Outlookthe

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A N E W S L E T T E R O F O R L A N D P A R K C H U R C H

THIS ISSUE

7500 W. Sycamore Drive, Orland Park | (708) 532-4900 | Email: opcrc@opcrc.org | www.orlandchurch.com

deacons’ corner page 2

preschool news page 3 & 4

car ministry news page 5

adult serve recap page 6

nicaragua mission trip page 7

rehoboth report page 8

church family news page 9 & 10

calendar page 11

Don’t forget to check out our church website for more news and information!

www.orlandchurch.com

His Heart & Hands Orphan Ministry

Every day, all over the world and in our communities, there are children that are living alone and in poverty. It is absolutely heartbreaking, but there is hope – you

and I! We can be that hope. We can get involved in their story, show them love, and restore their hope. Through this rummage sale benefitting orphans, you can play a huge part! Contact Jan Kamp if you can help with any of the following:

DonAtE anything that you don’t need or want and that you are willing to sacrifice. Doing some spring cleaning? This is a great opportunity to do something good with your unwanted items! Drop-off times: Wednesday, May 13, 3-6 pm, and Thursday, May 14, 7-9 pm in the FLC. You may also donate baked goods.

GIvE monetary donations. ALL proceeds of the rummage sale will go to help orphans in our community and around the world.

HELP: We can make a difference! Come volunteer to set up or work the sale, or donate some baked goods.

F R I D AY, M AY 1 5 ( 8 - 2 ) & S At U R D AY, M AY 1 6 ( 8 - 1 2 )

April 3 (Good Friday): Southwest Chicago Christian Schools www.swchristian.org Southwest Chicago Christian Schools have a heritage of being parent-run schools that provide a Christ-centered education for students. For more than 100 years, their goal has been to provide an educational experience that is integrated with the Reformed understanding of the Christian faith. Moreover, they provide an education that challenges students to develop their gifts and talents so they can live a life of ser-vice to the honor and glory of God.

April 5: CRC Home Missions | www.crcna.org/pages/crhm.cfmChristian Reformed Home Missions follows God’s lead in the movement of the gospel in North America. Working through regional teams, Home Missions supports a diverse group of church planters, pastors, campus ministers, and others who are called to renew communities together.

April 12: World Renew | www.worldrenew.netWorld Renew envisions a world where people experience and extend Christ’s compassion and live together in hope as God’s community. World Renew’s mission is to engage God’s people in redeeming re-sources and developing gifts in collaborative activities of love, mercy, justice, and compassion. Serving worldwide as the development, disaster response, and justice arm of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the aspects of World Renew’s work are three-fold: Community Development, Disaster Response and Rehabilitation, and Advocacy.

April 19: Bible League | www.bibleleague.orgChristians in many other countries are faced with intense obstacles to their faith. With these obstacles, it would be easy for Christians in those nations to lose heart. Their churches are flourishing, in part because they have a champion and an advocate, The Bible League International. The Bible League supports the body of Christ wherever it is impoverished, persecuted or oppressed in more than 55 countries. They equip local Christians to plant Bibles, plant churches and share God’s love in the hardest, most hostile, most resource-poor places on earth.

April 26: GEMS (Local) | www.gemsgc.orgThis offering goes directly to our GEMS club here at Orland Park Church. Girls are active, imaginative, and unique. They are passionate! And GEMS offers them the perfect place to learn and grow as they discover who God created them to be. Clubs are offered in local churches and Christian organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their mission is to bring girls everywhere into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.

Deacons’ Corner“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” -2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

Paul was training Timothy, and in doing so, teaching him to teach others. Timothy was called to “entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others”, or to invest in those who would move from mere con-sumption to a deliverer of the Gospel.

In the church today we only think of the preachers or Sunday teachers in the church as the ones who are called teach people. We focus on the supposed “higher calling” of leaders to the exclusion of the “heaven-ly calling” (Hebrews 3:1) of every believer. Yes, the mantle of training and teaching was here laid upon a leader, Timothy, but there also exists a calling upon the “faith-ful men” to be trained, and be taught.

There exists then a unified calling, appli-cable on both sides of leadership; a call-ing upon the leader to train, and a calling upon the follower to come forth, count the cost, and pay it. Is it time for you to live as a resource for others instead of constantly consuming investments poured into your life? Consider then,

the “land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:7-8).

Are you guilty of living as parched ground that greedily swallows the life giving rain, but never yields a useful crop for others? Do you continually bear the “thorns and thistles” produced by bondage to your sin-ful flesh? Start using your God given gifts and talents to be a resource in raising up faithful men and women.

Is it time for you to live as a resource for others instead of constantly consuming the investments poured into your life?

Source: Shortdailydevotions.com

A P R I L o F F E R I n G S C H E D U L E

Be a Resource

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Preschool “Dad and Me night”-Ruth Baas, Director

o rland Park Christian Preschool’s annual “Dad and Me” Night was

held on Thursday evening, March 19, in the church narthex and gym. The children were very excited to bring their dads to school in the evening! As they arrived, each dad was photographed with his son or daughter at our patriotic photo booth. Everyone received a team assignment for the evening and spent some time getting acquainted with their team mates. Mrs. Ruth opened the evening with prayer, thank-ing God our heavenly Father for His loving care and for the relationships we have with our families.

Then it was time for the fun and games to begin! There were eight teams of players and four different games where two teams played at a time. The bean-bag toss provided the opportunity for some fierce competition between child/adult family pairs. It turned out that the advantage the children were given by being closer to the board helped them to score more points than their dads!

The pole/cup/ball relay had the dads and their children running hand-in-hand and giving piggy-back rides across the narthex while tending to the task of putting balls into cups and tak-ing them out again. The scooter race was lots of fun because first the dads pushed their children across the gym on scooters, and then the children switched places and gave their dads a ride by pushing them back across the gym on those same scooters. Lots of giggles were shared as some dads had

trouble fitting themselves onto the scooters and some chil-dren had trouble pushing hard enough to move their dads!

The ever-popular obstacle course provided each child with the opportunity to race against his or her dad by crawling through a tunnel, hop-scotch-ing through some hula hoops, crawling under a rope, climbing up and down a ladder, and run-ning zig-zag style around cones back to the starting line. Amaz-ingly, each child won the race!

Everyone showed great sportsmanship throughout the evening, and we ended the evening injury-free.

Before heading for home, the children and their dads enjoyed some make-your-own ice cream sundaes. While the energy level of the children did not slow down after eating, the dads seemed happy to sit back and relax while visiting with each other. When it was time to say goodbye, the children were thrilled to receive trophies with the name of our school and the date attached. Two roles of Smarties candies finished off each treat.

Many thankful comments were received from the dads, and also from the moms the next morning. The children had a great time! The staff members at Orland Park Christian Preschool (Ruth Baas, Lisa Cavanaugh, Brenda Harms, Sandy Gillespie, Lori Kamp, and Janna Kuyvenhoven) are very grateful to Rick Schultz and Skip VanRyn for their help in providing a wonderful evening for our preschool families.

3Katelyn and her dad enjoy the pole/ball/cup relay race.

Caroline gives her dad a scooter ride!

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oRLAnD PARK

CHRIStIAn PRESCHooL

DAD & ME nIGHt

2015

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As we approach 750 vehicles distributed over the past 15 years, I would like to thank those from our church that have assisted with

the many car donations, car referrals, and cash donations that keep this ministry going. I would also like to thank the many volunteers and committee members from our church that are involved in the weekly busy-work that keeps this ministry moving forward.

We received this follow-up from Beverly, who received the 2001 Buick LeSabre on March 11.

I just wanted to say thank you again so much. I still feel like I am dreaming while driving the Buick. I can say I have never had such a nice car in my whole life. God has blessed me through Orland Park Church Car Ministry.

Car Ministry Update

SoME EnCoURAGInG woRDS:

Since our February newsletter report, the Car Ministry has helped nine families with needed transportation within area churches.

We currently have 25+ applicants waiting for assistance.

Please continue to promote vehicle donations to the Car Ministry whenever you have the opportunity.

January 10: 94 Ford Bronco 2-Door To: OPCRC

January 23: 02 Ford Focus 4-Door To: Legacy Fellowship Church, Chicago

January 23: 95 Ford Ranger Pickup To: Saving Power MB Church, Joliet

January 24: 95 Ford Escort Wagon To: St. Ann Church, Lansing

February 7: 02 Saturn 4-Door To: St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Burr Ridge

February 21: 05 Chrysler Minivan To: Parkview Christian Church, Lockport

February 26: 03 Chrysler 4-Door To: Member of a local area Church

March 11: 01 Buick LeSabre To: Ebenezer CRC, Berwyn

March 14: 05 Dodge Minivan To: New Life Baptist Church, Chicago Heights

RECEnt vEHICLE DIStRIBUtIonS

vEHICLE DonAtIonS ARE DESPERAtELY nEEDED At tHIS tIME!

-Bruce Harnew

You can be a part of God’s plan for someone in need of transportation. Please take some “Vehicle Donations Needed” promotional cards (see example below) and pass them around to neighbors, friends, and co-workers, to help us with car ministry promotions. Look for these white promo cards on the Information Center.

Call the Orland Park Church office at 708-532-4900 ext. 300 for more information about the Car Ministry at Orland Park Church.

Vehicle Donations Needed!Orland Park Church accepts vehicle donations.

Unlike other car donation programs, the Car Ministry

distributes donated vehicles to needy families in the

Chicagoland area, which allows for a tax deduction on

the full private party value of your vehicle.

Through these efforts, Christian mercy is shown to those in need of

reliable transportation to get to employment, children to daycare and

school, families to church, and other necessities of daily living.

Orland Park Church

7500 Sycamore Drive

Orland Park, IL 60462Call: 708.532.4900 Ext. 300

Website: www.orlandchurch.com

Please team with us in this important work!

Adult Serve Home Build Recap

t he adult serve committee prepared another project for

OPCRC members and a few others. They challenged us to build a house on stilts for a family who lost everything to a tornado. This year, starting at the end of January, four different groups over a five-week span journeyed down to Chocowinity, North Carolina, to build this house.

I have been involved in these ven-tures for the last nine years. To date, I think we have built to completion ten different houses. Praise God! This year was a little more special to me and to some others. Not only did we build a new house, but we also started the mending process of a family.

Michael and Danielle lost every-thing to this tornado and had nowhere to go. For whatever rea-son, they had abandoned their faith many years earlier and had no church to lean on. After we ar-rived, it only took a matter of two days and we were starting to build a relationship. This does not hap-pen too often on these trips. We talked to them on the job site. We had a dinner with them and other volunteers; and we had a breakfast at their restaurant. During these different opportunities, we were able to share the love of Christ with them. Before we ate breakfast with them at their restaurant, we invited Michael and Danielle to join us for devotions. We were able to share with them why we volunteer to help others. I believe the seed had been

sown earlier in their lives, but we were there to water it.

Two weeks after I returned home, I received a text that Michael and Danielle went to church with his mother that week. To hear that news was amazing! Two restau-rant owners took the time to go to church on the busiest workday of the week for them. I think OPCRC made a difference in their lives. I

ask that if you are prayer warrior, please keep Michael and Danielle in your prayers. Pray that Jesus will reap a harvest in their lives and pray that they can start a family of their own soon.

Thank you OPCRC for the opportunity to serve!

-Adult Serve Committee

C H o C o w I n I t Y, n o R t H C A R o L I n A : J A n U A R Y 2 6 – F E B R U A R Y 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

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-Tom Voss

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nicaragua Mission Projectt he following is a recap of the week that volunteers

Ted Camphouse, John Camphouse, Bill Kamp, Kevin Kamp, Peter Voss, and Joel Vande Kamp spent on a mission trip to build a well for a community in Nicaragua this past February.

PEtER voSS, JR.: It was a blessing to be able to participate in the trip to Nicaragua hosted by Living Water International, an educational, cultural, and spiritual expe-rience not to be forgotten. Living Water is very profession-al in how they operate. Things are well organized, and they prepare you for what to expect during your travels and time spent with the community you will be working with.

The people of Nicaragua are friendly and happy. While poor financially, they are rich in spirit. We were warmly greeted, and they were very supportive in helping with the work. The women of the community were taught good hygiene practices each day and also given some crafts to do. We brought some soccer balls with us for the children, and they loved playing soccer with us, which ended up being more tiring then the well drilling duties, but lots of fun, too.

On Wednesday, fresh water was supposed to come flowing up the pipe, but this did not occur – only a weak stream appeared – not adequate for what a good well needs. Thursday morning we repeated the plunging and tried blowing out the pipes with compressed air, and again only a weak trickle was produced. At this time, staff told us we were done with our work; they would continue over the coming days, weeks, and possibly even months to try to stimulate the flow of water through various tricks, using the community people in helping them. Deep disappoint-ment was felt on the part of our team. But we had to accede to their experience and wisdom.

KEvIn KAMP: I had envisioned a “water tasting” party on Friday. As you know, that was not what we were go-ing to experience. The thought of shutting down the well on Thursday morning was difficult to hear. Six guys, all involved in some type of construction in our jobs back home...how could this happen to us? Why this well? Why this community? We left the site with a lot of questions and no answers. I prayed that God would hit me upside the head with a two-by-four with an answer.

Friday morning came and we headed back to the site for our final goodbyes. We pulled up and found the site empty

except for the casing sticking up from the ground. Then something happened that I didn’t see coming. One of the little boys approached our group and presented a gift from his family to simply say thank you for com-ing to visit. They had so little and yet they gave from their hearts. The second unexpected thing that occurred was the singing we heard in the distance from the village church. When we made our way to the church, we joined them in a “celebration service.” We didn’t produce water from the well, yet they were grateful! The pastor led us in worship from Psalm 78. He explained the mighty deeds of God in difficult times and good times. What a message! At the close of the service, they had us kneel in front of the church and they prayed and cried over us for all we had done that week.

Two passages that came to mind that week were Proverbs 11:25 and Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” How God made those verses come alive that week.

I thought the blessings would flow from a well. How-ever, God’s plan was to have a greater blessing flow from inside a local church.

Rehoboth Report

A s usual, we had a rewarding experience while volunteering at Rehoboth Christian School. Ray,

with toolbox handy, replaced windows, painted window screen frames, and repaired many other things in the campus buildings (some of them are pretty old!). Betty assisted in the music department and the development office with many miscellaneous projects – mailings, filing, copying, and helping wherever needed.

This time at Rehoboth was even better because of the newly-furnished volunteer apartments! Comfortable furniture – chairs, couch, and bed – new linens and tow-els have been supplied. We’re grateful for the

contributions for this project which were made by many from OPCRC. Thanks again! If you’re interested in volun-teering, talk to either of us about it. It is very interesting to meet the others who join us from many different states.

We know there are needs all around us – many good causes to remember with our gifts. We do want to let you know about Rehoboth’s current “Preparing the Way” campaign for building a new high school to replace the one built in the 50s. Information about the project is detailed in the brochure which is available at the Information center. Please pick one up!

-Ray & Betty Kerkstra

Save the Date for this

Summer’s vBS!J U n E 1 5 - 1 9 , 2 0 1 5

Your children (K-6th grade) will have an awesome time at this year’s EVEREST VBS, where they will embark on an icy ex-

pedition and learn to overcome

obstacles with God’s awesome

power! Registration will begin in May so watch our church website and the Outlook for details! Please prayerfully consider volunteering during this year’s VBS. If you are interested, please contact one of the following committee members:

Jessica Clevering, Kate Huizenga, Lisa Boersma, Kellie Loerop, Becky Vande Kamp, Becky Schaafsma

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orland Park Church Family news

Thank you to the congregation for all their prayers and visits during Henry’s recovery. Praise God he is now cancer free! -Henry and Grace Kamp

A sincere thank you to the congregation for their prayers, cards, and caring well wishes during my hospitalization. A special thank you to Pastor Hank Elgersma for his visits, phone calls, and his concern. Also, thank you for the many cards that were sent for my 88th birthday. It is truly a blessing to be part of the family of God. -George Reddel

To my Orland Park Church family and friends, I want to thank you for all your concerns, calls, cards, and prayers during my recent hospitalization. It is a blessing to have such wonderful, caring Christian friends. Thank you for your continued prayers. -Carol Boersma

Thanks so much for all your prayers, thoughts, and deeds (cards and meals). I am very glad to be a part of this church. Your prayers carried me through surgery and now through the tests, procedures, and treatments that are ongoing. Joy and Peace, -Arlene Evenhouse

Dear Orland Park Church family, Thank you for all your expressions of concern and prayers during my surgery and recovery. -Dan Vander Plaats

Ken & Clara Jager want to thank all those who ask about their grandson Noah. He is walking, talking, and lov-ing the outdoors but is in speech therapy. Please pray for his brain to grow so it will fill his skull and flush out the fluid so his shunt doesn’t malfunction. Also pray for his dad and their son-in-law, Chris, who is in liver failure and fighting for his life. Please pray for his wife and their daughter, Tracy, to receive strength and hope from our awesome God.

t H A n K Y o U , o P C R C C H U R C H F A M I LY !

easterp a l m

s u n d ay : m a r c h 2 9

8 : 3 0 & 1 0 : 4 5 a m 6 : 0 0 p m

g o o d f r i d ay : a p r i l 3 7 : 0 0 p m

e a s t e r s u n d ay : a p r i l 5

8 : 3 0 & 1 0 : 4 5 a m n o p m s e r v i c e

s p e c i a l s e r v i c e s

orland Park Church Family newsHappy AnniversaryRich & Eloise Overzet April 8 55 years

John & Ruth Jacobsma April 21 59 years

Hank & Mary Lou Bos April 27 59 years

Bob & Karen Mensinga April 27 30 years

Happy BirthdayDorothy King 90 years April 2

Eleanor Kooy 93 years April 3

Geurt Van Hal 88 years April 11

Kay Wiersum 85 years April 29

Butch Bruinius 80 years April 10

Missionary: Evy Smith April 7 10

P R A Y E R R E Q U E S t S

Mildred Barcella

Jim Boerema

Dawn Borgman

Bill Bronsema

Dorothy Bruinius

Derk Deckinga

Arlene DeHorn

Cal Drenth

Arlene Evenhouse

Becky Gross

Terry Henschel

Ruth Jacobsma

Fran Jager

Ruth Kamp

Richard Kooy

Marty Kuiken

Johanna Leo

Herb Mehlan

Derek Neal

Lukas Otte

George Schaaf

Bill Schaafsma

Karen Schultz

Al Siegers

Janet Siegers

Ron Slager

Art Sluis

Eleanor Sluis

Steve Summers

Adrienne Urbanski

Carol Van Kuiken

Bob Van Lonkhuyzen

Courtney Van Ryn

Renee Vander Laan

Pearl Vis

Carol Vroegh

Please remember these people in prayer who are recovering from recent hospi-talizations, who are shut-ins, or who are dealing with other health problems.

To request prayer or give thanks for answered prayers, please send your request by email to prayer@opcrc.org or contact the church office at (708) 532-4900. If you wish to sign up to receive the prayer update by email, contact Cindy at cindy@opcrc.org.

We rejoice with Hilary and Jake Nydam, who welcomed a baby boy, Lukas Leonard, on Friday, March 13.

C o n G R A t U L A t I o n S !

S Y M P A t H I E SWe express our sympathy to:

Roy and Cheryl Van Eck who mourn the loss of Roy’s father, Willard Van Eck, who passed away on Friday, March 13, at the age of 98.

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APRIL 2015SUnDAY MonDAY tUESDAY wEDnESDAY tHURSDAY FRIDAY SAtURDAY

Coffee & Comfort 1:00 pm

Men’s Prayer Breakfast – 6:30 am

Men’s Prayer Breakfast – 6:30 am

Men’s Prayer Breakfast – 6:30 am

Men’s Prayer Breakfast – 6:30 am

Men’s Prayer Breakfast – 6:30 am

Cadets End-of-Year Party 6:30 pm

GEMS End-of-Year Party 6:30 pm

God’s Posse Topic Night7:00 pm

Youth Group LOFT7:00 pm

*NO 6:00 pm service

GEMS SUNDAY

Car Ministry7:00 pm

InSight 7:00 pm

InSight 7:00 pm

Youth Group Laser Tag (Off-Site) 7:00 pm

Hoekstra/Dokter Wedding 4:00 pm

God’s Posse Nerf War 7:00 pm

Admin Elders 7:00 pm

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Men’s BSF 6:45 pm

Men’s BSF 6:45 pm

Men’s BSF 6:45 pm

Men’s BSF 6:45 pm

Women’s BSF 9:00 am

Women’s BSF 9:00 am

Women’s BSF 9:00 am

GOOD FRiDAySERViCE 7:00 pm

EAStER SuNDAy

Women’s BSF 9:00 am

Women’s BSF 9:00 am

MOPS 9:00 am

MOPS 9:00 am

Coffee Break 9:00 am

Coffee Break 9:00 am

Coffee Break Closing Program 9:45 am

Coffee Break Leaders’ Luncheon 10:00 am

Submissions for the May 2015 issue of the Outlook are due on Sunday, April 12. Please send to Denise Vander Plaats at denise@opcrc.org or drop off in the office.

Oasis 12:30 pm

Admin Elders 7:00 pm

Council Mtg 7:30

Shepherding Elders/Deacons Meeting 8:00 pm

Ladies’ Craft Night 7:00 pm

Stewardship Class 7:00 pm

Worship Committee 7:00 pm

New Members Class4:00 pm

New Members Class4:00 pm

New Members Class4:00 pm

Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm