August 2018 newsletter

House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                                         August 2018

From Utmost East To Utmost West    - Harvey Yoder

We were blessed recently having Hongyan and Bo Hu Zhou and daughters Emily and Eliana here for a visit.  Hongyan came to EMU as a visiting scholar from the Chongqing University of Medical Sciences in China in 2004, and became a part of our house church congregation through staying with one of our members, the late Rachel Stoltzfus.

Hongyan had become a believer through the influence of a US teacher of English at his University, and he and his wife Bo Hu, became very active in one of a growing number of house churches in Chongquing. After coming to the states, Hong Yan was granted religious asylum and immediately sought to bring his wife and their young daughter here to join him.

Bo Hu and Emily were welcomed into Rachel's home in 2006, and she and Emily, then a fourth grader, soon became a beloved part of our community and our living-room-size church family. In 2009 the three moved to California to be closer to Bo Hu's parents, and where Hongyan got a job in nursing, having just completed his nursing degree.

Bo Hu, then in her late thirties, and after having had several miscarriages, gave birth to their miracle child, Eliana, which means “The Lord has heard my prayer.”

Eliana will be in the fourth grade this fall, and Bo, having just earned an RN degree, will be finding full time work in nursing. Emily is completing her last year of college at UC Berkley, where she had a full tuition scholarship she earned, amazingly, by winning an art contest in Virginia as a new elementary student in her first year in the states. She hopes to enroll in dental school in the fall of 2019 after completing her senior year next spring.

Notes, Prayers and Praises

• GUY AND MARGIE VLASITS hope to be moved to their new house by the end of this month. Their new address is 3399 Caverns Drive, Keezletown, VA 22832  
• OUR CONTINUED PRAYERS for restored health for Bertha Swarr and for all of our friends at VMRC.
• AUGUST BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Kent Palmer 8/10 and Gail Blackburn 8/30! Alma Jean and Harvey’s anniversary is 8/8 and James and Ruth Stauffer’s is 8/30.
• JOSIAH DUMAS’s correct phone number is 571-577-0144.

August Lectionary Texts

5   2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a Psalm 51:1-12 Ephesians 4:1-16  John 6:24-35

12  2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33  Psalm 130 1 Kings 19:4-8  Ephesians 4:25-5:2  John 6:35, 41-51

19 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Psalm 111 Proverbs 9:1-6 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58
26  1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84 Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Ephesians 6:10-20  John 6:56-69

August services, worship at 4, meal at 6 pm (except 8/19)

5 Location: Park Place, second floor meeting room                   564-3716

Worship and sharing: James Stauffer

Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                 (No evening meal)

12 Location: FLRC, 273 Newman Ave. (ground floor)               432-0531

Worship and Sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger                                  

Bible Study: Lewis Overheat (each will bring their own brown bag lunch)

19 Location: Guy & Margie Vlasits 1260 Parkway Drive 269-6706

at 5 pm

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                    Carry-in Meal       

26 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802     564-1524

Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell                                            

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                     Carry-in Meal