Rock News: Prayer Guide for the Guatemala Mission Team’s Trip

November 2021 – The Rock Guatemala Mission Team Prayer List

As the date for our trip arrives quickly, we have had many things to be grateful for and many things that we should continue to pray for. There is power in prayer and it would mean a great deal to our team if you could join us in this mission through prayer. We appreciate your time and blessings towards us, our mission, and the people of Guatemala.

General Prayer Requests:

  • Prepared hearts, ones that are ready to serve and share Christ’s love as well as endure a new culture and surroundings.
  • Safe travels, to and from Guatemala, as well as in country transportation.
  • A bridge between the language barrier, that we may learn new ways of communication to be able to connect with and meet new people.
  • Please pray for our families back home.
  • Team chemistry, please pray for our team as we are composed of a variety of persons. Pray that we encourage and grow with one another on this trip.
  • Good sleep and good health and no COVID!

 

Specific Daily Prayers:

Sunday, November 21 – Safe travel, smooth connections with flights, passing through customs with our supplies without difficulties, guard over our van and driver as we are transported to Amatitlan, early bonding of the team, bless our fellowship with fellow believers as we worship at Santa Cruz church, pray for the 5 confirmands and 1 baptism which will take place at that service

Monday, November 22 – Bless our Vacation Bible School program, our teen ministry, and ladies ministry over the next 4 days. Renew relationships that have started on previous trips.

Tuesday, November 23 – Continue praying for our ministry efforts. Pray for meaningful relationships for everyone we come into contact with today. Pray for blessings for Dr. Elry, Liz, and Samy and the mission and ministry of Santa Cruz.

Wednesday, November 24 – Keep the team healthy and full of energy from the spirit to continue our work today. God’s presence with our team dynamics. Please pray for the Guatemalans—bless them and their families.

Thursday, November 25 – Give us great joy in our last day of VBS, teen, and women’s ministry. Make us aware of any ways that The Rock might continue efficient work here to the glory of God and the furthering of His kingdom.

Friday, November 26 – Please give us safe travel to/from the volcano we plan to hike today with the teens from Amatitlan. Bless our time together and relationships as we experience God’s beauty of Guatemala. Bless our evening of fellowship with the teens during our devotion and bonfire.

Saturday, November 27 – Please give us safe travel to Antigua where the team can experience some of the beauty, history and culture of Guatemala. Give us great joy in our new relationships and experiences as a team. Bless debriefing time and allow Your spirit to fill us with new goals to serve You upon our return home. Please grant us negative COVID tests so we can return to the United States tomorrow.

Sunday, November 28 – Bless our travel home and reorientation into our busy, materialistic society. Renew the faith of all members of our team and prepare them to share the great work we were able to see God doing this week.

We are so very grateful for your prayer support and pray for God’s blessings on all of you as well in whatever mission field you are in at the moment!

 

Rock News

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Pastor Appreciation should be more than just a designated event on the calendar but an encouragement to him in service to God and the Church. How can you participate?

  • Pray for your pastor daily. 
  • Creatively communicate words of encouragement to your pastor for his service to God and the Church with a card. 
  • Take special care to listen and respond to your pastor’s sermons.
  • Team up with your local Christian bookstore to recognize and honor your pastor by giving a gift card to purchase a book or other special items.
  • Send a Pastor Appreciation gift basket which includes thoughtful gifts for your pastor’s kids and your pastor’s wife.
  • Be aware of the unique needs of the pastor’s children by providing financial help for camp, youth group retreats or missionary trips.
  • Invite them to a dinner or party with your family and friends

This only scratches the surface of what you can do to show your appreciation to pastor and his family for their service to God, Forever Family at The Rock, and community.


Faith Graphic T-shirt Fundraiser

Share your faith with these high-quality, soft Christian graphic tees. There is a Thanksgiving, Christmas, The Rock, and any day of the year designs in multiple colors for youth and adults! These would also make excellent Christmas gifts! Orders due October 17th and will be available for pick up at Sports Express or The Rock after October 29th. Shipping is available for out of town customers! Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards The Rock Lutheran Church youth who are attending the National Youth Gathering in Houston next summer. Thank you for your support!

The Rock Online Store


The Skit Guys, whose videos we often enjoy as part of our Sunday service and who have been at many National Youth Gatherings, will be performing at CUNE on Wednesday, October 13 at 7pm. The tickets are free, but you do need to get a ticket so they can plan seating. If you’d like to go, you can get your FREE ticket at skitguysatcune.eventbrite.com


Entrance sign installation update: The installers of the new entry sign ran into some unexpected complications in attempting to hang it on the south main entrance façade.  The need for special parts and tools have delayed but not cancelled plans for the installation.  The new target is an installation sometime in October.


The Immanuel (Middle Creek) Lutheran Soup Supper is back!  Join Immanuel Sunday, October 10 from 4:00 – 8:00.  A free will donation gets you soup, a sandwich, a slice of pie, and a drink.  They will throw in the amazing fellowship for free!  Hand crafted items and baked goods will be available for purchase.  7 miles east of Seward on Highway 34.  You won’t want to miss this kick-off to the fall season.


The GivePlus app is being phased out, but not until the end of the year. We still encourage you to consider setting up giving on the Vanco website–your login information from the app should also work on the website. Enjoy the convenience of making credit or debit card donations as a guest user, or create an account to set up recurring donations and view your giving history.

Click here to visit The Rock’s Vanco giving website for one-time and recurring donations. The Rock’s Mission Fund covers our day-to-day mission and ministry expenses.  Special projects is the place to make your additional gifts to help with expenses like our building fund, outreach fund, children’s ministry, Comfort Dog ministry, etc. Contact info@therockseward.org for more information.


The Rock has the opportunity to reschedule our Guatemala Mission trip for Thanksgiving week. If you have a current passport AND love kids OR speak Spanish OR have musical talent OR can mentor teenage boys AND want to go to Guatemala over Thanksgiving, please contact Pastor Mike or Jen Janousek ASAP.


Building Fund Gifts: Total expenses for The Rock’s building improvements and recent outdoor sign and shed additions are in the $20,000 range.  In you are moved to consider an additional gift to cover some of these expenses, please designate your gift to “Building Fund” by including a note or writing on the memo line of your check.


YogaFaith News:  Join Erika Rolf (RYT-200) or Sara Moll (RYT-200) for Christian YogaFaith classes at The Rock!  Class offerings are as follows:  All Level YogaFaith is on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 5:30 p.m.; Restorative YogaFaith every Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.; Flow and Go is offered twice a month on Saturday mornings from 8:00-8:45 a.m.;  and a 15-minute Sonrise YogaFaith class focuses on stretching, prayer and God’s word. Please see their Facebook page for a full calendar and more information.  https://www.facebook.com/YogaFaith-Seward-256010628294784/


Our October item for the Blue Valley food pantry is rice. The collection box is in the Rock Cafe. Thanks for being a blessing to the community in this way! You can see our Blue Valley Pantry item schedule on our website



Our Website | http://www.therockseward.org/

Giving while at home | http://www.therockseward.org/giving-at-the-rock/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQd1aldKGg-JO-sjPtgjebw

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/therockseward 

Contact Us | info@therockseward.org

Prayer Requests | prayers@therockseward.org

Mail | PO Box 199, Seward, NE 68434

Prayer requests are received by our prayer warriors, as well as Pastor Mike Meyer. If you would like them kept confidential and not included in public prayers on Sundays, just let us know in your email.

 

Rock News: 7/13

Join us for in-person worship (with certain limitations in place).  Click here to “make your reservation” by noon on Friday, July 17 and let us know how many people we can expect. (We are limited to 50% capacity, so your help in providing exact numbers of those who will attend is appreciated.) To read the full policy about returning to in-person worship, click on this link to our website

We will continue to provide livestream options on Facebook and YouTube for those who need to or prefer to worship from home at this time.


 

You and your family can access the materials for the BOLT Vacation Bible School program by clicking on this link: https://www.gocurriculum.com/bolt-family-portal and entering the password LETSBOLT to get access. Find a parent guide, videos, song playlist, and info on games and crafts.


 

Our July item for the Blue Valley food pantry is canned meat (anything but tuna–we collect that in December). The collection box is in the Rock Cafe.  


 

Emmi Moll is hosting a virtual art show on Facebook with proceeds to support the Guatemala Mission Team. The sale will start on Monday, July 13 at 6pm, but you can check out the pieces ahead of time by visiting the event on Facebook. Here is a link to the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/196087108510571/ . You can also look it up on Facebook under the name “Art Fundraiser for Guatemala Mission!” Purchases will be first come, first serve, so be sure to peruse before Monday night! Please check the event or email Emmi Moll at emmiline.moll@cune.org with any questions!


 

Consider signing up at this link to bring a meal to the Boggs family as Megan recovers from surgery. The Meal Train link includes information about their food preferences, time to drop off the meal, and the dates available. You can also help them with the costs of their trip for this surgery by sending them GrubHub and DoorDash gift cards. You can send e-gift cards to megboggs00@gmail.com.


Stepping Stones (Pre-K thru 4th grade children’s ministry) is in the process of planning to start back up in September.  We need some more leaders and helpers to help our children continue to grow in their baptismal faith each week.  Is God nudging you to serve His little children in this way?  We’d love for you to learn and grow with us too!  The curriculum we use is very user friendly.  You can email info@therockseward.org, call 402-643-6624, or message us on The Rock’s Facebook page with your intentions or any other questions.


 

YOGAFAITH AT THE ROCK IS NOW OPEN!  We are offering both IN PERSON classes and online classes.  To stay 6 feet apart, we are limiting the number of people in the room to 6 (including Sara and Erika) so you will have to register in advance for an in-person class. Please click on this link to sign up for a class. If you would like to take the class online please email Sara at tmoll@neb.rr.com and she will give you instructions!  As always please check our Facebook page for more information.   https://www.facebook.com/YogaFaith-Seward-256010628294784/

July Schedule:

Tuesdays at 5:30 pm with Erika  – July 14, 21 and 28

Fridays at 9:00 am with Sara  – July 17 and 24 (no class on July 31)


Summer is in full swing and the lawn at The Rock is growing quickly! We try to mow and trim at least once a week. Please consider signing up for  a week when you can mow and/or trim. If you can mow, but not trim, that’s okay. Or maybe you can trim, but not mow. That’s okay, too. Any help will be greatly appreciated.  Mowing is generally done on Friday or Saturday. If you’re signing up to mow for the first time, you’ll be contacted and instructed how to get the mower and how to operate it.  Click here to sign up and help us keep our lawn from becoming a jungle. 


 

Thank you for being so faithful in your giving. As a reminder, we now have 5 giving options:

  • Drop your offering in the basket in the Cafe area if you are attending in-person worship. We won’t be passing the baskets during the service.
  • You can mail your offering checks to us at: The Rock Church, PO Box 199, Seward, NE 68434
  • Download the GivePlus app and give to The Rock using your smartphone. Enjoy the convenience of making credit or debit card donations as a guest user, or create an account to set up recurring donations and view your giving history.
  • Give online through InFaith and your donation can be made via credit/debit card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) through your checking/savings account. Through a collaboration with the InFaith Community Foundation and Thrivent Financial, The Rock will not be assessed any fees if you give through this online portal.
  • Joyful Response is a way for individuals to make their stewardship commitment to God through The Rock on a regular basis. They can determine the start and stop date of the giving as well as the intervals of payment. This is a simple way for each of us to support the ministry through The Rock. People can designate their gifts to be split out towards the general fund or maybe they want some money to go into a building fund or outreach fund.
  • Click here for an electronic offering form. Forms need to be turned in to Rock treasurer Dave Kumm for processing. You can mail them to The Rock while we’re not gathering.


If you have any questions about The Rock, need information about our events, or anything else, please contact us at info@therockseward.org.  Also, if you have a prayer request to submit during the week (or anytime) send it to prayers@therockseward.org. Our prayer warriors will receive these, as well as Pastor Mike Meyer.