First Presbyterian Church: International Missions

International Missions

The Goldie Frances Campbell Trust--In 1987, a quiet, unassuming member of our church passed away. Though she had no children of her own, she had been deeply touched by the plight of children in other countries. The 1980's marked a period where the famines in Africa and the plight of refugees became more visible through video images being streamed into our living rooms from oversees. Unbeknownst to anyone in the congregation, Mrs. Campbell quietly made out her will to leave her simple estate to the church for the purpose of funding a missionary to share the gospel somewhere beyond our borders. Though Mrs. Campbell was not wealthy, she had been careful with her resources. The trust fund established in her name has grown over the years while also giving a total equivalent to the initial corpus in funding for international missions. The Campbell Trust anchors and inspires our efforts in international missions. With each of the missions we fund oversees, there are opportunities for individuals to also give.

Where giving can go directly to the mission organizations, websites have been included. Where that is not possible, funding to the projects can be accomplished through designated giving to FPC, Sand Springs.

http://www.pcusa.org/joininghands/whoweare.htm#mission

Mission Trips: Mexico

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
One of the blessings of Mission is the friends you make along the way. We also had the wonderful opportunity to have this congregation come to our church and share a joyous celebration of friendship.

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico- As we helped congregation rebuild their church, they in turn reached out to others in their community.

Below are the Countries we support through the Goldie Campbell Trust Fund and with help from our congregation.

Haiti

The Haiti Education Foundation (HEF) began with one small school in 1981. Our church began supporting HEF in 1989, less than two years after Goldie Frances Campbell (one of our members) made a donation of money and property totaling over $181,000 to establish a trust fund in our church for supporting foreign missions. Gifts of at least $100,000 have been made from the Campbell Trust to HEF over the last 17 years. Additionally, many of our members have contributed to HEF on their own

The Haiti Education Foundation has now grown to involve churches and individuals in states from Florida to Oregon. Over 12,040 children and young adults are enrolled in the 34 elementary schools, 7 high schools, and a vocational school scattered among the mountains of Haiti's peninsula. A program has also been started to send students to college.

http://www.haitifoundation.org

http://www.1pres.org/index.php?hidPage=main&hidSequence=44&hidSection=What

Egypt
We are assisting the Coptic Evangelical Church of El Kom El Akhdar which is the same as saying Egyptian Presbyterian Church of EKEA. Coptic means Egyptian and evangelical is the word used in Egypt for Presbyterians. There are no officially published figures of the number of Christians in Egypt, but the unofficial figure generally used is 10-12% of the population. The vast majority of Christians are Coptic Orthodox; Presbyterians are the largest Protestant denomination in the Middle East. We are assisting with the construction of a new 3 story building: 1st floor daycare center, 2nd floor fellowship hall, 3rd floor pastor's apartment and guest rooms. The first floor is now complete- Pastor Amgad and his wife are temporarily living there until the 3rd floor can be constructed. In early 2008, we sent money to begin the 3rd floor so the pastor can move upstairs and the daycare for 60 children can move in on the ground floor. El Kom El Akhdar is a rural town that is historically predominantly Christian. In this country (and region) where conversion to Christianity from Islam is prohibited, Christian ministry is quite challenging. The Church is permitted to evangelize people of Christian descent, and has a vital ministry of evangelism to bring this population back into the life and ministry of Christ. It also has a myriad of social action ministries that are carried out for the benefit of Christian and Muslim alike. While the Church prays for the day when Christians may invite all people into a life-transforming relationship with Christ, it bears witness to Christ through word and deed in many ways, including agricultural projects, water projects, and the care of young children.
	Pastor Amgad and Wife Above Day Care Children below

http://www.ceoss.org.eg/DesktopDefault.aspx?&tabid=344

This is a web site to the Non- Profit where Nancy Collins, the PCUSA missionary, works. CEOSS, an Egyptian Christian development organization headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, is dedicated to social and cultural development, individual well-being, social justice, and inter-cultural harmony. It delivers its services regardless of gender, race, religion, or beliefs. As a Christian voice promoting pluralism and mutual respect in an Egyptian context, CEOSS encourages the participation of Egyptians from all segments of society—Muslim and Christian, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, powerful and powerless—to work together toward common goals.

Although our church does not give aid directly to CEOSS, they do get funding from PCUSA.

http://www.relufa.org/partners/jhnewsletter/egypt.htm More about Egypt, Nancy, and Joining Hands through PCUSA. A DesMoines, Iowa Presbytery visits Egypt.

	Malawi, Africa
	http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/malawi/
This woman is cooking on a typical outdoor stove. There are no indoor kitchens in Malawi.	Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery has been in a mission partnership with the Synod of Livingstonia in Malawi for over a decade. As part of our congregation's support of that partnership, we have prayed for the following ministries and given funds to support them: a missionary to Malawi from Oklahoma; the Department of Education (the church runs most of the public schools in Malawi); a large shipment of books for educational purposes; the purchase of new sewing machines to teach orphaned children a trade; the Ministry of Hope, for the care of orphaned children Through the joint collaboration of churches within our Presbytery several churches have agreed to a "Twinning" or a sister church relation, where we learn and grow and assist one another to build up each other in Chirst. In addition to the twinning project, in 2009, with a contingency of 4 delegates which included the President of the University of Livingstonia, education came to the fore front as a great need and one way that we could assist other Presbyteries in aiding our brothers and sisters in Malawi. With a country of 13 million, 10,000 students pass the test to go to college but there are only 2,000 spots and not enough teachers. We are actively seeking Science teachers who are willing to spend one month in Malawi and teach science of the college level. We are also actively seeking aid for the $2,000/ yr tuition for students in Malawi as well as people who can donate lap-top computers. Cirriculum is also a great need as the printed book is a rare commodity in Africa. But if we can obtain Internet which may come next year, we will be able to access online which will make laptops even more important. Through our partnership with Malawi and the witness of our brothers and sisters from “the warm heart of Africa,” we have also been inspired, humbled, and challenged in our faith.
	University of Livingstonia Foundation
	The *University of Livingstonia Foundation* brings together friends who are dedicated to the advancement of the University of Livingstonia located in northern Malawi, Africa. The foundation receives and distributes funds to support the need of the University of Livingstonia. It is the foundation’s intent to respect the wishes of all donors regarding their privacy and the use of their contributions for the purpose intended. Donations are handled in such a way so that ALL money donated goes directly to the University.
	http://www.ulivingstonia.org/foundation.htm

Mission Trips: Mexico Nuevo Laredo, MexicoOne of the blessings of Mission is the friends you make along the way. We also had the wonderful opportunity to have this congregation come to our church and share a joyous celebration of friendship.

Haiti

Donations are handled in such a way so that ALL money donated goes directly to the University.

Mission Trips: Mexico

Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
One of the blessings of Mission is the friends you make along the way. We also had the wonderful opportunity to have this congregation come to our church and share a joyous celebration of friendship.