Global Ministry
India Child
REACH Home began as a mission of friends helping friends, with Palmer and Margaret Rauk reaching out to help Kusuma Paul raising orphans in India. Through the years it has grown into a comprehensive aid project in which hundreds of children have been rescued from poverty and given a safe place to grow up and receive an education. Sponsorship provides children with food, clothes, shelter, health care, schooling, a Christian education and plenty of LOVE. Members from St. Mark’s have visited the REACH Home many times (most recently in December 2019) and donated funds to provide desperately needed repairs and maintenance to their buildings and bus.
In addition, the staff and children at REACH were provided with dental exams and fillings and extractions as needed; eye exams and glasses as needed; medicine; and two new school uniforms. Funds raised from a children's "quarter pole" offering at St. Mark's were used for new and refurbished playground equipment and playground toys! Click here to download a brochure about sponsorship.
Tanzania Companion Congregation
St. Mark’s has established a companion congregation relationship with Kihesa Lutheran Church of the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania. Our congregation currently provides for 45 scholarships to support young students in getting a secondary education, has given financial support to help build a Youth Life Skills Center and buy a motorcycle for the Kihesa staff, and to develop a relationship with the members of this congregation by visiting them and having them visit us. Mission teams from St. Mark’s have visited Kihesa five times.
- Mission teams in 2002 and 2004 helped with construction of a Life Skills Center.
- A mission team in 2006 conducted an AIDS/HIV seminar, established a library, and established a sewing class at the Kihesa Youth Life Skills Center.
- A mission team in 2008 added additional books to the library, dedicated the new motorcycle donated to the Kihesa staff and made home visits to AIDS/HIV patients from the congregation.
- A mission team of nine people visited Tanzania for two weeks in March 2010 and in July/August 2012, 13 people visited Tanzania to continue our relationships and partnerships.
- A trip is currently being planned for June 2020.