World Impact 2009-2010

2009-06-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

The west coast was simply beautiful!!! The team was so creative with ministering and loving the people that we came into contact with over the course of the past few days. There was a really neat afternoon for prayer walking as well as acts of kindness for the community.

We are back in Dublin until Tuesday when the trip is over. Tomorrow we will be heading to another L'Arche community here in town and look forward to seeing what other things that Lord wants to teach us while we are here.

Please pray for the team as they are tired and trying to end well here.

rain.

2009-06-17T01:02:00.000-07:00

it rains here quite often. it continues to remind me of the replenishment that the earth requires. and so today we trust the rain to do what it was created to do.... make things new.

we are in dublin and arrived here Monday night. our hostel has been a funny experience, teaching all of us a little bit about cleanliness.

today we will travel to Galway which is on the west coast, please pray for guidance as we travel to a new place in ireland. we have been having a great time and been following where the Spirit guides.

2009-06-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

We finished out our time with L'Arche last night with a BBQ. We played baseball. We roasted s'mores. It was a good time. There was some sadness in leaving people who had quickly become friends, but so much joy in how easily this community of people let us into their lives.

And though we said goodbye last night, this morning we got the chance to say hello to new friends. We were privileged this morning to worship with a kind and welcoming group of believers and were loved well by Ian, Pat, and Laura who spent their afternoon with us. They were our tour guides, they bought us lunch, and they allowed us to enter into their world as they engaged with us in ours. We also had the opportunity to meet Jenny and get an idea of what her ministry at the Friendship House looks like. While we won't get to spend as much time with her in that ministry as we would have liked, we are excited about the chance to spend time there tomorrow. Finally we attended a service tonight (yes we did church twice in one day) that is connected to the Emergent conversation and got to interact some with Peter Rollins who we hope to sit down with more tomorrow as well.

Tomorrow is also the day that we leave Northern Ireland and catch a train to the Republic. We will be out well before midnight when our pass to the UK expires. We have decided to head to Dublin and are praying for the Lord to show us what He has for us there. We are not sure what our internet access will be in days to come, but we will try to write when we can. Keep praying!

2009-06-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, hi.
Here is a little snipet of our time here in Ireland.
Besides never really knowing what day it is, none of us have any sense of time
because the sun never really shines for an extended amount of time. So it can be 11pm at night
and still bright outside! Crazy, yes.

We have spent the past few days working with this great community L'arche. They are a community who have committed themselves to creating love in a world addicted to misery. They house people with special needs and dedicate themselves to caring for them and being their friend. While we have been with them we have been filling our days working outside helping to paint and garden. And walking, lots of walking.

We met with the community director for L'arche, Maria. She had such inspiring, beautiful things to say that seemed to resonate with all of us in a different way. Speaking about not condeming ourselves for who we are not, but loving ourselves for who we are. She also challenged us to actually do what we are deliriously happy about. So fitting for all of us as we are all entering a time of transition.

Ok, that's all for today. Its 22:49! Time for bed.

We're Home

2009-06-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
We just wanted to let you know that we have all made it back home safely after a long few days of traveling! We have only been home a few hours so we're not quite sure if the jet lag has kicked in yet or not. :)

We had a wonderful time serving and getting to understand the Kiwi culture better. The five of us really bonded throughout this trip as well and have had a wonderful time getting to know one another better. There was definitely a lot of laughter throughout our trip as well. :) Props to Matt as well for putting up with 4 girls for 3 weeks straight haha go Matt!

All in all, God really proved His hand on this trip and spoke personally to all of our hearts.

Thank you SO much for your support and prayers!!! We could not have done this without you!

In Christ's loving hands,
New Zealand Team 2009

(this picture was actually taken on the streets of Sydney, Australia. We were able to travel there for a week as well after our amazing time in New Zealand)

we have arrived....

2009-06-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

family and friends... it has been a really long few days with many layovers, delays and unexpected stops for all of us. there was quite a bit of rain in new jersey which delayed all of our flights into our connecting flight to belfast. and then angie, justin, bethann, lucy, jess and julia were the last 6 people on the airplane last night. there have been quite a few close calls that made us think that we would not make it into ireland. once we arrived into ireland at 10am this morning, we ended up getting detained for 8 hours in the belfast airport at customs with much fear that we would not get into the country due to visa issues.

......but we have arrived at our host home, with very welcoming people.

our team is exhausted. a lot of uncertainty arose today as we were questioned by security guards and a long day of waiting. please pray for clairty for our team and deep meaningful rest.

we are glad to be here, realizing that there is a lot of opposition to us being here.

off to eat pizza and then go to bed!!!

Safely arrived...

2009-06-03T00:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at my favorite restaraunt in Kratie, Cambodia, 11 days after my left for America, informing you that they have safely arrived. =) If you were waiting to hear this news from me, I appologize for the delay. The team left Friday May 22, and arrived home the following evening. I am staying 3 more weeks to minister.
Thank you for you prayers and support! It really was an incredible trip, and God worked in amazing ways. Everyone learned and was changed. I wish I had more time to write, but when I return to America, expect a short trip summary with a few more pictures. Oh, and a poem too!
Please continue to pray for me and my ministry in Cambodia. I am now in Kratie, teaching English and ministering with the youth. On Friday I will return to the Bible college in Phnom Penh, and then I will fly home on Friday, June 12. I have a 13 hour layover in Seoul, and I'm not looking forward to that. =)

A group photo in Kampong Cham, the first province we visited in Cambodia. Pastor Paroath (younger Khmer man in back) and his English students stole our hearts.

A group photo at Ankor Wat. (It will be worth your time to search Angkor Wat on google images!)

Our team with our Buddhist van driver Om.

Saying goodbye to good friends in Kratie.

With our favorite waiter at U-Hong Restaraunt, in Kratie.

Malawi

2009-06-02T07:58:00.001-07:00

The Malawi team reports that "all is well".

We have arrived!!! :)

2009-06-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

We have safely arrived in Cape Town, have showered, and attempted to catch up on some sleep. Our plane landed around 9:00PM Cape Town time, which is 2:00PM for most of you. We have gotten settled in at our 'home' for the next two weeks. We have great accomodations, and are staying in a very safe neighborhood. This morning our group got up at 9:00 and went with one of our hosts, and some friends, to Table Mountain. There is a cablecar to the top, but today the top was covered by the clouds. The group began the journey up the mountain on foot, but not everyone was successful. There was a great view from where we started the hike that everyone enjoyed. We will see a little more of the city today, and then begin our volunteering tomorrow at the children's home.

Please continue to be in prayer for our team as we minister and learn througout the next few weeks.

Dominican Republic

2009-06-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

!Hola, amigos! ¿Que pasa?
As you can see, we have learned some Español since we have been here (You might think it is weird that I am not using any word contractions, but Henrys keyboard is different, and it is hard to figure out how to make commas. I apologize!)
Right now we are packing up and getting ready to leave at 4am tomorrow morning. I would say for most of us the feeling is bittersweet- we are ready to go home, but also want to stay here forever with the kids. We spent our last day with them on Saturday. We went once again to Pajarito, a Dominican and Haitin village. Orginally we were going to stay for the majority of the day, but something fell through with one of Henrys friends being there. So sadly, we were only able to be there from 10am to about noon. We had fun coloring, painting fingernails, throwing balls, making oragami, playing beisbol, and filling water balloons. Some of us had little friends we recognized from last time- it is so special when one of the kids actually remembers one of our names. A few of us have decided to sponsor the kids we have built relationships with.
Right before we left, we passed out clothing to the kids. We were able to make a lot of the kids happy with the new clothes we gave them, but we ran out towards the end. To make up for it, we gave toothpaste and toothbrushes to the ones who were not able to get clothes. I know- that does not really compare to new clothes...does it? We were sad that it had to be that way.
The past two days have been a break from our work week. On Sunday, we spent most of the day a la playa (at the beach). Though it was super fun, most of us ended up with pretty bad burns. I know so far Jenny and Jeff have reported blisters, and all the nastiness that come with it- ¡Gross! Other than that, the beach was awesome!!
Today was our shopping day. We went to about 10 different stores looking for different trinkets for our friends and families. I was a big fan of the DR coasters- I think I bought about 4 sets. By the end I think we were all pretty tired...and hot...and sunburned. I think we liked playing with the kids more than we liked shopping.
Anyway- We are at the end of our trip. I want to go home, and I want to stay here. We have made so many good friends. Some of which are Henry, Aneudy (his nephew), Juanita (his mother), Katherine (his neice), and Jasmine (a family friend). We are going to miss them soo much.
Thank you for praying for our team, and for those of you who have supported us financially.
From the Dominican Team- Rachel Reynolds

Dominican Republic

2009-05-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!

We have had a very busy and exciting couple of days since the last post. Seems we've been going non-stop! We wake up every morning around 8:00 and are served breakfast, then we take off for our first destination of the day. In the past three days, we've been to several different locations. Twice we have gone to Santa Fe, a Christian Children's Center where kids who cannot afford to attend the local schools go to get a little education five days a week. They have a few classrooms and an area to play outside. We went there Saturday morning (a lot of childen came even though it wasn't a school day) and this morning (Tuesday). We did a short Bible lesson and a craft with them and then played games outside. Both times seemed very successful and everybody seems to be building good relationships with the kids there.

Sunday morning we went to Pajarito, a small, extremely poor village where Henry wants to start a children's center. His goals for us there were just to build relationships with the kids through sports with the older children and coloring/bubbles/piggyback rides (they wore us out!) with the younger children. We are going there again later in the week. Sunday night we went to Henry's mother's church. It was really an interesting experience for all of us. Besides being extremely loud and all in Spanish, the service was not at all what we are used to in format. The congregation constantly took a very active role in the service, shouting and moving and breaking out in song in the middle of the sermon. Everybody was very touched, though, when they broke out in a Spanish version of "How Great Thou Art", and we were able to sing along in English with them.

Monday morning we went to Sananton, and played with a lot of the kids whose families attended the very nearby church. This was an interesting experience for a lot of us, who discovered how much (or little) we remembered from our jumproping exploits in elementary school. We also got to see a little bit of how they entertain themselves, as one of the local adults came and led us all in a few games, inluding a modified Spanish version of Simon Says.

During church on Sunday night, God laid a vision on Henry's heart. He explained this idea to us later that evening. A little while ago, someone from the church had told him that he could use a wall they owned by the road to paint his ministry logo on. But God told him on Sunday night that it should be used for something different... and that he should have us be the ones to do it. His idea was to cover the wall with the handprints and names of the children of San Pedro, along with a painting of Noah's Ark that he had a big stencil for. So, with the extra supplies money we brought with us, we picked up a big bucket of white paint, a few other smaller cans of blue, red, yellow, and black paint, and went to work on the wall Monday evening. In the 4 hours we worked on it that evening, we had the whole thing covered in white, half of the Ark and its animals painted, and some 90 handprints and names. Several of us were thoroughly covered in paint up to our elbows, too. This evening we finished the project, completing the ark, acquiring at least 75 more handprints (along with our own after we'd finished), and placing the ministry's name in big letters at the top. The wall looked spectacular. It was an incredible experience too, not only for us, but for Henry and for the community. Henry kept telling us how these people who would never have otherwise spoken to him or even given him the time of day were coming up and asking if their children could put their handprint on the wall. One local politician also volunteered a wall outside his house to Henry for whatever project he might want to do with the kids! So many people were brought together for a good cause, and it's something that these kids will be able to point out and remember for a long time. We were really part of something big.

Whew! There's so many more things I could talk about... the food... the jokes... the potholes in the roads... but maybe some other time. It's time for bed... early rise tomorrow!

Some things you can pray for:

Preparation of the kid's hearts to receive the lessons we've prepared

The local community... that the wall we painted would help them realize that they can work together to do something good, despite their individual situations.

Us... for continued energy despite the nonstop activity and unrelenting heat.

Thank you for reading!

-Brian Richards, for the Dominican Republic Team-

Dominican Republic

2009-05-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

We are finally here! After a full day of traveling we made it! This morning we worked in the area of Sante Fe and did a VBS with the children. It was a definite success. We all had so much fun! The children were laughing and running around. It was such a great sight to see! As the team leader, I have been here before and some of the the things we are doing I have done before but some also are different. We went to a hospital this afternoon, which I had never been to, and that was tough. We prayed for each of the children and gave them each a stuffed animal to maybe help them feel better. There was a language barrier that was hard to get around. But we managed to some how get what we wanted to say across.

One really sad thing I discovered today was that the orphanage that I spent a great deal of time in when I was last here is no longer in existance. The government came in a took it away from the people who were running it. This was a very big shock because I was under the understanding that we would be going to visit it again when I was here. The children we all moved to another orphanage in a nearby city but now the city of San Pedro (where we are based out of) no longer has anything for the orphans and they are forced to be on the street.

On a more happier note, I recognized a couple of the children in Sante Fe when I had not expected to.

Pray for the weather here. When it rains it makes it hard to get around so we are hoping for a little more sunshine.

Also continue to pray for our team and the children we will be ministering to that it would be a great as the success this morning or better!

-Renee McIntyre, DR team leader

New Zealand

2009-05-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

We just heard word from New Zealand.....here are their words...

We're Here! Kia Ora! Which means hello in the native Maori language. We just wanted to let you all know that we made it here safely! We got in to Auckland around 5am yesterday. We were all very tired and you will not believe that we made it until 8pm (which would be around 4am US time) that night without falling asleep!..crazy right?! :)We started with breakfast at the Fussner's, settled into our host homes and then explored downtown Auckland. We were challenged to walk up to complete strangers in the city with questions to ask them to better understand New Zealand people and their culture. The people that opened up to us were very friendly and were very willing to talk about anything. There are different nationalities here...we love the diversity. It was a very neat experience!We were able to go to One Tree Hill, the park not the show, and it had an amazing view! But it was really cold there so we didn't stay long. After we ate New Zealand hamburgers at BurgerFuel, we crawled to bed and slept for almost 11 wonderful hours.Today we worked with Habitat For Humanity clearing up a site where a house used to be. It was fun getting down and dirty in all the mud! Fortunately they lent us some gum boots.We are heading to dinner now so we will talk with you later. Sorry for the delay in the first post. :) ~Team New Zealand

Team Togo

2009-05-19T12:23:00.002-07:00

We're back in the states!

We had an amazing time in Togo (and Ghana). God really moved in the ministry that we did there. We got the opportunity to build relationships with some amazing people and plant seeds for future ministry in Togo.

We want to thank everyone who made this trip possible. Thank you for you support and your many prayers! May God bless you greatly.

Akpe kaka (Thank you)
Team Togo

The people we're meeting here in Cambodia..

2009-05-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when I updated last or what I wrote, but Í'm sure alot has happened since then. We had an awesome time in Kratie. Everyone enjoyed connecting with the youth at the English school, at at the missionary's home. On our last night, our team, the pastors and teachers and missionaries, along with 10 or 15 youth gathered for a meal and fellowship at Tess' home. We played Uno and Signs and Boggle and Scrabble. We ate rice and swine, sang worship, shared testimonies, and prayed. Goodbyes have been difficult, because relationships are established very differently in Cambodia - so we leave, feeling as if there is no closure - but we know that they are in our hearts, and we are in theirs.
After Kratie, we spent 2 days Kampong Cham. On Sunday we visited 3 churches. We did children's ministry at the first, and Pastor Greg asked me (Jewel) to share a sermon. With only 3 minutes of preparation, I did. I had a message on my heart, so I went up testifying to God's goodness and praying praying praying that He would give me the words to speak that would share my heart's message, and He did. The 2nd and 3rd church services met in homes, but the presence of God was equally (if not more) strong than the 1st. During the 3rd service we had the opportunity to pray over a woman whose mind is not right. The pastor has been praying over her, and as a result of her continuing sanity, her parents have come to believe in the Lord Jesus and they have opened their home for Sunday services. It was an awesome experience.
Right now I am sitting in a shady internet cafe with Loren and Ashton and Poo Greg. Aimee, Zoey, Hannah, and Angela are at the World Hope Assessment Center, doing crafts and sharing God's love with a group of young girls rescued from sex trafficking. Unfortunately, only 4 could go, so the 3 of us are spending the afternoon with Poo Greg in the market. I'm looking forward to hearing what the 4 girls have to say about their experiences there - they were very excited about the opportunity to go, and I pray that right now they are filled and overflowing with His love.
We are reaching the end of our 3 weeks in Cambodia. The team flies to South Korea on Friday night, waits 12 hours there, then will fly to Chicago on Saturday. Our next few days will be spent with the students at the Bible college. They are asking if we will teach them English worship songs. We also will have 1 or 2 chapel services, and a dawn prayer service. I'm looking forward to the time we will spend with them.

Please pray for Zoey, Aimee, Hannah and Angela right now as they minister at the assessment center.
Pray for our hearts as we prepare to leave Cambodia and the people we have grown to love.
Pray that we will continue to learn things each day, and pray that we would be drawn closer to Him.
Please remember the names Paroath, Arun & Charia, Vandy & Tess, Tito, Malachi, Sreyroath, and Greg & Resie in your prayers.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragment!

We're Home....well at least they are

2009-05-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

The team made it home safe. I am sure they were exhausted and ready to sleep.

Pray for them as they begin to process their trip. Even though they were only gone a week it can be difficult to return home after having this experience.

I (Mike) am still in Honduras (don't worry, its my own choice). I am missing the team already but I know they are excited to share what they have learned and encountered here in Honduras. Continue to pray for the other teams still in the field, returning home, and those who are still preparing to go out into the world.

Mike

Clinic days and so much more...

2009-05-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!! We've been here in Mozambique for about a week. When we got here last Friday we relaxed and hung out with the Hawkes -- the missionary family that we are staying and working with. The fellowship that we have had with this family has been astounding and has completely opened our hearts to notice what great things God had planned for us even though we didn't know it when we left the U.S. The Hawke's minister to a people group that is in need of a lot of love that can drain God's people of the love they are trying to give. However, in saying that, the Hawke's wake up every day and try their hardest to love on these people as best they know how -- being the hands and feet of Jesus. This is when we noticed our real mission here in Mozambique. We are not only here to minister to the Mozambiquans but we are here to encourage and uplift our brothers and sisters in Christ as they work hard to bring love to this broken people.
God has been so faithful to His people as we have been traveling. There was a small incident that happened at the border of South Africa and Mozambique. When we were entering Mozambique somehow there was a misunderstanding and we didn't actually get our passports stamped in order to legally enter the country. This presented a big problem when we were 1 hour away from the border near Mike and Angie's house. The penalty for this "small misunderstanding" is $100.00 per day per person. OOPS!!! So we drove back to the border and God provided the way for us to actually get our passports stamped without any penalties and without having to pay again. God is SOOO good!!!
Tuesday morning we began the clinic. We ended up having to go under the licensing of a clinic that is run within an orphanage because the government would not let us have a clinic in Mike's village. We arrived that first morning with 3 suitcases full of medicines and bright smiles on our faces to finally have the opportunity to minister to the people of Mozambique. When we drove up there were many people waiting for us to start the process and that first day we saw about 50 people. It was so wonderful be used by God in giving people medicine that could help them. We were not able to help every patient because some people that came through the clinic who needed treatment that was beyond our resources. One of the hardest parts of the clinic was when we had to watch people walk out of the clinic with nothing to help them. Regardless of the lack of the resources these people have, their joy was contagious. By the end of this week we treated approximately 300 people.
One particular case that we saw in the clinic was a little 8 year old boy who came in complaining of really itchy eyes. His mother had taken him to a clinic since he was 1 to see if they could fix the problem but the doctors told him it would just go away in time. After examining him, we discovered that the real problem was a condition called trachoma which causes blindness if not treated. Mike was able to go to the pharmacy and get the necessary creme and medications to treat this boy and heal the condition he suffers from. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!
Today, we had an awesome day of fellowship enjoying the town of Maputo. We went to the outdoor market and bartered which was quite an experience. Allison proved to be the best barterer of the group! Another one of her many talents. After shopping in the market for a few hours, we picked up a family that Mike and Angie have been in ministry with for many years and headed to Rodizie Real. It was excellent food and joyful company.
Tomorrow we will enjoy fellowship with the church here that Mike and Angie lead. This week we hope to provide for the health needs of Mike's mechanic's employees as well as a farmer and his workers.
We are not sure if we will have the opportunity to post before we return home. God has taught us so much and we hope to continue to learn and love the people of Mozambique.
Thank you all for your prayers and we will see you soon!!
Mozi Girls

Honduras 3

2009-05-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day together in Honduras. It was our fun day and we enjoyed ourselves at the beach. It was a great time to relax and rest before the trip home tomorrow. We came back to Faith Home after the beach and ate some dinner before spending some time discussing the week. It was great to hear everyone's reflections and thoughts about the week went and what they will take away from it. Overall, I think we all learned something through our experience here and will continue to reflect on it in the days to come.

We decided to watch a movie together for our last hurrah as a team. It has been a great week. Pray for safe travels tomorrow and that the team will be able to move through immigration and customs with ease tomorrow.

Mike and the Team

Sweet home USA

2009-05-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

We are all back home now. We didn't have any problems with our flights. Tokyo wasn't as crazy with swine flu this time, which was a blessing. We were all blessed by family and friends picking us up at the airport. It is a good feeling to be home but we still have a lot of processing to do before we'll be able to pick up a normal routine again. We had such an amazing time in the Philippines and we do not want to forget what we learned and how we were stretched. Pray for accountability to remain in prayer for one another, the missionaries, and the nationals on the field. Pray that God would continue to work in us and teach us as we face reverse culture-shock. (It hit hard when the airport workers in Detroit were rude instead of the hospitable workers in the Philippines). Finally, pray that we would all know how to apply what we learned about ourselves, God, and His will to our everyday life. Some of us had affirmations of callings and received greater direction on His life plan. Thank you so much for your prayers while we were away. Please continue to pray for the other World Impact teams still out and those who haven't yet left.

Guatemala

2009-05-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
We just wanted to let you know that we finished the house that we have been working on this week and we were able to dedicate it this morning and meet the family that we built if for. Today we took a boat over to Panajachel and we have been shopping. From here we are going to Antigua to tour a monastery and then we are headed back to Guatemala City. Our flight leaves at 8AM tomorrow morning, so we will be at the airport at 6AM. We arrive home around 645 tomorrow night! We are looking forward to seeing and talking to everyone! We al l send our love!

Honduras 2

2009-05-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Honduras!

The last three days have been long, busy, and great. On monday we visited with the pastors and their families. Some of us taught Bible study with the adults while others played with the kids. It was a great day of relaxing and getting to know one another.

On Tuesday we took everyone to the movies where everyone received a popcorn and a drink. They had these awesome popcorn/drink holders that all of us loved. Yesterday was pool day. We took everyone to a local pool where we had chicken fingers for lunch and followed it up with some great soccer matches. Each night we would sing songs, share testimonies, and give a lesson. Wednesday night was special as each each of the pastors shared with us how much these three days meant to them and their families. The night ended with them making a circle around us and praying over us. Everyone was moved by the experience and I am sure they will love telling everyone when they returned.

Today we went to the Guamalito. A local shopping center for tourists to buy souvenirs. Then we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Go figure...a mexican restaurant in honduras. We came back to the teamhouse and took a nap before having a pizza party with all the transition kids. These are the students at faith home who are teenagers and are preparing to move out on their own. After they pizza party we played a little soccer and then watched a movie.

Tomorrow is our fun day at the beach!

Thank you for your prayers and support. They truly have been answered during our time here.

Mike and the team

Thailand, Yo.

2009-05-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hey yall! This past week has been the most tiring of any, we have been teaching english at a church in the evenings, and teaching english in public schools for about 4 hours during the day. Its crazy. I was just talking to the main english teacher at the high school today and she asked if we had teaching training before; to which i said no. She was astonished that we didnt because we were i guess doing a good job... so thats good!
We are in the Northeast right now, and it it lots of fun. We sleep on little sheets of padding under pop-up mosquito nets (awesome). There are 7 inch long centipedes and millipedes; and we even saw a scorpion! haha. No worries though, it is fun.
Tomorrow is our last day of teaching, we are having a party during the evening teaching at church. then back to bangkok and heading state-side on monday. See you all soon!
-Matt, Amy, Hannah, Kayla, and Adam

Learning to cook rice...

2009-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well on the other side of the world. We are doing well here. No one has been sick past a small headache or a little nausia. We have all grown very accustomed to rice and noodles. Still waiting to try tarantulas and crickets....
We are in Kratie now. This morning we hiked up a mountain to see the city. Monday evening we rode elephants up a mountainside in Siem Reap and it was absolutely beautiful at the top. Every evening after team devotions we talk about our "highs and lows" of the day, and everyone's high was the top of the mountain, the view there, and the group of chidren that a few of the girls met and talked with. Our van driver, Om, also went up with us - he doesn't join us for many things aside from meals, so we took advantage of the opportunity to take a picture with him, and I think it meant alot to him. We have seen him bow his head when we pray over meals, and it warms my little white heart. =)
We love Kratie. The students here are wonderful and we have enjoyed talking with them. The youth are very involved in the church. Last night we went to Tess' house (she is a World Hope missionary in Kratie, teaching English) and we had prayer meeting. We sang praises, then shared a testimony, and shared prayer requests then prayed the Korean way - everyone outloud and holding hands. It was really neat.
We are all still sharing 1 room. We pushed 3 full beds together and 7 of us are sleeping comfortably. We have gotten very close and it's been alot of fun experiencing Cambodia together.

Please continue praying for us and our ministry here. We want to grow closer to God and take others with us.

Swaziland is almost there.....

2009-05-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

this just came in from Swaziland...

Hello! We have safely made it to Joburg. We are staying in a hotel about ten minutes from the airport, and so far everything has gone very smoothly. We are happy to be here and to stretch out in nice beds. Tomorrow our flight leaves for Swaziland at 2pm. We will have a chance to sleep in and then have a nice breakfast at the hotel before we head back to the airport. We are missing all you already. I will write as soon as we have the oppertunity to in Swaziland, but again we do not know how well the internet will be working there. Thanks for all your prayers!

Peace and Grace.
Sammy (and team)

peru'non medical

2009-05-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

today is our last day here in the jungle. it is bittersweet to know our time here is ending. but today was a successful day. we finished our painting, cleaned windows, mopped the floors and the house looked beautful. it was such a great feeling to know that we helped italo, rebekeah, and david one step closer to moving into the house.

we just got finished with dinner and now we are preparing for our travel back to the states. our flight leaves from the jungle at 10:35 a.m. and then we arrive in lima at 1:15 and then we have a ten hour layover in the airport. we will be stationed in the airport playing cards and eating with our friends from lima. our flight to miami leaves 11:20 p.m.

keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Guatemala

2009-05-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

As most of you have probably heard, there is a lot happening here within the Guatemalan government (within the past two days). We just wanted everyone to know that we are safe and well. where we are staying in the lake area is a very safe area, and we have been assured many times that whatever happens in Guatemala City, we will be safe here in San Pedro! Nothing to worry about at all! Your prayers are appreciated and we will update yáll soon with how our work on the house we are building is going! We love yáll!!!

Philippines!!!

2009-05-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hey! We're still doing really great here. We're having a blast and getting to know one another and the culture so much better. We're excited for home but we're also going to be very sad to leave this place as we will miss it very much. I know that the relationships we've formed have made a positive impact and our experiences won't be forgotten. We have huge smiles on our faces as the parents, children, and pastors light up when they see us coming. Everywhere we've gone we have felt so safe and so welcome.
Yesterday we went on a 6-7 hour car ride up the mountain to Baguio City. It was very very different from every place we'd been thus far. It was very difficult for us to be separated from Jun and Joel while they attended district convention - a good hint of how hard it will be to say goodbye to them. We've done a lot of sightseeing lately. Filipinos are very very proud of their country and love to show it off. We have been blessed so much by the creativity of God's nature. The flowers, animals, mountains, sky and trees are so beautiful here. We wish that our stories and pictures could truly explain our experiences... but they'll never be able to.
Today and tomorrow we will be back with Jun and Joel before we fly out Friday morning at 7am. They have planned more sightseeing and some wrap-up debriefing in order for us to process what we've experienced in a healthy manner. It is our desire that the seeds we've planted will reap a plentiful harvest. Because we've been the first Americans to ministery in most of the churches here, we pray that we've been a positive light of our Savior's love. We hope that world impact can continue to play a part in the spiritual development of the provinces. We know the people would love that.
We had shirts made for this trip and it says - 36 hours on a plane, 5 days on a boat, and 12 hours in a Jeepney . . . going to the Philippines - Timeless. Oh so true! The theme for World Impact this year is announce joy - and we are filled with joy at the presence of the people.

peru-non medical

2009-05-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

we are approaching our last day in the jungle tomorrow. and then we start our journey back to the states.

we have been painting the main house at the orphanage while sweating like pigs. the girls painted the interior and the boys mastered masking tape techniques on homemade jungle ladders. and today our beautiful wonderful cook made us lunch cooked in a jungle leaf. a girl on our team even ate a live worm. yes we really in the jungle!!!!

tomorrow is a full day of work. we will laugh. we will sing. we will eat fresh fruit. but we will conquer the mosquitos!

until tomorrow!

Dios te bendiga!

Guatemala

2009-05-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

We had a great time going back to Guatemala City this weekend. We got back friday night and on Saturday we went to Antigua to go shopping. It is one of the oldest Guatemalan cities. We really enjoyed walking around and seeing all of the beautiful scenery. The streets were about 400 years old and we were able to see old ruins. We did a lot of shopping and got gifts for family and friends. Sunday, we went to church then met up with the a group from Atlanta and headed back to the Lake.

Today, we started a new project. We mentioned earlier that we thought we would be building a wall for the church, but plans changed and now we are building a house for a man from the church. We were doing pretty well and got a few rows of cinder blocks down before raining and we had to leave early. We´ll be working on the house for the remainder of the time. We hope to finish it before we leave on friday to head back to the city!

Thanks for your support and prayers!

The musings of Cambodia...

2009-05-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

We are still here at Freedom Hotel in Siem Reap - the tourism hotspot of Cambodia. We have been a few different places. This morning and afternoon we walked through Angkor Wat (google it!) and in 2 hours we will be riding elephants through the mountains to watch the sun set. Yesterday was our first Sunday here in Cambodia, so we visited 2 churches. Loren and Ashton gave their testimonies, and we shared a very special song. Aimee and Hannah worked with the children at one church and taught them the song "God is so Good" in English (which they performed very well), and Angela and Zoey worked with the children at the second church. Tonight we will return to one church to teach English classes. Yesterday evening we visited the Cultural Village (a tourist attraction of cultural dances and shows) but it rained very much and we were not able to see any shows, but did walk through the rain - running from tree to tree.
Our missionary (Pastor Greg, aka "Baby Bird") left us in Siem Reap with 3 Khmer pastors - Vandy, Chamnol, and Arun. We have had lots of fun with them - learning Khmer, telling stories, and being embarassed (oh wait, that was only one of us!) We have also hired a Buddhist driver named Om (he looks like gorilla.) Please pray that we can be a light for him. His English is not good, but I know that he is listening to us and watching us.
Tuesday morning we will leave for Kratie. Pastor Greg and his wife and 2 young daughters will be joining us there. Kratie is much more "remote" than the other cities we have visited. The church in Kratie is strong, and there are many youth. This week is a national holiday (the king's birthday) so many schools are closed, but we still expect to offer our evening English courses because when the American girls arrive.. so do the Cambodians.
A few of us have had our moments of feeling sick, but it hasn't been bad. Please continue to pray for our health and energy so that we can be effective in our ministry and not be held back by our physical bodies. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers. God is teaching us new things everyday and we are all feeling closer to Him. Pray that we will continue to be filled with the Spirit and that our minds will give attention to opportunities to minister. Thank you!

Bonjour from Togo!

2009-05-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Well, we're in Togo now. Our team traveled from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo a couple days ago and now we're here in Togo having fun and serving the Lord. We've been traveling around to different villages and meeting with fellow Christians... and playing with some pretty cute kids :)

Everyone on the team is doing well and really enjoying there time here. We came to the cyber cafe after church today and are going to spend sometime at the beach. Thanks for all of your prayers and support so far. And to all of the mothers reading this... Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

-Team Togo

Fun with Filipinos

2009-05-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Wow, each time i write to you it seems like there is so much i should/could say. We are having an absolutely amazing time here. Not many of us are ready to go home, but sadly our trip will come to a close on Friday. However, our relationships and connections with the people here will not. Two of us are looking at returning next year through world impact.
Up to this point it seems as if our trip has gone by in a blur. We are filled with emotions and excitement when we think about all we have accomplished, the people we have met, and the fun we've had. We've worked on 3 different islands in at least 7 provinces (villages) under one name - The Almighty! God has blessed us on this trip. Though a couple have had stomach problems, it has not held us back from ministry. Our team is getting along amazingly and working well together. We have been kept safe on the roads (although sometimes we have feared for our lives, haha). We have tried so many new foods (raw seaweed, fried calamari, grilled stingray, lapu-lapu, oyster soup, grilled clams, grilled squid, lots of fresh manogs and coconuts, halo halo dessert, and ube ice cream). It's actually kinda suprising we haven't had more stomach problems - haha.
Today we went to Joel's (Filipino host/traveling pastor) church and met his family. It was so nice to meet the people that are related to the crazy guy. It was very refreshing to be back in church and be filled with the spirit again. We've given so much and had so much poured out of us - last night we have a much needed time of team devotions and debriefing to retrack our mindset and focus on our own spiritual strength while ministering. It is hard now because we just left Palawan (our favorite island where we'd been for the past week) to come back to Manila. The emotions are increased because we know this is our last leg of the journey before US customs. We are also with a new host because Jun & Joel have to attend a district convention. They're so so so much fun and we are going to miss them for the next 2 days. We know we're still in good hands, but it was an abrupt change we weren't expecting. Pray that we are still encouraged to work with this new pastor and minister just as hard as we were with Jun & Joel. This has given us a clue of how hard it will be to tell them goodbye when we leave.
Tomorrow morning we leave at 5am to go to a province way up in the mountains. It is a 6 hour drive. I haven't been told specifics but i'm sure we're planning on putting on our normal VBS routine with games, crafts, stories and songs. We'll be staying overnight and coming back Tuesday evening. I'm not sure again what our overnight conditions will be but we really want to rough it - like stay with squaters in their village w/o electricity. I'm sure that's not the plan though because we've been blessed with our living accomodations (except for the part of having very little water pressure and only cold water - haha).
Each Sunday our team has been asked to sing a special for the church. We've chosen God is so good. It really reflect the blessings we've had on our trip...
God is so good - God is so good - God is so good - He's so good to me

Happy mother's day to all of our mothers. We love you and we hope that you're having a really great day. I'm sure we all have special gifts for you when we return!
And a special happy birthday (tomorrow) to my mother! I love you mom!

Honduras

2009-05-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely down to Honduras. We didn't have any problems getting down here. We had a short delay from Indy to Atlanta which made our connecting flight a little close but we got here!

We made it through immigration just fine. They had this thermal gun which checked for a temperature in case we had the swine flu. We are all clear!

When we arrived at Faith Home we settled in and then a few of us went shopping for groceries for the week. We spent five hours shopping and bought an enormous amount of food. Those who stayed back at faith home relaxed and took a tour of the campus with one of the girls from Faith Home.

We just finished eating dinner and are headed for bed after a long day that started before 4:30 am for most of us. We are headed to church tomorrow morning and then will do some last minute planning as the pastors arrive.

Sorry this is short but there is a storm right now and we might lose power soon. Thank you for your prayers and continue to lift us up as we begin to minister to pastors and their families over the next few days.

Mike and the Team

Thailand 4

2009-05-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a good few days working at the well and doing different sight seeing stuff; we went to the beach at Pattaya yesterday.
Today we are heading to the Northeast to hang out at a church and a public school. There are 3 english classes, so two of us will be in two of the classes and one of us will be teaching a class by ourselves. Its going to be awesome! Im not going to update till the end now, i doubt there is internet up there.
Pray that our team gets plenty of rest and has good health, that has been a issue coming up the last few days. Word of advice: don't eat mcdonalds after a week and a half of all thai food.
Word!
- Matt and team

Peru medical

2009-05-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Lima, we all arrived safely. God has been great in brining us safely back to my home church in Lima. We had a few sick people travelling but almost everyone is up and running again, with just a couple people still feeling a little under the weather. God worked it out that we did not go to the earthquake relief zone today, so today has been a day of rest for the team, and it has been such a blessing. God knew we would not have the physical strength to visit a clinic 3 hours away by busleaving at 6 in the morning. As people start feeling better today we will visit a little bit of Lima, and then again tomorrow as we do a little shopping in the local markets. Sunday we will be in the church with the youth pastor that came with us on the trip, and then that night we will be heading to the airport. Please continue to pray for renewed strength and safety for the team. We will see you all soon with many pictures and stories!

Joel and the team

We're Here!!!!!!!!

2009-05-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
We arrived in Joburg, South Africa on Wednesday safely with all our luggage in tow. It was a good flight with no problems. We had no problems with our 11 bags of luggage that had all of our medical supplies. God was definitely at work when we walked through the airport, got through the passport checkline and continued to get our baggage. Like all other countries, we expected to go through customs and were concerned about some of the supplies making it through without any questioning by the government. As we walked down the hallway towards customs to our surprise, we were waved on by the security men and we continued walking thinking we were about to enter customs but we didn't. We walked out of the airport without ever having to go through customs or immigration. WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday, we had an awesome day driving through Kruger Park where we saw rhinos, monkeys, giraffs, zebras, impalas. It was so amazing to see the wonderful animals God has created.
Today we're headed up to Mike and Angie's house in Mozambique and we are planning to prepare for the clinic. Mike's internet connection at the house is not always stable, so we will be posting as soon as possible but it may not come for a little bit.
Bom Dia (Good Day)
Mozi Girls

Guatemala again!

2009-05-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hola! We just got back from finishing up the kitchen that the team has been helping build for a local pastor. The maestro (primary builder) and his helper were very patient with us as we learned the different jobs that needed to be completed. They are so good at what they do!

Last night, our team discussed how we felt yesterday after seeing the village where we helped with a VBS. We were all amazed at how far away from the main road it was, probably about 45 minutes or so off the highway and into the mountains. The villlage is very isolated, so the people have to grow most of their own food and keep sheep for wool. It was suprisingly cool, and unfortunately many of the children had badly chapped skin because there´s no lotion or skin care available. We were amazed at how well-behaved the children were (about 60 of them)... they joined in with singing, listened intently to the Bible lesson, waited patiently for help with their crafts and stood in line to get candy. The church was started in the village only recently, but they already have a pastor who lives there in the village and preaches regularly. It´s so awesome how God has reached this village! We are blessed to have been able to visit it and interact with such beautiful people!

Since we´re leaving for Guatemala city for the weekend, we won´t be able to post again until Sunday night or Monday. On Saturday, we´re going to visit Antigua and experience some of the culture there and do some shopping, of course! On Sunday we will go to church in the city and then return to San Pedro. Next week, we will be building a wall at the church... they have trouble keeping the dogs out with the metal fence that´s there now, so we´ll get to help them alleviate that problem.

Thank you all so much for keeping up with us by reading our posts! Please keep praying for us, that God will give us more opportunities to share Christ´s love with the people here, and also pray that He will keep teaching us. It´s cool how even though we´ve come to serve here, God ends up teaching and changing us more than we teach and change others. Dios de bendiga!

Peru medical

2009-05-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hello all, greetings again from Iquitos. Well, here we are close to the end of the trip. We have wrapped things up in the jungle and are getting ready to leave for Lima tonight. Tomorrow we are going to the earthquake reliefe zone and going to visit a clinic there. We ask you to pray for our team, we have a couple people that have picked up a stomach bug, they are doing ok (it is a medical team after all, they are in great hands) just feeling a little sick. We thank God that it all happened here in Iquitos in the comfort of the local church (with running water!) and not out in the jungle somewhere. They should all be feeling fine soon. We will be in Lima the next couple days visiting the earthquake reliefe area and then touring Lima on Saturday. Sunday night we fly out and arrive Monday morning back in the USA. Once we arrive in Lima we will hopefully be able to update more and maybe do some more personal calls. Pray for us as you have been, and we will see you all soon! God bless!

Joel and the team.

Thailand Post 3

2009-05-07T00:36:00.000-07:00

Sup?!?!?!?
ok that was needless..
i hope everyone on the other trips are doing well.
The last couple of days we have been hanging out at a ministry called the well; it is a place where former prostitutes and those in danger can go and learn different skills and english in order to get good jobs and support their families.
There are a lot of rough stories with some of the girls where different things happen in their life like maybe their husband leaves them and they have to support their kids with no means to do so; then they end up going to the bars and making money that way.
rough.
But our team is doing well; tomorrow we are going to a beach somewhere, hopefully there will be more jellyfish.
Much Love.
-Matt (and the rest)

welcome to the jungle...

2009-05-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

we have arrived.
it´s hot.
it´s humid.
and our hair has never looked better.

but we are loving every second of it.
today we went to paradise. literally.
we were in a pool in the middle of the jungle.
swinging on hammocks. drinking inca kola...

tomorrow our work begins while today was full of rest and relaxation.
we plan on painting an orphanage and adventuring through the jungle a bit.
we will be sure to pick a tangerine just for you and eat it!

love to you.

Guatemala

2009-05-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Reporting again live from San Pedro way down in Guatemala. On Tuesday, we continued our work of building a home/kitchen area for one of the pastors in one of the villages around here. We also continued AND finished the huge pile of dirt that we were sifting to help for creating mortar used in the bricklaying. A number of the children from that village were also around and we spent time painting nails, laughing, and playing with them during the day. Nearing the completion of our work in that area.
Wednesday was spent traveling to a village about two and a half hours away. This is a very poor village that Impacto (the missions organization) has been beginning to work with and ministering there. While there, we basically had a short Vacation Bible School time with the children of that area. We told stories of Jesus, sang a few songs and helped them color and make their own tamborines made out of paper plates and pinto beans. The kids really seemed to have a great time. It was pretty far up in the mountains so it was very foggy and cold most of our time there but we still enjoyed the VBS time and playing soccer, blowing bubbles, and running around with the children. Being in such a poor village with outdoor restrooms was a big eye opener for our entire group and has impacted us a lot. Adios for now.

Still kicking in Cambodia...

2009-05-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

Chume reap sua! We're now here at Freedom Hotel in Seam Reap, Cambodia. We are loving everyday here and always learning new things! Seriously, God has been so good to us! For starters - I know God has brought us of us here because we mesh together perfectly! We are 7 amazing friends and have had so much fun together. I have loved getting to know Aimee, Loren, Hannah, Zoey, Ashton, and Angela. They are 6 amazing women of God and He is doing great things in and through us.
We have all adopted Khmer names that our missionary picked for us. Sri Leak, Sri Nanng, Sri Navid... Also, we all together decided what animal we each look like. I (Jewel) am a kangaroo. Aimee is a baby lion. Loren is definitely a fish! Angela is definitely a snake! Hannah is a beagle puppy. Zoey is a deer. Ashton is a koala. We also pick an animal for everyone else we meet too. (Vandy=pandy, Greg=baby bird, Tito=lizard, Arun=parrot, Kimsan=Mufasa..)
Happy Mother's Day to our moms and all the moms out there! We love you very much and want you to know that we are well taken care of and having an incredible time. I hope that you have a wonderful day. To my mom: happy birthday!
This afternoon on our way to Siem Reap from the Bible college, we stopped at a rest area which is also an outdoor market. As we opened our van door, we were immediately flocked by children selling mangos, pineapple, and an assortment of fruit. They say: "2 for $1" and that if we do not give them money, then they cannot go to school and they will cry. Three of the girls also had live tarantulas hanging from their collars. I was terrified, but I am very proud of my girls who were brave enough to hold one in their hand! I am also very proud of Aimee for eating a whole duck egg! Everyone did try a bite or more.
Tomorrow we will attend our first church service. We have a skit prepared about Paul and Silas in jail, and Ashton will be sharing her testimony. Angela and Hannah have already shared theirs, and Aimee and Zoey also shared devotional messages with the students at the WBI.

Please continue praying for us. Each day has new experiences and we continue learning. Pray that our eyes will continue to be open to see the things that can teach us. God, help us to be radical in our faith and show us how to reach the people who are different from us (the beggars, the crippled...)

Thank you!!

A word from Loren::

Hi everyone! I am doing great! Everything is so beautiful here and the people are great! I love working with the children, they are adorable and so happy! Thanks for praying for us and please continue to keep us in your prayers, that we would stay healthy and have strength. Pray that we would allow God to shine through us. Thanks!

Miss and love you Mom Dad Dani and Michael. I am doing great :)

Hola from Madrid!

2009-05-06T02:56:00.000-07:00

As you've probably guessed, we all made it safely to Madrid! Our team is divided into three smaller groups and each of these groups is staying with a different family from the church we are working with, La Iglesia Vida y Familia. Each of the families is extremely generous and makes all of us feel at home. After arriving in Madrid, we went straight to the church and began our ministry. For the past three days the church has been hosting "Escuela de Oracion," an intense study of prayer for the adult members of the church. The sessions last for most of the day and our group has been charged with caring for children, helping to serve meals, and performing any other tasks needed. While our energy and knowledge of Spanish has been tested, we consider ourselves lucky to be a part of such an important ministry in La Iglesia Vida y Familia. We also have enjoyed spending time and building relationships with the young people of the church. Last night we spent several hours with this group, exploring a beautiful park and patiently working to understand each other! While our journey has already begun, we look forward to the next few weeks and the work God is doing here in Madrid.

Peru [non-medical]

2009-05-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day here in Lima.

The last few days have been incredibly busy and so much fun. We have done our ministry in Pucasana. When being in Pucasana on Friday we were all taken by the kids of the village, we did our VBS and then proceeded to climb a mountain to see the entire view of the city. After being in the village we went to the town of Pucasana with our Peruivan friends and ate tradition arroz con pollo and took a boat road and we saw SEALS!!!

Saturday we were involved with a soccer tournament. We got to sit and watch the young boys of the neighborhood play! Wow , do they have skill! It was really incredible to watch.

Sunday we went to church at la igleisa , ate lunch, and then we did a program for the kids in the neighborhood we played soccer, painted faces and then the youth group put on a puppet show. That night we went and had peruivan pizza, boy did we have fun, we laughed quite a bit!

Yesterday we went to a banana market right down the road from our hostal and then we went to Pucasana for the last time. Last night we continued building relationships with those in the church.

Today was tourist day. We experienced Lima we went and bought souveniers and worked on our bartering skills :) and then we toured various areas. And tonight the church is throwing us a going away party. It should be full of fun!

I am not really sure where the time has gone here in Lima, but tomorrow we fly to "la selva" the jungle-we are leaving for the airport at 6:45 a.m. to catch our flight that flies out at 9:40. Say a special prayer for us as we adventure to our second half of the trip.

We send so much love and joy to each of our loved ones at home.
I am not sure how much we will be able to update while we are in the jungle.
But Happy Early Mother's Day to our Mom's !
We love you!

Cioa!
Until next time!

Togo

2009-05-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends!!

We arrived safely last night to Ghana and got some much needed sleep for our first day.

We visited places in the city of Ghana just to see how life is on a day to day basis here. Tomorrow moring we will begin our drive to Togo, which will take about 6 hours. We will then be staying in Togo for the majority of our trip.

We are all doing very well and have enjoyed seeing the new things and meeting new people that we will be working with.

Thank you for all of your prayers so far! We appreciate all of your support and hope to update you again very soon.

Karis People

2009-05-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know we arrived safely and without any problems on the way.

Today we are completing our second day of conversation clubs which have been a lot of fun and a good way to get to know people and the culture.

Last night, we had a meal in someone's home. The food was great and it was really interesting to hear their stories.

Well, we wanted to make sure you knew we'd made it and things are off to a good start.

Thanks for all of your prayers!
Ty and the team

Thailand Post 2

2009-05-05T03:14:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!
The trip is going great so far, we are now about a third of the way through it. Our team spent the last 5 days or so in the south of the country in a town called Takua Pa; it was hit pretty bad by the tsunami so we were helping out at a ministry there that was started up by a Thai man by the name of Pastor Wasan. They have planted a church there and it is doing pretty well. They are having a hard time getting support though for the ministry because the tsunami is now on the back of people's minds though it is still a thing that needs attention. There were 3 interns there, Eak, Jon and Om, they were pretty awesome; we had a lot of fun with them.
We spent most the time doing projects here and there for Pastor Wasan, and it was hard at times, but all-in-all it was pretty laid back because Thai culture does this wonderful thing where they work for a while, rest for a while, then maybe work again, or maybe just talk. :)
Last saturday we worked with kids, just hanging out and having fun with them; they were all so great and beautiful.
On sunday we hung out with the kids before church then had church with them and about 6 or 8 adults; as a team we shared our testimonies and played a couple of songs, it went really well for not really being planned all that extensively.
We went swimming in the Andaman sea and got a couple little stings from jellyfish, it was awesome!
We also went down to Phang nga bay which is one of the main tourist things, it was really pretty.
We hope that all of you are doing fine back home and we look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks.
Adios!

Camodia - An Experience

2009-05-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely in Cambodia around 11:30 Sunday night. Our flights were nice. Everyone had plenty of room on the flight from LA to Seoul. We watched alot of movies, and ate lots of sticky white rice on the plane. We stayed our first night at a guest house in the city. Hannah and Loren kept me (Jewel) up all night, and I think they regretted their choice to stay awake the next day when they were very tired. Our first meal in Cambodia was interesting. Our missionaries left us alone at the guest house, so we had problems ordering food. We all had butter sandwhiches for breakfast (yes, lots of butter between 2 slices of bread) and mixed fruit shakes which stayed in our mouths hours later. (It was bad news, friends.) We visited Teoul Slang (a genocide museum) and the killing fields. There we met a man who was 1 of only 7 survivors of the Khmer Rouge - Teoul Slang was a tribute to the 20,000 people that died. We also went to the World Hope office and a man talked to us about human trafficking in Camodia, and their work to rescue girls. Finally, we arrived at the Bible College and met the students. Almost everyone took naps, then we had chapel and fellowship with the students and staff after dinner. Today we are in Kampong Chnang with Pastor Greg (our missionary) and Pastor Kim Sua (the #1 man of the Wesleyan Church). We are in a guest house now. All 7 of us in 3 beds in 1 room with sketchy cave drawings on the wall (I think they're in blood HAHA).
Thank you for praying for us. We are all adjusting to the extreme heat and lack of sleep. Cambodia is a beautiful country and we are all very excited to be here. Please pray for us as we begin our English classes tonight. Pray for our stomaches as we are adjusting to new foods. Pray for our hearts that we will be open and filled with the Holy Spirit as we encounter non-believers, and that we will be an encouragement to the Church in Cambodia.
I hope to update you again soon.
Jewel

A word from Angela::
Cambodia is amazing and our team is alot of fun. It has been really nic e to see all the people again that I met two years ago. Please pray that our ministry is effective. Thank you for all your support!

Here we go!!!!

2009-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today begins a journey that we've all been waiting for....for six months. Today we met as a team in Indianapolis to get ready to take off tomorrow for Mozambique.

Our team decided to get any family members that were able to come to go out to dinner this evening. We went to Red Robin to enjoy our last meal together in fellowship. Taylor's Mom decided that we should ask for some crayons and coloring supplies for the children in Mozambique. To our surprise, we were wonderfully blessed with an abundance of crayons, coloring books, balloons, and other little trinkets. This was such a blessing and has already shown us the wonderful things God has planned for this trip. We had no idea that we would be given those items and they will be used to further the kingdom of God.

After dinner we went back to the hotel as a team and began our packing extraveganza! Trying to fit tons and tons of meds into a few suitcases that needed to weigh under 50lbs is no small task. After shifting and switching items around we were able to pack 11 suitcases full of medical supplies and other personal belongings to take along with us to Mozambique. We'll see how it goes taking all of that through the airport tomorrow morning. :)

Tomorrow, we will be leaving Indy flying into Washington D.C. and then making the long 18 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. From there we will continue on to Mozambique by car.

Stay tuned for updates!!

Thank you for all the prayer and support.

Mozi Girls

Hola from Guatemala!

2009-05-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
To put everyone at ease, we are all doing well! We have done a lot of traveling, and working. We have all been excited to experience and see new things. It has been amazing to see how God is bringing our team together so wonderfully! There is never a dull moment in our group.

Here is an update on all that we have been doing.
We arrived in Guatemala City on thursday night and got all settled in at our hotel and got to meet the missionary family that we would be working with. Then on friday we went to the pools and saw some people from the church we are working with get baptized. It was great to see and we also got to spend time with some children from the church. It was a nice day to settle in and soak in culture. Then, on saturday we got to work to clean and paint the children´s room at the church. Before that though we had to move alot of very heavy bricks and bags....we will be coming back very buff! On sunday we went to church which was quite the experience! We spent the beginning with the children then we joined the adults to worship, take communion and hear the message. After church we packed up our stuff to head to the lake. I was a 4 hour car ride. The lake is so beautiful! we are excited to share pictures with you when we come back!

Then, this morning we got up and went to work in a village called San Juan. We are building a kitchen for the pastor in the town. The involves sifting an incredible amound of dirt, moving cinder blocks, cutting cinder blocks, layibng mortar and much much more.

It has been an incredible experience and we are very excited to continue to update you all! But rest assured that we are all well :)

Ministry in the Philippines

2009-05-03T23:01:00.001-07:00

We have been blessed by God so much on our trip. Our hosts continue to make us laugh. When we flew to Cebu we partnered with the Wesleyan Bible College there. We put on a one-day VBS with over 150 kids. We acted out the story of Jonah and sang lots of songs and played lots of games with them. They were so energetic. We took tons of pictures because the kids aren't used to seeing themselves on a digital camera screen. They taught us some of their games too. I think they don't have many toys because they used their flip-flops for balls and stuff. Basketball is the biggest sport here so we played lots of that. After their mirinda (snack) we were back to playing again. We were exhausted after our first mini-VBS. Then we went to another very rural village where the people lived in bamboo and banana leaf shacks. Everything they eat is out of the ocean. We weren't able to stay there for long because it started to rain and the roads were turning to mud. Our Jeepney driver was nervous about getting out. So we played with bubbles and sang some songs. In the end we found out it was God's intervention for sending the rain because the village was spliting over our presence - because there are 2 tribes and we were only able to be with one. We went to a third village the next day. This village had never seen Americans because it is a new outreach by the Wesleyan Bible College. Everyone and their mother came out to see us and play games and sing with us. The parents were laughing and playing along with the kids. It was awesome to be their first impression of Americans because i think we did a great job!On Sunday there was a big boxing match that took place in Los Angels. There was a filipino boxer (Pacquien) fighting. For the Filipinos it is like their superbowl. There was very little traffic and all the stores were closed. We listened to it on the radio and then saw re-runs of the fight on TV at the restaraunt we went to. It was interesting to be a part of the celebration, especially because Pacquien won!
We have been able to have tons of traditional filipino meals... lots of rice. Today we had fresh sea food. It was all laying in a row in the market (much of it still alive) and we got to pick which we wanted and how it was cooked. Quite an experience for many of us.
Right now we are in the airport heading to Palawan. Although we were only able to be in Cebu for a few days it was great. We've learned a lot about ourselves, Filipino culture, and about God. Some of us have even had affirmations of life callings and convictions for future work. God has been so good.
Please continue to pray for us. Praise God that no one has gotten sick. We have had safety traveling and have made good connections. Pray for even more seeds planted and strength f0r us as we minister.

Peru (medical)

2009-05-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hello all, greetings from the Amazon jungle. We are all here in Iquitos right now with a one day break before we head to another part of the jungle. We are all safe and sound and being blessed by God as we travel from village to village. We had a couple people fall in the mud and a couple people get sick to their stomachs, but other than that we are just fine. We have seen about 500 people so far and God has been working wonders. We hope to update you all again sometime Wednesday or Thursday. Thanks so much for the prayers, and keep praying! Hopefully we will have a chance to call family Sunday (tomorrow) afternoon. Thanks again for the prayers, and see you in a week!

Joel and team

We're here!

2009-04-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. We're in the Philippines now. We made it with no problems. We were picked up from the airport on Wednesday night and arrived at our hotel around 1 am. We are in Manila which has 15 million people living in it. The city never calms down. At 1 am you would've thought you were in indy rush hour traffic. There aren't really road rules so the driving has been hectic, but it's fun. Yesterday we just spent time getting acclimated to the culture. The two pastors were are working with are Jun and Joel. The best way to describe them is hilarious. They laugh all the time, and their laughter is contagious - even when we don't know what we're laughing about. They feed off of each other too, so it's great.
Everyone here has been really welcoming and sincere. The hotel staff greets us each time they see us with their hand over their heart and a bow of the head. You can't help but smile at their hospitality. The hotel we've been staying at is dorm style - kinda unique. But it's really nice. The food has been good. We've eaten lots of rice and sea food. Yesterday we ate both lunch at supper at SMmall of Asia - the largest mall in Asia. It was really nice food. The meals were cheap - about $7 a person for what would've easily been $10 at home. We like that. The dominant mode of public transportation are tricycles (like motorcylces with side cars) and Jeepneys. We all really wanted to ride in a Jeepney so we were able to do that to supper last night. It was pretty thrilling. It's basically a long jeep with sideways bench seats. I think the idea was picked up after the war when the soldiers left the Jeeps here. They are all really colorful. They make the traffic much louder with horn honks.
Today we are going to a church to play with kids and talk with teenagers. We are all really excited to move from the role of tourist to one of minsitry. It will be a good transition to learning how to relate in ministry to the nationals. Then later this afternoon we are flying (no longer boating) to Cebu where we will be doing more intensive ministry.
One suprising thing here is how much english there is. In all reality there really isn't that much of a language barrier. All the signs and menus are in English and it's almost the dominant language. It helps that we are in a pretty touristy area... although we've seen only a handful of other 'white people'.

Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue to pray with us and for us. We're not suffering with Jetlag too much, but we're lacking in energy. I'm sure working with the kids today will help that (or hinder it, haha). Pray also for continued safety and health. No one has gotten sick yet, which is a praise. The airports were pretty intense about the swine flu. When we landed in Tokyo we had to wait an hour on the ground for quarentine officials to come on the plane and check us out (all 403 passengers). Then they gave everyone masks. No one had it though. It was just kinda humorous. It wasn't an issue when we arrived in the Philippines though. Also, praise God for the wonder and creativity of his creation. It is so different here, and it's actually refreshing to many of us. The colors, smells, sights, tastes, and sounds have us on our toes. In many of the rides we are silent - soaking in our surroundings. It's been awesome.

Peru 2009

2009-04-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Hello!!!!

WE made it to Peru! Safe and Sound! This is our first chance at recieving the internet. We made it in to Lima around 11 o'clock with a slight delay in Miami.

Our past two days have been full of sunshine, children, candy, face painting, laughter, music , taxi rides, and spanglish!

Yesterday we went to a school and did a program for the children and played soccer with them. It has come to my attention how much each member of this team was created to love and to love children well. Our team comes alive at the sight of children. After we went to the school we ate lunch and took a siesta. We then went with the youth group to see the new X-Men movie, the boys were really excited!!!

Today we went to a pre school and did a program in the neighboorhood of San Luis which we are staying in. We all fell in love! We face painted and played with parachutes! After our morning full of children--we went to Pucasana and did a VBS! It was an incredible experience to love on the children of the slums.

We have a day full of Pucasana tomorrow and Saturday we are helping with a soccer tournament.

The Peruivans and Katie are taking such good care of us and there is never a dull moment.
Until next time!

Peru (non-medical team)

2009-04-30T09:35:00.001-07:00

They have arrived safely! We hope to hear more from them soon!!

Julia (on behalf of the team)

Thailand Post 1

2009-04-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

What up Yall?
... I'm poetic with writing, i know.
All kidding aside, things are going great for us!
All of our flights (21 Hours worth) went off without a hitch, except when we got to Tokyo we had to fill out these crazy forms about the swine flu; and they gave us some sweet face masks. But, none of us has it, so thats a good thing i think.
We stayed at the Christian Missionary Alliance Guest House in Bangkok last night, and tonight we are heading to the south on a 12 hour bus ride; fun times are sure to ensue.
Thats about all i have to say... so, here is a random story:
Once upon a time, i forgot my bag with deoderant, toothpaste and toothbrush and so i was either going to be really dirty or get random things from airports. First, i bought a pink toothbrush and toothpaste from the Tokyo airport... i have no idea what the flavor is, but it says "lion" on the front so i call it lion flavor. And i went to a Thai version of Wal-Mart called "Big-C" and bought deoderant... good times, i know.
Thanks for listening, we are all fine, and you will be hearing more from us.
Sincerely,
Matt (and the rest of the team)

We're going to the Philippines!

2009-04-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! This is the Philippines team. We are packing to leave tomorrow morning. The team heads off from Detroit at 2:55 on a 13 hour flight with a layover in Tokyo before we land in Manila at 11:20 pm on Wednesday. We will be ministering in Manila and the islands of Cebu and Palawan. There are 8 people on our team.

Top (from left to right): Amanda, Meghan, Dr. Pettis, Kristi, Lindsey, Jessie. Front (from left to right): Jamie and Laurinda

We will be spending our time in ministry doing VBS, evangelism, church planting, leading worship, and teaching english. We will be working alongside bible college students. It is our prayer that God will use us in ways beyond our preparation. That the seeds that are planted will be planted in fertile soil and reap a plentiful harvest. We pray that we will be used by God in ways beyond our imagination. It is our desire that we can encourage the missionaries and the nationals, as well as one another. Although we don't know how frequently we will be able to blog, we hope that you will follow our story and what God is doing while we are doing His work in the Philippines.

Here are some specifics you can pray for:

* Spiritual & emotional strength as we are tested with a new routine, jet lag, and Satan's disgust

* Safety in our flights to and from the Philippines, on the boats from island to island, and traveling around in the Jeepnis

* That we will be models of the love of Christ to all that we meet

* That we will be guided by the Spirit to do His work according to His plan not ours

These are the missionaries we will be working with:

Jun, Mamel & Jairah Rafael

Romy & Linda Carnigal with their 11 yr old twins

A Countdown to CAMBODIA

2009-04-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Family, Friends and Faithful Supporters,

We are excited to share our experiences with you while we are in Cambodia. I hope that this blog will be a testament of God's faithfulness and He works in us and through us to bless His children and see lives changed. We encourage you to follow our postings while we are in Cambodia so that you can pray for our specific happenings and follow our reflections on our ministry. Please leave us comments of encouragement, share with us how you are praying for us, and let us know what you would like to hear from us!

Early Saturday morning the 7 of us will depart from a variety of destinations and meet in Los Angeles, before the 13 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea, then another 5.5 hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday night. Please pray that there are no complications and that we are able to rest on the flights.

Other specific prayer requests include::

We will be traveling 3-6 hours every few days as we travel from province to province, so please pray for safety as we travel a variety of elements, and pray that we will share God's love with the people we meet along the way (van drivers, market vendors...). Also, I expect that these hours will be a great time for ofur team to bond with each other and with our missionaries.

Pray that we will be filled with and led by the Spirit as we share and minister in the churches, teach in the schools, and encounter many unbelievers on the way. Pray also that we will see opportunities to offer our hands and hearts in love.

Pray that we can be an encouragement for the students and staff at the Wesleyan Bible College, for our missionaries Greg and Resie Fernandez, and for the pastors that we meet in the small country villages.

Finally, pray that our team will feel God's presence and see His blessings with each new day. Pray that we will be filled with God's love for the Cambodians, and for each other.

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Blessings,

Jewel Reed

Hannah Puffer, Zoey Henderson, Loren Dearth, Angela Schram

Jewel Reed, Ashton Rank, Aimee Odum

Departure soon approaching...

2009-04-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

The end of the semester is approaching and along with finals and graduation, last preparations are also being made for the World Impact trips. Let us all join in prayer for each person going out this summer from IWU. May they be united in Christ. In His love and grace. May they be safe as they travel and continue to grow in their unity and His wisdom with each passing day.

As the teams are able to have access to internet, they will post updates to this site. Please continue to check back for their words and any specific prayer requests along the way.

The body of Christ is a powerful weapon. Let us continue to be united in our prayers.

In His Grip

Jeff Miller - Coordinator of World Impact