This week at the OYC, the Bend Church shares messages of good news through trials.
In Bend’s church planting, five of the original OYC crew have worked at a company called Volcano Veggies (an organic farm). Hannah was first to do so and extended an opportunity for Louis to join as well. After some time, Hannah moved to Eugene and got married, leaving Louis as the sole OYC member at the farm. However, as the pandemic stuck, Volcano Veggies, like other local farms, turned its focus to providing locals with a home delivery grocery service. As an essential industry, the small company has grown and helps to fill the public needs. Due to their new program, they save the community approximately 200 grocery trips per week!
Around Bend, other OYC disciples found themselves in a predicament of being non-essential workers. Louis extended an invitation to one sister, Michelle, to work at the farm. She accepted and found out shortly after that she was laid off from her previous employment. Not even a week later, another sister, Michelle’s roommate, Nadia, put out a prayer request to find employment quickly as she was also laid off. Nadia was at the farm ready to work the very next day. Their other roommate, Amanda, also found herself in the same predicament and surely enough has become the farm’s most recent addition to their team.
Where an entire household of disciples could have found themselves in turmoil, God stepped in to deliver them from harm. Not only that, the One Year Challengers are now giving back to their community and showing their employers that disciples of Christ are reliable, loving and exemplary people. God’s power is truly on display in Bend, OR.
(Above, left) Michelle from Indiana and Louis from Michigan started dating in February! They lead the campus Bible talk in Bend.
(Above, right) Nadia from Indiana started dating long distance. The brother, Alex, is from El Paso. Both couples are doing well as the team continues on the mission. We know that if we take care of god’s people, God will take care of us.
A recent pre-social distancing photo of the disciples in Bend as they gather together. What starts as small seeds can grow to become a sturdy tree that bears good fruit.
New Content on the One Year Challenge Blog :
Featured Article: Coronavirus Could Kill Consumer Christianity “…while there is certainly plenty to lament about how this crisis is wrecking lives, economies, and unraveling all the world’s plans in stunningly rapid fashion, the virus’s attack on comfortable Christianity could be something we eventually celebrate.” Read more from this perspective on the way the virus may shape the American Christian landscape.
Great Images: The World on Pause What a time to be still.
Saturday Zoom-In: Easter from a Distance See how believers found new ways to celebrate under the conditions of COVID-19.
Monday Music: Songs from OYC Sites Around the World From North Carolina, before stay home orders, these believers gather to praise God. If you look past the nice technical electronic gear, you get a great picture of simple worship, a Christian tradition in homes for centuries!
