The seed that is sown is the Word.  It is the truth that people need to hear.  This word is more powerful than any other message - it is the Gospel; Christ has died for sinners!  Rev. Buchanan cautioned that we are to expect obstacles because the field is full of rocks.  This is the hardness of hearts.  Satan thinks he owns the field (Haiti in this case), but we are to remember that "Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world."  There will be shallowness, even manifesting itself in the attractiveness and "fun" of VBS, and there may be those who will be distracted from the message by worldliness or worry.  As such, patience is required.  We will need to keep praying after sowing.  The one who goes forth weeping, bearing precious seed, will come back rejoicing, bringing in the harvest with Him.  The team and the congregation departed with a renewed zeal for the work set out before them.

The Presbytery of Southern California has established the practice of sending off their short-term missions teams (many teams sent from this presbytery represent 6-10 different churches within the presbytery) by means of an evening worship service at one of the presbytery's churches.  The sermons preached for the occasion are helpful and instructive, not only for the team preparing to go, but also for each congregant heading out into the mission field of life.  

May the Lord guide and equip each team going forth this summer, sent out by the Lord for His good work, to the glory of Christ and for the sake of His gospel!

Rev. Buchanan's message, "The Sower Sows the Word" can be found at www.opcstm.org by clicking here.

OPC Short-Term Missions Coordinator, David Nakhla, is joining an OPC team headed to Ukraine this week to participate in the 7th annual "Leopolis Green English Camp" for university students in L'viv. Mr. Jon Powell, a member of the Mission to the World (MTW) team in L'viv, is the camp organizer, and provided a helpful overview and background of the program, which you can read at www.opcstm.org by clicking here.

Leaving the country for a short-term missions trip (or for any reason!) this summer? Be sure to get your travel insurance ... not "trip cancellation insurance" ... but medical/emergency evacuation insurance. Lots can go wrong ... and your U.S. health insurance most likely won't cover you!

Click here to learn more about why your short-term mission trip-planning needs to include International Travel Medical Insurance!

by River La Belle

The following testimonial was recently received from River La Belle, the 18 year old son of OPC Pastor James A. La Belle (Presbyterian Church of Cape Cod, Barnstable, MA), who served as an assistant at an "English for Kids" Bible Camp in Saint-Georges de Beauce, Qu�bec, during the summers of 2012 and 2013.  River communicates his youthful zeal for missions in a compelling way which we hope may inspire other young men and women to consider opportunities for short-term missions in the OPC.

"Rej�an is a delight of the church in Saint-Georges. He was one of the translators for us, a man who cares for the kids, for the English staff, and for the Truth of the Bible, for the Church, for Christ's Bride. He was a great encouragement, besides being a lot of fun."

"But reader, do you remember the last time you gazed at the stars on a farm or in the desert? Just as they shine their brightest when the world around us is the darkest, so we observed, in a city so dark, the Lord's grace shining forth beautiful and bright during our week assisting at an evangelistic "English for Kids" Bible Camp with the members of the �glise Chr�tienne R�form�e de Beauce (Christian Reformed Church of Beauce) in Saint-Georges.  [The CRCB is a sister church of �glise R�form�e St-Marc (St-Marc's Reformed Church) in Qu�bec City, of which OPC Missionary to Quebec, Rev. Ben Westerveld, is the Pastor.  "English for Kids" camps are held at St-Marc's, too.]

"Amid teaching lots and lots of English - after a condensed and accelerated crash course by the luminous and servant-hearted Olivia Durham [camp organizer and wife of Pastor Carl A.P. Durham (Covenant OPC, Barre, VT)], through God's grace (despite my many sins!), the children at the camp learned that the Bible is God's truth, they memorized some of its verses, and they sang songs of God's love. 

"Even more, they saw men and women of all ages travel across a national border into a nearly exclusively French-speaking land just to minister to them, to bring them not only fun and education, but, clearly and sincerely, Christ's love.

"Today, I still email one girl whom I saw again when I returned with my sister to serve again in 2013.  This girl recently (June 2014) quoted me one of the verses she learned in July 2012. It is amazing that God is working there in a land where but a fraction of one percent are professing Christians. Your prayers are needed, brother or sister. But even more, reader, will you go to Qu�bec to serve Christ because of your love for Him and your share in His passion to save His lost sheep?"

Contact:

River La Belle would welcome hearing from anyone who wants to further discuss his experience with short-term missions.

Email: jordanriver1@icloud.com

Find more Testimonials at www.opcstm.org by clicking here.