Mission Board News

There is a simple phrase that - though oft-repeated - can never be said enough: Thank you! In this case, the thanks goes out to you for your heartfelt and personal contributions to our annual Aliveness Holiday Basket drive. The staff at Aliveness were surprised and deeply appreciative of the van-ful of gifts delivered to them courtesy of your generosity. They have a very modest office space in Minneapolis, but it was heartwarming to see their storage space filled to capacity (and beyond) with gifts for families of those afflicted by AIDS/HIV.

You may have forgotten about a ministry of ours that continues in a somewhat clandestine fashion. Kiva is a micro-lending organization that we've been using for several years. They operate as a go-between to allow people to make small loans to individuals and organizations around the world that would otherwise have no way to borrow money. The monies received from loans being paid back can then be re-lent to others. NSUCC recently re-lent over $400 to people in Nicaragua, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Pakistan, and others. Please take a moment to visit our website and see the good thing we do at: http://www.kiva.org/team/nsucc

This coming Sunday, February 5, is the date of our annual Souper Bowl, an initiative we've been participating in since 1998. Our congregation gathers after worship for a simple meal of soup - prepared by the Board of Missions - and a free-will offering is taken. This offering is then given to a cause that seeks to relieve hunger. This year - as in the past two years - we will be donating our offering to Brainpower in a Backpack. This is a great campaign started in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district to provide food for kids from low-income households. The BES school district has several elementary schools where over 50% of the children qualify for the free-and-reduced-lunch program. The Brainpower in a Backpack group puts together healthy foodstuffs (in a backpack!) for needy kids and sends it home with them for the weekend. Many of these children would miss meals over the weekend without this program. We encourage you to stay after church on February 5, sup with us, share community, and help out this wonderful cause!