them for a potluck on
February 16 at WHBC to find out more, encourage them and be encouraged!
http://www.expeditionsunlimited.com/
Ministering among refugees and
expats in the Milwaukee area.
They report “We had a great party
with our teachers and students this
week. Everyone brought deserts,
some spicier than others (Nepali
pepper sauce). We were able to
sing some Christmas carols at the
beginning. A friend was able to
share the Christmas story with
Hypkis. . .
about 30 students. Some aspects of
Pete and Liesl helped with a dental clinic
in their village. They also shared their
thankfulness for the support and
encouragement of WHBC as we stand
with them.
“This will be our fourth
Christmas in Mexico, and our first alone our partners are spending Christmas with
family. Yet in a sense, we will not be
alone, because despite the fact that our neighbors do not celebrate Christmas,
we share the story with all who ask about the Christmas tree in our living room,
and invite our neighbors to decorate cookies and make popcorn garlands for the
tree. I love to answer when asked why there is a star on top of the tree. My
answer starts with “Utikitáh ni sital” - “We saw His star” - and builds from there.
Spiritually, this is still a very dark place, but that treetop star in our living room
shines bright.” They are due to come back for a furlough in October of 2014
following the next rainy season. Please keep this precious couple in your
prayers… Safety, light in the darkness, friendships for God’s sake, language
learning, the well, opportunities and the wisdom to
see things God’s way, and teamwork.
the story were a surprise to the
This was actually the third dental clinic in our
village that we have taken part in. Over the
course of four days, we were able to see 107
patients, even setting a new "record" of seeing 38
patients in one day. We were able to provide
composite and amalgam fillings, root canals, tooth
pullings, ultrasonic cleanings, and of course,
toothbrushes and toothpaste for everyone.
Clinics like this go a long way to building trust in the community. Promises are
frequently made and broken to indigenous communities here in our region. When
we bring in dentists, and fulfill our promises to do so, it shows the people that we
do what we say, and we hope that in some small way it will one day help them
trust in a God who always does what He says.
This year, a mother and her new teenage children walked five hours from a
village we had never heard of to receive dental care. Despite their late arrival, the
dentists worked two hours past our normal closing time to provide them with the
care they dearly needed. They spent the night in the village, and before they
walked home, we were even able to provide them with some blankets for the cold
winter.
audience as they had heard differently according to Islam. I was able
to share a bit afterwards as well
about traditions. Some of our
teachers and their families knitted
about 40 scarves and hats that
were handed out as well as some
toys for the children. Overall it was
a great event and brought in a few
more
volunteers
from
other
churches for the first time. Most of
the evening was simply teachers
and students mingling and talking.
I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will
keep working as a result of these
conversations and the presentation.
During the sharing several of the
Muslim students took exception to
what we were saying and we
stopped the Q/A session a little
earlier than I had wanted to before
a debate started.” Pray for the ears
to hear and eyes to see, and that as
they hear things again for the first
time that God would be glorified.
Challenges are often opportunities
disguised.
Hypkis continued. . .
Unfortunately, we weren't able to reach all the
people who needed dental care. At the end of
the week, there were still 20 people on the list,
but there just wasn't time to see them all. That
happens every year, and reminds us of the
constant need for dental care. It also reminds
us that as much as we see the physical need
of those people, we know their spiritual needs are far greater - needs that we're
more and more capable of meeting as we hope to test out of language study in April
and begin translating Bible lessons into the local language (our coworker Rachel
just began translating the Bible itself into this language, too!).
Ed and Jean . . .
Church Business
Meeting
February 23
6:00 p.m.
We are planning an
all-church potluck prior to this business
meeting.
More details to follow.
Pioneer Christian Hospital will soon have a radio station. Ed will travel to the Congo
in early January to get things started and
then return later after the shipping
container arrives with more of the
equipment. This is a long-term prayer
for this area and it comes with a special
request that people would donate so
they could buy hundreds of sonset fixedtune radios to give to people in the area
of the radio station. Please consider this
opportunity and as usual, keep praying to
keep them safe and walking in the center of His will, wherever in the world they are.
If you would like to help us send ‘portable missionaries’ to the Congo, please send a
gift of any amount to:
HCJB Global Tech Ctr
2830 17th Street
Elkhart, IN 46517-4008
The check should include Acct. # 661198 – Congo Radios in the memo section.
Questions? Call 574-970-4252.
WILLIAM (LIAM) DANIEL
HUTCHENS
Missionary Potluck
Fellowship
February 16
12:45 p.m.
We are planning an
all-church potluck for
Joshua & Johanna
Wilkosz
Mark your calendars.
Welcome to
Born December 21 to parents
Grace Joy Ann Bauer
Clint & Jessie Hutchens.
Born November 17 to
Grandparents Steve & Lynn
proud parents
Higgins and Pastor Dave &
Anne Hutchens.
Nathan & Anna Bauer
Silver Saints
Testimony by Mindy Bueno
In August, Mindy Bueno was our guest
speaker. Mindy was born in Eau Claire, WI,
but mainly raised in Baraboo. She was
baptized when she was 7 years old. She is a
member and has been involved at Walnut
Hill Bible Church for most of her life. She
states that Church has been a big source of
her confidence.
Mindy was born with Spina Bifida and
Hydrocephalus (water on the brain) that has
made many things in her life very
challenging. School was a struggle for her;
math being the most difficult. With her
diagnosis, she missed a lot of school due to
many surgeries. She graduated from high
school in 2005 and from Baraboo University
in 2009 with an AAS. She says she had
great teachers to help her through. Mindy
also spent a year at UW-Whitewater trying
to get into the early education program.
Mindy is currently working at the T.N.
Savides Library at Boo-U. She has been
there for about 10 months now, and prays to
officially get hired by the school someday.
She is also involved in various agencies in
Sauk County that work on putting things in
place, so that she can be independent. Mindy
has someone who helps her with shopping,
and run other errands once a week. Since
she is unable to drive, push a shopping cart
while wheeling her wheelchair. She is
currently working on getting a new
wheelchair, and also contemplating on
moving out of her parents’ home.
Mindy has a love for food and cooking; as
she stated, she is “definitely a foodie” as
evidence by her “Food Network Magazine
subscription. She typically goes for meals
that can be easily adapted to one person or
something that people would be willing to
bust their diet for, just for the day. She also
loves music in various ways. She is very
much a country music fan, but she also
listens to Christian music (old and new).
Mindy’s family is full of artists, and she is
no exception. She loves origami, folding
animals, flat and 3D shapes, flowers, and
even some trinket boxes and picture frames.
Mindy also has a love for reading stating
her favorite book of the Bible is Job. She
said the book of Job has helped her through
some difficult situations. She also enjoys
the many stories about healing the sick,
blind, and lame. Stories like that remind her
that she may not have full healing of her
disabilities in her lifetime, but she knows all
those problems will be gone in Heaven. For
now, she uses her disabilities as a teaching
point.
Mindy has been going to Camp Wawbeek
since she was 7. When she started going she
realized she was finally one of the “cool
kids.” Camp was another great resource for
her confidence, making it easier for her to
open up to people. It was at camp that she
gained interest in sign language, and learned
how to do basic signs and finger spelling.
She was able to help counselors
communicate with their campers. Mindy
helped in other ways at camp like writing
letters, opening soda cans, or working on
crafts. It was also at camp that she learned
that she wasn’t the only one with aches and
pains throughout her body. She met others
who were going through the same
experiences as she was.
Mindy is currently looking for someone to
help transport her to and from swimming,
and possible even be her swimming buddy.
She was going to the pool at the middle
school for exercise and looks forward to
being able to go again.
Mindy has a huge heart for helping
others as noted in her testimony. She is
looking for God to open doors to a
ministry she can do.
Happy Birthday
Happy Anniversary
January
1 Tami Bredeson
1 Jessica Hutchens
1 Joyce Klinkosh
1 Jared Stuckey
1 Joshua Tomlinson
3 Bob Hunley
3 Caleb Saiia
4 Leah Johnson
4 Jayna Mendoza
4 Matthew Riedle
5 Lisa Hartley
5 Julia Nelson
5 Kortney Traxler
6 Kate Hackbarth
6 Linde Van Slyke
7 Linda Buhr
7 Steve Hackbarth
7 Naomi Tomlinson
8 Stevy Held
8 Nathan Sorenson
9 Steve Bare
9 Matthew Lane
9 Amanda Sweeney
10 Ryan Gehin
10 Evangeline Johnson
10 Becky Wilkosz
11 Malachi Dyer
11 Nicholas Holmes
11 Anne Hutchens
11 Karen Kimball
11 Elliot Sweeney
13 Erika Leatherberry
14 Madison Bishop
14 Cheryl Fischer
14 Fred Kolmorgen
14 Jon Stock
14 David Wagner
15 Brayton Hackbarth
16 Gail Bird
16 Anna Cook
17 Noah Nofsinger
18 Anna Bauer
18 Clay Disney
18 Sue Silverthorn
18 Lorie Vesterdahl
19 Emily Kieck
19 Keegan Moore
20 Genevieve Hines
21
21
21
21
21
23
23
23
24
25
25
25
26
26
26
27
27
28
29
29
29
29
31
Elyse Dyer
Beth Frostman
Olivia Helm
Micah Kingsley
Jill Reasa
Amber Davis
Gary Nelson
Penny Wilkosz
Lou Luetkens
Adam Considine
Isaac Pelland
Dale Suemnicht
Ross Gurske
Frank Marshall
Wade Shaw
Mary Hackbarth
Carrie Martin
Logan Rabata
Josiah Hoege
Tonja Myers
Mark Rabata
Marilyn Tucker
Joy Lumsden
February
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
Cameron Greenwood
Wayne Luther
Valerie Leaver
Bill Lumsden
Sandy Stettin
Serenity Hanusa
Micah Williams
Isaiah Hoege
Riley Kruse
Mario Peguero
Kara Traxler
Kayla Traxler
Tyra Kamla
Nile Pelland
Carson Blosenski
Ross Curry
James Klobuchar
Nash Brickl
Selene Hermsen
Aaron Kamla
Claire Bicknell
Elsa Nielsen
Carl Cady
9 Sarah Pechan
9 Tim Reasa
10 Larry Smith
10 Dolores Strohbeen
12 Trevor Hines
13 Rebekah Nofsinger
13 Chad Silverthorn
14 Steve Senger
14 Willie
VandenLangenberg
16 Diane Finger
18 Renee Holley
18 Denise Wenzel
19 Jonathan Hawkins
19 Krista Kolmorgen
19 Stacey Mortimer
20 Jim Lombard
20 Lukas Schulz
20 Janice Smith
21 Debbie Paape
21 Lyle Weeks
21 Bill Wenzel
22 Joan Francois
23 Mark Brandel
23 Pat Dunse
23 Ann Dyer
23 Clara Gunderson
23 Dale Maher
24 Grace Deering
24 Gabrielle Holmes
25 Scott Frostman
25 Dick Holley
26 Nicholas Tsanakas
27 John Blessinger
28 Kurt Hanusa
January
1
Bob & Lisa Brandhagen
8
Tim & Chris Brinks
12 Tyson & Heather
Suemnicht
19 Jason & Julie Lane
February
4
Randy & Vicki Matula
6
Jack & Michelle Davis
7
Bob & Lin Gorsline
10 Scott & Kori Griffin
14 John & Marie Bonham
16 Don & Tracy Pleau
22 Nathan & Kristin
Considine
23 Zeke & Sandy Bauer
25 Eric & Liz Bebber
25 Jerry & Cheryl Norman
27 Shawn & Kristin
Hermsen
28 John & Susan Fletcher
30 Ed & Jean Muehlfelt
WHBC SCHOLARSHIP
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE
Walnut Hill provides scholarships
to students who are members (or
in the process of becoming a
member) and are planning to attend a Christian college. Scholarship application packets for the
Fall 2014 semester are available in
the church office. All forms and
reference letters need to be submitted to the Scholarship Committee no later than March 31. If
you have any questions, please
contact Bergene Cowan.
Upcoming Events
MEN’S MINISTRY
JANUARY 18
ICE-FISHING DAY AT
YOUTH MINISTRY
Fort Wilderness Youth Retreat
February 14—16
In February the WHBC youth go to Fort Wilderness for our annual youth retreat.
Students have an opportunity to experience great cross country skiing, horseback riding, tubing, ice skating, broomball and most importantly making snow
ice cream with Michael Lane (one of the biggest attractions for the WHBC youth)
The retreat is February 14-16 for students
6th through 12th
grade are invited to
come. The retreat is
always a great time
for fun, fellowship,
and most importantly
spiritual growth.
Space is limited so
sign up fast. All forms and information are available on the WHBC website under
the Youth page. Contact Nathan Sundsmo at [email protected] with questions.
Women’s Ministry
LADIES NIGHT OUT-REACH
MIRROR LAKE
Come for
fellowship, fishing
and a hot chili
lunch. This annual
event if free. No
fishing license,
fishing experience
or fishing gear is
required; we have it all! Signup at
www.walnuthillbible.com or just
show up. Meet at the beach at the
Mirror Lake Campground at 9am.
Dress warm and bring a friend and/
or family. Contact Robb Traxler
393-7497 if you have any questions.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1
NO REGRETS CONFERENCE
The cost for this event is $35 and
a bus is provided for transporta-
Friday, January 17 — Craft Night
tion to Elmbrook Church in Illinois.
Come join the fun at 6:30 p.m. where you can
make three different crafts: jewelry, decorative
votives and cards. Invite your friends, get
connected and come have some fun! This
event is free but please RSVP to Ginger Helm
at 415-3641 or [email protected].
Please complete the registration
Friday, February 21 — Game Night
Mark your calendars for our February event,
“Bunco & Taco's.” Come join the fun!
form online at
www.walnuthillbible.com or the sig-
nup sheet in the church foyer.
The No Regrets Men's Conference is
an annual event, started in 1994, designed to create an environment for
men to be challenged in their relationship with the Lord at home, in the
G.R.O.W. (GOD RENEWING OUR WOMEN)
Saturday, January 11 — 9 to 10:30am
Come fellowship with the women of Walnut Hill sharing God’s Word along
with refreshments. For more information contact Sara Riedle at 8476152.
workplace, and in their ministry
www.menwithnoregrets.org
Contact Matt Pelland at
[email protected] or 963-1943
with any questions.