February 2022

Asian event helps Pratt family support storm-ravaged loved ones in the Philippines

When Typhoon Odette hit the Philippine Islands just before Christmas a few months ago, it wasn’t noted by many in Pratt, but Meriam Thompson paid attention to the weather news. Her family lived on the island of Jandayan in the central part of the country and when she finally received word from them, it wasn’t good.

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COMING EVENTS

Preventive Health Screenings at the Pratt Community Center Feb. 9 - Get peace of mind or early detection for Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease risk with our 5 preventive health screenings.

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It’s time for a little revival

In the Bible, in Heb 13:8-9, it says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.” Jesus is the word of God made flesh, so God’s word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If this is true then it is true that what God requires of us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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What kind of church plant are you?

In 2000 we took the step of faith and began to plant a church in De Soto, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City.) I say plant but the truth is, it was more of a pioneering effort. You may be asking what the difference is. Well, from my understanding planting a church is typically when a group of people from one church that generally are from a different part of the town or the country (but not always) start a church in a different location from their original location of the church where they previously had attended church. It’s almost like opening a franchise restaurant across town with the same name, same service and food served as the original restaurant, just in a different part of town.

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What’s going on? Jesus is coming soon!

If there is one question that most of us are asking ourselves on a daily basis, it’s ….. What in the world is going on? And then the next question would be….. When are things ever gonna get back to normal? Well my answer is “I don’t think we’re ever going back to the way it used to be.” I really don’t because I believe all the things that are going on are pointing us to a direction that we should have been looking to long before now. That is to God. I believe the world is falling to pieces, but at the same time God’s plan is coming together. If we’re really honest with ourselves, we have become spoiled babies in a lot of ways. We have gotten used to having things our way. We were settled into a lifestyle where we expected things just to continue on like they were, we were comfortable, and we took things for granted. So the only way to break up that pattern is to shake up the boat a little. I don’t think there’s a person alive whose life has not been turned upside down to some extent. How have we handled it? We complain, some try to hide while others look for answers, many times in all the wrong places and people. I honestly believe that God is allowing all this to happen so we will quit hanging on to the things of this world and hang on to Him. Ask yourself right now, what things are you hanging on to? What is so prevalent in your Earthly life that you think you can’t do without? I believe that people as a whole aren’t going to turn to God until they realize the things of this world can’t give them what they truly want. Or it will be when things get so bad, they’ll have no place to look but up to the Lord.

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Bill passed will help alleviate medical staffing shortages

It’s been a slow start in the Kansas legislature in 2022. Thus far, we’ve mostly just been doing committee work, and we’ve voted on very few bills on the house floor. However, we did pass one important piece of legislation early in the session. That legislation is HB 2477. It became important to pass this legislation due to the extreme staffing shortage faced by hospitals in our state. The house passed this bill by a vote of 96-4, and I voted in favor of it. Many house members were absent due to being sick with COVID. The Senate passed the bill 36-2, and it was signed by Governor Kelly. This bill reduces regulations for healthcare workers, allowing hospitals and nursing homes to use those in medical education programs and those who may be licensed in other states to help ease staff shortages to get care to patients in need. The provisions of this measure will expire in January 2023.

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