Missions
“Christ the Vine is Entwined in our Missions”
May 16th, 2026
Thanks to everyone who supported, volunteered and attended the 2026 Mission Auction and Dinner, our event was a record-breaking success! While final expenses and income are still pending, we’re on track to raise over $30,000 for Missions. PTL!! Individual thank yous
Updates from God’s Mission in Navajo, NM
Updates from God’s Mission in Navajo, NM
May 28th, 2026
Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s Summer! Memorial Day is often considered the beginning of summer. The days are longer, and depending on where you live, school is either out or finishing. The change in seasons gives us an opportunity to reflect on what God has done this past Spring. The Lord is good and we continue to see His Word go out, and fulfill what He wants it to do (Is. 55:11).
On Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day we welcomed two new children into the Lord’s family through the waters of Holy Baptism. This is a family we have known for some time, and they have experienced many difficult trials. Still the Lord is working in the hearts of the children and calling them to faith. It was exciting to see that the older child who was “promoted” from her elementary school made a three paneled display that included a witness to her faith. We pray for continued growth in knowledge and love of Christ in these girls’ lives.
After Easter we hosted an LWML Spring Retreat. 27 ladies from our Zone came to Navajo to enjoy a morning and afternoon of Bible study, prayer, singing, food and fellowship. One of the ladies commented to me afterwards, “Today was a wonderfully uplifting revitalizing experience. Everyone in my car was so invigorated and enthused about the fellowship, prayers, bible study, and singing.” Many of our ladies from Navajo have attended the other Zone events elsewhere, so it was great to be the hosts, and thank the others for their kind hospitality.
Serving the Lord
Heidi and I traveled in late April and early May to our son Philip’s vicarage assignment and our daughter Leslie’s college graduation. Philip will be serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Gresham, OR and Leslie will be doing her Director of Christian Education internship at Christ Lutheran Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. It is an exciting time for both of them and us as well!
Volunteer Service
We were blessed once again by the volunteer service of our friend Faith Detwiler. Faith is a member of Concordia Lutheran in Steamboat Springs, CO. She has come to Navajo the past two springs and stayed for about a month each time. This year she was with us from Palm Sunday until the Sunday after Easter and was joined at the end of her trip by three other members of Concordia. Faith helps in so many ways: she cleaned, cooked, hosted, drove, and did just about anything we asked her to with a cheerful smile. Everyone at Shepherd of the Valley misses her when she leaves!
As summer approaches we are also thankful for a new worker who will be joining us. We received a grant from LCMS National Mission to fund a summer field work student from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Our student is a deaconess student, just finishing her first year of study, named Emily Wilson. She will be joining us in a couple of weeks and stay until August. It will be great to have her help as we have a busy summer ahead of us!
Prayer Requests
-Thank God with us for the two young ladies baptized in April and May.
-Thank God for our son and daughter’s service in the Lord’s kingdom and milestones they’ve reached.
-Ask the Lord to bless our many activities this summer and the work of our deaconess student Emily Wilson.
Financial Support
We have been so blessed by faithful and generous donors over our years of mission work. We currently depend 100% on the gifts we receive to keep us in this ministry to the Navajo people. If you would like to make a donation, checks can be mailed to Grace Lutheran Church, or online donations can be made through the Vanco website or app. Information on these methods of giving can be found on our website, navajolutheranoutreach.org. Please reach out if you have any questions.
Pastor Tim and Heidi Norton
LAHASH: You can give a life-changing gift that will offer health and hope to our sponsored child, Innocent Edward Gervas, age 13. Innocent has the genetic condition of albinism and has been largely abandoned by his divorced parents who don’t want him to return home. Innocent is being supported by a local ministry, Albino Peacemakers, in Tanzania where he lives when he is not at boarding school. Innocent is specifically seeking the following:
a. Gift 1: $29 – Clothes
b. Gift 2: $50 – Food package
c. Gift 3: $178 – Bicycle
Financial contributions towards the total cost of a gift are warmly welcomed. You can give on-line at https://lahash.org/christmas or by sending a donation check by Dec. 31st to Lahash International, 1315 SE 20th Ave., Suite 4 Portland, OR 97214.
THESE NUMBERS HAVE FACES: Our partnership to support Babrah, a university student, is part of TNHF boarder efforts to educate and equip Africa’s brightest young leaders, empowering them to cultivate thriving communities. Babrah is the seventh of ten children. Her family fled Rwanda in 1994 due to the Genocide against against the Tutsi’s. Babrah’s family was eventually able to return to Rwanda, but they had to rebuild their lives from scratch. Babrah is excited to study Accounting at the University of Kigali. She hopes to become an auditor and to help reduce corruption. She also dreams of being a voice for children in rural communities, especially young girls. Donations to support Babrah’s Impact Circle can be made via the TNHF Website https://thesenumbers.org/impact-circle or mailed to their USA Office: P.O. Box 13056 Portland, OR 97213. TNHF has a Matching Funds program for employers.
HEART TO HEART ORPHANS: Heart to Heart is raising funds for food for 300 Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Kenya for Christmas. Each Family will receive: Pkts Maize Flour, 1 Pkt Wheat Flour, 3 Kgs Rice, 1 Kg Beans, 2 Liters of Cooking Oil, 1 Pkt Salt, 1 Pkt Tea Leaves, 1 Bar Soap
Financial donations can be made through their website http://www.hearttoheartorphans.org/ or sent to their USA Headquarters: Heart to Heart Orphans USA P.O. Box 12172 Jacksonville, NC 28546.
CHILD BEYOND INTERNATIONAL: The mission of Child Beyond International (headquartered at Immanuel Lutheran in Hood River, OR; Mission location is in Guatamala) is to share God’s love so that lives are transformed and families restored through a thriving children’s home and relational mission experiences. CBI receives children who are orphaned by parental neglect, incarceration or death and provides shelter, sustenance, education and spiritual support until they can be reunited with their family or adopted into a forever family. CBI also builds modest homes for the impoverished families of their children, helping them to improve their physical and financial status. Their Christmas Gift Catalog can be accessed at https://www.childbeyond.org/pages/christmas-catalog.
CTV Sponsored Child with Lahash
On Wednesday, April 30th, 2025, Nathan Schmidt was officially called to serve as a missionary pastor with LAMP. This call was announced and celebrated at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. For the past four years Vicar Schmidt has worked toward the completion of his studies at Concordia University, Irvine, leading to the degree Master of Arts in Theology with a Specialization in Missions. He will complete his studies in June, after which he will receive ordination and be installed with LAMP on Sunday, August 31st here at Christ the Vine. Nathan will then continue his full-time service with LAMP, but with a new title – Pastor. Congratulations Nathan!
We support a career missionary through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in the Dominican Republic. Deaconess Danelle (Putnam) Schumann, a native of Oregon, serves the Lord through helping to train women in the Dominican Republic, Latin America and the Caribbean to be deaconesses. In addition she works with people with developmental disabilities and those who care for them through the Good Shepherd Lutheran Homes. You can read more about Danelle, her husband Rev. Carlos and their mission at https://www.lcms.org/putnam.
You can support our missionary through:
Prayer: Pray for God’s protection over Carlos and Danelle and that He would sustain them daily. Please pray that the Lord would guide them as they work to support pastors and form women for diaconal service so that they may faithfully proclaim God’s Word and Christ’s mercy to the lost and broken-hearted. Finally, pray for the continued work of the group home and the wonderful youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live there. Let us give thanks to God that Carlos and Danelle are serving His children in this part of the world.
Financial Support: You can designate to support their mission by noting this in the memo link of your gift through CTV, by your support of our yearly Mission and Outreach Spring Fundraiser or by direct contribution to https://www.lcms.org/givenow/putnam.
Personal Outreach: Danelle’s email address is danelle.putnam@lcms.org. (Her Birthday is February 9
Christ the Vine Lutheran Church hosts a mission trip to Gitanyow, British Columbia, each summer. We work with www.lampministry.org, to present a Vacation Bible School, Sports Camp, and a Community Picnic and Program.
Click here for a diary of the 2023 trip.
Here is a recent youtube video on efforts by the Lax’Yip Guardians, (the eyes and ears of the Hereditary Chiefs who have been the stewards of their land since time immemorial), to help restore this beautiful, wild territory in the face of encroaching industrialization and climate change.
Each year following the annual CTV mission auction & dinner, the Mission and Outreach Board solicits input from the congregation as to which missions should receive financial support from the proceeds. The results for FY 2025 are shown in this report.
(Missions supported 2022-2024)
Board Members are Eileen Fligg, Nita Hoops, Angie Nelson, Nathan Schmidt, Tina Schmidt and Cindy Watters. Please let Cindy know if you are interested in joining the Board.