September 2025 Newsletter
"Hey, hey, anybody listening..."
Dear friends,
UKRAINIAN CHILDREN’S CAMP
Our outreach for the special camp for the Ukrainian children and mothers has been our podcast appeal for the past 30 days. Here is the message from Pastor Ivan and his wife Eugenia about the special week we have been praying for and supporting with gifts.
Your generosity has made it possible for us to send a gift of $3600 to support this special week of healing for mothers and their children. Now it is our time to pray. Here are the prayer requests as the Lemaks prepare for this healing week.
We will remind you to pray during the podcasts before the week and during September 23-30 when these people are being ministered to at the Carpathian camp. As many of you know, the Lemaks receive the podcast every day. Our Irishcast friends, David and Cynthia, forward it to them each day.
Each of us has many reasons to support this camping outreach, but one large part of our commitment is due to the fact that we know the importance of the camping ministry. My family was involved in Camp Augustana on Lake Geneva, WI for 10 years, Johan’s family was at Holden Village for 14 years, and both of us served at Mount Carmel for 28 years. And we have helped our children and grandchildren experience Mount Carmel for the past three summers. Here is a photo of my dad as the choral director at Camp Augustana who just got a bucket of water dumped on his head. He died 23 years ago on September 12.
“DAILY TEXTS” DISCOUNT ENDS SEPTEMBER 22
Some final thoughts about “Daily Texts” and our TABLE TALK ministry.
You can still order “Daily Texts” at the pre-order discount price until September 22. Check the website or call us at (763)-260-1057.
We also created a journal edition this year which is a little larger and has about two pages each week for writing your reflections on the texts. This version costs $29.50.
TABLE TALK CREATES FORGIVENESS TALK
Our TABLE TALK outreach began in February. Its purpose is to teach people how to replace resentment with forgiveness. This happens when we admit the resentment we feel is wrong and then ask Jesus to forgive us for it. Then Jesus absolves us of our anger and He purifies us (1 John 1:9). As you know resentment kills people. It can kill others but it eventually will kill the angry person. We need to create communities of forgiveness in our churches and communities so the priesthood of believers can free people from their anger. That is what Johan and I are doing with our TABLE TALK outreach. You can learn more about this ministry by looking at the TABLE TALK link on our webpage. We use the Luther drama to help people understand how the Luther’s needed to practice forgiveness in their lives. So far we have shared this message in 9 different locations, most recently at a homeless shelter in Albuquerque. We are offering the TABLE TALK ministry at four different congregations near Austin, Texas from September 24-27.
Here is a comment from one or our participants.
“This time of listening and then sharing with you afterward broke the power of my resentment
toward my sister.” (A woman in South Dakota)
Please pray for this “TABLE TALK” ministry where people have the opportunity to get free from the anger that can hold them captive as a prisoner.
Yours in the blessing of Forgivin’ Livin’,
Sonja (and Johan)