COMMON GROUNDS COFFEE and CYBER CAFE GETS GREAT REVIEW ONLINE

THE TASTE OF SUNDAY in Siem Reap, Cambodia



Flip n Travel is an online travel site that posts reviews about places visited. Recently they visited Siem Reap, Cambodia and wrote some fine comments about People for Care and Learning's Coffee Shop. Visit their website to read the article for yourself. http://flipntravels.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/the-taste-of-sunday/

THANKS FLIP N TRAVEL! :)

SOCIAL LEGITMACY IN CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE

PCL'S NEW PLAYGROUND A HUGE HIT IN CLEVELAND
Quote = Mayor Tom Rowland, Cleveland, TN
"This playground is one of the greatest assests to the city."

According to Sunday's front page article entitled "Greenway playground opened and dedicated," it didn't take long for children and their families to find the new PCL (People for Care and Learning) playground. The ribbon-cutting and formal dedication program was held Saturday morning, November 7 at 10:30am and was attended by a host of community officials and local families.
The playground was made possible by a generous $50,000 donation from People for Care and Learning, a matching grant from Play and Park Structures, and donated land from First Tennessee Bank. According to Dr. Douglas LeRoy, Board Chairman for PCL, "our international humanitarian organization concentrates on helping the poor in many different parts of the world and assisting them in vocational and humanitarian efforts. But since we are a part of this community in Cleveland, TN, we also want to make a contribution because Cleveland is our home. We built this park here to let this community know that we care about our home base."

This playground project represents a tremendous collaborative effort on the part of many different members and organizations within the Cleveland Bradley County area.
But honorable mention must be given to Hugh Carver and Men and Women of Action for their outstanding dedication and work ethic that was applied to this project.

Other team players included the Lee University rugby team, Ace Hardware, Church of God World Missions, Cleveland High School Interact club, Habitat for Humanity, WCLE MIX 104 Radio, First Tennessee Bank, the Parks and Recreation department, the City of Cleveland and People for Care and Learning.

PLAY MATTERS - RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY

Present at the Robbon Cutting:
Dr. Douglas LeRoy - Board Chair, People for Care and Learning
Dr. Fred Garmon - Executive Director, People for Care and Learning
Keith Barrett - City President, First Tennessee Bank
Adonia Latham - Raider Drive Financial Center, First Tennessee Bank Manager
Mayor Tom Rowland - City of Cleveland
Cameron Fisher - Cleveland Bradley County Greenway Committee Chair
Jennifer Tollefson - People for Care and Learning
Dr. William Lamb - Director of Field Experiences, Lee University
Patti Pettit - Director, Cleveland Parks and Recreation
Lisa Stanbery - Bradley County commissioner, 3rd District
Dan Howell - representing the Bradley County Mayor
Bridget Baggett - WCLE, My Mix 104 Radio
Justin Bunch - People for Care and Learning
And the Chick-Fil-A Cow!

According to Greenway Chair Cameron Fisher, "We appreciate the donation, but it is more than a check, Dr. Garmon and Hugh Carver along with many volunteers have spent days personally working on this project."













A PCL TEAM EFFORT:
Left to right - Jennefer Tollefson, Cari Shanks, Nona Carver, and Justin Bunch
*Special thanks to Cari Shanks, Playground project coordinator for PCL.

MERCY SPEAKS CONCERT IN ENNIS, TEXAS

Pastor Tom Sterbens Mercy Speaks Concert

Pastor and songwriter Tom Sterbens joined New Hope Church in Ennis, TX on October 18th for a free concert to benefit the People For Care and Learning, whose focus is missionary outreach to buddhist Cambodia. Pastor Sterbens partnered with Pastor Rhea Marshall (New Hope Pastor of Worship) and the musicians (both band and praise team) of New Hope Church in Ennis to perform these original songs live. Every one of these inspired songs lifted the spirits and touched the hearts of those in attendance. It was a night filled with worship, laughter, tears and a call to participate in helping families in need in Cambodia.
To that end, over $3,100 was received in an offering with every penny of the proceeds going to the missionary efforts to Cambodia. An additional $200 was received in pre-order sales of the Mercy Speaks concert DVD and CD. The concert - already filmed in Sevierville, TN and still to be performed in Cleveland, TN and Tampa, FL is comprised of all original works written and orchestrated by Pastor Sterbens. It truly was a night when Mercy spoke and the spiritual ramifications will be felt in the lives of many in Cambodia as well as Ennis, Texas.

Buck Marshall
Senior Pastor
New Hope Church
Ennis, Texas
www.NewHopeForever.com

Join Pastor Tom on Sunday evening, November 8, 6pm at the North Cleveland Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee for another "MERCY SPEAKS" Live concert. And go to www.mercyspeaksconcert.com to find out more about this great benevolent project and what People for Care and Learning is doing to benefit poverty stricken Cambodians.

OCTOBER 2009 PCL OPPORTUNITIES AND PROJECTS

People for Care and Learning has had several different projects underway during the month of October. This posting will seek to briefly update these projects.

IN THIS POST:
- Jenn Tollefson / Teddie Fletcher (MWOA) Reach Out to Ethipodia
- Dr. Garmon Completes DMin Class at Seminary - Dr. Dale and Melody Denham in Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Cambodia
- PCL Donates Playground to Cleveland Greenway

JENN TOLLEFSON / TEDDIE FLETCHER REACH OUT TO ETHIOPIA

PCL's Administrative Assistant, Jennifer Tollefson has once again ventured outside the PCL offices located in Cleveland, TN. This time making her way with Teddie Fletcher and Men and Women of Action to Ethiopia. Emails tell us they have had a great trip with Bishop Hiruy Tsige, Ethiopian Overseer facilitating and leading the team.

According to Teddie Fletcher,

"We visited over 10 Churches/schools and ministered to over 3,000. As of Thursday we have given out over 3,000 gifts to children and adults. We even visited a bush church with 500 people. We had to take a donkey cart, then we waled through marshlike... fields with hundreds of children following us. What an experience! And what a great team of ladies! They will do anything to see that the job gets done. During our last night in devotion we talked about laughter, which is what we have done a lot on this trip. Laughter is a gift from God.... When you really laugh with someone you have shared an experience that you will later recall with fondness. Laughter builds bridges and makes people feel at home."

DR. GARMON COMPLETES DMin CLASS AT SEMINARY

After five days of intense instruction seven Doctor of Ministry students and several professors and lecturers breathed a sigh of relief. I have the great priviledge each October to teach Christian Leadership Theory and Practice to second year Doctoral students at the Church of God Theological Seminary. Dr. Paul Metler, Senior Pastor of Heritage Fellowship Church of God in Oak Ridge, TN assisted me again this year along with two guest lecturers; Jake Stum, PhD candidate at Regent University Organizational Leadership Program and Tim Spiers, instructor in the Executive Leadership MBA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Together we discussed issues, concepts and theories of leadership relating to character, integrity, credibility, leading change, managing conflict, work-life balance, stress in ministry, personal development and much, much, more.

DR. DALE AND MELODY DENHAM IN SE ASIA

Saturday in Phnom Penh we celebrated the graduation of 91 ISOLD students (International School of Leadership Development) who received their 2-year diploma. These students were from four different villages across southern Cambodia and Viet Nam. Twenty-five crossed over the border from Vietnam (always at great risk) were picked up by bus transport & brought three hours to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to participate and receive their ISOLD diplomas.

Following the graduation these students rode the bus back to the Vietnam border where they had to find a place to wait through the night hours so they could cross the border in the morning. One older lady walked with a shriveled leg walked with a crutch to receive her diploma, smiling all the way and then made her way back into Vietnam as a proud ISOLD graduate. It is very humbling to see their desire for God and for a deeper understanding of Him.

Tuesday near Battambang, Cambodia we meet with 36 pastors and 70 public high school teachers and launch a new ISOLD school. These teachers have about 4000 students. 60 Elementary school teachers have asked if they can join also.

In Malaysia we set forth three more schools, visited some existing schools and in Sri Lanka graduated ten more students making more than 100 graduates of ISOLD'S two year discipleship course there. One of our former graduates, a village chief, has planted three churches already since his ISOLD training. One young lady from the same graduating class has three home bible studies and one ISOLD school that she has started and these are just some of the stories.

Dr. Dale & Melody

PCL DONATES PLAYGROUND TO CLEVELAND, TN GREENWAY


PCL partnered with the Cleveland, TN Greenway Committee to purchase and construct a playground on the Greenway located at the First Tennessee Bank property on Raider Drive. PCL donated the money and First Tennessee donated the property. Several local organizations including Men and Women of Action, City of Cleveland, Ace Hardware, Lee University Rugby Club, and Church of God World Missions joined PCL staff and a supervisor from "Play Structures" to erect the playground. Ground covering tiles have yet to laid and swings put in place before the project is ready for play. A restroom, parking area and picnic tables are planned for the near future.

BACK IN THE GOOD OLE U.S. OF A. Teaching in the Doctor of Ministry Program

I arrived back in the U.S.A. late Monday afternoon from Hungary and had the opportunity to begin teaching in the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at the Church of God Pentecostal Seminary (Yes, it's a new name) early Tuesday morning. Jet lag has yet to be a problem, but then I am staying active in the teaching role.

Dr. Paul Metler, Senior Pastor at the Heritage Fellowship Church of God in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is my assistant teacher in this class and thanks to him I was able to miss Monday and begin teaching Tuesday. We have seven great students from the around the United States and one from India.




Already this week our dialogue has revolved around leadership principles like
- Integrity, Character, Credibility, Trust
- Relationships, Change, Conflict, Transitions in ministry
- History of Leadership, Servant Leadership


Stay tuned to this blog for more information about this class.




COMING UP -

REDEMPTIVE LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN PHILIPPINES
I leave for Manila, Philippines and the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries (ASCM) the last week of October to conduct Training for Trainers in my Redemptive Leadership: Ten Critical Skills series. Scott Rains is the President of the Semanary in Manila and I'm looking forward to this return trip.

LEADERLAB IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
Going Home

Thursday & Friday
November 12 & 13


HOLIDAY CAMBODIA TRIP - FULL
November 27 - December 8

DAY OF HONOR AND CELEBRATION

Today (Saturday) started out with a 3 1/2 mile jog and moved quickly into a sentimental time of honoring a great leader within European ministry. This morning I was present as the European leadership within the Church of God (14 countries represented) honored and celebrated Bishop and Mrs. Dieter Knospie's ministry as Field Director of Eastern Europe. Bishop Knospie has plans to step down from this position next July at the International Assembly in Orlando, FL.

With those plans in place the Eastern European Leadership from 14 countries (15 if you call Tennessee a foreign country; and some do) took several hours to share memories and celebrate the accomplishments and exemplery pastoral behavior the Knospies have modeled for the past several decades. I met Dieter Knospie a little over a year ago in Germany at a national pastor's conference. The second day of the conference we had breakfast together and he invited me to come spend several days training the Leadership of Eastern Europe. Bishop Knospie's words to me in both private and public are extremely kind and affirming.

TEN YEAR CHURCH CELEBRATION IN HUNGARY



This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the Church of God in Hungary and we literally celebrated it all afternoon and into the evening. All 15 countries of us boarded a big bus and drove about 30 kilometers to the town of Debrecen, Hungary. Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary following Budapest.

We left for the church at 3:15pm and arrived back at our hotel after 9:00pm; 6 sermons, many testimonies and lots of singing and eating in between. It was a wonderful time of celebrating with these kind and proud people but the highlight of the evening for me involved getting to meet Janos Vigh, a 90 year old man that stole the show.

Janos is the oldest living Church of God member in Hungary, having been a member for 72 years and a bi-vocational minister for over 40 years. Janos cared for his wife for more than 20 years before she passed away and raised 5 beautiful children. How can I describe him to you? Meek, humble, conscious, inspiring, precious, honorable...you just want to listen to him talk and he loves to talk about the past. Janos is one of those people who cry at the drop of a hat and he has the contagious ability to encourage your tears as well.



And now what would a church celebration be without food and good ole table fellowship? And boy did we enjoy a spread. See photo above.

TEACHING AND TABLE FELLOWSHIP IN HUNGARY

Delegates in this meeting come from 14 different countries:
Germany, Austria, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Belaras, and the Ukraine.

Today, Friday, October 9 was the second day of my LeaderLab training opportunity here in Hungary. I am with some of the best people on earth. People who day in and day out live to make a difference in the lives of men and women, boys and girls. Listening to their stories of humble self-sacrifice and the trials they endure is both inspiring and convicting. Today we spent our teaching and interaction time focusing on conflict in the ministry, a topic that always keeps a group like this one awake and interested. The time seemed to fly by.



Room and Board for all delegates has been included in the confrence price and the food...well let's just say it has been "generic." So, this afternoon a few of us decided to slip off down the street to a little Hungarian restaurant. Boy was this a good idea! It was the real deal! Music, atmosphere, food preparation and all.


In this photo to the right, Jonathan Augustine and I are enjoying authentic Hungarian Goulash - it was spectacular.

PCL ESTABILISHES SOCIAL LEGITIMACY IN CLEVELAND
Back at home in good ole Tennessee the People for Care and Men and Women of Action teams are collaborating with other organizations in Cleveland to build a playground structure on the Greenway. This playground has been donated to the Cleveland Greenway as part of PCL's commitment to Inspiring Hope and Empowering Potential both at home and abroad; from SE Tennessee to SE Asia. I can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks to Cari Shanks and the other PCL staff volunteers that are heading up this project in my absence.






MWOA PROJECT IN ETHIOPIA - JENN TOLLEFSON PART OF THE TEAM
In addition, another group of ladies led by Teddie Fletcher from Men and Women of Action are on their way to Ethiopia where they will present early Christmas gifts to more than 1,000 children. Jennifer Tollefson, my administrative assistant, is representing PCL on this trip.

LEADERSHIP / MINISTRY DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES IN SE ASIA
Dr. Dale Denham is also in SE Asia moving from country to country Inspiring Hope and Empowering Potential through the leadership / ministry development arm of PCL. Dr. Dale has already been in Mylasia, is on his way to Sri Lanka and will close out his trip in Cambodia. Dr. Dale has more than a thousand students in ministry development ISOLD schools (International Schools of Leadership Development).

SHIRLEY GARMON - ESSENTIAL TO HOME OFFICE
And we cannot forget about my lovely wife Shirley. She is back at the PCL offices making sure everything runs smoothly so that the rest of us can travel and do what we do. Her incredible work ethic accompanied by her ability to multi-task makes Shirley an invaluable part of our PCL Team effort. Make sure you're signed up for her Constant Contact email blasts that she sends out regularly. This email newsletter will keep you up to date with all that our ministry is up to. Go to our PCL website at www.peopleforcare.org to sign up and learn more about People for Care and Learning.