regional review » PWOC International Blog

Drawing Near To God

May 012012

I’m a team player. I like to talk with people. I like to watch people. I like to study with people. I like to work and play with people. I find it easy to build a leadership team. I love serving with others who are passionate about Jesus and working towards a common God-given; Holy-Spirit led goal.

Its ironic God has yet to reveal the leadership team for PWOC Japan. It is NOT taking shape as quickly as *I* think it should.

As this season of leadership and family life has gotten busier I’ve repeatedly found myself remembering John Wesley’s words, “I’m too busy not to pray!” I’m stretching in new ways involving prayer, solitude, rest and silently being with Him. It goes AGAINST my natural personality – but it’s God. My “duty” now is to wait, to pray, to abide and watch for Him to move to reveal His team

In a recent conversation with God I shared it would be much easier to wait if He just added a prayer coordinator to our team in the near future. I long to pray with a team of ladies passionate for Jesus and PWOC Japan. I was clearly reminded JESUS IS PRAYING for me, for the things which concern me. This hit me in such a personal way it seemed to be a totally new revelation….and yet I know that Hebrews 7:25 says Jesus is “able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” As I’ve gone against my natural grain to “organize, plan, recruit” and simply draw near to Him, Jesus is praying for me, for PWOC Japan, for my family, for those things that are dear to my heart. I picture Jesus saying, “Father, she’s seeking your face again, will you pour out your grace in these situations?”

Ladies, be encouraged. As you draw near to God, Jesus is praying for you. Stop and think about it.

De’Etta Goecker (President PWOC Japan)

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If You Can.....

regional review

Apr 262012

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. ~ Psalm 145:4

Our family recently celebrated a Passover Seder with our neighbors. There’s a place in the meal where we recount God’s mighty deeds & awesome work through a song called Dayenu, in Hebrew means “it would have been enough.” It would have been enough if God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, but He also parted the sea, drown their enemies, gave them manna to eat, gave them Sabbath rest, and gave His Word and so many more amazing miracles!

How important it is to recall God’s faithfulness and power to those around us & our descendants. Many Christians today struggle in areas of unbelief. We pray, but we don’t really believe God can do it. Just as the father in Mark 9 felt. He asks Jesus, “IF you can help my son” please do it! His son had demonic issues and it probably exhausted the family to no end! We can hear the desperation in the father’s plea. Jesus replies “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” ~ Mark 9:23-24

We relate to this father because we say the same thing in our hearts to God. We just don’t know if God can do it, will do it, wants to do it, or is able to do it. If we spent time recalling and telling of God’s mighty acts… we would be reminded of His RESURRECTION POWER and realize that nothing is too hard for Him. No wonder Paul says in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and the POWER of His resurrection…”

By recounting His mighty acts and commending His works to one another, we actually build each other’s faith. I would even say the future of the church depends on it. The faith of the generations to follow will GROW from the seeds we are planting today. Seeds of recalling God’s amazing works in OUR lives. It will strengthen our faith and the faith of those to follow when we remind each other of God’s mighty acts and awesome wonders. Meditate on what He has done in your personal life, and scatter those seeds of faith today.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness… They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

~ Psalm 145:5-7, 11-12

Sara Pak

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Angel By Your Side

regional review

Apr 192012

My title is a song by Francesca Battistelli, one of my favorite Christian artists. Below are some of the words from this song:

I can’t say that everything’s okay – ‘Cause I can see the tears you’re crying – And I can’t promise to take the pain away – But you can know I won’t stop trying – I’ll be the angel by your side – I will get you through the night – I’ll be the strength you can’t provide on your own – ‘Cause when you’re down and out of time – And you think you’ve lost the fight – Let me be the angel – The angel by your side – I know it feels like you’re running out of faith – ‘Cause it’s so hard to keep believing – But if I can bring a smile back to your face – if for a moment, you’ll forget all about it – ‘Cause this won’t be the last time – You’ll need a little hope – But I want to be the first to let you know – I’ll be the angel by your side

As I listened to Francesca sing this song, it hit me how many times I felt so all alone. How I forgot to cry out to the one who is always by my side. How I thought I was strong enough to fight the battle one last time. How there was just no end to the pain and suffering in my life. How I just couldn’t believe anymore that there was someone somewhere who was going to rescue me. I listened over and over to the words to this song and wept for all the times I ignored the One who would have loved to wiped the tears from my eyes; The One who would have fought the battle with me; The One who did not want me to have pain or suffering; The One who would have rescued me and let me find comfort in the warmth of His Love.

What was I seriously thinking during those times of suffering and pain? I was probably thinking, “I can do this all by myself!” Am I that silly, I am that prideful, I am that stubborn? As I write these words to you, I want you to know that you do not have to be as stubborn or as prideful or even as silly as I was. Francesca’s song tells us – that He is the angel by our side. I smile because I know without a doubt that every day I wake up and place these old tired feet on the ground, my Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ – does not want me to face life’s challenges alone. He wants to be with me every step of the way.

His Word tells me: “…draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

Let God be – the angel by your side!

Jody Garcia

Pacific Region President

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What will I be when I grow up?

regional review

Apr 122012

For our family, spring break means one thing: vacation. Beginning just after the Christmas holiday, we spend weeks imagining where in the world we want to transport ourselves to escape the dreariness of the winter season. Conversation is always lively as the kids offer up their very best ideas: DC, Disneyworld and Grand Canyon have all been strong contenders. But last year, these late winter conversations took a decidedly different direction. Our oldest daughter was a senior in high school and preoccupied with the age old question that plagues many of us today: “What am I going to do when I grow up?” As she rolled her eyes at our helpful suggestions (you can be a scientist, a doctor, a business woman…), I couldn’t help thinking to myself: “what did I want to be when I grew up?”

Although it’s been more than 20 years since I graduated from high school, I can still recall with certain clarity exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. Being a young woman in southern California it seemed appropriate to begin planning for my future career by building the proper wardrobe: I bought a pair of crisp white Bermuda shorts, a cherry red scarf for my neck and a dark blue blazer. You see, for teen girls who loved TV, there was nothing hotter than ABC’s The Love Boat, and I wanted to be Julie McCoy, your cruise director.

Although I had never been on a cruise, there was something wildly exotic and attractive about working on a ship. There were three factors of Julie’s job that seemed like a good fit for me:

Julie was mighty perky and optimistic—there wasn’t a crazy situation she couldn’t help fix.
Julie was great at details…she would find that single shy older man and let him know that there was a shuffle board tournament going on and would he mind partnering with this nice, older woman, who just happened to be mourning the death of her beloved husband? And,
She was part of a dynamic team. Instead of working as a lone ranger on the ship, Julie and her cohorts relied on each other to do what they did best. Only by working together, could they accomplish what needed to be done before reaching the next destination.

It’s no secret that I didn’t end up pursing a career as a cruise director. I find it enchanting to consider that the same things that excited me as a young woman are still true today. I’m a natural optimist and love tackling strange situations and seeing how they can be repaired; and my love for details and working with others to see ministry unleashed gives me renewed energy. I imagine the same is true for every woman who ever had a childhood dream of what she would do with her life.

Our innate traits, personalities, gifts and talents can operate together to bring us pleasure and satisfaction in our daily work. When we discover where the world’s greatest needs are met through our unique skills we then experience true delight. Ministry leaders should embrace the question, “What did you want to be when you grew up?” and listen as women share their childhood dreams. Together we can each other discover what makes us particularly unique and find new ways within ministry to tap into those gifts.

Kristen Rietkerk

Europe Region President

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Korea Region

regional review

Apr 082012

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

The recent change from the PWOC Asia Region to the separate Korea and Japan Regions allows us to focus specifically on the needs in our immediate vicinity. On the Korean peninsula, we have five US military bases that have active PWOC chapters, and each is unique to the community it ministers to. Despite the different needs and goals of each chapter, my hope is that we can unify the ministries on the peninsula with the purpose of spurring one another on to do good things!

A recent weekend gathering in Seoul was a first step in that direction. The weekend of March 23-24, PWOC Yongson hosted an event called Faithlift, the first gathering of ladies from across the peninsula since the change in our regional structure. It was a great time to connect with ladies, to see that we are not alone, and to recharge our souls so we could go back to our posts and impact our communities for God.

The topic of the weekend was “Walking with our Lord.” We considered the different “shoes” we wear – for example, combat boots to help us to stand firm, or flip flops so that we can chill out (not flip out!). And sometimes God asks us to put on our running shoes in order to follow Him. We also talked about how our walk is different than that of those in the world around us because we need to be blameless, innocent, and above reproach. We need to continually be transformed from the inside out to become the women God has called us to be. Finally, we cannot sit in our houses and waste our two years in Korea; instead, we need to take our transformed lives to our neighborhoods. People need Jesus and we are to be lights to the military community we live in.

The weekend of gathering with believers really spurred me on to come back to my post and shine for God in a new way! It was a time to refocus on my purpose in Korea. God has a plan for me in Korea and now I need to walk day by day with Him. The weekend really encouraged me as I met ladies from each post and heard the amazing stories of what God was doing. I am excited about our next meeting as a region which will be WILD training, June 15-17!

Pam Angell

Korea Region President

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Fort Greely, Alaska

regional review

Apr 062012

Hi Ladies:

I am so exited of what God is doing in Fort Greely…We became official! After two years of praying and waiting. God is good!!

I have to thank the Lord and our Chaplain Earl Vanderhof for his support, encouragement and prayers during all this time and to my sister Treva for having such a tender heart for the Lord and a strong faith to believe that this was possible, I love u girl!
I also want to thank my other sister Paulette for seeking the Lord and being obedient to get in this boat with us to spread the good news that God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow, love u girl!

I know in my heart that He has called us this season to begin this group here at Ft. Greely and I believe that we are walking in His will, as one, to reach all the women who need Jesus in their life. Halleluiah! We are going to conquer anything that we believe in the name of Jesus, there’s nothing impossible to those who believe, so don’t be afraid, ladies, to believe and stand in faith for what God has promised you because in His time it’s going to happen. I encourage you all to seek the Lord more than ever through fasting and prayer, he has called us, but are we willing to pay the price to see his glory in everything that we do?

Let’s commit ourselves as living sacrifices to The One who is the Head of PWOC, Jesus Christ, and to love our neighbor as our self.

Many Blessings, in the love of Christ Vanessa Hernández

President, Fort Greely

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Changing Seasons

regional review

Apr 032012

“That the leaders led in Israel, That the people volunteered, Bless (Praise) the LORD!” Judges 5:2NASB

Something is shifting in Japan. Last week’s storm, which dumped a foot of snow, has given way to a week of rain.

The ginormous, radically impressive sledding hill outside my door has shriveled to a muddy pile of snow, revealing broken sleds, garbage, snow shovels and stray gloves. Snow-covered fields, dormant all winter, slowly transition into nurseries for new life. It ‘aint pretty – It’s foggy, wet, drippy, muddy, and a bit stinky – the fields don’t yet boast uniform, plastic-tented rows, or seedlings. The only signs of life to come are patches of earth in the midst of the snow and diligent farmers out surveying fields.

Over 150 installations are selecting new PWOC leadership in this season. Think of it, over 1500 leaders ANNUALLY changing positions in a totally volunteer-driven organization. Consider the yearly moving cycle, annual turnover of leadership, pastors shifting every 2 – 3 years (many with extended trips to the desert during their tenure), and a congregation largely made up of parishioners middle aged and below. I’ve not seen this model recommended by church growth-leadership experts. This is our reality. Only God’s hand of blessing makes our chapels/women’s ministries thrive. PWOCI and military chapels have an incredible opportunity to become nurseries for new leaders. We see God move within the framework of our lives. We are 100% aware of our dependence on Him to supply leadership and direction for our groups. We are able to welcome new leaders and new ideas more easily than other models of church life.

I believe our Leadership Selection Team (LST) Chairs are some of the most faith-filled women in our ministry. They stand in the gap and pray for God to reveal new leaders. They guard the health of our groups as they travail, on our behalf, in prayer. The transitioning fields I observe around my home provide a picture for this season in our ministry calendar, for PWOC Japan in particular. The picture may be a bit foggy, messy and even a bit stinky in spots, we don’t see lots of evidence of what is to come, but we can see SIGNS of new life about to spring forth if we only open our eyes to observe God at work.

PRAY for your local LST. Has God asked YOU to serve in your local group? Is God inviting you to serve PWOC beyond your local installation? The newly- birthed, PWOC Japan region, currently has open positions.

I pray we are graced with leaders and volunteers across PWOCJ and PWOCI. May we cultivate the spirit of praise for God’s work shown in the opening Scripture.

De’Etta Goecker

PWOC Japan Region, President

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Fort Belvoir Easter Baskets

regional review

Mar 192012

Fort Belvoir’s Outreach recently collected supplies for assembling Easter baskets to donate to the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). Rachel Spinuzzi heads up Outreach for this Northeast Region member PWOC. She reports that she was surprised at the generosity of the donors. Every week she filled her trunk with donations transferred from the large collection box set out during PWOC for a few Thursdays. Rachel expects to assemble at least 55 complete Easter Baskets with help from volunteers immediately following Bible study. When complimented on the idea of this outreach project Rachel gave all the credit to those who went before her. She relayed that she received a large binder from the previous Outreach Coordinator full of great ideas and suggestions.

Fort Belvoir’s PWOC has donated Easter baskets to the EFMP for several years. The Program already has an event set up on an upcoming Saturday which provides the perfect venue for the distribution of these baskets. The Easter baskets make a big difference in the children’s’ lives, yet with so many volunteers donating supplies and filling baskets, the project is carried out with relative easy. Families on Ft. Belvoir receive a special blessing and the love of Jesus through the ministry of Outreach.

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“I Am Worn Out”

Bits & Pieces, Devotions, Life Happens Jesus Answers, regional review

Mar 152012

As I sat at my desk pondering what my blog would say, I laid my head down and wept just calling out to God because I am just “worn out”. I was home from the mainland ten days when there was a Red Cross message sent to my husband – his mother was in ICU, come home immediately. The next two weeks was a haze for me: hospital visits, cooking for 12 people, cleaning, grocery store, sleepless nights, hubby got very sick, etc…How could I not be “worn out”. (Mother-in-law pulled through. She is back at pulmonary rehab. Praise be to God and everyone’s prayers.)

God and his infinite wisdom knows what we need at the right time. I will be facilitating a new study at PWOC titled “Brave – Honest Questions Women Ask” by Angela Thomas. As I was preparing the first session, it is titled “I Am Worn Out”. Laughing, I listened to the video and opened up my Bible, I learned how to take this “worn out” body and restore it.

Here is a statement from the book: “Sometimes it literally feels like I have a huge weight pushing down on top of me. A heaviness follows me from room to room. Sometimes it’s physical. Sometimes emotional. Sometimes I am too numb to tell the difference.” (This is me in a nutshell) God’s word says: “The man declares, I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God and worn out.” Proverbs 30:1 ESV So I stood up and I shouted, “I am not superwoman! I need your help God”.

As I continued to listen to Angela Thomas, she gave me steps to restore my body, mind and soul. “Come to me, all of you, who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 So I took the following steps to heart:

Take the Sabbath day to refresh your body, spirit and soul. Hebrews 4:9-10
Repentance leads to refreshing. Acts 3:19
If you walk in the good way, your soul will rest. Jeremiah 6:16
Godly friends restore your soul. I Corinthians 16:18

One of my favorite verses tells me: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

I am turning to God, I am going to rest on the Sabbath, I am going to walk in the “good way” and I will spend time with my godly friends. Here is to restoring my “worn out” body, mind and soul.

Jody Garcia

Pacific Region PWOC President

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God Is Moving In Japan

Bits & Pieces, Life Happens Jesus Answers, regional review

Mar 112012

Many of us have been experiencing various emotions as the anniversary of 3.11.11 approached. It’s been a year since the triple disaster of a 9. Earthquake, an unbelievable tsunami, and a nuclear disaster hit our host country. On our installations many voluntarily evacuated and some were sent home early not to return. We do not want to be a people living in the past…but it is fitting to reflect. Consider the words below from OMF International (formerly China Inland Mission).

As you reflect, consider God has been faithful! New doors of ministry are open. Many of us have grown in intimacy with Abba through the events of the past year. Personally, I’ve learned to follow His lead in a much more vulnerable and intimate way when there is little left to trust but His very presence. I challenge us all to continue to let His light shine in this unique time of history.

It has been humbling to serve with you at this time. I have been in awe of His grace as I hear of the ways various individuals and groups have gotten involved with the ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts in our host country.

Truly God IS on the move in Japan. God persists. Hope Persists! I pray the life of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, flow into these communities and our installations with as much reality as the tsunami did a year ago.

De’Etta Goecker

PWOC Japan Region, President

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If You Can.....

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What will I be when I grow up?

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“I Am Worn Out”

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