Covenant News
Missionaries Dedicated During Worship Service
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 22, 2004) - Tim and Tammy Friesen are project missionaries who were dedicated during this year's Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). They are planning to be project missionaries in Thailand for three years, having spent two years previously in Chiang Mai. They head to Thailand in July where Tim will provide educational and psychological services to the mission community in Chiang Mai and Asia - Chiang Mai attracts thousands of missionaries to the area each year. Tammy will teach English to Thai students at Chiang Mai International School.Both Tim and Tammy come from family traditions rooted in Christian faith, and both came to faith in Christ as children. They were trained in outreach and evangelism during their adolescence, teaching school and counseling youth at a summer church camp. They began dating after working as camp counselors and eventually married in 1978. They are the parents of two teenagers.
The Friesens call Thornapple Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, their church home. Tim has completed his doctoral studies in psychology and served as a clinical psychologist after completing a doctoral residency at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The family lived in Germany for three years while Tim was with the U.S. Air Force. Tammy earned her undergraduate degree in secondary education and was a teacher for a time. She has also completed a master's degree in education.
There are seven other Covenant project missionaries already serving in sites throughout the world. They include Bob and Grace Shim of Parkwood Community Church in Lombard, Illinois (Central Asia) and Mexico missionaries Nils and Erika Clauson of Edgebrook Evangelical Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois; Jo Ellen Reaves of Faith Evangelical Covenant Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and Lisandro and Patricia Restrepo of Berkeley Covenant Church in Berkeley, California.
There are also a host of short-term missionaries serving in Covenant mission sites throughout the world. Those listed with ** were scheduled to be present at the Monday evening worship service.
ARGENTINA (through the Confederation of Hispanic Covenant Churches (CIPE)
- Patricio and Luz Valenzuela of Pacto Con Dios in Rosario, Argentina
ASIA
- Kristine Danielson of Irvington Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon
- Barbara Johnson of North Park Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois
- **Peter and Anna Kim of Antioch Korean Covenant in Chicago, Illinois
CAMEROON
- **Phil and Kerry Staurseth of First Evangelical Covenant Church in Superior, Wisconsin
COLOMBIA
- **J.J. McKenna of Trinity Covenant Church in Salem, Oregon
ECUADOR
- Herbert and Elaine Clauson of Bay Evangelical Covenant Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin
- **Kurt and Lisa Peterson of NorthPoint Covenant Church in Broomfield, Colorado, and Winnetka Evangelical Covenant Church in Wilmette, Illinois
- Yonchu Song of Parkwood Community Church in Lombard, Illinois
- Confederation of Hispanic Covenant Churches (CIPE) affiliate Wilfrido Velasquez of Iglesia del Pacto Jipijapa in Quito, Ecuador
JAPAN
- John and Etsuko Martin of Peninsula Covenant Church in Redwood City, California
- Clark and Racinda Torgerson of Hope Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota
KENYA
- Tom Halgren of Fruitland Evangelical Covenant Church in Whitehall, Michigan
- Alberto and Lisa Zepeda of Hope Community Covenant Church of Strathmore, Alberta (Canada)
MEXICO
SPAIN
- Leah Bredehoft of First Covenant Church in Sacramento, California
- **Jerry and Nancy Reed of Grace Evangelical Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois
THAILAND
- **Kristi Byford of Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon, Washington
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT WITH COVENANT MERGE MINISTRIES
- Edith Cárdenas of Jesús La Vid Verdadera in Aurora León, Mexico
- Carlos Sosa of Evangelical Covenant Church in Anoka, Minnesota
- Andrew Vanover of Thornapple Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan
KICY RADIO IN NOME, ALASKA (sponsored by the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism)
- Bo Bowman of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Milwaukie, Oregon
- Neil Peterson of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Pomeroy, Iowa
- April Pugh of the Church of the Nazarene in Nome, Alaska
- Greg and Brenda Ratzlaff of River of Life Assembly of God Church in Nome, Alaska
- Jamie Saghafi of Faith Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida
- Andrei and Ellen Sarazov of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Nome, Alaska
- Dennis and Candace Weidler of Kalamazoo Covenant Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Frances Whitmore of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Kingsburg, California
- Julie Yoder of the United Methodist Church of Nome, Alaska
(Editor's note: Bob Ritchie of Monadnock Covenant Church in East Swanzey, New Hampshire, provided much of the information on the Ritchies. For more information on project missionaries for Covenant World Mission, call Lana Heinrich at 773-907-3350).
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