Missions We Support
Open Hands provides non-perishable, easy-to- prepare food for food insecure children on weekends and school holidays—times when many kids might otherwise go without. Each Friday during the school year, every participating student takes home a bag filled with two breakfasts, three lunch or dinner meals, and two snacks to help carry them through the weekend.
Right now, more than 800 elementary students are served every week across Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, Nooksack Middle School, Cascadia, Custer, Skyline, Central, Eagleridge, Mountain View, Meridian Parent Partnership, and Irene Reither Elementary. Since 2017, Open Hands has provided over 1.2 million meals to children in our community!
You can make a difference by: Praying for the children and families we serve, packing bags of food, delivering to schools, organizing the warehouse, donating food items or providing financial support for this ongoing ministry.
To learn more, visit openhandswhatcom.com or email Shannon and Larae Tjoelker at openhandswhatcom@gmail.com.
You can support OpenHands through our online portal. Please note that your donation is for Open Hands.
2026 Goal: $10,000
Since 1921, The Firs has been sharing the gospel through life-changing camp experiences that point people to Jesus. Each summer, through Camp Firwood, Fircreek Day Camp, and Firs & Fiddleheads Forest School, over 3,000 campers from preschool through high school encounter God's truth in a joyful, Christ-centered environment—often marking one of the most meaningful weeks of their lives. The ministry of The Firs remains one of the strongest opportunities for evangelism and discipleship in our region.
Discipleship:Each year, nearly 150 young adults serve as summer staff across The Firs Camping Ministries. These leaders are immersed in a community where they grow in their faith, study God's Word, and learn to serve others with humility and purpose. Many of these same young adults continue their spiritual growth during the school year through The Firs Discipleship Program, Radicle + Rooted, committing to a year of biblical teaching, Christian community, and intentional discipleship. This continuity between summer ministry and year-round discipleship helps cultivate mature, Christ-centered leaders who impact the next generation. The impact of The Firs continues to reach new generations!
Please pray for The Firs staff as they faithfully guide this ministry.
You can support The Firs and the work of evangelism and discipleship through our online portal. We encourage donations to the Campership Fund, which makes it possible for more campers to attend camp and hear the life-changing message of the gospel.
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The team is using an innovative approach called Oral Bible Translation, where translated passages are made available to the local churches almost immediately. The emphasis is not on working faster, but rather on meeting the needs of the local churches by translating passages that speak to the issues they are facing.
In addition, Brendon serves as a linguistics consultant for the Papua Partnership for Bible Translation, where he helps Bible translators develop alphabets and analyze grammar in order to produce higher quality translations.
Brendon is also a regular instructor at the Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) in Langley, BC, Canada. From their home base near CanIL, the Yoders continue translation and linguistics consulting remotely.
You can support The Yoders work in Bible translation by clicking here and visiting their online portal. Please note that your donation is to support Bible Translation.