Autumn Update 2016

Seattle Area SDB Church, Auburn WA

Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying this season of harvest and giving thanks. It’s been a busy and fruitful time here; praise the Lord! I so appreciate your prayers. Because of them we’re able to continue planting this church and ministering to people in our community in spite of many challenges. I’m learning lots from Pastor Ben Figueroa, who has planted several churches before. We believe God would have me continue serving here through 2017 and I look forward to deepening relationships with these disciples. Pastor Ben has also asked me to be an assistant pastor and I’m honored to support him in this way.  (Notes: I'm using initials rather than names for some individuals in this post for privacy. Click on any picture to enlarge it.)

In July we hosted our first church booth at the Algona Days fair (2 days). Everyone pitched in the week before to put our church labels on the tracts and Bibles. 










Thanks to design work donated by fellow SDB Ralph Hays, we had a beautiful banner displaying our church name with Mount Rainier in the background. 










Many from our church manned the booth, even though it was scary at first for some. We gave away Bibles, gospels of John and tracts (both English and Spanish). M. had a great conversation with two boys, brothers, who took Bibles and were excited to learn more about Jesus. M. and J. are a married couple in our church who are excited about sharing the gospel. They also passed out patriotic tracts with me on the 4^th of July at a park in Auburn.


 


 
The guitar lessons continue weekly with J., J. and M., plus a new middle school student starting soon. We start each lesson with prayer and most of the songs have Christian themes. Next up we’re learning Christmas carols! I don’t teach weekly Bible stories to D’s children any more since life got busy as she began taking classes this summer to complete her GED. She’s doing well but asked me to tutor her in math and I’m looking forward to that.

 







After five months of home Bible studies together, C. moved with her family to Oregon in July. Though we miss our study times, she and her husband have joined a couples Bible study and I pray for continued growth in their family. I still meet with M. weekly, and her friend B. is joining us to study the book of John. M. recently commented that she is learning so much about Jesus and the Bible through our studies. She is now sure of her salvation. Her faith is growing and she’s excited!

   

Me with my sister, JoAnne Kandel, new grandma!

August was a travel month. First I attended the SDB General Conference in Houghton, NY, getting to visit with many of you and share what God is doing among SDBs in the realm of church planting. I enjoyed worshipping on two Sabbaths with nearby churches and giving them a ministry update (Hebron PA and Little Genesee NY). While I was in New York, my niece (Emily Kandel Miller) had a baby and it was fun to meet my grandnephew.

 



Then I traveled to Wisconsin to audit the Summer Institute class on SDB Polity and Church Governance. This was important material as I have been helping new churches create their statements of faith, covenants, constitutions and by-laws. I have a lot more sympathy for pastors after experiencing some of the challenges of shepherding!  

Top of a ridge with Mount Rainier behind

At the end of August, my daughter, Ana, visited me in Washington and we saw the sights, including the zoo, aquarium, Pike’s Place Farmer’s Market and an eleven-mile hike in Mount Rainier National Park. That was a doozy but four days later we were in Montana at Glacier National Park and hiked 15 miles! I concluded I need to work up to those longer hikes but thankfully my knees have recovered and I can keep line dancing. :-)  Many thanks to Betty H. for hosting us in Montana. Vivian Allen and two of her children also joined us for the hike. (Covenant SDB Fellowship, Hungry Horse)

Glacier National Park, Garden Wall Trail

Our church loves to celebrate birthdays!

In September we started a new ministry at the Auburn Public Library. I’d noticed the Jehovah’s Witnesses had literature at a table in the entry area and I asked the Library staff if we could do the same. They said we’re free to do that as long as we’re not selling anything and we agree to let people come to us, not approach them.




 


 

So I go on Tuesdays, with M. and J. coming when they get off work, and we offer Bibles, tracts, church invitations and conversation to whomever God leads to our table. A Mormon woman stopped by a couple times and we talked about our different understanding of who Jesus is. Mormons use language similar to ours but with vastly different meaning, and I think most Mormons are not aware that they believe a different gospel than what the Bible teaches.

I’ve just wrapped up teaching the first seven chapters of Acts to our Sabbath adult class. We had lots of questions and good discussions on how we want to operate as a church body in light of how the early church functioned. One of those ideas is to form home groups that include neighbors and friends, to widen the circle of influence and help make new disciples.

Our church participated in the Northwest Association meeting on October 1^st in Portland, OR. Rob Appel, Executive Director, brought a report of recent activity in the SDB Conference.  While there I went for a short hike in the woods with Levi Bond, Vivian Allen and two of her children. Among the golden leaves on the ground I was astonished to find maple leaves 12 inches across! I looked them up online and learned they’re from “Big Leaf Maples”, of course.

 

 

Entrance of Doxa Church, downtown Bellevue

In early October I attended a two-day conference for church planters and revitalizers in Bellevue, WA, put on by the Verge Network. I learned about missional communities (church folks who invite their neighbors over to build friendships and look for opportunities to minister and share the gospel), and about having a vision for “gospel saturation” of our communities, based on Habakkuk 2:14. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”   

 

 

A key idea is that we are all on mission every day of the week, not just one day. Pastors are to “raise up ministers who minister everywhere they go.” “We all have the same Senior Pastor, Jesus Christ.” 

How many churches are in your town?  “Only one – Jesus’ church.”  


 

Coffee House Thursday evening, intro to the speakers

In mid-October I attended a similar conference, “Multiply” from Frontline Church Planting, in Colorado Springs, with 32 fellow SDBs! The Friday sessions were at Vanguard Church (SDBs and others), then Sabbath was just our group. The theme was “Engaging Hard Topics” which we surely did as we were challenged to think about our responses to racism and the LGBT community.  “Walk with diverse people as you develop your theology.” “We’re living in Rome.” “Your home is not a retreat but a place dedicated to the mission of God. Diversify the dinner table.”

Pastor John Pethtel leading the Sabbath afternoon session of Multiply.

Longs Peak viewed from Longmont, Colorado

  As a new year approaches, please consider how God might have you partner with me in ministry through prayer, monthly support, and one-time gifts. A few monthly financial partners are not able to continue and I’m looking forward to some new ones in 2017. It’s been so wonderful this year to have the income to buy two cases of Bibles to give out, as well as tracts and Bible study materials. Also, support for travel to General Conference and the church planting conferences. And I recently had to replace my printer. God provides!

 
 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support. Here are some prayer needs:

·       For our newer disciples to grow in trusting Jesus with every part of their lives.

·       For Pastor Ben and Marcela.

·       For the growth of leaders in our church as we add small groups.

·       For my continued growth in language skills.

·       Financial support in 2017. Praise the Lord for my free housing!

  

Holly trees in Auburn!

Donations can be mailed to the church here, “IBS Dia”, c/o Patty Petersen, 207 10th Ave N, Algona WA 98001. Please write my name on the memo line of the check and they will pass along 100% of the funds to me. We can also set up automatic fund transfers (EFTs), bank to bank. Many thanks.

 

God bless you in the holiday season and may you shower others with the light and love of Jesus.

Happy Summer 2016!

Mount Rainier, 14,400 ft, viewed from Auburn, WA

Happy Independence Day, USA! Besides celebrating the gift of living in a country founded on a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”, the 4^th of July is one of my favorite holidays to pass out tracts. I’ll be going with three others from our church to the city park to exercise our freedom of speech for a good cause – eternal life!

In my previous update I asked for prayer for affordable housing beginning in June and God provided way above what I ever imagined! Fellow Seventh Day Baptists, Norm and Vicki Burdick, learned of the need and offered me their 2-bedroom rental house in the town next to Auburn (2 miles away), at NO RENT! I just pay utilities. 

 

The house had been vacant for a time and I’ve been cleaning and sprucing up since moving in May 30^th. It was built in the 1950’s and has lots of great features not found in homes today like a dresser built into the wall, cupboards that open to both the kitchen and dining room, a pullout cutting board, and can-opener attached to a cabinet. And lots of windows to let in the sun when it shines! 

Several people have loaned me furniture, so I’m all set to live, work and entertain from my little house. I thank the Lord daily for the gift of this home.

I’ve continued the home Bible studies and have been thrilled to participate in this part of the Great Commission, to “make disciples.” The two mothers of young children have been excited to see the stories of Jesus come alive as we study the gospel of John. Claudia commented that we study from the Bible itself, whereas the Jehovah’s Witnesses focus on their Watch Tower materials. She prefers the Bible! Her two teen daughters have joined us for the summer studies. 

Both Claudia and Magali, with their families, have visited our church group when we’ve met in the park on Sabbath afternoons (see photo - everybody likes to sing). I’ve joined Claudia for some of the school events of her children, and assisted her as a translator a few times. 

One day as I was leaving her mobile home park, I noticed a chair on the curb. I stopped to inquire of the neighbor and left with four chairs for my dining table! A little glue and they are good as new. More praise to God from whom all blessings flow!

It’s been great to see the deepening understanding of Dalia’s four children as we studied 13 lessons on the life of Jesus. They’ve been getting to know who He is through His miracles, teachings, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection. Sometimes their friends join us too. Recently the oldest child said, “I want to follow Jesus” and the next oldest asked, “Will I be in heaven?” Praise God for their desire to be disciples of Jesus.  Dalia and children regularly attend our church. Thanks to your gifts I’ve been able to give them children’s versions of the Bible, plus a Bible for Dalia.

In the picture we're singing "Jesus Loves Me", "Cristo Me Ama." 

We made baskets to hold "five loaves and two fish."

 

Neighbors joined us for coloring the Bible story picture.

 

In April I enjoyed the SDB Women’s Retreat (Northwest Association) at a rustic retreat center in Auburn where I taught three sessions on “Being a Missionary Where I Live”. It was good to hear how different women are sharing the gospel in their workplaces and neighborhoods, giving us new ideas 

 

Two middle-school students have been taking the weekly guitar class since March. Both are excited as they get better at playing, and one, José, has joined us in the park a few times and played with me for some of the choruses (see photo). 

I’m getting to know the parents a bit too, and we invite them to join us for Sabbath worship. A married couple from our church will be starting lessons this week. My hope is to leave the church with a few new guitarists whenever I move on – music discipleship!

Rhododendrons, the WA state flower

 

I’ve finished teaching the series on SDB core beliefs for the adult class on Sabbath, and now we’ll study the book of Acts to consider how the actions of the first believers can shape how we live and act as a church, guided by the Holy Spirit. We are working toward a commitment to membership and finding ways to serve our local church and beyond. 

On warm and dry Saturdays the church often meets in local parks for our worship service and Bible classes, followed by a fellowship meal. The kids run around and play, sometimes the adults too (Frisbee!), and we hang out for hours. 

Have you tried Prickly Pear cactus cooked on a grill? It’s pretty good! They call it “Nopal.” I’m really enjoying the delicious made-from-scratch Mexican food by our skilled cooks.

Every so often the church takes a Sabbath to go farther afield such as our trip to Mount Rainier in May. There was still snow on the ground up there but it was fun to see the waterfalls and walk a bit on the trails. 

I offered to tote baby Isaac in a carrier since his mom had her hands full with her three other kids. I’m grateful for good health and glad I can keep walking (and doing line dancing)!

 In June we went to Rattlesnake Mountain, enjoying worship by a peaceful lake, eating a great meal, and going for a 4-mile hike up to Rattlesnake Ridge. What a view! I appreciate Pastor Ben’s leadership to take us to new places to enjoy God’s amazing Creation.

 

Pastor Ben encouraged me to apply as a volunteer for the school district so I could get to know some of the youth who attend our church as well as meet new people (staff or students) and let them know of my involvement with the church and our desire to serve the community. 

In early May I began assisting with supervising the lunch break twice a week at Mount Baker Middle School, where Pastor Ben works, until school ended June 24^th. It was eye opening to see the major ethnic diversity at the school, reflecting the community.  There are over 65 languages and dialects used by students in the Auburn school district!

 

Thank you for your faithful prayers! Here are some new prayer requests:

Fruitful gospel outreach by our church at Algona Days, July 15-16.

For Pastor Ben and Marcela.

For the growth of the church plant numerically and spiritually, and for leaders as we add structure

For my growth in effective bi-cultural ministry.

For me in July as I watch over the flock while Pastor Ben and Marcela are away.

My travel in August to SDB General Conference and then to Headquarters for Summer Institute.

Additional financial support monthly or one-time gifts, continuing into 2017.

 

Putting church info labels on tracts

If you’d like to share in this ministry financially, donations can be sent here, payable to “IBS Dia”.  Please write my name on the memo line of the check and they will pass along 100% of the funds to me. We can also set up automatic fund transfers (EFTs), bank to bank.

IBS Dia
PO Box 217
Auburn WA 98071

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free!” Galatians 5:1a

Holding fast to the Savior so I can make disciples,

Patty