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We invite you to participate in one or more of our upcoming projects. As soon as we are working on dates for projects, we will list them here for you to see. Most of the time, we start with a general date and then, narrow down to the specific dates as we coordinate with local people. You can start making plans, raising/saving money and get your passport ready for these upcoming projects. Click the button below to download the Clear Vision Ministries Volunteer Application. The completed form is due with the initial donation for each project. In the meantime, click the tabs above to see some of our past projects including pictures and videos.
February 28 - March 13 Project Details: Cost: $4,500 Colombia April 2012 (last week of the month) Project Details: We will provide leadership training for pastors, business people and other leaders in Colombia. Cost: $6,000 Suva, Fiji June 2012 (specific dates TBD but likely to be May 31-June 12) Project Details: Cost: Approximately $3,600 per person(if flight prices increase, the cost will increase) China July 1-13, 2012 Project Details: Cost: $3200 Once again, we had the extreme privilege of working with a church in central China. This year, we assisted a church at the beginning of a big building project. When finished, the church will be three stories high, feature a 1,500 seat sanctuary, office space and classrooms. For our part, we moved thousands of bricks from their delivery point to holes around the soon-to-be created foundation. Workers dig holes about 25 feet deep, create brick walls and then, fill the holes with concrete as part of the foundation. We moved dirt for the foundation, moved delivered steel and flattened part of the ground. The church is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2012. We hope to visit this church again in the future and possibly help them again as they put the finishing touches on the building. This year, we took advantage of many different opportunities to meet with people at a seminary, several churches and various meetings. We met and spent time with more people than ever before. We are very thankful for all of the team members who went to China, all of the people praying for us during our time there and those who provided funds to make this time possible.
(Note: limited information is provided because of the nature of some of our work this time.) We got to return to Santa Cruz Island, which is one of the four inhabited Galapagos Islands located west of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands are famous for an abundant and varied wildlife on land and in the ocean. The people are very friendly. We love working with the people and the churches in these islands. This year, we worked with Pastor Carlos and his lovely wife, Anna, again. We spent time with a group of 110 people made up of pastors, church leaders, business owners and business leaders. We took the people through our second level of leadership training. We covered topics such as: Beating Burnout, Making Good Decisions, Problem Solving, Motivation, Job Descriptions and more. Over the last five years, Hosanna Central church has more than doubled in size and planted several other churches on various islands to bring the hope and full life offered to everyone through Christ. We also had the opportunity to work the church's children's ministry. They have 20 people who work with children on a weekly basis. We talked about long term planing for children's programs, creating the weekly lesson plan, teaching the big idea or main point effectively, using puppets, making the most out of games and more. We enjoyed working with this team of people for 2 children's services. The children had a lot of fun and learned the main point of each service. Not only did we spend time with the children and leaders, we got to speak to the youth, women's group and church as a whole. We are grateful for this partnership between Clear Vision Ministries and Hosanna Christian Church in Santa Cruz. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to work in the Galapagos Islands.
Isla Tigre (Tiger Island) sits just off the coast of Panama on the Atlantic side. Our trip to get to the island included a jet to Panama City, a taxi to the regional airport, a small plane with two propellers and finally, a dugout boat with a 15-horsepower engine. We arrived at around 8am to a small gathering of people, mostly children interested in seeing these foreigners. The island is about the size of two Wal-mart Supercenter parking lots. The Kuna Yala Indians came to the islands hundreds of years ago from the mountains of Colombia. The people still speak their own language brought with them during their migration. They farm on nearby islands and the mainland and fish in the local waters surrounding the islands. A big chief oversees each inhabited island with several other leaders providing assistance. In order to go to Isla Tigre, our friend had to swing in a hammock near the big chief and sing the request to him. We had a great time living the island-life during our time on this picturesque island. The people became friendlier as the days went by. At first, we were the foreigners but then, we became the friends. Each day, we were up with the sun and off to bed shortly after sunset. The main reason for these hours was the lack of electricity. Shortly after our arrival, we were up and ready to go with our medical clinic. First up, the nurse examined 10 pregnant ladies and encouraged them that they were all doing well. Next, we saw the more critical cases. Thankfully, a list of people was created by Jeri before our arrival to make sure we saw all of the people who needed help. We saw over 160 families in the clinic and over 450 people. In the afternoons, we provided a fun Kid's Club for over 200 children. We had games, songs, puppets, object lessons, crafts and time in prayer each day with the kids. On our second day (and each day after), we held hands with children as we walked from place to place on the island and greeted everyone with a "Bey Nuadei." On our last night, we had the opportunity to share some time with the church. We sang together, shared testimonies and a short message from Psalms 23. The church was full from front to back with friendly people who sang and worshipped with all of their hearts. The people's faces lit up when we presented them with some items brought for their use. We brought material and sewing kits to make molas, 2 laptop computers, 2 suitcases of children's ministry supplies, medications, vitamins and more. We are thankful for all of the thousands of dollars worth of donations provided by Americares, Hospitals of Hope, Evangel A/G in Wichita, KS, Central Presbyterian in Waxahachie, TX and many individuals. The big question we got was "When can you come back?" We were told of other nearby islands could use a one day medical clinic and we could base out of Isla Tigre. We are praying about the right time to return to Isla Tigre. Like many other countries, India is in the midst of transitions. The country is working hard to establish itself in the world market while trying to hold onto the traditions and lifestyles known for hundreds (even thousands) of years. With all of the changes taking place, many people are more willing to try new things and learn new information than ever before. This change in desire for something new and fresh could prove to be a great opportunity for the church to impact the lives of many people in India in the coming years. This year, we had the privilege of teaching 32 attendees who work with thousands of children during a conference in Bangalore (Bengaluru). We partnered with several other people to give children's workers a crash course in
Other presenters covered: counseling, making and using puppets, why ministering to children is important, illusions and much more. One of the couples attending the conference has worked with children for 18 years. They took part in their first training conference during our time together. The couple had planned to stay for one week of training but were learning so much, the wife stayed for more classes while the husband returned home to fulfill his responsibilities. The couple commented on how a whole new world of effectively ministering to children was opening before their eyes. They assimilated all kinds of new methods, skills, knowledge and techniques they had never conceived of before the conference. This same enlightening experience was seen on all of the faces of people at the conference. During our time in India, we were blessed with the opportunity to work with and encourage many local believers. We spent time ministering to ex-pats in India as well. In the end, we are very thankful to all of the people who support Clear Vision Ministries through prayer, donations, giving of time and effort and other ways. As we all work together, we are accomplishing great things! (Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in India.) Flying into Zambia, you look out and see an incredible variety of green colors (during the wet season). All of the various hues from the trees, bushes and grass are a wonder to behold. I understand the same variety exists during the dry season when all kinds of different shades of brown and tan can be seen. The people of Zambia are as beautiful and vibrant as the colors I saw from the plane. All of the people we met in Zambia are very friendly. We saw lots of smiles and shared many warm handshakes.
Our time in Zambia, Africa found us working with missionaries and pastors in a number of different ways. We started off with a big challenge of organizing the children's ministries container for future use. Our new friend, Amy, heads outreach to children in Zambia. A previous leader left behind all kinds of different things for children but over several years of neglect, the container became an unorganized collection of everything from old college papers to puppets hiding in the corner to balls of dirt. When Amy opened the container for the first time, she quickly closed the door and chose not to revisit the mess again...until we showed up. We helped Amy clear out all of the garbage and keep the things she needs and uses. What was once a dilapidated mess became a powerful tool to reach children and teach children's workers in Zambia. One of Clear Vision Ministries' main objectives involves encouraging missionaries and pastors. We shared meals with many different missionaries and used the time to encourage them. We helped a missionary family move into a new house, cleaned parts of the house and set-up some of the rooms. We spent a day with an area pastor, encouraging him, listening to his vision, visiting people and praying with him that God will lead him in reaching his area with God's love and forgiveness. We spent a couple of days training some local pastors and leaders in areas of Bible Study, basic leadership skills and conflict resolution. We spent some time at the Lusaka Ministry Center to grade some papers, collate a book, re-organize the library and check the computers for a computer network. One of the missionaries created a large database of books, articles and web sites for students and pastors to browse on the network. This will be a great blessing to many pastors and students in Lusaka and beyond. Our time in Zambia was truly blessed and a new hunger was created to go back to Africa. There are many leaders who need training because the church is growing so fast and new pastors and leaders are desperately needed. We will return to Africa in the future and will be looking for people to go with us.
One church we visited had people sitting shoulder to shoulder on every row. During worship, the people sang out with all of their hearts. The looks of joy and the spirit of God on their faces was wonderful to see. The people listened closely as several shared from God's word during the service. Another church we visited has seen incredible growth over the last year as church attendance has grown by more than 10 times. Not only are people attending church but they are making true changes to their lifestyles as they follow the Bible. One simple example, people who lied and stole to get money are now working together to import garlic into Romania. God has blessed this business and the people are prospering more than ever before. These people give a portion of their earnings to God instead of drinking it all away or gambling it all away. During our time at this church, there was standing room only with people sitting shoulder to shoulder from the very back of the room to the very front (even all over the platform). People stood all along the back of the room and at the door participate. The singing seemed to vibrate the entire building. We worked on many different projects while in Romania, some of which include:
While we were in Romania, some friends of ours had a special meeting with the missions committee of a Romanian Christian organization. During this meeting, they appointed two new missionary families to go from Romania to Afghanistan and India. The members of the committee were very excited about sending these families and about the future of sending more missionaries to other parts of the world in the near future. It is exciting to see a country that has been invested in by missionaries now making the turn to send missionaries itself. God is at work in Romania and it is our privilege to play a small part in His work! It is a privilege, honor and great thrill to build churches in China and we love every opportunity God provides for us to build another church. This time, we flew into Hong Kong and spent a day there to combat the jet lag. Then, a short taxi ride, short train ride and long bus ride took us back to Feng Shun to work with our friends in Southern China. Unfortunately, rain shortened our work week and the number of bricks we were able to lay down. We outran the typhoon that visited Hong Kong the day after we left but we couldn't outrun all of the rain it caused. Fortunately, we got to spend a lot of time with our friends in China, encouraging them, working with them and further building our relationship. The church we worked with this time has over 80 people who worship together. They currently meet in a courtyard between several homes. During church, some people sit underneath the overhangs of houses and some sit under the open sky. The church area is packed out each time the people meet together. The church building we worked on has two stories. The first floor has an area big enough for 400 or more chinese people to sit closely together. We worked on the second floor where an open area exists for people to meet together for meals and fellowship and a couple of classrooms will be used. It won't take long for all of these areas to be used to their full potential. Our group was able to provide a lot clothes for people who are in need in the area. We brought special study Bibles for the leaders to use. We provided the church with blackboards and a keyboard. We gave the children some candy, small toys, pencils and other small things they will enjoy. We even provided funds to purchase new furniture for the platform in the new church. We had the opportunity to return to Ba Xian where we built a church several years ago. We were so excited about this opportunity to see some of our friends from that time and to see the completed work on the building. Many of us had tears in our eyes as we saw the progress made on the church building and in the lives of the people who attend the church. We shared a special celebratory meal with the church family, enjoying the best fried rice in the world. This homecoming will be a special memory in our hearts for many years to come. We can't wait to return to China next year to work on another building and see more of our friends. Last year, we visited an area of La Ceiba, Honduras where the river people live. These people have very little to live on and have settled near a river to eek out their existence. Their houses are made of cardboard, plastic sheeting, boards, tin and whatever other materials they can find. During our visit last year, God spoke to one of our team members and showed her how these people are trying to survive as compared to the lives the orphans we had helped are living. In fact, one of the girls in the girls home we helped comes from this river area. This team member felt God directing her to raise money to build a new home for orphans in order to provide an escape from the extreme poverty they face and to find a home with love, food, education and a future. This year, we returned to Tocoa, Honduras to partner with Open Doors Ministries in building a new home for orphans. Our main focus was constructing the building with the funds raised by our team member. Enough funds were raised to purchase all of the materials needed to finish the building. Before we arrived, we had the cement floors poured. When we arrived, we hired some local men to start work on the building before our team arrived from the USA 10 days later. We were in a flurry of finding and buying materials, keeping the workers on target and getting everything lined up for the team to work on the building. Getting materials for this building was like a new Easter egg hunt each day. Who knew you could literally spend 12 hours or more trying to find the proper concrete anchors you need for the project. When the team arrived from the USA, we had them working on all kinds of different things. They prepared walls for cement, coated walls with cement, drilled holes, created frames and built walls. We were very busy and made a lot of progress, overcoming many construction roadblocks along the way (normal for Honduras). We worked with an additional team from the USA to get more work done on the building and saw a significant amount of progress on the building before our time was up. This new building will be able to help over 20 children. Of course, we were able to spend ample time with the kids at the orphanage. The first day we arrived, the kids came running to us, calling us by name and delivering big hugs. The feeling you have when you return to share more love with these children is hard to describe. Your heart jumps for joy and you fight back a tear or two at the same time. We played with the children in the evenings, helped with homework, sang songs and created many new memories for us all to keep in our minds. Taylor spent a significant amount of time with a new tio (house parent) who is originally from the USA. The tio needed some encouraging as he tried to get used to life with the boys. We returned to an area we call The Palms. People live out their lives in this neat community, surviving on very little. We gave people clothes, hats and Bibles. We visited families and played soccer with the children. We had a children's program with songs, a Bible story, games, fun, toys, and candy. We were able to see progress in this little community over the previous year. Another organization has installed a huge water purification system for the community and a new church has been built. We visited the river people again this year. We brought hundreds of pounds of clothing for the people in this area. We gave away countless shirts, shorts, shoes, hats and Bibles. The people were very grateful for everything we provided. We are very thankful for all of the people who donated the supplies we gave out. These people will wear all the items we gave them until they become threadbare and of no use. Then, they will use the scraps of clothing for something else. Before the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, we were up and loading our luggage for a long day of travel to the other side of the world. Not only is India a different country, you feel like you transported to a totally different world. We were told 87% of the 1.2 billion people in India are Hindu/Buddhist, 10% Muslim, 2% Christian and 1% atheist. One day seemed to confirm these numbers. Everywhere we looked, we saw temples dedicated to some deity or deities. Temples range from large and grand to small enough for only one person to worship at a time. Plus, many people have their own worship altars set up in their homes. People worship and make sacrifices to millions of different deities. The people in India are warm and friendly. The people are somewhat reserved by American standards but very nice when spoken to. The food is delicious (mostly veg) and full of powerful flavors. In the major cities we visited, hundreds of thousands of people and vehicles were out and about all day. Streets are crowded and small businesses line the streets. During the first 10 days in India, we had the privilege of working with a group of people who want to learn better ways to teach children. Currently, children are taught by a straight lecture method with the teacher speaking and the children sitting silent and still for an hour or more. We taught people how to incorporate interaction, fun and learning for a more experiential learning method. The attendees laughed, played and learned. They could not believe how much fun they had and how fast they learned new methods and philosophies. The conference attendees will be using the things they learned in many different cities and villages in India. One evening, we visited a children's home to play games with the children and to share some stories with them. The children were wonderful. They enjoyed playing with the group, paid attention to the stories and prayed with great fervor before we ended our time together. During the second portion of our time in India, we had the opportunity to train more people in how to communicate effectively, how to be a true leader and other important lessons. The people we worked with represent 28 different villages and are taking their new knowledge to their villages to give more people the opportunity for better lives. We visited a second children's home. Even though the electricity was out, some candles were lit and we had a wonderful time together. We played games, sang songs and told stories. To those who donated clothes for these children, thank you so much. Today, the children are wearing new clothes because of you. If you look closely, you can see some of the bags with clothes in them that we gave to the children. Also, one of the pictures shows some of the other clothes given for older people. We provided leaders in India with new tools, such as a projector and dvd/stereo combination, to use to train more people in India. Over the next year or two, hundreds of villages will be impacted with the training provided through CVM. (Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in India. Upon request, a copy of the newsletter covering India may be emailed to you.)
Colombia is a changing country. Not too many years ago, Colombia was a very dangerous place but over the last 10 years, it has become much safer. We walked the streets of Bogotá without fear and everyone we met was friendly and helpful. This time, we had the opportunity to provide training to pastors and church leaders in two different locations. The first training sessions took place in Tocancipa, a short drive north from Bogotá. We were surprised to have four churches represented and over 80 people. During the training, it was amazing to see people's eyes opened to new concepts and ideas. Over and over, people said they now understand why certain things happen in their ministry, business or personal lives and now have a way to make things better. At the end of the training, several people stood to share how their new knowledge is already impacting their lives. We were invited back and plan to return in the future to provide level 2 leadership training. Our next training sessions took us to a very poor area of Bogotá. A few years ago, this area was wrought with gang violence and drug usage. The pastor we worked with went to this area at the height of the problems. While the people in the area are very poor, the violence has subsided in large part. The church hosting us feeds over 300 children each day. We heard several accounts of how God has provided the food and funds to feed these beautiful children. The church also provides after school programs to help children with their homework. Three churches were represented at the training sessions in Bogotá and we had 35 people at the training. Because of the unique nature of the church, some of the leaders in the training were between the ages of 9 and 12. These young people serve as mentors for younger children and perform other kinds of work around the church. It was amazing to see how much these younger people learned during the training. They understood most if not all of the concepts and took good notes. We look forward to seeing how these young people will move forward as leaders by having learned important leadership principles at such a young age. We will return to the church in Bogotá for additional training. Also, we have been invited to take the leadership training into other cities throughout Colombia in the future. Thank you for your prayers and support to make this training possible. We provided over $20,000 worth of training to these people at no cost because of your help. We returned to China to build another church in a village outside of a major city. The people in the village were as warm and welcoming as always. It never ceases to amaze us how being in God's family creates instant bonds with people in China. When we arrived in the village, we had to eat lunch first thing. Before we even began doing any work, we were fed like kings with over 19 dishes to eat. At the jobsite, the first row of blocks was laid and we started working with the local bricklayers to get the walls up as high as possible. Again, we got to about 10-12 feet high with the walls when the locals figured we were high enough. The church is finished by now and is likely full of people worshipping God. At the building dedication, we got to spend over an hour celebrating this new church building with the people of the village. Over 200 people were in attendance and heard about God's love for them. For over half of the people there, it was the first time they heard anything from the Bible. The local preacher's all shared with the crowd. We had a couple of testimonies from our team. A college group we work with provided a keyboard and guitar for the church to use in services. We provided many other special gifts to the church and local people that they will enjoy for years to come. This year, we got to visit several churches and preachers. After a quick tour of these little churches, we spent time praying with and encouraging the preacher. It is hard to describe the amount of love shared with these co-laborers in God's kingdom and how uplifted we all were during these times of visiting together. Thank you so much for helping the people in China. Your prayers and contributions really make a difference in this incredible land. We can't wait to go back. We invite you to join us in this experience of a lifetime. In going to Buenas Aires, we traveled further south than ever before. All of the people we met were warm and friendly. Our job for this time involved finishing the walls of a newly constructed building for a seminary. The school trains hundreds of students during the week and then, hundreds of other students come to the school on the weekends for classes. The new building will provide much needed space for the increased numbers of students attending the seminary. Dorm space, a cafeteria, meeting rooms and more will be used in a big four story complex when the building is finished.
We mixed countless batches of cement with three different types of mixtures. One of the mixtures was used in the courtyard to provide waterproof walls. People were busy mixing cement, hauling sand, hauling the cement to various locations and delivering buckets of cement to people who were busy spreading the coats on the walls. One lucky guy got to help with roof repair for a couple of days. All in all, we worked hard, had a great time and got a lot done. Just in case you are wondering, Argentina is definitely the place to go if you want a great steak. We ate wonderful meals at the seminary but one night we ventured out for a special meal. The steak was cut with a spoon (yes, a spoon) tender and delicious. We returned to Tocoa, Honduras for a seven week stay. During our time, we worked with multiple teams at multiple locations and did a wide variety of work:
While we have a long list of stories we could share, there are a few that stand out at the moment. We were taking care of the girls at the orphanage one weekend while the house mother took some time off. The house mom's two daughters were at the home to cook for the girls (we still need help in cooking Honduran food...LOL) and keep things clean. We noticed the girls rearranged their room but didn't think much of it. During the night, a four year old, Juanita, fell out of her bed and was hanging by her neck between two bed frames. She was choking to death. Unfortunately, the girls had locked the door to their room and the house mom's daughters couldn't get into the room and didn't know where the key was. The commotion woke DeAnna and she ran to the get the key to the girls' room. She freed Juanita from the bed frames, saving her life. At the next opportunity, we changed the handle on the door to one that won't lock. The girls weren't happy with this change but it was really needed. We took a long hike into the nearby mountains for a medical outreach to the people in a village named Bando Ancho. No, the village isn't on any map in case you are wondering. The team walked through the river several times and uphill for 5 1/2 to 6 hours to get to the village. The team provided medical care, clothes, shoes, toys for kids, parasite treatments, vitamins, drugs and dental help. DeAnna was the pharmacist. As the nurses called out for drugs, she would fill the oral prescription. Jimmy worked with the dentist. He held the flashlight for all of the patients the dentist saw and often held the spit-bag. He learned where the numbing shots go for various teeth and walked Barry through giving multiple shots on patients. Over 200 teeth were pulled in 2 1/2 days. The clinic helped over 600 people. One of the moms at the clinic had a little baby that was severely malnourished and on the brink of death. The nurse was scrambling to find some kind of nutrition for the baby so she could live long enough to get to the hospital. Only by the foresight of God, Jimmy had a packet of Gatorade to give to the baby. No one else had anything that would help the baby. The baby got the electrolytes and nutrition from the Gatorade and was able to survive the journey to the hospital for more help. If the team had not been there, this baby would not be alive today. At the girls home, some of the girls were spreading a nasty sickness from one to another. One of the mothers, Kayla, noticed here baby had contracted the disease. Kayla was very upset and didn't know what to do. She told DeAnna what happened and asked for her help. They prayed for the baby. The next morning, Kayla found her baby free from the rash and the disease! On our last night at the girls home, we had a time of devotions with the girls. Some of the members of the visiting team shared testimonies about how God helped them through situations very similar to those the girls have been through (rape and abandonment). Jimmy shared about the need for and power of forgiveness. A very powerful time was spent in which almost all of the girls forgave the people who hurt them in their past. God brought freedom to the girls! We saw many other miracles during our time in Honduras. God saved our lives and the lives of others on several occasions. We built new relationships and saw God change lives. We invite you to go with us so you can see God at work with your own eyes.
The Kid's Club met in the afternoon. The first day, about 20 kids were there at the start of the Kid's Club. By the time the activities were over, around 70 kids had shown up to participate. On the last day, over 100 kids were in attendance around the time we started. There were another 20+ adults watching everything. One of the highlights for the Kid's Club was Tico the clown (played by Taylor). While in China, a team member taught Taylor how to make some balloon animals, even making them behind his back. Our friend had spent time as a professional clown and knew how much kids love to get balloon animals. Little did we know at the time that kids would go crazy for the balloon animals Tico would make a few days later in Ecuador. It's amazing to see how God sends a former professional clown to China to teach a young man how to make balloon animals in Ecuador (and many other places in the future). During our second week in the Galapagos Islands, we worked with pastors and business leaders. We provided leadership training to help people overcome the challenges every leader faces. The men and women soaked up the information and understood how to apply the things they learned. At the conclusion of each session, the people were all talking about the things they had learned. It is a thrill to see people's eyes light up when they understand something that explains their situation. It's even better when they learn how to properly work with the situation.
We found a new way to lay bricks for this building. We created squares with the bricks and would work on two or three rows of bricks as we went down the wall. We were able to get the walls of the church up to about 10 to 12 feet. Some of the local officials were concerned for our safety and didn't want us working much higher than that. At the dedication of the building, there were over 300 people at the church site. Our team of people got to pray with many of the people in attendance. We also provided the church with a high-quality keyboard. We had the opportunity to attend a church service with over 800 Chinese believers. We shared a few words of encouragement and sang a couple of songs. When we sang "Hallelujah," almost everyone in the building was worshipping and singing together. The praise reverberated off the walls, creating an incredible atmosphere of worship. We were able to teach a couple of classes at a seminary. The students were involved and attentive. Some students hung around at the end of class for further discussion on theological issues. Some team members went to an English class at a secular university. They were able to share about life in the USA. The students heard the song "Amazing Grace" and were given an explanation of the song's meaning. It is truly incredible to see the work God is doing in China. Thank you so much for helping the people in China through your prayers, contributions and going to this fabulous country. Once again, Clear Vision Ministries had the privilege of partnering with Solid Rock Resources, El Salvador Church and people from various parts of the USA. During the first week in Monterrey, I got to work with people from New York City. The "New Yorkers" were a lot of fun to hang out with during our trip. We were joined by a couple of people from Tennessee in the van I drove. By the end of the week, the people from Tennessee had picked up some New York accents and the New Yorkers could fake a decent southern drawl.
I drove the New Yorkers back to San Antonio and helped them make there 6:30am flight. Of course, that meant leaving the hotel at 4:15am, dropping the New Yorkers off at the airport and returning the van to the rental company before 6:00am. It's too bad I'm not a morning person.
During the Kid's Clubs, I was primarily responsible for setting up and running sound. I seemed to always be in the middle of clean up as well, getting things in order to go in the trailer at the appropriate time. I ran sound and spoke some for dramas in the evenings while the team members did all sorts of fun things during the program. I sensed a need even more to put up a building for local believers to use. Most of our time was spent in places without a church building of any kind. While a building is not necessary, it does make a big difference when people know where they can to go to further their relationship with God. Hopefully, next year we will be able to work on a building while the youth do outreaches during the week. We just returned from a Spring Break trip to Tocoa, Honduras. Our team of high school, college and young married individuals worked with the Comptons of Open Doors Ministries. On Sunday, we spent the morning and afternoon with the girls from the girls home (Casa Grande) and their babies. We took them to the beach at Trujillo for a fun afternoon. It was a great way for our team to get to know the girls. The girls live about 45 minutes from the beach but only get to the beach once or twice a year. Some of the girls had never been to the ocean. Sunday night we visited Pastor Oscar’s church. Jimmy was able to encourage the church with a brief message and some of our team members gave testimonies. Two of our team members did a skit in Spanish. Monday through Wednesday we spent time at a feeding station the Comptons and Pastor Oscar operate. We had a Kids Club each day after the kids were fed. The kids loved the clown and balloons! At the Kids Club, we played games, learned Bible verses, had puppets and told Bible stories. It was so cool to be there when over 50 kids heard the story of Daniel and the Lions Den for the first time. After the Kids Club, we spent time at Casa Grande & the Casitas (children’s home). We brought a volleyball set for Casa Grande and taught the girls how to play. The team played with the kids and just spent time letting them know they are loved. It was hot in Honduras during our trip until the last day when we took some time for souvenir shopping, visiting another beach and taking a short walk through the jungle. We had fun taking the missionaries and a couple of kids from the Casa Grande with us to give them a relaxing day. In the six months since our last trip to Honduras, there has been a distinct change in many of the kids at Casa Grande & the Casitas. Smiles are more abundant, girls are loving their babies, they are learning to be loved. On November 1st, we set out for Bucharest, Romania. After 19 hours of travel time, we arrived on Friday November 2nd for a great 2 weeks in this country. We got a good taste of the life the missionaries go through who live in the country year around and completed a number of great projects. We helped with a children’s service on the first Sunday. Taylor changed into a purple Gorilla and went through the streets to gather a crowd. He did this at two different locations and it was amazing to see the kids come running down the street to join the Purple Gorilla Parade. Protecting him from the mob of kids was almost impossible. Taylor and DeAnna also helped with some games, skits and other parts of the service while I spoke to the adults in a small room crammed full. The room was heated by a wood stove. I can still smell it. We worked on the missionary’s home to help them make it through the harsh Bucharest winters. We closed in a stairwell where all of the heat in the home was escaping up into the attic and out through an un-insulated roof. We also added much needed insulation to one of the rooms through a long process involving a glue, 2 types of mortar and sheets of Styrofoam. We provided children’s worker training for 24 workers. We gave each church represented at the training a package of everything they need for children’s services for months to come. It was an incredible joy to see these people soaking up various ways to minister to children. The attendees had a wonderful time. We painted the benches at a church in a small village. The leader of the church lives in a small 2 room (not 2 bedroom) house for 12 people. He built an additional room for the kids and then felt God telling him to use the room as a church. The man gave up the room and it is now a church in his village. This was a humbling experience in seeing a man give of himself for the Glory of God. God is doing some great things in Romania. We invite you to explore some of our projects completed in the past. Simply click the underlined link for each area. Tocoa, Honduras - Worked on a girl's home and orphanage. China - Started a building for a new church. Quito, Ecuador - Analyzed and consulted with Unsion Foundation. Monterrey, Mexico - Provided help with outreaches for new church plants. Quito, Ecuador - Worked on a church building for a new church. Colombia - Trained youth workers in Bogota, Tunja and and two other cities. Fiji - Added space to a church in Suva and finished another church. Alvarado, Mexico - Built a church building for a new church plant. Romania - Ministered to women and children in several locations. Jamaica - Provided jail ministry, women's ministry and more. Cuautla, Mexico - Worked on several churches and an administrative office complex. Abaco Island, Bahamas - Rebuild of a campground destroyed by a hurricane. Juarez, Mexico - Worked on a Christian school and visited a pastor ministering in a garbage dump. |
children's ministries. We covered topics such as:
Romania is steadily changing as this country conforms to the wishes of the European Union. In Bucharest, we noticed a new coat of paint changing dull communist-gray buildings into vibrant European colors (a lot of orange). We noticed a much cleaner city because the trash that used to line the streets was gone. We even saw a couple of street sweepers working the roads. We noticed better traffic patterns, cars following the rule of law (most of time) and more police directing traffic than before. We also saw some changes in the spiritual climate in some of the places we visited.
We had the privilege of going to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador to work on a church project, provide a kid's outreach and then, to provide leadership training to over 80 pastors and business owners. The work on the church consisted of finishing out some concrete sidewalks, installing lighting and creating the foundation for an outside wall with big rocks. We spent a lot of hours mixing concrete by hand and delivering it by wheelbarrows and buckets. 
We had the privilege of going to China to build another church. The church we worked with had around 12 to 15 members who were meeting together in homes (not an underground church). Our job was to get a new building started so the community could meet together in one location to worship God. 
We worked in a couple of new neighborhoods on the outskirts of Monterrey. Neither neighborhood had any kind of church until recently when the El Salvador church decided to plant a couple of churches. One of the neighborhoods turned out to be quite rough. Around 9pm on Wednesday, several hours after we left, there was a gang shoot out in one of the neighborhoods we worked in. We were safe because police were always present when we were in the neighborhood. We went back to the same area the next day and next week and were able to minister to around 150 people.
The next week, I spent most of my time helping a group of people from Austin, Texas. This was my second week to help people with their first foreign missions experience. I had a good time answering questions and playing host for this group (and the New Yorkers). It is amazing the difference that takes place in peoples' lives when they step beyond our borders to help people in other countries.