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Windows Into Zion is the monthly newsletter of Zion Mennonite Church. The publishers are Dorothy Hartman, Julie Hottinger, Fern Nisly, and Myrna Piper. Return to the Newsletter Archives. July 2003
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| Volume 8 |
Number 9
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July 2003
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Meet the Vaccaro family --Barbara Risser For two years the Joe and Dabney Vaccaro family have made Zion Mennonite the church of their choice. You turn up the lane to a little brown house with a deck surrounded by flowerbeds and several fishponds at 2770 Zion Church Road . It’s hardly one mile from church. Yes, you can’t see the house from the road that continues to flow past more neighboring homes. The tree-wooded area gives a rustic, restful setting and a sense that you are already in a vacation spot. Nature calls you to relax. Dabney is originally from Waynesboro, Virginia and raised Methodist. Joe is from Colorado and has a Catholic background. They met at Virginia Beach. After marriage in 1987, they attended a Presbyterian church before deciding on Zion Mennonite. They wanted a new church together so their children could experience fellowship. “Where I grew up,” Dabney explained, “I memorized Scripture verses and wanted the same for our family. I really appreciate that our three girls are encouraged to carry their Bibles and read from them in Sunday School at Zion. I also enjoy the friendships, Bible teaching and sharing. Joe and I are in the Sojourners class where we have different teachers taking turns.” Heather, the 12 year old, is the sports enthusiast. She is also doing quite well on the violin as demonstrated in a worship service on Children’s Sunday. Josyln, 10, is the bookworm of the family, and Emily, 8, enjoys helping her Mom especially when making cookies. During two years in the Navy, Joe had acquired some college courses. He has been a diesel mechanic for 13 years at Harrisonburg Electric Commission. As a hobby, Joe enjoys building small rockets and sizzles them into the sky with a big bang. Ask Joe how many different kinds of rockets he has made. The dining room surfaces are covered with his handiwork. A separate workshop for his project is being built at the present time. “He thinks he needs a man’s place!” Dabney grinned. Besides being a full-time mother and homemaker, Dabney is a full-time student at Lord Fairfax Community College in Winchester. She already has an Associate degree in Secretarial Science from Blue Ridge Community College. That got her a job as a dental assistant to Dr. Rellins of Broadway. “I want to be a dental hygienist where I can clean teeth and work alone and have my own desk. Now I can only assist the dentist making sure he has the right instruments for the job he is doing. We also do clean-up in the office.” Dabney explained. “At present I am only ‘on call’ for that.” Contact with the people is what Dabney likes best about her work. Her quick, confident smile could put a nervous patient as ease. Dabney is a gracious hostess and served us warm chocolate cake and iced tea while sharing about their travels with family. Most of Joe’s relatives live in Colorado where they have traveled numerous times. Since his father’s heart attack, they plan another trip soon. “I’d like to show the girls the whole United States sometime,” Dabney said with a sweep of her hand. “Our favorite recreation for the present is going camping.” We welcome you and your family to share your gifts and talents at Zion. |
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MYF news Daphna Community Picnic Showalter barn party |
Jamaica --Dawn Mast Even though we eventually had a great time in Jamaica there were some rough points at the beginning. Embarrassingly I will share an entry from my journal. Even though I've known myself all my life I still forget that if I don't have proper sleep and nutrition I get what the medical community refers to as "weird". In this instance it happened in the Philadelphia airport. As we walked to our gate for an hour wait until our next flight I noticed two groups of people. There was a seven-foot man with enormous hair and a loud booming Jamaican accented voice. He was talking to a shorter man with less hair, same accent, but he was wearing a skirt! I immediately thought, "Why are we doing this? We must be crazy! I can't go to Jamaica were there are unusually tall, loud, Afro sporting, skirt wearing men! If only I could see an American I'll feel better." Wrong! I soon found that seeing what I thought of, as a normal person wasn't going to be very helpful. As we took our seat by the gate we noticed we were alone with the exception of a normal looking gentleman sitting behind us. Once we got settled Mark went off to find some breakfast and I stayed with the boys and the bags. I soon realized that the man behind us was talking. Actually he was carrying on a very detailed, animated conversation. He was saying, "So what did you do last night? Uh huh...Oh really! Well, did you tell her I said "hi"? What do you mean Peter wasn't there?" I prayed two specific prayers at this point. Prayer number one- "Dear Lord please help this man to be going anywhere but Montego Bay, Jamaica". And prayer number two-"Dear Lord, please help this man to have a cell phone so I can stop worrying that he's deranged sitting here in the airport talking to himself. Amen" I'll just tell you that the Jamaica destination prayer is the one the Lord chose to answer. As I turned around to take cell phone inventory I noticed the man was sitting with his hands in his lap just chattering away. I was officially freaked out! As I start letting my mind run wild Mark came around the corner with coffee (what he really should have had for me was some anti-psychotic medication, but I found out they don't sell that in airports). My husband who knows my every breath and what it means just looked at me and said, "What happened to make your face look like that?" I couldn't say anything because I didn't want the man to hear me so I just mouthed to Mark, "He's talking to himself and I'm so freaked out and the Jamaicans are wearing skirts and they are tall and I was hoping he had a cell phone, but he doesn't and I just can't get on a plane with these people and why are we doing this.....". Mark calmly looked over my shoulder at talking man and said, in the same tone of voice you'd use for a child, "Hon. He's on the phone. He has an earpiece. That's why you can't see it. Here, have some coffee, you'll feel better." Well, I stand corrected, but I still think anti-anxiety drugs for sale in the airport would make millions. After actually arriving in Jamaica things improved tremendously. We noticed right off the bat that we were in a different country. Our first clue was when the airline didn't roll one of those nice, carpeted hallways over to the plane so we could walk off in style. In fact, they parked the plane in the middle of the runway and we walked down some homemade stairs, underneath another plane and across the tarmac. I'm sure the airline figured we'd step off the plane and be so overcome by the intense heat and humidity that we wouldn't notice the lack of disembarkment accommodations. They were almost right! Our next dose of Jamaican reality came when we went to a fast food restaurant with the ladies from the Joyland Mennonite church and clinic. Since the exchange rate was about 57 Jamaican dollars to 1 American the prices seemed a bit on the high side. We hadn't exchanged money yet, so Mrs. Beiler just loaned us some Jamaican money. While we were standing in line she turned to me and said, "Is $1000 enough for lunch?" Between the culture shock, the heat and the exchange rate I thought that was hilarious! The other sobering fact about Jamaica was that they drive on the left side of the road and driving slowly and cautiously isn't of utmost importance. Since most of the roads are narrow and winding we were advised to honk the horn while whipping around corners. I just have to say that driving in Jamaica will drastically improve your prayer life. The Joyland clinic, where Mark worked, is located behind the Joyland Mennonite church in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Southern part of the island. Mark spent his days checking blood pressures, adjusting patient’s medications, stitching wounds, monitoring blood sugars and performing physicals. He was even able to accompany the nurse on some home visits and see first hand how some Jamaican families live. We were able to go to Negril, on the West side of the island, and it was an added bonus to have Amy Rush join us! We took a glass bottom boat ride and then went snorkeling! Even though the water was 15 feet deep we could clearly see all the way to the bottom. What a sight! We saw beautifully colored fish, coral and, thankfully, no sharks. Even though our time in Jamaica was short we were able to see how Jamaicans live, what their medical needs were and how to pray for them. On one of our last days there we learned of a needy girl named Abigail. Her mother abandoned her and Abigail (almost two) now lives with her father and his girlfriend. Unfortunately the girlfriend has a daughter the same age as Abigail and this other child is cared for first and foremost. Most days Abigail doesn't even get clean clothes or food. The nurse from Joyland clinic told us that for every Abigail there are a hundred children just like her and that she knows of several in her neighborhood who are abused and neglected. We carry these sad stories with us and realize that God can use even one person to make a difference to many of these children. Maybe we will be the ones to make that difference through prayer or maybe we will need to go back some day and make a "hands on" difference. Either way Jamaica showed us beautiful countryside, phenomenal sunsets and true needs in a small community. We were thankful Mark was able to provide medical coverage for the Joyland clinic and that our family had a chance to experience Jamaican culture first hand. Thank you for your prayers and financial support that allowed us to serve in Jamaica and sustained us while we were there. |
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Jr. department offering projects Flower fund report ZMWM news |
??June’s who am I?? Eunice Kratz • Married the same day as Bill & Hillary • Was a gymnast in teen years • Collect Viking glass • Played basketball in high school • Have lived in Virginia for approximately seven years • Birthday same day as Mother-in-law Congratulations to Welby Showalter for correctly identifying Eunice! Welby receives the Dairy Queen gift certificate this month. ???July’s who am I??? |
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Home with Amy --Lori Gant guest writer for Amy Bread is one of my favorites…to make and to eat! Baking bread has become a source of therapy for me and part of a way of life that holds much spiritual meaning. I grew up eating store-bought white bread. To be able to buy bread was a luxury for my mother and a sign of true wealth. She had grown up on a farm and didn’t have a lot of money. Therefore, her mother made all their bread. So for me to start making bread 11 years ago was keeping in line with Grandma Hershberger’s tradition and eating fresh homemade bread felt like a luxury to me! I love the textures, the robust flavors and the smells that come when bread is baking! I wonder what my girls will do when they establish their homes. Will it be the generation for store-bought bread again? Making bread has become a ministry for me. I have given countless loaves away to teachers, families with new babies, families with sick members, neighbors and many others. My bread has been a part of church potlucks, many holidays and dinners with family and friends and an integral part of bringing neighbors together. People gather around when bread is being baked! One loaf I gave away even helped to bring healing to a marriage. I love to think about all the grains of wheat that come together to make a loaf of bread. This can symbolize the Body of Christ (the Church). As individuals, the grains of wheat stand-alone. When they come together, they create a wonderful loaf of bread. We are like that too. It is the coming together as members of a church body that God can use us in a powerful way. It is our interdependence that makes us a “whole loaf.” Bread is also a symbol Jesus told us to use to remember his broken body, which provided a way for our salvation. I love that reminder. In addition, I love to think of Jesus as the Bread of Life as He is called in John 6. He sustains us as we depend on Him for our basic nourishment. The following recipes are special to me. I make the oatmeal bread each week for my family. Its moist consistency and combination of whole wheat and white flour make it my family’s favorite. It makes great sandwich bread and toast for breakfast. The whole-wheat recipe comes from a Canadian friend I met in Iowa City, Iowa. Suzanne Dyck told me this is the lightest 100% whole wheat bread I’ll ever taste and she was right! This bread won a second place medal at the Winneshiek County Fair in Iowa a few years ago! A dear fried of mine gave me the corn bread recipe. It is so moist and sweet and the best corn bread I have ever tasted. We love eating it with chili. If you don’t know how to make bread and are interested in learning, please give me a call at 574-0217. I would love to help you get started with a hobby that could be life-changing and definitely is mouth-watering! Oatmeal bread
Melt butter in large pan. Remove it from heat and stir in sugar. Add
eggs and beat. Combine buttermilk and soda; stir into mixture in pan.
Add cornmeal, flour and salt. Stir until well blended. Pour into buttered
8-9” pan. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes. |
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Birthdays 4 J P Alger 5 Paul Glanzer 7 Larry Yoder 8 Bobby Fairweather 9 Philip Yoder, Jennifer White 14 Nellie Alger 17 Valerie Showalter, Kaitlin Stauffer 19 Darlene Lehman 22 Jennifer Lantz 26 Jodie Baker, Rhoda Olinger 28 Eunice Kratz 30 Laura Kauffman, Wayne Showalter 31 Adam Jacobs Anniversaries Worship schedule |
Coming Up July 3-8 |
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