hartmann herald

october 2020

Hello all,

We write to you this month with hard news. Brian (Tyler's dad) has suddenly been diagnosed with a rare fatal brain disease called Creutzfeldt-jakob disease. This has been an extremely tough pill to swallow for our family and feels like a nightmare that we are waiting to wake up from. Please read our newsletter to hear more about how our family is doing and how you may be praying for us at this time.

Blessings,

The Hartmanns

Williamson Update

Beth's father, Lee Hearn, who resides in a skilled nursing facility in Lexington, Kentucky, has tested positive for COVID19.  We are thankful that he is asymptomatic at this time.  He has been moved to a portion of the facility that is being set up to isolate and treat the residents with the virus.  Please pray that he will stay healthy and have only mild symptoms, if any.  

 

Her mother, Ruth, also lives with Lee.  She has tested negative so far.  But because she has dementia, now being separated from her husband is causing increased confusion and anxiety.  Please pray that she will feel peace, and if she does have the virus, she too will only have only mild symptoms.  

 

Please pray for us living overseas away from them, as well as Beth's sister, Sharon, who is also a missionary in Taiwan, as we work to communicate with them and the staff of the facility and try to make wise choices on their behalf.  Our hearts are heavy being so far away from them.

 

Please remember the staff of this, and all of the other, skilled nursing facilities who are working under great pressure and risk.

 

We know that many of you may also have friends and loved ones who have also tested positive for or are undergoing treatment for COVID19.  Please let us know their names and we will be praying for them.

Mark Sanders

Hey friends,
You may remember that I asked you to pray for 2 days of important meetings last week.  The Lord did great things ... here's a brief report:

OCTOBER 14, 15 – The CM2 Bridge Initiative (CM2 = Campus Movements to Church Movements) A unique gathering of leaders spent two days together investigating an idea - to see what God might do to intentionally establish a partnership that welcomes "Sent Graduates" (from campus ministries) into city after city in the USA and gets them plugged into great partnering-churches and church-planting movement organizations.

Influencers from these groups participated: Navigators, Cru-Campus, The Send Institute, NAMB, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Baptist Campus Ministries, Chi Alpha, Evangelical Free Church of America, Send Network, Global Alliance for Church Multiplication, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Stadia, Go2, Anglican Church of North America, Assemblies of God, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Cru-Church Movements, Greenhouse Movement, Covenant Seminary, The Urban Ministry Institute – World Impact, Antioch International, Chicago Campus Initiative, Ethnos Network, Sanctus Missional Communities, Southern Baptist Convention, Presbyterian Church of America, CREO.  

It's not an exaggeration to say that this summit was historic!  We experienced God’s faithful leadership, as He empowered our unity and gave us wisdom. Our purpose is to build the Campus Movements to Church Movements Bridge to 1) discover, develop, and deploy church-planters and their launch teams, 2) welcome new "Sent Graduates" to the cities God sends them for their work, 3) invest in their lives so as to strengthen the Church with emerging, well-mentored leaders.

Thanks for your partnership with us,
Mark and Lezlee

GEM - Greater Europe Mission

The Refugee Crisis in Greece

An Opportunity to Serve

As you may know from our Facebook posts a couple of weeks ago, Julie and I recently had a last-minute opportunity to go to Greece to help with a refugee crisis. The main refugee camp on the island of Lesvos had burned to the ground. More than 12,000 refugees were living in the streets, olive groves, and empty lots--with no access to food, water, or basic sanitation.

GEM has been working in this camp since 2015 and we currently have one long-term family serving there. They put out an emergency request for several of us to help distribute food and clean up some of the mess left behind by so many displaced people. So we responded on a Friday and flew out on Monday!  Thankfully, by the time we arrived, a new camp was being built by the authorities and many of the people were moving in, but there was still much to be done. We were blessed to come alongside a local ministry known as Peace House: an organization focused on sharing the gospel and making disciples among refugees while meeting tangible needs (such as laundry, showers, etc.). 

Currently, the majority of refugees on Lesvos are from Afghanistan. Several of them have come to Christ in the past months, which is exciting! However, when these folks become followers of Jesus, they often experience rejection and persecution from others in the camp. Peace House seeks to be a place where these brothers and sisters can find respite and ongoing training, as well as a safe place to bring others who are seeking. 


One very important activity at Peace House that week were classes for those who were interested in being baptized! On the first day, 3 men were baptized. The following day, 2 women and 5 additional men were baptized--and Julie was blessed to go to the sea and be part of that celebration! 

KHK Foundation

HELP A STUDENT, GIVE THEMThe Gift Of Education

KHK Foundation has identified a great need for a continued educational program for the poverty-stricken children in Cambodia. These children are forced to give up the chance of receiving an education due to family obligations.

Click the KHK logo to go to their web site.