Mission

For the 10th year in a row, Christian Community Action (CCA) will be participating in the nationwide $1-million Alan Shawn Feinstein Foundation Anti-Hunger Challenge. This means that the Feinstein Foundation (www.feinsteinfoundation.org) will make a financial donation for each food item/cash donation made to the CCA Food Pantry during March and April.

The more donations received from March 1st to April 30th, the bigger the donation from the Feinstein Foundation. These donations can include cash, checks and food items (valued at $1.00 per item or pound) or pledges.

CCA’s food pantry is one of the largest in the region, serving more than 600 people a month, 50 percent of them children. It is available to families with children, senior citizens and people with disabilities in the Hill section of New Haven, and over the years the agency has served more than 40,000 people. Starting in 2001, they have offered a “Client Choice” program. Food pantry participants are given the opportunity to “shop” for their food items rather than receiving a pre-made bag. CCA maintains membership with the Connecticut Food Bank but relies on others for donations.

First Presbyterian Church has a green wheel barrow parked in the Copeland Room to collect food items for CCA. On the last Sunday of each month, a volunteer packs up the bags and delivers them to the CCA food pantry at Davenport and Asylum Streets. If you would like to join in this effort, please contact Jane Hindenlang at jane.hindenlang@gmail.com.

March and April are traditionally periods when donations to food pantries are low, which is why the Feinstein Foundation picked these months for their campaign. Please consider making an extra effort to fill the green wheelbarrow during this time.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Grace and peace to you in Christ’s name as we approach the beginning of Lent.

My recovery from the mastectomy has gone well. The stitches are out and the drain has finally been removed. My arm is regaining normal motion.

The initial pathology report leaves no doubt that I need additional treatment. In recent days Javier and I have been exploring options.

We have met with an oncologist here in Quetzaltenango and another oncologist in Guatemala City. Both agree that all the drugs used for chemotherapy in breast cancer in the US are all available here. Both doctors also were clear that diagnostic equipment and procedures are much better in the US. CIGNA, the company that provides coverage for PC(USA) mission co-workers, is also insisting that I be seen in the US. Both doctors agreed to follow a treatment plan developed in the US.

From the moment my illness became known, friends in two supporting churches in Chapel Hill, NC who support my salary and CEDEPCA – University Presbyterian Church and Chapel in the Pines – have been encouraging me to go to the cancer center at the University of North Carolina. They have also promised to take good care of me while I am in Chapel Hill.

I’m flying to North Carolina on February 23. The next day I’ll turn in my lab reports, slides, tissue block and mammograms. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, I’ll have a PET/CV scan. On Wednesday, Feb. 29, I’ll meet with an interdisciplinary team of doctors. They should be able to give me a treatment plan that same day. I was asked to stay in Chapel Hill for another week in case I need further tests. I’ll be flying back to Guatemala on March 9. My hope is to be able start chemotherapy here in Quetzaltenango the following week.

I will have my US cell phone with me. I will also be able to receive mail while I am in North Carolina. Please contact me if you would like either my phone number or mailing address.

While I am in North Carolina, my husband, Javier, will travel to Nicaragua to check on our farm as well as other family business. He has been a great help to me since my surgery, though his patience has been stretched to the limit at times. Our daughter, Tamara, continues her studies at Reed College. I hope she is able to focus on her school work and not worry about me.

Meanwhile, the semester is now underway at CEDEPCA. The classrooms are literally bursting with students. It´s a great joy to see so many people responding to the alternative theological education we are offering. I think we have the largest number of students ever. I was able to spend two days this week at the office. I am confident my colleagues at CEDEPCA will be able to carry on well without me, though I am continuing to do some work and I intend to remain connected to what´s happening at CEDEPCA.

I am learning to tell people that I feel fine, even though I know I am very sick. For the most part I am feeling calm, especially now that I have a plan for the next steps. There are, of course, moments of anxiety. There are also moments of sadness as I mourn all that I had planned to do in the coming months. I am very sorry not to be able to carry out my mission interpretation assignment in the US at this time.

On the other hand, I am looking forward to a different pace of life in the weeks and months ahead. I´m compiling a list of the books I want to read as well as the films I want to see. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for either list.

I refuse to turn being a patient into a full-time job. As a Christian, my vocation is to work in God´s mission. I now do so as someone who is fighting cancer. I know that God is with me every step of the way.

Please do keep the messages coming, even if I can´t always respond. It´s a great help to be connected to so many people in different places around tarla.arlahe world. I will need your encouragement and support in the weeks and months to come.

Blessings,

Karla

Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll
Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission Co-worker
Latin American Biblical University
Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America – CEDEPCA
kakjtb@yahoo.com
karla.koll@pcusa.org

It is important for us Presbyterians to write letters to Congress after the morning worship service on March 18th. This year we will continue to form a circle of protection around programs for the most needy: tax credits for low income working families, food assistance programs both overseas and in the US, and funding for poverty focused foreign aid. In recent years these programs took sizable cuts of up to 20%, even though the percentage of individuals and families below the poverty line continues to increase.

Remember that programs such as the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as “food stamps”) serve families of four making less than $23,000. The Earned Income and Child Tax Credits lifted nearly 8 million people (including 4.3 million children) out of poverty.

Congressional efforts to trim the federal deficit will put even more pressure on these programs in 2012. In the time before Sunday, March 18th you will find materials on the Welcome Table (in the Copeland Room) and in your bulletins which will help you compose letters on the 18th. Pick up the materials, read them at home and bring them with you on letter writing Sunday. It has been reliably estimated that representatives in Congress consider a single letter to represent the feelings of 1,000 of his or her constituents.

We must insure that our representatives in Congress know that we oppose having those in need suffer the most. As Psalm 72 reads, “for he [a just king] delivers the needy when they call, the poor, and those who have no helper.”