Zeltenreich Reformed Church in New Holland, PA

 

Praise God for His blessing of a building for the congregation of Zeltenreich Reformed Church. This building, however, did not come without some things that needed to be addressed. There were cracks in the walls, rotting wood, doors that needed to be adjusted; some rust, chipping paint, and some areas that needed a fresh coat of paint. There are other things that are in need of updating as well, such as,  the heating/AC system, sound system, elevator, and that’s just to name a few.

On October 12, 2011, nine of us, five adults and four young people, left West MI and Iowa, to lend a hand to the congregation of Zeltenreich. God had it planned in advance, even as far as whose house each of us would stay at. The people God put together, both those who came as well as those who are there, all had their own special gifts and talents to offer.  It is always so amazing how God shows us where we are to be and when we are to be there. Even though we were unable to finish all the work, (there is much more that can be done) we got a great start. Praise God! Please pray for the congregation in New Holland, PA, as there is much more to do on the building.

It is always a humbling experience to worship with other saints in other parts of the country and the world. To sing praises, partake communion, hear God’s Word proclaimed and fellowship with new and old friends truly helps us become stronger. Many of us are very fortunate to live in a community that there are “reformed” churches all around us. Others, such as Zeltenreich, worship in an area where there are many churches, but the principle of being “reformed” is few and far between. The next closest URC church is about 2 hours away.  Other Christians in their area do not share the convictions that they do, the importance of family, worship, being set apart in this world, love of God, etc. Pray that God will continue to give them the strength to stand firm in their community, lead many to the faith, and comfort them in knowing that there are other saints all around that care and are praying for them. Please pray for Rev. Arrick as he leads the congregation to an understanding of the historic reformed faith.

Please continue also to pray for the other church plants around the world as they strive to be lights in their communities. Pray that God will give them what they stand in need of. Pray that many will come to know the grace of our Heavenly Father and the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. Pray that ministers and missionaries will not become discouraged and that they will see the fruit of their labors.

 

Thursday, June 30

Today was the last working day of TASC, can you believe it? Even though we’ve worked so hard all week, the end is bittersweet. We finished almost everything we needed to accomplish at both sites. We’ll miss the men at Jericho Road and the children at Solid Rock especially. We spent extra time working today and came home to quickly shower and get ready for dinner and our talent show. At dinner, we were blessed with the presence of eight men from Jericho Road. They stayed for the talent show, which was an awesome time. Some of the acts were musical, ranging from singing hymns to singing Veggie Tales. Others were comical, like Mr. Tanis ending up with a cream pie to the face and Brooke Billing’s comedic performance. We also had an ice cream social with members of the congregation and even utilized our brand new projector in the vfellowship hall to display the pictures from the week. Tomorrow we’re off to the city! There are some new pictures up from Jericho Road as well as the talent show, so scroll all the way through to check those out.

Wednesday, June 29
We can’t believe it’s already Wednesday night at TASC! Today we continued our jobs at Jericho Road and Solid Rock. At Jericho Road, plenty of dry walling and tiling is getting done. At Solid Rock, our retaining wall is done and the brick walkway shows tremendous progress. We also took on a new site in West Milford, a rundown daycare in need of some mulching and landscaping. The day was extremely successful and we’re ready to finish as much as possible tomorrow. After our work day, we had another awesome dinner as prepared by our kitchen helpers. We love all the work they’ve put in for us. Sam Perez spoke to us about spiritual gifts and abilities. He definitely encouraged us to figure out what our gifts are and how to use them for God’s glory. After prayer groups, we had free time and preparation for the talent show. Tomorrow promises to be a great day. Be sure to check out all of the new pictures from throughout the week by scrolling past the ones previously added. There are hundreds! Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 28
Day four of TASC is finished and everyone is off to bed.  Our second day of work proved to be productive and challenging.  At Jericho Road in Paterson, our group painted two of the three floors in the men's shelter and also made significant headway with the 1400 sq. feet vinly tile that we are laying in the food pantry.  We tackled many other smaller jobs such as organizing clothing donations, landscaping, and more.  At Solid Rock Day Camp, we took on various jobs around the camp such as building retaining walls, painting, tearing down a tree fort, chopping wood, and more.  The camp director is spoiling us with morning snacks, delicious lunches, and ice cream before we leave in the afternoon!</p> <p>After work today we got to go swimming at Crestwood Lake which is in Allendale, NJ.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by two families from PPRBC (thanks!) and a time of singing and our evening session led by Sam Perez.  We even got to meet Sam's fiance, Emily, who was with him.  It is a joy to listen to God's word each night and to experience the applicable messages on Christian service.</p> <p>No photos tonight but stay tuned tomorrow for a bunch more to be added!</p> <p> </p> <p>Monday, June 27</p> <p>Hello from day three of TASC at PPRBC! We woke up this morning excited to take on the projects ahead of us. At Jericho Road, a homeless shelter in Paterson, we scrubbed, vacuumed, weeded, and cleaned, a lot! We also met some of the men residing at Jericho Road, and even heard an inspirational testimony from one of them. We have plenty of work still ahead of us, including tiling a floor. At Solid Rock, a day camp in West Milford, we began the process of creating a new walkway and retention wall. We also tore down an old tree house, did some painting, and landscaped. Tomorrow our efforts continue! Once we were all home, fed, and showered, we finally met our speaker for the week, Mr. Sam Perez. He spoke to us about how we serve because of Christ’s service. We are looking forward to hearing from him more this week and continuing our projects at our TASC sites.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sunday, June 26</p> <p>TASC 2011 NJ has started!  Saturday night we had a great night with mixer games and introductions, Sunday we had a worship filled day preparing our hearts for a week of service.  We have many exciting worksite and activities planned this week!</p> <p> </p>"

Check out the photos from our Spring Break TASC that took place from April 3 to 7, 2011.

TASC in Michigan was an incredible experience!  We had a tremendous group of young people serving the Lord together.  Our worksites were a blessing to us as we had opportunity to get to know people in the greater Grand Rapids area and assisted them with various projects.

Rev. Steve Postma and Rev. Rick Miller blessed us with their morning devotionals, evening sessions, and the overall theme of "Christ and Community."  We learned of Christ's heart for those less fortunate, those suffering, those in need of the body of Christ to lift them up.  How exciting to be hearers and doers of God's word!