Texas Tidbits: Golf classic raises funds for disaster recovery

Golf tournament benefits disaster recovery. The first-ever Texas Baptist Golf Classic at the Dallas Athletic Club raised $25,000 for the Baptist General Convention of Texas disaster recovery program. Special guests at the event included first responders Oklahoma first responders (left to right) Dustin Horstkoetter, Moore Police Department; Kirk Hatcher, youth minister at First Baptist Church in Norman; Steve Graham coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma; and Wade Smith, pastor of First Baptist in Norman, played in the Texas Baptist Golf Classic to support disaster recovery, which has provided assistance to their community following tornadoes.  (PHOTO / Rachel Moreno, BGCT)from the West fertilizer plant explosion and the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., last year. The Baptist Church Loan Corporation served as the title sponsor.

Garland Acteen named to national panel. Woman’s Missionary Union named Nayely Vallejo of Freeman Heights Baptist Church in Garland to the National Acteens Panel. National Acteens Panelists are teen girls who exemplify a commitment to missions coupled with participation and leadership in their Acteens missions group, church, school and community. Vallejo has been involved in Acteens since she was in sixth grade and demonstrated a commitment to serving others and sharing her faith in Christ, said Mary Lou Sinclair, Acteens leader at Freeman Heights. Vallejo described her experience in Acteens as one of the greatest blessings in her life. “I have learned so much about what it means to be a Nayely Vallejowoman of God, the challenges and joys of being a missionary, how to be a leader, what it means to truly love God and what it means to help even if you don’t feel like it,” she said. National Acteens Panelists receive $1,000 from the Jessica Powell Loftis Scholarship for Acteens from the WMU Foundation. They will be featured during the WMU Missions Celebration and annual meeting in Baltimore, Md., June 8–9. Applications for the 2015 National Acteens Panel are available at wmu.com/students.

Students raise money for missions during Survivor Weekend. As part of a Baptist Student Ministries Survivor Weekend event at Heart of Texas Baptist Encampment, students from Howard Payne University and Hardin-Simmons University competed in a series of games and raised money for mission trips. Students were allowed to take supplies for the weekend—such as sleeping bags and other equipment—only if they raised donations equal to their agreed-upon value. Hardin-Simmons students, who won four out of five events during the weekend, raised $900 for BSM mission trips. Howard Payne students raised more than $1,900 to benefit three students who will serve as summer missionaries with Go Now Missions.

Baptist Global Response seeks volunteers for Philippines. A team from First Baptist Church in Bryan will serve in the Philippines July 21 to Aug. 5 with a rebuilding project sponsored by Baptist Global Response, and additional volunteers are needed for trips in May through August. Volunteers will help rebuild Central Elementary School in Calape, which was damaged first by an earthquake and later by Typhoon Haiyan, and they will repair damaged homes in Bohol Province. Brick masons particularly are requested, but not all volunteers need specialized building skills. Estimated cost is about $500 per volunteer for in-country expenses, plus airfare. Dates for scheduled trips are May 4-17, May 25-June7, June 8-21, July 6-19 and Aug. 10-23, but they can be adjusted somewhat. For more information, contact Pat Melancon at pmelancon@gobgr.org or call Glen and Marvella Thompson at (979) 446-0266. Due to the time difference between Texas and the Philippines, the recommended period to call is 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Central.