BigServeGlobal

Update #2 from the Middle East

2012-01-31T04:32:00.000-08:00

25th:

Thank you all so much for your prayers! We went through immigration and customs though with NO PROBLEM! Huge praise! We arrived at our friend's house in short order. We woke to the call to prayer at 5 a.m.; a great reminder to keep these people in our hearts.

Today was spent enjoying our friends, touring the town, and enjoying the local culture. Lunch was schwarma--good stuff! The people are warm and welcoming - nothing like the media makes you feel about them. Our hearts continue to grow for these people.

26th:

Great time today of encouraging the family! Imagine five adults and four children in a vehicle for five hours - with one of them being a two-day-napless two-year old. Fun times! We visited the site where J went swimming with His prerunner. We visited the Dead Sea & Mt. Nebo (where M looked out across the land that he was not permitted to enter.)

We spent a full day with our sweet friends mainly encouraging them, loving them and letting them show us their temporary home country's highlights. We had the opportunity to visit with our guides at the Jordan River, a French family traveling for ten months throughout the Middle East, and brothers from Arkansas.

Tomorrow, the Sabboth, is our last day here before we move on to our next site. Our flight is five hours, starting at 1:00 a.m. Saturday will feel like a V-E-R-Y long day!

So thankful for you all!!!

29th:

We have had two very full days here at our second site. We have spent a few hours of both days with a local worker sharing information and strategies to reach these people. Be praying for soft hearts, the Spirit's working, and dreams and visions (this is a major way He moves these people to seek out Christians.)

In addition, we spent both days doing some general touring and praying during the driving and in the various sites. Today we saw the city's Grand Mosque. It was gorgeous, lavish and luxuriously cared for. Do you realize you are that building for the Spirit? It was convicting and humbling to see the great care and the great devotion they have toward something that brings no eternal satisfaction. Do you care for your temple that way? Or do you pump it full of trash in the form if food, entertainment, tv choices... The Muslim people come to the Mosque throughout the day to pray. Are you at all that devoted to being sure you talk with Him throughout your day?

The last 3-4 hours of our days here are spent at a festival celebrating this nation. It is a two week festival. We are here for the first five days. Pray for divine appointments, for boldness, for sending and obedience to the Spirit's leading. It is all way, way beyond us.

These people are very gracious, loving and generous. They are curious about Americans and happy to talk. Their homeland is lovely. Our hearts are full of great love for them.

Disaster Relief Training Opportunities

2012-01-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in participating in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) Training, please take advantage of the opportunities offered below. Advance training and credentialing are required to participate in SBDR. The one day, 8:00am to 5:00 pm training workshop will be held on Saturdays in February and March. The cost for first time training is $30.00 and $20.00 for recertification. Register at:
http://www.sbcv.org/disaster_relief.

The dates and locations for training are:

February 11-Poquoson Baptist Church, Poquoson
March 10-Colonial Heights Baptist Church, Colonial Heights
March 24-Spotswood Baptist Church, Fredericksburg
March 31-Great Neck Baptist Church, Virginia Beach

Update from the Middle East

2012-01-30T11:27:00.001-08:00

Things are going well with our team in this region. We hope to share more in later updates, but here are some pictures:

Live the Mission Magazine

2012-01-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Click on the link below to access our latest Live the Mission Magazine:

http://www.turnit.com/index.php/ci_id/91325

SBCV State Convention Missions Opportunity-Haiti

2012-01-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

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SBCV/Florida Haiti Rebuild

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Dear Craig,

As we approach the 2^nd anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake, some 400,000 to 500,000 Haitians are still homeless and therefore, we appreciate your love for Christ and your desire to serve Him by being the hands and feet of Christ to the people of Haiti. The date for the next trip to Haiti is February 3-11, 2012 and we pray that you will respond to God's call to serve in Haiti.

There are 15 openings for the Rebuild Haiti Trip from February 3-11, 2012. The total cost of the trip is approximately $1500 (depending on airfare from your location). We have budgeted about $800 for airfare and the other $700 for in country expenses, such as: accommodations, meals, transportation, and security.

Please fill out the Rebuild Haiti Trip Registration form (by clicking on the link below) and also see the FAQ's for more information on the work we will be doing. When I receive your registration I will promptly reply to you with the additional information needed for the February trip.

Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the Rebuild Haiti Trip Registration below to open the registration form:

Rebuild Haiti Trip Registration

FAQ's

Rebuild Haiti February Trip Important Dates and Trip Details:

Due with Registration: $500.00 Deposit - to SBCV with "Rebuild Haiti 2/2012" in memo section of check
We will provide you with instruction regarding how to book your Miami to Port-Au-Prince flight as soon as we receive your Trip Registration
Friday, January 8^th: $500.00 (2^nd payment) - to SBCV with "Rebuild Haiti 2/2012" in memo section of check
Friday, January 22^nd: $500.00 (Final Payment) - to SBCV with "Rebuild Haiti 2/2012" in memo section of check
Total Cost: Approximately $1500 - Final cost depends of airfare
February 3-11, 2012: Trip Dates

Please share this opportunity with others in your church, DR training in not required!

We look forward to hearing from you soon and partnering with you to assist in the Rebuild Haiti efforts for God's glory.

In Christ,

Aubrey B Ralph

SBC of Virginia

Rebuild Haiti Coordinator

703-868-8889

Jack Noble
SBC of Virginia
State Disaster Relief Director
540-521-6423

Vietnam Update #2

2012-01-03T05:28:00.001-08:00

Hello again,

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers up to this point! Last night was awesome - it was so great to see familiar faces half-way across the world and to make new friends, some of whom just recently became Christians, or "got the light" as they phrase it here. The Lord provided a friendly coffee shop for us to meet in and about 30-35 students came to meet with us. There have been miscommunications over the years due to the language barrier regarding whether or not some of these students actually understand the Gospel or know the Lord personally. The missionaries here are working to continue to strengthen the faith of these students through discipleship and weekly meetings but it is still difficult to follow-up with each student that comes.

We learned this morning that one of the members of our team's grandmother passed away last night and we're not sure how that news will affect the rest of our journey - please pray for the Thomas family, for peace and reliance on the Lord in light of such sad news.

We will be traveling to Haiphong today to spend time with the pastor of a house church and his family and to celebrate Christmas and New Years with the believers there. Please pray for travel mercies and for doors to be opened in Haiphong as it is still rather unsafe to share the Gospel there.

Just like Paul in 2 Timothy 4, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction."

Vietnam Update #1

2012-01-03T05:22:00.000-08:00

Xin chào!!! (Hello!!!)

46 hours later and we're finally here!!! No lost luggage, no trouble with customs, and only a few mildly upset stomachs from China Airline's fine cuisine. I'm already trying to prepare my heart for what we'll be encountering en route to and at the orphanage on Saturday afternoon. Tonight we get the opportunity to meet up with students we've met in years past to just chat and catch up. A few of the students we're meeting with are believers but most are not. Tonight we're just trying to re-water any seeds that have been planted over the years but we definitely want to be open to the Spirit moving through casual conversations and simple acts of love and friendship.

Please be in prayer for the safety of the students as they travel to meet us and for God to work through the crazy variety of conversations that will take place this evening (most likely while you guys are just waking up). Keep James 1:2-4 in mind today:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Whether you're in Vietnam, cleaning house, or traveling, know that God's got a plan for it all.

World Missions Offering

2011-11-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Live the Mission Celebration!

We celebrated a wonderful weekend of missions mobilization as many of our members shared their hearts for the nations as well as how God is leading them to serve right here at home.

One question that resonated after our celebration was about our World Missions Offering. Many were wondering about the boxes and the pledges that were made in the worship service. Here are just a few FAQ's. (Frequently Asked Questions)

Are we supposed to return the boxes filled with money? No, it is not necessary for you to fill the boxes with money. The goal for the boxes was to decide what your offering will be and place the box under your tree to represent your family's offering to missions.

When do I give my offering that I pledged? It would be wonderful to have that offering by December 25th as a gift to Jesus to spread his good news, but we actually receive the WMO all year around. So those who are living on a tighter budget can still give throughout the year and see how God is going to use those gifts!

How can I give? A gift to the WMO can be given as an addition to the tithe on your envelope or it can be given online.

Where can I find more information about the WMO? Our new Live the Mission magazine has all of the details. You can also check out this link: http://www.firstnorfolk.org/contentpages.aspx?parentnavigationid=12287&navigationId=13705&viewcontentpageguid=4c6ca9bd-a806-4b80-9f72-a58ae7977494.

What if I still have questions about missions giving? Contact our Missions Ministry at First Norfolk. We will be happy to assist you.

West Virginia 2011 Report

2011-08-24T05:32:00.000-07:00

For 5 years now, the Young at Heart (YAH) have traveled to Old Fields Baptist Church in West Virginia to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) and block parties in the community. We used The Big Apple Adventure curriculum from Lifeway, where the children learned to connect with Jesus and step out in their faith. We played “The Big Apple Adventure” song every day and this song emphasized, “Connecting faith, with love, with trust, with others, with L.I.F.E.” This was one of the children’s favorite.

There were a total of 8 team members this year. This was an amazing team. Everyone worked together so well. All team members were well prepared and organized, everything from Bible study, to crafts and to recreation. Everyone was very dedicated and you could just see how much they loved serving the Lord. This goes to show, that no matter what your age is, you are never too old to go on a mission trip. The team members were encouraged to stretch and get out of their comfort zone, and this was exactly what they did.

When we arrived on Sunday afternoon, we went to our 2 sites where we would be conducting our VBS’s, prayer walked and passed out door hangers inviting the children to come. The door hangers not only had information about our VBS, but also had information on it about Old Fields Baptist church. Our VBS’s were held on Monday through Thursday at each location. Our morning VBS was at a trailer park (Scott’s Trailer Park) in a cornfield. We had approximately 14 children in attendance every day, with new children attending every day. Our afternoon VBS was at Yellow Bud Apartments. Here, we had approximately 17 children in attendance every day. Once again, the Lord sent more and more children every day.

On Monday evening, we assisted Old Fields Baptist in preparing almost 125 food boxes that would be picked up Tuesday morning by people in the community. The YAH were very excited about helping the church with this extra project. Dan Howard, pastor at Old Fields Baptist is very involved in his community and provides food boxes every Tuesday, once a month. On Tuesday morning when we arrived at the church, there was a line out the door for people needing food boxes. Several team members stated that you never know how blessed you are, until you see people who need the very essentials to live, food.

We concluded our week in West Virginia with a block party at Yellow Bud on Thursday night. The kids were talking about the block party all week. We had face painting, duck pond, prizes, bubbles, ballooning, ball toss games, an inflatable, hot dogs, chips and soda at the block party. There was a very large turnout for this event.

We thank everyone for their prayers while we were gone and the many contributions that were made to the West Virginia trip. Through some these contributions, we were able to provide each child with a Bible, as well as, some of the parents who attended VBS with their children. The Lord provided safe travel, good health, and nice weather all week. As a church, we are truly blessed to have the YAH feel led to serve and what a privilege and blessing it is to serve along side of them.

For His Glory,
2011 WV Team

Dominican Republic (Update 6)

2011-08-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

Our work was halted yesterday afternoon due to some severe thunderstorms that moved through the area. Several nearby buildings were hit by lighting, but no damage was done to any of the structures in our compound. We will finish these projects in the morning before heading to the airport to return home. Please pray for continued safety and ease of travel as we are on our way home tomorrow. We look forward to seeing our friends and families and sharing about our trip. It is exciting to see how much God has done through us this week!

Team Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic (Update 5)

2011-08-16T10:25:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the work that we are doing. It appears that afternoon thunderstorms may have changed our plans, but we still have plenty of tasks to keep us busy as we finish our days of work here. We have enjoyed making new Dominican friends and bonding as a group. Thank you for your continued support!

Dominican Republic (Update 4)

2011-08-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a profitable day in the Domincan Republic! We were able to get many more bricks in place and the basketball court is nearly complete. On Sunday we went to a local church and fellowshipped with the Dominican Christians. Our team sang two songs for the church and heard about their recent mission trip to Haiti. It was encouraging to hear about the local church's vision for the country and the surrounding areas. After church, some of the children from the community came and some of our group played softball with them while others entertained children on the playground as well as many other activities that we brought. The children heard the story of the prodigal son and were given a clear presentation of the gospel. The time ended with crafts and general interaction with the group. Tomorrow we will finish the basketball court and continue laying bricks before having the children come again to hear another Bible story. Please pray that our interaction with them will provide them a clear message of Jesus. We look forward to what God will do through us!

Team Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic (update 3)

2011-08-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Thank you for your prayers for us. Yesterday (Saturday) we completed our second day of construction work. The athletic facility now has walls six blocks high almost all the way around and the base coat of paint for the basketball court was completed at about 8:00 last night. We also had a group who spent time with a group of students practicing English in the morning. The construction/painting is tiring work, but we know it will broaden the impact of this ministry on the surrounding community, and we are excited to be a small part of that.

Today (Sunday) we are going to church in the community and we will be singing two songs in their service. They have graciously provided a translator so we will be able to understand the message. This afternoon, we will be inviting some of the children from the community here to play games, do crafts, and learn Bible stories. Please pray for opportunities we have to share the gospel with these children.

Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
Dominican Republic Team

Dominican Republic (update 2)

2011-08-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful day in Los Alcorrizos today (Friday)! This morning, several of the workers from the school we are partnering with took us on a guided trip through the local community outside of the compound. We were able to interact with the people with whom this ministry works as well as see the conditions in which they live. The experience was eye-opening for many in our group. Children of all ages followed us through the streets as we passed out candy, played with them, and even gave them rides on our shoulders. Once our tour was over, we began to work on the third floor of an athletic facility that the school in constructing. They are planning to use this space for a women's fitness center in hopes to bring young people off the street and keep them out of trouble. Work will continue on that facility for the duration of our stay. Tomorrow we are also doing some work on a basketball court that is used for outreach in the form of tournaments. During each of these gatherings, the Gospel is clearly preached and people are given a chance to respond to the message. Thank you for your prayers. God gave us safety today in all of our endeavors, and we trust that He will do the same tomorrow! God bless!!

Dominican Republic

2011-08-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have safely made it to the Domican Republic! Our trip was relatively uneventful, which is a good thing. :) Our team has met several of the workers here in Los Alcorrizos and we are excited to get started. Tomorrow we will be taking a trip into the surrounding community to become acquainted with the local people before beginning our day of construction work. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Love,
Dominican Republic Team

Thank You from Hamilton Baptist Church in North Carolina

2011-08-08T13:45:00.001-07:00

For two years, several members of First Baptist Norfolk’s Young at Heart group have made the journey here to Hamilton, North Carolina. And each summer they help our smaller church host such an excellent Vacation Bible School that the building is bursting at the seems with children and teenagers. We can hardly begin to express our appreciation for their work and sacrifices. Moreover, it is a reminder to us that the Kingdom of God knows no boundaries, and that His people love the citizens of a neighboring state just as they do their own neighbors. From the bottom of our hearts we say thank you to this team and to your church for sending them to us.

In Christ’s Love,
Hamilton Baptist Church

Malawi 2011 update 8

2011-07-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

Our last day of ministry finished well in the village of Chakakala. Although a funeral in a neighboring village caused some small changes in our plans, the gospel was still spread to many homes throughout the day as well as to the children of the VBS. We said goodbye to our interpreters as well and were able to provide them with gifts and donations that we had brought for them and their families. God has used them mightily in the country of Malawi, and we are thankful to have worked with them all for these two weeks. According to the numbers kept by the interpreters, we have seen more than 900 people pray to receive Christ as their Savior in these last two weeks! God is greatly at work in Malawi, and although it may seem cliche', the fields truly are ripe for the harvest in this small country.

Tomorrow morning we will head to the airport for our departure. We are scheduled to leave around 1:00 p.m. Malawi time which would be 7 a.m. EST. Please pray that our flights go smoothly and that all of our luggage will return safely with us. Thank you so much for your prayers throughout the past two weeks. God has greatly blessed our time here!

Love,
Team Malawi

Malawi 2011 update 7

2011-07-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Good morning. We had a wonderful time enjoying God's creation at Chisomo cottages on Lake Malawi! Today we return to ministry in Chakakala, the village where we were last Thursday. We have VBS, hut-to-hut, and discipleship training planned for today. We are excited to see our new friends again and to encourage the church there, which should have resumed meeting this past Sunday. As always, we would appreciate your prayers for our time in the village. We miss and love our friends and family back home.

-Team Malawi

YAH Mission Team Hamilton, NC July 17-22, 2011

2011-07-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Young at Heart NC Team was very excited to return to Hamilton Baptist. Lots of familiar, smiling faces and quite a few new ones greeted us on Monday morning. Each day brought more and more children and concluded with an enrollment of 45 attendees, and like last year, a surprisingly large amount of youth (22 total). The Big Apple Adventure VBS theme was fun and engaging with bible stories, crafts, recreation, snacks, MUSIC, and an occasional appearance from Lady Liberty! Our Young at Heart met every challenge--even Tacky Tourist Tuesday. Each morning after bible study, the youth were divided into a craft team, music team, and recreation team to assist our 10 mission members. This proved effective in helping us, as well as, allowing the youth to serve. By Thursday, we had 5 decisions for Jesus with one child anxiously telling all of us she wanted to be baptized. Each child received a Big Apple Adventure bible, too.

Our daily mission project was Kits for Kids (www.vbskitsforkids.com). The children were challenged to fill 2-gallon ziplock baggies with specific school supplies. By the end of the week, 17 kits were completed. These kits will be shipped to Richmond and distributed to 35 different countries by Baptist Global Response.

On Friday evening, after a full morning of VBS, we celebrated the end of a glorious week with a community block party. An additional team of 12 FBCN folks arrived by 2pm with our block party trailer. This team helped to inspire outreach in the community with games, inflatables, prizes, balloons, and facepainting. Approximately 70 adults and children were in attendance for this event. After a cookout followed by the children's closing program, the team bid adieu to our friends in Hamilton, NC, and safely returned to Hampton Roads.

We wish to thank individuals, FBCN bible study classes, the YAH, the children's ministry, and the media ministry who generously contributed in helping to make our trip a God-filled opportunity. Lastly, we were able to re-cycle all of our VBS decor and materials to Bethel Baptist in Bethel, North Carolina. Connecting our faith, with love, with trust, with others, with L-I-F-E.

Submitted by: Denise Maples, NC Mission Team

Alaska Update- Day 5

2011-07-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

We have gone back out into neighborhoods from about 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to place door hangers at each home. We then have lunch back at the church followed by a couple of hours of downtime. At 4 p.m. we begin to assemble all the items needed for the block party and head over to a different park each day and the party begins at 6 p.m.

We have continued to have great turnouts and the people of Anchorage have been very appreciative of True North's efforts to reach out to their communities. We ask you to continue to join us in prayer that God will draw many of those whom we have met to this Sunday's worship gathering and certainly, if not this Sunday, at least in the very near future.

The team continues to be in good health and spirits. Everyone is working very hard and with cheerful attitudes. Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow mission teams in North Carolina and Malawi!

Team Alaska

Malawi 2011 update 6

2011-07-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your continued prayers this week. This weekend we ministered in the village of Kamoyo for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we had over 150 children in the VBS program! Children kept filtering in throughout the entire day to hear the Word of God taught. Ray met with about 20 or so church members from the Kamoyo church to teach them about church leadership and discipleship. The rest of the group (minus those in VBS) was involved with evangelism throughout the neighboring villages around Kamoyo.

On Sunday, we worshiped with our Christian brothers and sisters in the church in Kamoyo that has been built. We led Sunday school classes for children, youth, women, and men. During the worship service we enjoyed the local church choir and congregational singing as well as performed a couple of musical numbers as a team. Josiah preached from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 and shared the gospel message as well as encouraged local believers to be at work spreading the good news of Christ.

We are excited about what God is doing in this village. Thank you for partnering with our ministry through your prayers!

Love,
Team Malawi

Malawi 2011 update 5

2011-07-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Praise God! We were able to visit the village of Chakakala today to begin our ministry there. Things have calmed down and the streets of Malawi seem to have returned to normal. We appreciate your prayers so much! Our ministries today went well--VBS told the story of the prodigal son, teams that went out to do evangelism saw many professions of faith, Ray worked to disciple church members, and Josiah taught the youth. We have plans to return to this village next week and look forward to continuing our ministry there. Tomorrow we will be in Komoyo, where First Baptist Norfolk has planted a church (see earlier blogs for pictures). We are excited to revisit this village and encourage our brothers and sisters there.

Love,
Team Malawi

Malawi 2011 update 4

2011-07-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 21

One of the first lessons of missions work is to be flexible. Situations can change on short notice. These changes usually develop in the villages, but today there was change of a different sort.

We posted yesterday that there were demonstrations for and against the current President of Malawi. Those were fairly peaceful, particularly here in Lilongwe. Many police had been deployed to assure a peaceable demonstration. We had spent the day in Chiliza, our last day of ministry there.

Today was to be our first day to work in a new village, Chakakala, only a short distance from Chiliza. However, one of our interpreters arrived to tell us that a less peaceable element were poised for activity that day. After a brief discussion, our missionary contact Mat Lawrence decided we should not travel outside. Please be assured that this was precautionary; we neither saw nor heard any evidence of violence. We prayed several times through the day that the Spirit of Peace would settle over the country, guarding actions and words to allow all in Malawi to spend the day in safety. God has granted our request, at least here in Lilongwe.

We passed the morning with our interpreters, working on sound equipment, playing music on it outside in the yard, singing songs (Chichewa and English) and even dancing--with proper solemnity, of course. After the long evening the night before, we had a wonderful time of relaxation. We were able to do more craft preparation for the children's program, and we were able to rest in the afternoon.

Please pray for us and for this wonderful country of beautiful people. Pray for wisdom for the leaders here and for peace among the people. Pray that God will open the door for us to minister Friday in Chakakala and this weekend in Komoyo. Our spirits are high, and our hopes could not be higher--our hope is in the Lord.

For Team Malawi,
Abambo Ray Smith

Alaska Update- Day 4

2011-07-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a repeat from yesterday (invite cards in the morning and block party in the afternoon and early evening) with similar results as yesterday. Pastor Brent was not sure what to expect since this was a new location and said there could be as few as 25 or so attend. Instead there were somewhere around 200 from the neighborhood came out to enjoy a beautiful day. There were even a few of our team that got a little sunburned from being out in the sun too long!

Again there were wonderful conversations and many folks indicated their interest in True North Church. We don't want to get our hopes up too much but want to believe that many of these folks who have said they would attend will actually show up this weekend. Please pray that nothing will stand in the way of these, who are in need of a Savior as well as a local church, will attend.

Everyone is doing well although one of our team members took a spill today while passing out door hangers. She is fine and served faithfully at the block party this afternoon. The skies were clear enough for us to see Mt. McKinley today, which is always special. We have seen moose each of the past three days as well and have captured some wonderful memories to share with everyone when we return home.

Team Alaska

Alaska Update- Day 3

2011-07-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

God continues to show off here in Anchorage! The team spent almost 4 hours in the morning putting door hangers on homes around the park where we were going to hold the afternoon block party. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the large number of folks who came out to share in the food, fun, and games that had been prepared for them. It was hard to tell exactly how many came because we served many hamburgers and hot dogs to folks who returned for a second helping. Again there were many great spiritual conversations that took place and many who promised to attend True North this coming Sunday. Pastor Williams said we served more food today than he did in a whole week last year. He was most appreciative for First Baptist Church Norfolk's support in reaching out to the city in Christ's name.

We will repeat this process each of the next three days but in different locations. Please pray that God will continue to bring people out to hear the Gospel as well as to get connected with the local church.

Everyone's health remains good and our spirits are high as we watch God work in the city of Anchorage.

Alaska Team

Malawi 2011 update 3

2011-07-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Chiliza was a good one! Amidst a day of turmoil in the city of Lilongwe and country of Malawi, God was at work in the hearts of the people to whom we ministered. We can gladly say that God has kept us safe and out of harm's way during the rioting and anti-government protests today. Many people in the village saw the Jesus film, Bibles were delivered to chiefs who made professions of faith earlier in the week, VBS finished well, and more people came to Christ through hut-to-hut visits. Please be in prayer for the country of Malawi during this difficult time and also for our ministry in Chakakala over the next two days. Thanks for your prayers; we appreciate them so much!

Love,
Team Malawi

Malawi 2011 update 2

2011-07-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Mwadzuka bwanji! (good morning) There were power outages at the missionary house yesterday morning and evening, so we will update you on the past two days of ministry as we prepare for day three in the village of Chiliza. We have had a GREAT two days of ministry here! On day one, Sheila, Sarah, and Stephanie were at VBS. The children learned the story of Jesus as a boy and how he was about His Father's business. We trained the older kids to be 'teachers', which has proven to help VBS run smoothly. The children also enjoyed games, crafts, and songs. Ray taught some of the village leaders as we sought to encourage the church there, which has stopped meeting. Moriah, Brooke, Elizabeth, and Josiah went hut-to-hut to share the good news and were able to see many professions of faith, including chief of Junpa, one of the villages there. Some of these people had never heard of Christ before we got there! We left the village with full hearts as we celebrated the work of God among these people and how blessed we are to be part of it.

On our second day, Sheila, Brooke, and Moriah were on the VBS team. They told the story of Jesus' death and the children made cross necklaces. The children also enjoyed games and songs. The children really seem to be understanding the stories and one little boy named Clement prayed to receive Christ! Elizabeth, Josiah, Sarah, Ray, and Stephanie went on hut-to-hut visitation. More people came to Christ, including another chief. We are so excited to celebrate the difference that the news of Jesus has made in these villages!

Today is the final day of our ministry in Chiliza. We will miss our new friends! Our littlest friends run to our van when we arrive and follow us to it, waving and running after us as we leave. They have shown such love to us and been very gracious hosts! Sheila, Elizabeth, and Josiah are on the VBS team today, and they will share the story of Jesus' triumph over death and the gift of eternal life, as well as present the gospel as we have each day. They will also do crafts, songs, and games. We have fun teaching our new friends games that they've never seen before. :) Ray, Sarah, Stephanie, Moriah, and Brooke will be visiting hut-to-hut again. Some of us will also be delivering Bibles in Chichewa to the chiefs of the two villages so they can learn more about God and how to follow Him. Tonight we will remain in the village until after dark so we can show the Jesus film. Please pray for our ministries today, as it will be a long day. Also pray that many would be reached by the Jesus film tonight and that our impact on thei lives of the people in Chiliza will reach far beyond these three days. Pray that they would persevere in their faith and grow in their knowledge of Christ.

Thank you for lifting us up! We love and appreciate our friends and family back home!

-Team Malawi

Alaska- Update Day 2

2011-07-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing day yesterday as we gathered for a morning devotion and then left to serve at a downtown soup kitchen. We left the church around 9 a.m. and then spent the next three hours doing prep work as we prepared for up to 500 of Anchorage's homeless and working poor. Everyone had such a sweet, courteous spirit and there was just a great time of fellowship with the staff, volunteers and those who were being fed.

There were some wonderful, spiritual conversations that took place and we are trusting the Lord will use our feeble efforts to bring great glory to Himself. Several indicated their interest in attending worship services at True North Church this coming Sunday. Please pray they will follow-through on these commitments. Also, please continue to pray for our team's health (everyone is well), that our attitudes and behavior will reflect Christ love, and Pastor Williams as he strives to connect with this city.

Team Alaska

Alaska- Update 1

2011-07-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

The team arrived in Anchorage Saturday evening almost on time. We found out upon arrival that we would be serving with a church from Texas - Rush Creek Baptist. There are 13 from this church so we have 26 volunteers to support True North Church, here in Anchorage!

After a good night's rest, we began the day with a wonderful devotion time and then we were off to Sunday worship service. It was wonderful to see all the new faces as well as those we met last year. There was a major event going on in the area but there were still around 125 in attendance! God is truly blessing this 8-month old community of faith. Pastor Brent Williams delivered a great sermon challenging all of us in our commitment in sharing our faith.

Please continue to pray for this new church plant, the church, and the people with whom we will meet that they will be receptive to hearing the Good News. Pray for continued good health for the teams and that we will stay focused on the mission. Pray for the block parties that are scheduled for four of the five days this week.

Alaska Team

Malawi 2011 update 1

2011-07-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

We have arrived safely in Malawi!! Everyone is healthy and all of our bags have arrived with us! We had some delays on the overseas flight, but they held the plane from Ethiopia to Malawi, which was a blessing since there's only one flight a day to Lilongwe from Addis Ababa. We can already feel your prayers and we appreciate them so much! Tomorrow starts our ministry in Chiliza--Vacation Bible School, hut-to-hut evangelism, and discipleship training. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer!

Love,
Team Malawi 2011

Ukraine Team Update #3

2011-07-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

We truly sensed your prayers for us today as we conducted our second day of Vacation Bible School and an evening evangelistic service. The Lord gave us beautiful and cool weather as we served Him.

In our morning VBS Camp, God brought a total of 32 children in the village of Vysoke. In the afternoon VBS, our camp in the village of Kam’iany Brid grew from 8 yesterday to 28 today. A few of our team leaders were able to go to the village schools and invite children to join us for our camps. We could have an even larger number of children to attend our morning camp on Wednesday.

These two villages have what they call school camps which is a week offered to children following the school year. Several of our VBS leaders went to the school director’s office and we told them what we were doing and that we wanted to invite the children to come to our camp as soon as their school camp finished. Both directors were very friendly and helpful and we could tell God was paving the way for more children to attend VBS. In fact more came at our afternoon VBS Camp. Thank You, Father.

I mentioned in our last update that there were a group of 7 boys who came to Kami’any Brid the first day of our VBS camp. Well, we saw them at their school camp and they couldn’t wait to come to our VBS Camp. We believe God is working in their young hearts. The Bible story today was about Adam and Eve and sin and how God has to punish sin. Please pray for these young hearts as they continue hearing God’s truth about His provision for salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Our team went to two new villages today to invite people to our evening service. Both during the morning and afternoon, our team was greeted by some of the friendliest villagers in Velyka Horbasha and Mala Harbasha. We were able to go to nearly every farmhouse in both villages and invite these precious people to our service. Since the service was being held in the village of Velyka Horbasha we told the people in the small village of Mala Horbasha that we would pick them up on our bus to go with us to the service. It was a beautiful sight when we left for the service with 19 men and women, boys and girls along with half of our team packed in our small bus to go hear about Jesus Christ. What a blessing!

During our service, the Lord brought 83 people to hear about the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. As Mike Kynett preached this beautiful message of His love and forgiveness, they heard that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and that Jesus came to pay the price of their sin on a cruel cross. In addition, Sarah Wright and Cliff Ozmun shared their testimonies and when all was said and done, 3 women and two men repented and asked Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. We praise God for all these 5 new souls who came to the service without hope and left changed forever because of His salvation’s love. Even the Mayor of this village gave his heart to Jesus Christ!!!

One huge point is that both of these villages do not have a church. Pastor Vasily told us that to his knowledge there had not been an evangelistic service of this kind in either of these villages and now God has done a mighty work through today’s outreach. You should note that before the message is given from God’s Word, some of our team will take all the children and teenagers outside and they will make salvation bracelets and talk to them about Jesus. Tami Stagg told us that when she shared about God and Jesus Christ that though many of these children had heard about God that some of them had never heard of Jesus Christ. Slava Bog!…They’ve heard of Him now!

Following the service, we were standing outside the “club” (community building) and praising God for all He had done. Pastor Vasily then shared with us that there was a brother in Christ who had been praying about starting a church that would serve both of these small villages. However, this brother told Pastor Vasily several weeks ago that he felt called to minister in the city of Zhitomir. So Pastor Vasily shared with us tonight that he really sensed that God wants him to plant a church in this village. In the near future, he plans to start a Bible study on Saturdays, which will be the next step in planting a church. How special it was for our team to gather around Pastor Vasily and pray for him and for the new work that has begun as a result of tonight. If the Lord allows us to return next summer, Pastor Vasily wants to have a VBS Camp for these two villages. Interestingly enough, the thought and vision for a VBS Camp was already in my heart before he mentioned it! Slava Bog for all He did today.

Oh, during the service, Pastor Vasily invited the people in attendance to come witness the baptism service that we will have this Sunday. Many of these people are very curious and want to know more about Jesus, so we are planning to rent another bus so we can pick them up to join us!

God is truly at work! It is growing season in these farming villages and you have never seen richer and healthier soil. The “Miracle Grow” people should just buy and market this soil. We were told that back in World War II that the Germans would come and get tons and tons of Ukrainian soil and bring it back for their land. Well, the soil here is really rich, but we are seeing is that there is good spiritual soil and many seeds of faith are being planted. We truly felt the Holy Spirit’s power today as He drew many people to come hear of Jesus Christ and His saving love.

So, please keep up the prayers for us. Hollyn and I were not able to sing tonight because of sore throats but as we say on our mission journeys, “It’s not about me!”

It’s all about Jesus and His glory and fame! We are ready for a good night’s rest and we all send our love to you all.

Slava Bog!

Your Ukrainian Missionaries

John 17: 20

Ukraine Team Update #5

2011-07-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Today is Sunday, June 19 and we want to say “Happy Father’s Day” to all of the dads.
How grateful I am for my father whom God used to help shape my life!

This morning our team had the joy of worshiping with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ at First Baptist Church of Zhytomyr. We were so blessed to hear this congregation singing the praises of God with such power and passion. Our team also led in worship with the songs we have been singing all week in the villages.

Thank you for praying for Jacob Ozmun and Gail Kynett as they shared their testimonies. Dan Stagg preached this morning from the book of Joshua about being faithful to God’s call and purpose for our lives. When the invitation was given, God moved among us in a mighty way. God was speaking to many hearts but in particularly there were 5 women and 1man who recommitted their lives to God. The Lord also spoke to a 10 year old boy who sincerely and humbly came and knelt to repent of his sins and to ask Jesus into his heart! Pastor Vasily’s wife, Jane, told us that someone shared with her that God used our team to be a blessing to their church in a timely way. Though First Baptist is a wonderful church, this person expressed that God used us to speak to hearts and touch them in ways they may not have expected. The invitation was very sweet with tears of conviction, renewal and thanksgiving. Again, Slava Bog! Though we knew God was at work in our midst, it is sometimes challenging to get a sense about how He is working when singing in a foreign language and with the use of interpreters for testimonies and for delivering the sermon. We are so thankful that God is sovereign and never limited by our lack of comprehension of all He is doing!

Following this wonderful morning of worship, our team was treated by our host families and some of the church members to what they call a “shish kabob” (outdoor barbeque) down by a river. What a special lunch we enjoyed. The food and atmosphere was amazing and sweet.

One of the highlights of our week was the Baptism service that was held in a small lake near the village of Studenytsia. How beautiful it was to see over 130 people from 10 different villages gather to witness this celebration of new life in Christ. All week long, we invited people who attended our evangelistic services who had either repented or were curious about baptism. We rented 4 extra buses so that they could see and witness this special step of obedience of those being baptized. Since the Orthodox Church practices infant baptism, most people in these villages are unfamiliar with believer’s baptism by immersion. Some are even fearful about it but God used Pastor Vasily to help them understand that baptism is a step of obedience in identifying and following Jesus Christ.

Pastor Vasily always smiles when he baptizes people. He shared with us that one lady who had not yet repented asked him why he always smiles when he baptizes. Pastor Vasily said, “I smile because this next year, I will baptize you when you repent.” Sure enough, within the next year this skeptical lady came under God’s conviction and repented and was baptized. Hallelujah!

When we arrived at the lake, we could see some serious and dark looking clouds heading our way. We weren’t so concerned about getting rained on as much as being concerned about lightning. So we prayed that God would let this threatening weather pass around us and asked Him to put His umbrella over us. As we sang “Hosanna”, “Our God Saves” and “There is Power in the Name of Jesus” we were thankful that even though the winds were mighty and strong and a cool front blew in, that God is in control of every element in the sky. We were able to proceed with the baptism service and witnessed 7 new believers unashamedly testify Jesus Christ in the baptismal waters. Slava Bog!

As soon as the baptism was over, the rain came down and we were able to get on our buses and go back to Pastor Vasily’s church to continue the service with a special prayer time and dedication for those who were baptized. Our team sang “Lord Have Mercy” a cappella and as we sang in this overly crowded small worship room, a lady who was under conviction by the Holy Spirit came and knelt down to renew her commitment to Jesus Christ. What a precious sight! Following a special challenge by Pastor Vasily to those who were baptized our men along with some of the deacons from his church laid hands on these Christ followers and prayed for God’s anointing upon their lives as His followers and witnesses.

We give God the glory for this wonderful day of worship and celebration. Please pray for us on Monday as we go to a new village to invite more people to come hear the greatest news they will ever hear…Jesus’ gift of love and salvation.

We love you all and praise God for all He has done is going to do this glorious day. May your day be filled with beautiful divine appointments with people who need what you have, Jesus Christ. Icyc Lyubeet Tebeh and we do too!

Loving the Savior and Living His Mission with You,

Your Ukraine Missionaries
John 17: 20

Ukraine Team Update #4

2011-07-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

Because of His great love for us, Jesus allowed Himself to be lifted up on a cruel cross and be crucified to pay sin’s penalty for our salvation and forgiveness of our sins. Your Ukraine Missionaries have been lifting up the name of Jesus and glorifying Him on this our seventh day on the mission field. Today was another glorious day of telling many people about God’s precious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The Father gave us beautiful weather today as our entire team invited people to our services in two different villages, Trokovychi and Nekrashi. These are two new villages that Pastor Vasily has not had any outreach services until today. In addition, there are no Baptist or evangelical churches in either of these villages.

It is such a joy to be used of God to spread His good news. As I have shared in previous updates, the soil in Ukraine is rich and fertile. Of course, everywhere we walk, people are out working in their fields. But for our missionary team, it was humbling knowing that by God’s divine call He has us in His field of souls for those who are groping in spiritual darkness.

Our first evangelistic service in the village of Trokovychi was held outside a condemned “club” (community building). This service was actually held at a rural bus stop, which is also the center of the village. We were so blessed to see many of those whom we had invited coming from various directions in order to hear the greatest news of their life. Our best count was that approximately 136 or more people gathered to hear our songs of adoration and Jesus’ message of hope and eternal life. God used Daniel Stagg and Shari as they gave their testimonies of God’s saving grace. Mark Wallace also gave a compelling and clear message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We celebrate with the angels in heaven for the 3 women and 1 man who repented and gave their lives to Jesus. Slava Bog!

As soon as our first service concluded, our team quickly got on the bus to go to the second village of Nekarshi. This service was held in a very old and somewhat run down “club”. Well, the Lord brought 128 people to our service to hear about Jesus and Him crucified. It was actually standing room only and though it was very hot inside, none of us cared because we knew that God had brought these souls into our path. It seemed to us like the entire village was present in this tiny building so that they could hear and have opportunity to respond to His free gift of salvation!

The sweet spirit of God indeed spoke to hearts through the testimonies of Dan Stagg and Leann Wallace. Mike Kynett preached a sermon on John 3:16. Prior to the service, our team handed out Ukrainian New Testaments to the people. During his message, Mike had everyone turn to this familiar and powerful scripture and had them read out loud this verse while inserting their name in the place of “world”…God so loved “name”. God used and anointed Mike and during the invitation 10 women and 2 men boldly repented of their sins and became brand new creations. Slava Bog!

We praise God for the 16 new brothers and sisters in Christ who repented today. They made the biggest and best decision that they will ever make in their lives. Slava Bog! He is faithful and glorious!

Tomorrow is Sunday and we will be leading the service at First Baptist Church of Zhytomyr! Please pray for Dan Stagg as he preaches God’s Word and also pray for Jacob Ozmun and Gail Kynett as they share their testimonies. We are dependent upon your faithful prayers and intercession. Please also pray for us as we participate in a beautiful baptism service at 4 p.m. local time (8 a.m. CST). We have 4 buses bringing many people from many different villages to witness this special service. Please pray that many people who have not yet repented will do so during the baptism service.

We are praying for you all as you proclaim God’s message of salvation on Sunday. Whether you are preaching God’s Word, leading worship or bible study, we want you to know that our team is also lifting you up to the Lord! Thank you for being on mission with Jesus! May each of us seize each and every opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ and His eternal love of salvation!

May God truly bless you all! We pray you have an awesome day as you live for His glory and as you live His mission.

Icyc Lyubeet Tebeh,

Your Urkaine Missionaries

John 17: 20

Honduras Team Update

2011-06-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hi from San Pedro Sula,

Our team arrived safely and without incident. We immediately were off and running. The girls we have met the last few years from Tegucigalpa came by bus to visit with us. A team member paid their bus fare and meals and hotel while they were here. They went with us to the girls orphange (12-18 year olds) on Monday morning and gave their testimonies. Several of them had lived in that same orphanage. They talked about the power of God, believing in Him and trusting Him. It has changed their lives. They had to leave at noon on Monday.

Our team is already stepping up - from day one. We have a great team and everyone is contributing already. We are meeting together for prayer and sharing how we ministered and it's giving each member new ideas and ways to comfort and share Jesus' love.

We know we are representing the Lord, our church and the USA. We are leading with singing and bible study. We have also already bonded with our interpreting team and our driver.

We attended a church on Sunday that worshiped very similarly to the way we worshiped. They even sang a couple of songs in English.

Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to be a part of something like this.

Mike Torrech is not feeling well so please pray for him. Not sure what it is.

Thanks,

Tracy Stewart

Ukraine Team Update #2

2011-06-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2011

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Today was full of God’s favor as our Ukraine Mission Team ministered the gospel of Jesus Christ to many people in the villages. We are deeply humbled by the many ways God moved by His Spirit throughout the day.

In our morning VBS Camp in the village of Vysoke, God brought 78 children to hear of God’s love. Slava Bog! In our afternoon VBS Camp in the village of Kam’iany Brid, our camp grew to 37 children. Slava Bog!

Today’s VBS message was about Jesus’ birth, life and ministry. We sense that for many of these children, this is most likely the first time that they have ever heard a presentation of who Jesus is as God’s Son.

We ask you to pray for our team and for the children as we present God’s plan of salvation on Thursday. Please pray that God’s Spirit will reveal to those children whom He is calling to respond to His love and salvation. I realize that most of you will be asleep during our morning VBS camp but if God awakens you to pray for us then we want you to know that we will be sharing the gospel with the children around 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. CST) and 3:30 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. CST). Your prayers are so vital and appreciated!

As with each day, part of our team spends the morning and afternoon inviting people to our evangelistic service that will be held that evening. Today, our team went throughout the village of Pylypovychi and also another nearby village. Of course, getting to this village was quite a “trip.” The only road in and out of the village is really made for horse and wagon or at least it should be. There are very few cars in these villages but this village road is like a roller coaster ride because of the deep ruts of which much of these craters are filled with water and mud. Actually, it is kind of a fun ride if you like roller coasters…HA!

Well, tonight 47 people attended our service that was held in the village “club” (community building). One interesting note is that we held a service in this same village last year and so some of the people recognized us. In particularly, several asked about Shari because they wanted to hear her sing “Hospodih Poh Mih Looy” or “Kyrie” and of course they heard her sing it. So it’s so wonderful to go back to a village where we have been before as a connecting point for the gospel.

Tonight, Dan Stagg shared the message of God’s love and forgiveness and used several examples from God’s Word such as the parable of the “The Prodigal Son” and other selected passages. Jacob Ozmun and Rhonda Mack gave their testimonies about their salvation experience. As our team sang God’s praises, there was such a sweet anointing and some tears of thanksgiving for God’s extravagant mercy…He truly inhabits the praises of His people! When Pastor Vasily extended the invitation, 14 people repented and prayed the sinner’s prayer. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

As with last evening’s service, Pastor Vasily invited these new believers to attend the baptism service that will be held this Sunday as way for them to observe the next step of obedience and begin the process of discipleship. Our bus will make this difficult but important journey over this challenging road so that they can come and see more about what it means to follow Christ. Because of their culture and due to the fact that they may rarely leave their village, these villagers can be a bit apprehensive about leaving…even just for a few hours. They asked Vasily if we would bring them back to their village after the baptism. He, of course, spoke words of confidence about the trip and their return. Please pray that they will be willing and ready to go with us on Sunday!

This village is quite near to Kam’iany Brid where Pastor Vasily is planting a church. There is a man named Ramon who serves as a co-laborer with Vasily in this village. He and Pastor Vasily are praying for a larger vehicle so that Ramon can bring more people over to Kam’iany Brid for their Sunday evening Bible Study and their eventual new church plant. We, of course, are joining them in prayer for God’s provision. God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. Amen! I want to say that you would all love Pastor Vasily and his vision and passion for reaching people for Jesus Christ. God’s hand is truly upon this humble and faithful servant.

It is such a joy to be able to live God’s mission in these last days! We know the mission field is wherever you are today! May you and I seize every opportunity to tell the “old, old story of Jesus and His love”. Have a blessed day in Jesus!

Icyc Lyubeet Tehbeh, (Jesus loves you!)

Your Ukraine Missionaries

John 17: 20

Malawi--church building update

2011-06-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

After several years of our partnership with Blackson, a pastor in the village of Komoyo in Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa, the church building is now ready for the roof! The chief of the village gave the land for the church and the building has slowly progressed over the years. Plans are to add a tin roof next to complete the building. If all goes well, the Malawi team may be able to worship with believers in this church when they go in late July. First Norfolk has truly planted a church (in the complete sense) on the red clay of Malawi. Praise God!

Ukraine Team Update

2011-06-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Today was a glorious day of ministry as we started our two VBS Camps. Our morning VBS was in the small village of Voysoke and the Lord brought 29 precious children. In our afternoon VBS Camp 8 boys and 1 girl attended. While we believe there will be more children who will come to our camps, we are excited about all of these whom God brought to hear about His love. We expect a much larger number of children especially in Voysoke because today was a national holiday celebrating Pentecost. We were very surprised to hear about this holiday since there is such a need for countless numbers of people to be awakened by God's Spirit and changed by the Lord. We are praying that God will use us to make an eternal impact upon these young children.

We see God's hand in all He did today especially with the numbers of children that attended. Since it rained today it worked out well that our camps were much smaller since all activities had to be indoors and our morning camp is in a small building. The weather is predicted to improve over the next several days and we are trusting in God's timing for more children. In our afternoon camp, though we had only 9 children, it was so amazing to see that God brought 8 boys who were obvious best friends and who must spend a lot of time together. I could not help believe that God soveriegnly placed these young boys in our midst to hear about and be changed by Jesus Christ as the week prorgresses. What could God do in and through 8 boys to change a village and future generations with His message of salvation? I have to admit that I got a lump in my throat at the thought of all I sense He is doing in these young lives. They learned today about God as our Creator and they began learning John 3:16. Oh the power of God's Word and Truth! So thank you for praying for our VBS Camps and our leaders. You would be so proud of your team.

While some of our missionaries were leading our VBS Camp, 10 of us went to a new village that does not have a church. A brother of a dear friend and interpreter of ours is planting a church in this village. (I can't remember how to spell the village name but it has "ski" on the end of it. Ha!) Our team was set to go door to door to invite people to come to the community club where we would have our Evangelistic Service at 5 p.m. However, a thunderstorm came in before we could get started and so we were delayed for a while before we could go out. While we waited for better weather we met in a house that the Pastor Slavic uses for a bible study for prayer. Of course the sweet brothers and sisters in Christ in this house went out of their way to serve us coffee and snacks. They are so giving and so appreciative of our being here. We were then able to go out in the rain and go out and invite many to our service.

Well, Slava Bog, tonight there were 72 people who attended our service in a very old and dingy and no lights kind of a building. We were somewhat cramped for space but the Holy Spirit moved with great power. We sang, testified and Mark Wallace shared a powerful message from God's Word. God's presence was so strong among us and we give Him glory as four women and one man stood and repented and asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior! Slava Bog! What we know is that Pastor Slavic has attempted various outreach endeavors but has seen very little response. One such event brought two people. Well, he is so overjoyed with tonight's response as he was able to speak to those in attendance and share with them about the Bible study that he leads. We believe that Pastor Slavic's church plant is well on its' way because of all God did tonight. Five new names are written in God's Book of Life. Hallelujah!

So thank you for praying for us at the very time of our service tonight. Please continue to pray for our service tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. CST, 10 EST). Pray for Mike Kynett who will be preaching from God's Word. Please pray for our health and in particularly our voices. We are singing some very powerful songs and some of us are experiencing some vocal issues due to the amount of singing.

We give God all the glory for all He is doing and is going to do! It is very humbling to be on this mission journey with Jesus! Thank you for living His mission back home! We will soon join you in carrying God's light to those living in darkness.

Icyc Lyubeet Tebeh (Jesus Loves You)

Your Ukraine Missionaries!

John 17: 20

Disaster Relief Team Updates via Facebook

2011-06-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few updates from our Disaster Relief team:

Monday, June 13 Informed by Southern Baptist Incident Command in Vermont that a second resident in Barre, Vermont made a profession of faith in Christ, when one of our assessors visited in his neighborhood today.

Monday, June 13 Today our team cleaned a flooded, muddy basement. We were blessed by God by Him allowing us to share in a woman being united to God through Christ. Dawn Chabrol of our team, met a neighbor on her porch and shared the Gospel of Christ with her. The neighbor prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. Today, God was glorified by our presence in Barre, Vermont.

Monday, June 13 Our disaster relief team devotion this morning was focused on Matthew 5:13-16, in particular verse 16; "...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We prayed that our work today in flood recovery would bring glory to God. We discussed the nature of our actions and work that would bring glory to God.

June 12 Our SBCV disaster relief team has arrived in Barre, Vermont. We will be doing flood recovery work in Barre. Our team consists of Dawn Chabrol, John Morse, Barbara Otto, LC Reid, and me from First Baptist Church of Norfolk, and Richard and Shirley Bellinger of Midway Baptist Church in Phenix. Another SBCV disaster relief team from the Richmond area is also serving here.

East Asia Team Update #5

2011-05-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hi from East Asia. We are back from our week with the school and are resting a little, shopping a little, and preparing for the trip home. It has been an amazing time here, and there is so much to process! I think it will take us all awhile to really "unpack" everything that has happened here.

Our time at this last school where we spent the week was really awesome! We did everything from teaching English to playing a 48-minute full-court basketball game against the P.E. teachers to singing/playing/dancing in a "talent show" with more than a thousand students and teachers watching. We were blessed to be able to have many spiritual conversations at every single meal with teachers and their families. We were invited into a few teachers' homes and able to pray for them. We were able to establish good relationships with teachers and share the truth many times with them. Several of them are very open and have begun reading the books that we gave them and are even going to read them to their classes!

We are excited about coming home, but we also have a burden for the people here and our sweet host family! We are excited about the work the Father is doing!

The East Asia Team

UPDATE: This team has returned safely.

Philippines Team Update

2011-05-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Update 3 – The children started coming to the church (New Hope to Asia) over an hour early for our Vacation Bible School! They were so anxious to meet the team and to participate in the programs planned for the week. Most of these children came from two squatter villages that were nearby. We didn’t have our supplies yet so we had to adjust our plans but God blessed our time together in ways that only He can!

By 9 a.m. we had at least 140 children in attendance and began the day with songs in both Tagalog and English. The children participated so well and thoroughly enjoyed learning some new songs. After a period of singing, the creation Bible story was presented.

Next the children rotated between crafts, medical check-ups, music, and recreation. We had limited space and the children were so enthusiastic that it seemed like organized chaos at times. But the children were thrilled and we loved meeting and getting to know each of them.

Even though we only had five team members, we were blessed with outstanding volunteers. Most of them were young people (college age) who had grown up in the ministry and had returned to serve and give back to the community.

Update 4 – We had over 150 children today and praise God we received our luggage and supplies! It was so much better for the children and for us to have these supplies. Some of us were running low on creativity (Curt!) by this time so it was great having our equipment and supplies.

In addition to our Vacation Bible School program, we had the pleasure of serving in one of the nearby squatter villages. It was a wonderful experience attending a worship service there and then being able to serve food to the children and residents. The people were so friendly and grateful for these blessings, in which we were able to participate.

Update 5 – It was hard to count but there seemed to be well over 150 children today. The church was trying to limit the number of children to 150 but that is so hard to do when the children’s siblings want to come along as well.

Our evangelistic plan for the afternoon and evening was to prayer walk around an area that has a lot of homeless families. As we walked around, we greeted folks and invited them to an evening service to be held nearby. Everyone was extremely friendly and excited to meet us.

That evening we had about 70 children and 20 adults. We sang songs, our team performed the Prodigal Son skit, and we did an in-depth Bible study. We also provided some light snacks for everyone who attended.

This is another great ministry because it reaches out to families. It burdened our hearts to see so many children living on the streets and without hope.

Update 6 - Today was a very important day because it was our planned Gospel presentation during VBS. We were able to separate the younger children during this time so the older ones would not be too distracted.

After hearing the message, there were over 100 children who made professions of faith! Only God knows the hearts of the children but we know that He did a mighty work in the lives of many of them. Praise God for our new brothers and sisters in Christ!

Late afternoon, we traveled to the second squatter village for another evangelistic service. It was great to see many of the children who had come to VBS each day this week as well as their families. Again, the residents were so gracious and friendly and made us feel right at home.

After the evening service, we had the pleasure to serve everyone a meal as well as some take-home items for future meals. Employees from a local magazine joined us to serve and provide some of the food. They were also preparing an article about this marvelous Church.

Update 7 – It was really tough on our team today as we had to say our goodbyes to the children and all the helpers. Since this was Saturday, and it was a regularly-scheduled day for a program they call Super Kids, there were over 400 in attendance! If we thought 150 seemed like organized chaos, today just magnified that feeling.

It was such a blessing for our team to meet these children and to build relationships in such a short time. They displayed so much love that we were overwhelmed by it all. This is such an amazing ministry that we trust the Lord will provide a way for us to continue to partner in reaching out and serving, “the least of these.”

Peru Team Update

2011-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hello from Peru!

We had wonderful day with our partner church Primeria Iglesia Bautista Villa El Salvador. Since our last visit, they have purchased and renovated a building with a sanctuary and several class rooms. God is doing a mighty work in Villa El Salvador and we are blessed to be a part of it.

Peru Day 1 – the team was able to get settled in the Baptist Guest House in Lima today. Our team led two Sunday school classes, sung Jesus Loves Me in Spanish, gave three testimonies and preached two sermons. Several of the people who accepted Christ have asked us to come to their home and share Christ with some of their friends. Tomorrow starts our sewing, medical and home-visitation ministries. The church in Peru is so grateful for our church partnering with them. Cannot wait to see what God has in store tomorrow!

Peru Day 2 –
it was an amazing day! We had three people come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. We were engaged in the sewing ministry, doing medical checkups and made home visits. A presentation on how additions affects families was well received by local families.

Tomorrow we will continue with the medical checkup and the sewing ministry. Some of the team members will visit local schools and a women’s ministry will be offered this evening. The Lord has blessed the team and we pray we are effective in showing His love!

Peru Day 3 – We had another great day in ministry. We are thrilled to share that there are now five more new brothers and sisters-in-Christ! The team was very busy with the medical and sewing ministries and we believe this will be a tremendous blessings even after we have returned to the U.S.

This evening we have a men’s ministry program planned so please pray for this to be an effective outreach and that the men of the community will come and join us. The women’s ministry activities held last evening was wonderful and we had twice the number of participants as we had last year.

East Asia Team Update #4

2011-05-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hey! I just wanted to send you a quick report from East Asia. We are doing well and working hard.

We are on our 2nd day at the school here where we are teaching English, music, sports, and leadership. The students and teachers are extremely excited for us to be here! We spent last week in 5 different schools doing the same things.

Some of the highlights from the last few days have been:

-Having dinner with a native believer who has opened a store called "The Good News Store" and has John 3:16 on the wall and on his bags. He has only been a believer for a year and has already led 17 others to believe!
-Dave getting to exchange a Norfolk Police Department hat with a public security official in charge of foreigners for his official hat
-Singing and sharing with our host family here in their home
-Praying over the new home where our host family will be moving
-Doing karaoke with teachers from the school
-Being served cow intestines (We did not have to eat them, thankfully!)
-Getting to participate in a music class and being able to read and write the same way
-Singing "Amazing Grace" in every class
-Doing the "Hokey Pokey" and "Cupid Shuffle" over and over
-Teaching students how to play frisbee and American football
-The guys playing basketball against students while hundreds of students and teachers watched (Jay wants to make sure everyone knows that they won!)
-Haley & Julie jumping rope with students
-Using the Soularium cards to have conversations with teachers
-Getting to share the story and having great spiritual conversations with teachers in a tea shop and over lunch

There is so much to tell! Please continue presenting our requests to the Father!

In His love,
East Asia Team

East Asia Team Update #3

2011-05-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

We are doing very well here in East Asia. We just finished a very full first day at the school where we will be for the rest of the week.

Some highlights from the last few days:

*Teaching English, using the story of the Prodigal Son
*Observing a music class and having common ground by being able to read and write music the same way
*The guys playing 3-on-3 basketball against some high school students while being watched by hundreds of students and teachers
*The girls jumping rope with girls on the playground
*Teaching students how to throw a frisbee and an American football
*Being asked to play one-on-one basketball with the female P.E. teacher
*Doing the "Hokey Pokey" and "Cupid Shuffle" a million times & dancing to "He Has Made Me Glad"
*Doing karaoke with teachers from the school in an actual karaoke bar
*Having cow intestines served to us (We did not eat them!)
*Getting to watch the tea making process & drink tea in a tea shop, while having a incredible spiritual conversation with 6 teachers
*Meeting a new believer who has opened a shop and named it "The Good News Store" and put John 3:16 up on his wall. After accepting Him only a year ago, he has already led 17other people to Him!

There are SO many things to tell, but it will have to wait! We love and miss you all! Keep "yarping" for us!

-East Asia Team

East Asia Team Update #2

2011-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Saying today was a full day is a huge understatement! We were very blessed to have many opportunities to be with people - teachers and students and government officials. We went to two primary schools today and taught English to students and worked with the teachers there. They were all extremely kind and excited for us to be there! They LOVED the pictures of our family, especially the children! They kept saying "beautiful" over and over! I even had one girl take a picture of my picture of my oldest son dancing because she thought he looked like Justin Bieber!:) In this country, a family with four children is completely unheard of. They kept saying, "you have a happy family!".

Our experiences teaching English were interesting and funny too. I did the "Hokey Pokey" and "Skinnamarinky Dinky Do" with my class and we told the story of the prodigal son. They LOVED to take pictures, so we took lots and lots of them and even signed some autographs!:) We have eaten many interesting and new things and are trying our best to eat with chopsticks!

We were a part of a welcome ceremony with the mayor, which was exciting. They even welcomed us with a band made up of students at the school. We were given gifts of chopsticks and rode in a police car. One of the highlights for one of our team members (who is a retired police officer) was getting to exchange hats with one of the high ranking police officers here.

We had wonderful conversations with many of the teachers, using the Soularium cards. We played ping pong and even taught them how to play "Chinese Ping Pong"! We also taught a few of the teachers the "Cupid Shuffle", and they taught us a little of their native dancing.

We are exhausted but thankful! Love to you all!

East Asia team

East Asia Team Update

2011-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello from East Asia! Here is an update on the team:

First, some words from our friends who live there:

The team from Norfolk has arrived safely and are at their hotel tonight. Besides a delay in Hong Kong, it seems like everything went well. Thanks for sharing this wonderful team with us!

Now an update from one of our team members:

Hello from East Asia! I am actually getting to send an e-mail from the other side of the world just to let you know how we're doing here.

We are so excited to be here and are doing well! The flight was incredibly long but good. In the area where we are, most people do not speak any English, so it has been very interesting trying to communicate. Thankfully, our friend is great at that! One team member had a really funny encounter on the bus for 2 hours today with a very nice lady who gave him language lessons!:) Tonight, we actually got to have dinner with some "English teachers" at the school where we will be tomorrow. They are all in their 20's and have been learning English themselves and trying to teach it to their elementary students. It was a very interesting time, as we got into a discussion of beliefs. They all agreed that they have "no beliefs", so it is a very different culture here. We are really looking for any opportunities that we have to share the story.

We are getting ready to go to bed now, but tomorrow, we will be teaching some English to elementary students and playing games, etc. We have received LOTS of stares, and I think we are the only Americans that we have seen in the 2 cities where we have been.
We are very tired and trying to adjust to the 12-hr. time difference, but everyone is doing well! We love you all!

Uruguay Photos 2011

2011-05-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here is another opportunity to see the faces of Uruguay (and some of our own...).

Uruguay Team Update #3

2011-05-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

Uruguay has welcomed us with open arms. The weather is beautiful, but the people more. It´s incredibly obvious that many don´t know Jesus, but it seems that many are open!

The arrival was not exactly what we expected, we trusted that God had a plan. A part of our team arrived on schedule Saturday morning, but the majority of the team had a full day's delay. Unfortunately, a luggage truck put a hole in the plane and they were unable to leave NYC until Saturday night. Although this meant a day's delay, it also meant a day in Times Square, but most importantly with the unsaved family members of one of our team members. What a way for God to use us en route!

Monday was a full day of prayer walking the beautiful little city of Rosario. We covered the streets of many neighborhoods with prayer. People were curious about why we were here, and wanted nothing to do with us if we were selling something. We offered FREE invitations to medical check ups of sugar levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. They were super concerned that we were going to charge them. Monday evening, a part of the team hosted a Girls Night. It was to encourage them to have a healthy self-esteem and to know how beautiful that God created them. All of the girls were returning from last year. Two of the girls were save during last year's trip to Uruguay, and it was encouraging for us to see their spiritual growth.

One God-sized opportunity that came our way is that we had planned to host a Nurse's Night on Tuesday to discuss stress management and how to handle depression. Our IMB missionary and Craig headed to the local hospital to invite the nurses who worked there. The director shared that Thursday was National Nurses Day, and that she wanted our team to come and share the seminar with her staff of 30 nurses. She also had no problems with us talking about our faith while there. Lydia will even get to make balloon animals for the children who are there!

Tuesday was filled with more prayer walking. Linda found a carpenter's shop during her prayer walk. They have asked him to make crosses as a way for us to get back in his shop and share the Good News. Tuesday night, the nurses led a seminar in the neighboring town of Juan Lacaze where the team worked last year. They were able to share with 4 nurses about stress management and dealing with depression. The evening ended with them writing their burdens on large stones, and them throwing them out into a large field in front of the church. The nurses shared that Jesus is the only way to permanently alleviate the stresses of life.

Wednesday began the time of passing out the Gospels of John in the neighborhoods where we had been prayer walking. The Lord led one team to the home of a man named Carlos. He seemed so open on Tuesday, they made sure to return on Wednesday with the Gospel. He lives alone and doesn't have family. His eyes communicated more than his words. When they returned with a Gospel of John and Luis, one of the local church members, Carlos invited us onto his patio to talk. He expressed his love for the Lord and his knowledge that Jesus was the only way to be saved. We prayed with him and promised to visit again.

Prayer Requests:

Nursing Home Visit: Wednesday night the team will be visiting a nursing home to paint fingernails and just spend time loving on them.

Hospital Nursing Seminar: Thursday at 11am, our nurses will be leading the seminar for 30 local nurses.

Movie Night: Thursday night we will show a FREE movie to draw interest and start discussion about the Christian life.

Travel: Friday we will be traveling back to Montevideo by bus before leaving on Saturday back to Virginia. Please pray for safety and that no luggage truck drivers slam into the plane!

Thank you all for your prayers! We feel them continuously. We look forward to sharing with you all how God has moved in mighty ways here in Uruguay!

Love,
Team Uruguay

Uruguay Update #2

2011-05-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hola from Uruguay!!! Everything is going well here. God is doing some mighty things in the short time we have been here. These past few days we have been prayer walking in sections of Rosario. One of our sections is a newer housing area where people bought land from a man and were told they would get water and electricity when they moved in. They were lied to; there is an entire community of families who got property from this man and have no access to running water or lights. Tomorrow is our gospel distribution day so pray that God is preparing the hearts of those who will see us tomorrow. Love you all and thanks for the prayers!

-Team Uruguay

Uruguay Team Update

2011-05-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

After much ado with flight cancellations, rebooking, etc. the Uruguay team is on the ground safe and sound. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. We hope to have more information about their ministry there soon.

Philippines Team Update & Photos - May 2

2011-05-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Magandang umaga! (Good morning!)

We are still waiting to hear about our luggage, but in the meantime, without our supplies we have been relying more on God and less on our own planning and preparation. Regardless of whether and when it arrives, we are feeling very blessed to be part of what our Lord is doing here in the Philippines.

Yesterday we had a great first day of ministry. More than one hundred children, most from the poor squatter community close to the church, came to VBS. There, they learned about God's creation and that he made and cares for each of them in a special way. This message was conveyed through the Bible story, songs, games, drawings, face painting and more. The medical team was able to clean and bandage many dirty wounds and sores of children in the service of the Great Physician.

The children were asking our Filipino partners in ministry, “Why are they here? They love us and we don't even know them!” It is our joy to be able to share with them that it is the love of Christ that has changed us and compels us to go and tell. This morning the children have already lined up an hour before VBS is scheduled to start! We are grateful for your continued prayer support.

In His Love,

Team Philippines

Philippines Team Update - May 2

2011-05-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

We've had a few challenges but God has been good in so many amazing ways already. Our luggage didn't arrive with us and we won't get it until Tuesday. However, we have met some great folks and our worship service today (Sunday) was outstanding. We start our programs tomorrow (Monday) so please remember to pray for us and the 150 kids we will be working with each day.

For His glory,

Philippines Team

Philippines Team Update - May 1

2011-05-01T04:32:00.000-07:00

The Philippines team has arrived safely in Manila. Unfortunately, our luggage did not arrive with us. Please pray that it will arrive soon and intact. We are still in good spirits, knowing that God is in control and full of gratitude for the opportunity he has given us to share the gospel here.

We had a great Sunday morning worshiping together with our Filipino brothers and sisters at New Hope Christian Fellowship, the church with which we are partnering here. New Hope was celebrating the 17th anniversary of its founding. We have been working on alternate plans for VBS in the absence of the supplies in our checked baggage.

Please pray for our Vacation Bible School, medical clinics, squatter community evangelism and other ministries as we serve! Please pray also that God will grant us restful sleep, strength, and endurance as we adjust to the 12 hour time difference.

For His Glory,

The Philippines Team

First Norfolk members live the mission through Disaster Relief

2011-04-24T16:02:00.001-07:00

Disaster Update from the BGR for Japan

2011-03-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A BGR assessment team will be on-ground in a few hours. Contact has been made with a Japanese Baptist church in Tokyo and the team will be based out of there.

"The Japanese government is very strong and able to respond and is not asking for private help from outsiders," said Jeff Palmer, BGR executive director. "However, BGR working through our Japanese brothers and sisters, we will be able to mount a response that will be effective, meet needs in overlooked areas and help strengthen the witness of Japanese believers to hope in Christ.

"Please pray for the response. Please pray for wisdom and knowledge as we try and discern how to best help. Most of all, please pray for Japan: physically and spiritually."

Updates on Baptist Global Response relief efforts can be monitored on Twitter (www.twitter.com/gobgr), Facebook (http://on.fb.me/hKaE6J), and www.gobgr.org.

-----
Donations to help with the disaster response can be made here.

Subscribe to BGR AlertNet by visiting our home page.

5K Race to benefit International Students

2011-02-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

Join your feet to the nations and run to build a facility that will make friends all over the world.

Run for hope, run for friendship' and win the RACE FOR THE GLOBE!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Timed 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk around ODU in Norfolk

Costs: 5K—$25 before 3/15
1 Mile Fun Run— $12 before 3/15
Family($60) and Student($15) rates available!

The finish line will be on the future site of Global Friendship House with
kids' games, live entertainment, awards, bounce house and much more! Come to run or volunteer to help.

Register for the Race at: globalfriendshiphouse.org
To sign up to volunteer, contact: danya.horton@verizon.net

Update from NAMB Summer Misisonary

2011-02-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

I just wanted to send out a quick update on how things are going since I've been in Memphis. Since being here, I've been able to work with Brinkley Heights Urban academy, a Christian school for non-Christian families. This school is an awesome ministry to the community because it is located right in the middle of a rough neighborhood, and therefore, right where it needs to be in order to reach kids who are in the most need. Right next to the school is Brinkley Heights Baptist Church, former location of the school. In this building is the basketball court/gym which provides more opportunities to reach out to the community by serving as the location of open gym for community kids to come and have a safe place to play after school. Across the street is what we simply call the ministry center; this is the site of a food pantry, clothes closet and spiritual counseling for all who come through the doors.

So far I have been able to tutor at the school mostly by helping with reading comprehension in the first grade class. Classes at Brinkley Heights Urban Academy (BHUA) are small because most kids do not come from good family situations, and they need as much personal attention as possible. Also, we've been able to implement a new after-school program for grades 1st-6th. I get to work with the 1st and 2nd graders, and I take them to each of their rotations: Bible, Recreation and Homework. This program is often challenging, but also very rewarding; we know that it helps the kids because they are able to get more attention and help with their homework.

The ministry center is an awesome ministry of Brinkley. It is open Tuesday-Thursday. I get to work every Tuesday, and it is such a blessing to me. So far I have worked in the clothing closet, I have worked as a "screener" who helps people compile all their information, and I've sat in on some spiritual counseling sessions. This ministry, out of what used to be an old run-down house, ministers to so many people physically, but more importantly, on a spiritual level as well.

This past Saturday, my fellow semester missionary, Amanda, and I got to observe our first Bible Club. It was AWESOME! We were able to sort of learn the ropes, because come springtime, we will actually be running them all over the community. In the spring, teams will come from all over the country(youth and college groups mainly) to help us run the Bible clubs in the afternoons. We have eight sites, and whenever possible, we try and run as many as we can. Each site often times will have 30-40 children participate. In the mornings, we will take teams out to participate in community service projects such as nursing home visitation, lawn care, etc. So the schedule is mornings: community service, afternoons: Bible Clubs. This is a great mission trip for all ages because our focus is reclaiming the community for Christ through relational ministries. So if you, or anybody that you know, needs a mission trip, please send or get them to send me an email. We still have a great need for help in the beginning and middle of June. As far as prayer requests, please pray for the teams that will come, that we will have all the help we need in order to run the Bible clubs, also for the children that will attend the clubs that they will be receptive to the Truth they hear and that they would see God's love demonstrated through their leaders.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Amber

Finishing the Task Training (March 7-9)

2011-01-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

FTT March 2011_Invitation

Buckets of Hope flyer

2011-01-20T06:17:00.000-08:00

Buckets of Hope

2011-01-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

St. Lucia is one of the Windward Islands located in the Eastern Caribbean. It lies just south of Martinique and is known for its ecotourism as a popular vacation destination.

On October 31, 2010 the island of Saint Lucia was ravaged by Hurricane Tomas. While no part of the island was left unscathed, the town of Soufriere was most affected. Thirty hours of rain on the small tropical island caused heavy damage to the town of Soufriere—the most recognized part of the island.

As a native of Soufriere, St. Lucia and a graduate of Regent University, I am asking churches to help put together I000 Buckets of Hope for the people of Soufriere, St.Lucia. I have patterned with Hope Charitable Services of Virginia Beach, VA. They are helping make this possible. See the flyer for details (also posted on the blog).

The Government of St. Lucia has already set-up various means of contributing support. It is the desire of this effort to work in a complementary fashion, if at all, as I consider how best to help. It is also known that many activities have taken place and others are being planned in the days and months to come.

We would like to have all hope buckets ready and available to be picked or delivered by Thursday, February 3rd at 1541 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 between the hours of 9:30 AM. TO 2:30 P.M.

Thank you in advance for your consideration. I look forward to answering any further questions. For more information or to contact Hope Charitable Services or call one of the following individuals:

Frank Allan: 757-393-0664 or Cyril Mc Kenzie: 757-761-0971

Sincerely,

Harvey Cenac

cenacharvey@gmail.com

757-597-8863

Please refer to the list below for items that are urgently needed.

Many thanks for your generosity.

· Powdered milk

· Canned Fish/tuna/sardine/salmon

· Canned meat/corned beef/sausage

· Rice

· Pasta

· Flour, Sugar, Salt, Oil

· Vinegar

· Powder seasoning

· Canned soup

· Canned vegetables

· Dried peas and beans

· Hot & cold cereal

· Coffee/tea/hot chocolate

· Toilet paper, bath soap

· Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Combs/brushes

· Rubber gloves, bleach, disinfectant

http://www.scribd.com/full/47250196?access_key=key-237kctsua98pykqrq26f

Pacific Rim day 7 Update

2011-01-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

As of this report, we have just arrived in Hong Kong on our return home. We made this first step pretty smoothly and trust the remainder of the journey will be safe and without delays.

Yesterday was another amazing day on the M field! How Dad set up appointments and intersections was a joy to watch and in which to be a part. We had a scheduled meeting with some students as well as some EV work in and around the large market. One of the intersections allowed an opportunity to share Him with two women from the Philippines, who were visiting on vacation. He is so good!

The team was focused as we realized this was the last day for us to make a difference here in this city. We hope we will be able to (in the very near future) share with each of you far more than we have shared so far.

We look forward to seeing our family and friends and thank each of you for supporting us in this great endeavor for His glory!

Blessings,

Southeast Asia Team

Pacific Rim team day 6

2011-01-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone!

Dad continues to be at work here in Southeast Asia. The team joined Him at His work and much was accomplished.

While half of our team did some touristy things, the other half was busy at work telling the story. Many seeds were sown and we trust that the harvest will take place soon. Good books were given to new friends today as well as the Hope CD.

Tomorrow will be our final day in this country and it will be extreme busy but we trust it will bring a smile to Dad's face and heart! Team continues to do well physically and is in great spirits. Great to journey with such great folks.

Continue to pray for Dad's favor on everything we do tomorrow since the time is short to work here. Also begin to pray for our return home that we will be able to return to our families safely.

Looking forward to sharing more with each of you soon!

Southeast Asia Team

The team was invited to a birthday party this evening and we had a joyous time visiting with new friends. Strong relationships are continuing to be built for a future time of sharing.

Disaster Relief Haiti Call Out

2011-01-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haiti Rebuild

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear First Norfolk,

As we begin the new year and look forward to the Lord's blessings, there is an opportunity for a few willing workers to participate in the Haiti rebuild. I need a total of 4 individuals with construction skills (framing, tin roof, siding) to go to Haiti for 1 or 2 weeks (your choice!). The dates are February 6-19, but if you are only available for one week that will work.

The cost of the stay is $100 per day for room and meals. Airfare will be around $800. If you commit to future trips and encourage others from your church to go, the cost of your airfare will be covered by SBCV Haiti Rebuild. The goal is to build a network of churches that will work together sending teams over the next year or longer.

DR training is NOT required.

If you are interested contact me as soon as possible, with only 4 spots they will go fast!

Once I have the names I will get other details to you.

Blessings,

Mark Gauthier
SBC of Virginia
State Disaster Relief Director

Pacific Rim team days 4 and 5

2011-01-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Day 4

The team divided up today and was engaged in several areas of work. One group went to an outlying village to share stories with relatives of two of our team members. It appears that a lot of seeds were sown with these families as well as some of the people who traveled with this team.

A second group visited with families here in this very large city. Again, Dad was shared many times and many deep discussions took place. We are trusting that over the next few days that many who have heard will join the family.

A meeting was held with a local house P and his wife. It was good to hear about their work and how Dad is opening up many doors for them. We hope to have this P follow-up with those we meet and share with this week.

We finished the work day with an orientation by the company official for this area. The plans were laid out for the week and we look, with great anticipation, to the things that Dad will do in and through us. Hopefully we were able to encourage this family as well as they work diligently to proclaim Dad's name among this people.

A couple of us are having to deal with the start of colds but nothing serious that would keep us from the field. Ask Dad for help with our physical needs in the days ahead.

We will be traveling south to a couple of cities to conduct some EV activities and trust that doors will be opened for us to share. Pr that we will speak with clarity so that many may join the "club." It will be a long day but we are excited about this opportunity.

We miss our families and look forward to seeing you again real soon. Unfortunately, the work week will fly by quickly and we realize just how much more there is to do. We'll send another update tomorrow.

Southeast Asia Team

Day 5

It has been a long but productive day on day 5! We traveled to two cities in the south where we met with families of some of our team members. Opportunities presented themselves for the message to be shared with several folks, including the bus driver. Dad's timing is always perfect.

We also had the opportunity to meet with a couple of journeymen from the States. They are struggling in their work and needed encouragement. We assured them that we would be talking to Dad about them and the work in this difficult city.

We had several folks on the bus at different times where we were able to start conversations that might lead to more in-depth discussions later in the week. Ask Dad to provide the strength to finish the work here prior to leaving on Saturday.

Thank you for your continued support of this team. Looking forward to tomorrow and what Dad will accomplish!

Southeast Asia Team

Pac Rim Team day 3

2011-01-03T05:03:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a most interesting day for our group. We began by having a wonderful worship service in the morning. The message was most challenging as we begin the new year! After lunch we met with a "house" leader to hear how the work is going in the area, especially among the university students. It was a good time to encourage this local leader.

The group took an early flight to our next destination, arriving around 9:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the day came to a challenging end when a team members' back-pack was stolen out of the hotel lobby. We spent the next 2 - 2 1/2

hours dealing with this incident. Through it all the team members maintained a positive attitude and outlook.

We were scheduled to go further south early this morning, but due to last evenings circumstances the trip has been postponed until tomorrow. Today will be spent doing relational EV as well as meeting with several leaders in the area.

Please continue to talk to Dad to take care of us and that everything we do and say will bring Him honor.

Southeast Asia Team

Pac Rim Team day 2

2011-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

We were fortunate to spend another wonderful day connecting with students! Campus was closed due to the holidays but there were lots of students who were unable to return home so we spent most of the day just meeting and talking with new friends. We invited them to join us in the evening at a local coffee house for more conversation. We had around 20 who were able to come and quality time was spent with deep conversations about our Dad. During the day we were thrilled to see 5 more who joined the "club!" The group was really excited about this type of "tour" and upcoming opportunities to continue this work.Internet service is very difficult so we'll provide as many updates as possible whenever possible. Looking forward to sharing more at a later time! Southeast Asia Team

Pac Rim Team Update

2011-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

What a glorious first day in this capital city! The most exciting news is an evening meeting with university students at an English Club. After sharing our stories about our lives in the States, an invitation was given to join the "club." We are thrilled to say that two young people accepted the invitation and now are new members of the "club!" We are thankful to Dad for allowing us the opportunity to meet and influence these young students to be a part of this family.

Our day started with a meeting with a house P. and his wife. We were not able to meet with their "family" this trip due to complications but Dad knows what is needed. I was great to hear from them and for the team to get to meet them and see their wonderful loving hearts.

Next, we met with a "company" official for an orientation to the city and the work here. Again, it was great visiting with them and to provide encouragement for the hard work they are doing and the sacrifices they make in their field of endeavor.

Some street EV followed, then dinner, and then to join the city in welcoming in the new year. Dad made arrangements for us to meet a young, professional couple and we spent a great deal of time just sharing. They were wonderful and we hope to see them again this evening. Ask Dad to remember us this evening as we meet with another group of university students.

An awesome first day! Even though we were two days late leaving Norfolk, we were not late according to His timetable. Looking forward to what is in store for the rest of our tour.

How Do I Give to Missions?

2010-12-30T10:13:00.001-08:00

I realized recently that one of our faithful members at First Baptist Church Norfolk didn't know how to give to missions. The logical concern is then, if they don't...who else may need some help?

You can give online: http://www.firstnorfolk.org/contentpages.aspx?parentnavigationid=12249&navigationId=12276&viewcontentpageguid=aa38add7-1428-499a-a3e2-a2082061c028

This link will direct you to enter your online code or register to do so.

Then click "Go to my organizations egiving page."

There is a section for general missions giving that is labeled "Missions." This gift will go toward our World Missions Offering which is then divided as following: 40% International Mission Board/Lottie Moon, 40% North American Mission Board/Annie Armstrong offering, and 30% Partnership missions (essentially everything else that we do as a church).

There is also an area designated for giving toward a "Missions Trip." In this area you may indicate a journey and/or individual that you would like to give on behalf of.

Then finally, if you wish to simply give an offering in support of the direct Missions ministry of our church, you may give a gift in the "Other" column and label that as "FBCN Missions."

What if I am not an internet "surfer" or I am not comfortable using a credit/debit card for such?

An offering may be included in an offering envelope, a regular envelope, or with a simple description of your wishes attached. Simply use the designations given above to explain what kind of offering you wish to give. This offering may be given at our church or mailed to:

First Baptist Church Norfolk

Attn: Missions Offering

312 Kempsville rd.

Norfolk, Va. 23502

Thank you again for considering this great need and the opportunity that we have as a church to support missions throughout the year. If our Missions Ministry team can be of assistance in this process or answer questions about specific needs please contact us by calling the church at 757-461-3226.

Live the Mission Celebration 2010

2010-11-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Come join us in the Fellowship Hall THIS SUNDAY and listen in our worship gatherings as we share many of the ways that God is moving our church to Live the Mission around the world. There will be many mission opportunities displayed, videos of current missionaries serving, as well as other surprises. Our newest Live the Mission magazine will be available, so be sure to get your copy. Chesapeake Fellowship will also have a Mission Celebration before and after worship the following Sunday (November 14th) in the cafeteria of Greenbrier Middle School. You won't want to miss this opportunity!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

2010-11-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

November 14: Churches Reminded to Pray for the Persecuted

Churches across the United States and around the world are preparing to “remember those in bonds” (Hebrews 13:3) on Nov. 14, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

Begun in 1996, IDOP is a day for intercessory prayer and citizen action on behalf of persecuted Christian communities worldwide.

“As our staff meets with persecuted Christians around the world, their first request is that we pray for them,” says Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development for The Voice of the Martyrs — USA. “IDOP is a day when the collective Body of Christ joins together to answer their request.”

Some churches devote the entire day to persecuted Christians, while others hold a special prayer time during their regular service. It is estimated that more than 100,000 churches have taken part in IDOP activities since 1996, and churches in more than 130 countries have participated.

“Our persecuted family is not asking us to pray that the persecution will stop,” says Nettleton. “They’re asking us to pray they will remain faithful to Christ in spite of the persecution and pressure they face.”

The Voice of the Martyrs has developed a special IDOP Church Resource kit, including a four-minute video presentation, that encourages church congregations to pray and that provides ideas about practical ways to help persecuted Christians. Visit www.persecution.com/idop for more information on the resource kit, as well as downloadable resources to help your church pray effectively.

“This is an important day in the church calendar,” says Nettleton. “But we don’t want it to be something a church crosses off their list and doesn’t think about for 12 more months. Our hope is that this one day of prayer leads to 364 more days of prayer and action on behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters

Update from Haiti

2010-09-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

We received this report from one of our members who is serving individually in Haiti with a group that is there.

Prayer Warriors,

For the most part, the main part of my activity here as been working alongside staff and contracted Haitian workers to rebuild homes in the area. Specifically, I have been doing roofing work, putting hammer on nail to pound in two-by-fours and then put sheet metal on top of that.

Such activity has been a blessing, particularly at the end when families get to move into new homes. Their eyes and hearts are full of such elation. Though I am not sharing the Gospel directly, I can feel the Gospel at work here. Faith is already so prevalent here (a true blessing) no matter people’s situation. I can hear the sound of praise and worship from my window each morning and night.

Even with such praise in progress, there is still A LOT of need here, some of it caused by the earthquake and some of it just from the poverty that has been here for a long time. As you may have read in reports, the earthquake displaced more than 150,000 people; reports say that only 30,000 of those now have more permanent housing. The rest are in temporary shelters, which have become the most destitute squatter-type villages (tent cities). What’s more, there is no presence of government here, leaving simply things like trash pick and road paving undone…adding to the problems.

It will take a miracle of God for full recovery—permanent housing for the displaced, a stable economy, a fully functioning system of government—but nothing is impossible for God, indeed. In this period here in Haiti, I have come to very certain terms about the sovereignty of God, witnessed personally during what seemed like a spontaneous storm; severe winds came gusting at a project site, taking down the tent that had been being used as a temporary church there (while the church was being rebuilt as a result of the earthquake) – the poles snapped out of place and flew in our direction but missed all those that were working. His hand of protection is visible in the most unforeseen moments.

I pray He will bring about His perfect purposes here in Haiti.

Please join me in praying for:
Recovery of Haiti
God to make a way in hearts and minds for us to help the Haitians achieve that
For bonds that I have made here to last and His work in me to continue for the long term

I genuinely hope each of you connect to God’s movement here. I started a blog that documents what is going on here. Please read it at: http://www.jointhejourney.cc/on-mission-in-haiti

Lastly, I fly home mid-week. Please pray for safe travels.

Thank you all – you all mean so much to me.

In His Service,
Adam

Boston Team Update #3

2010-09-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here’s an update from the Boston Team:

The plan for Wednesday was to walk near one of the universities and look for moving vans. We had no idea we would encounter streets filled with vans and many young people to help move in. What an awesome experience! One after another, we met new people and carried boxes all day long. We moved people into about 17 different apartments and connected with about 40 young men and women. What a privilege to help them. They were continually asking "why?" It was refreshing to see the looks on their faces to see that we simply wanted to help and we weren't asking anything from them.

All of the apartments were just minutes away from the church plant. Many of the students were excited to hear of a church that is so willing to help in the community with no expectations of anything. Several were asking questions about the church and are likely to go check it out.

We pray for these students. They are just a small representation of the widely secular community here. There are few that attend churches and even fewer who ever consider spiritual matters. We pray that as the Spirit moved through our obedience yesterday, many students will come to understand the Gospel and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also had the blessing of teaming up with Hope Fellowship Church in the evening. Armed with pasta salad, granola bars, cookies, juice, and coffee we headed out to Harvard of all places. We gathered in a place called the "pit," situated across the street from the historical campus site. This is a large gathering place for the homeless population in this area of Boston.

Every Wednesday, the people can count on the presence of this group from Hope Fellowship. Relationships have been formed and it was exciting to see the way these men and women connected with one another. We prayed together, ate together, and sang together as we offered glory and praise to God.

This is truly an experience like no other! Men and women from all walks of life came together and met the needs of those who, above all things, need to know the truth of God's love and mercy for all.

Please pray for those students at Boston University, with whom we will intersect today. Pray that beyond the granola bars and the invite cards, we will have the opportunity to share the Gospel today. Pray for traveling mercies as we return to Norfolk tomorrow.

For HS Glory,
Boston Team

Boston Team Update #2

2010-08-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here’s an update from the Boston team:

This morning we prayer walked a different part of the neighborhood near where the church meets. It was hot today but we recognize the power of prayer and it was time well spent.

This afternoon the team connected with students moving into their apartments and offered to help them move. It was a great opportunity to connect with some young people who we believe will visit City on a Hill Church.

Even some people who declined our offer to help were gracious and took the invite cards and hopefully will attend as well. It was very hot today so pray for cooler weather tomorrow since that will be the big move-in day for most students. Continue to pray for those divine appointments where we can point people to Christ.

Everyone is well but some of our older members (who will remain nameless) are a little tired from a lot of walking. There is great team spirit and hopefully the people with whom we interact will see the joy we have and want to know the source of it.

For HIS Glory,
Boston Team

Boston Team Update

2010-08-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Boston team:

We were significantly delayed in getting to Boston due to construction and summer traffic. We arrived at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning and were scheduled to begin our day at 8:15 a.m. Pastor Bland graciously delayed the day's start to 9:15!

In the morning, Pastor Bland Mason provided an orientation on Boston, the community of Brookline, and the local church plant. We then broke up into prayer teams and covered the neighborhood through prayer walking.

We had lunch in one of the local parks and then spent the afternoon passing out granola bars with invite cards to City on a Hill Church. It was a great experience. Most people were very receptive and pleasant to talk to.

In the evening we walked around the campus of Harvard with the hope of making connections with students as they begin fall classes. It was like an ant hill of activity where the students were moving around in frenzied activities. This university, like the city and state, are very much in need of Jesus.

Please pray for the team as we seek to encourage Pastor Bland and the local church. Pray for divine appointments where the Gospel can be clearly presented and pray that lives will be transformed forever!

Blessings,
Boston Team

Alaska Team Update #5

2010-08-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here’s an update from the Alaska Team:

Day 6 - Yesterday's update covered the morning worship service but failed to mention that a second service was held at 7:00 p.m. We saw several new folks in this service who did not attend in the morning. One amazing young couple stayed to help break down everything after the service and told Pastor Brent they would send him areas in which they might be able to serve - and they did!

Today (Monday) we had the opportunity to visit the University of Alaska at Anchorage, the first day of classes. Pastor Brent has scheduled a session called, "Coffee Theology," for next week and we spent part of the day inviting students. The students were receptive to the invitation and seemed genuinely interested in engaging in a discussion on religion, faith, culture, etc.

Later in the day we continued with home visits. Again, these were folks who had previously attended a block party held in a local park.

One visit was to a woman who had actually attended the morning worship service yesterday for the first time. She was not feeling well and we had a chance to pray for her, so God's timing was perfect, as usual.

Please continue to pray for us tomorrow, our last day of ministry here in Anchorage. Many seeds have been sown and we have been an encouragement to Pastor Brent, his family, and True North Church. We are confident that God has a special purpose for this church and we can look forward to amazing stories from the church and the city as they seek His will and live grace-driven lives!

For HIS Glory,
Alaska Team

Alaska Team Update #4

2010-08-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Alaska Team:

Day 4- The team spent the morning delivering flyers to homes in the community near the church (about 200 to 250 for the four of us). The church provided a block party in the afternoon that was very well attended and enjoyed by all. Poor Jimmy Bruff got to serve over 200 hot dogs himself!

There were 11 presentations of the Gospel and many new contacts were made by the church. One woman, and her daughter, enjoyed themselves so much they went home and brought back a neighbor and her three children. They promised to be in church tomorrow (Sunday).

The team was very tired at the end of the day but it was oh such a good kind of tired! Praise God for the great weather and the wonderful new friends He allowed us to meet.

The team welcomed Pastor Eric and David Proffitt to Anchorage this evening.

Day 5 - Up and at the main library at 7 a.m. to set up for the 9 a.m. worship service. Raining at times but let up right around 9, for which we were thankful. The day was filled with blessings as we came together with folks who were looking for a church that put their faith to action.

It was especially exciting as we saw several people, who we connected with at the block party, show up to join us in worship! The woman who had gone home to invite her neighbor to the block party showed up with her friend in tow. That was six new people who had not been in church recently but were looking for a church family. It was so enjoyable to connect these two families and the members of True North.

Continue to pray for our team as we begin to reach out to the University of Alaska at Anchorage. Monday is the first day of classes for this school of 16,000 and our goal is to see how many students we can get connected to Pastor Brent and True North.

For HIS Glory,
Alaska Team

Alaska Team Update #3

2010-08-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Alaska Team:

God continues to show His favor on the team and its mission here in Anchorage. Another day of wonderful weather with only a slight drizzle this last evening.

The morning was spent on prayer walking around the park where the block party will be held tomorrow. We also prayer walked the neighborhoods nearby inviting everyone we could.

Our afternoon was filled with home visits to families who attended the last block party two weeks ago. As only God could do, we prayer walked around the same neighborhood where we had home visits! It was so amazing to visit with people for whom we had been praying earlier in the day without knowing it.

It has been said that, "the beauty seen in Alaska is just God showing off." We truly have experienced this for the past several days. The beauty is breathtaking.

Please pray for the block party on Saturday. It will be between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., Alaska time (6 to 11 p.m., Norfolk time). Please pray for this event that many opportunities will be available for the Gospel to be shared. We will be passing our flyers in the morning so pray for continued good weather and safety as we walk the streets around the park.

We look forward to having Pastor Eric and David Proffitt join us tomorrow. Pray for travel mercies for them as well.

For HIS Glory!
Alaska Team

Alaska Team Update #2

2010-08-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Alaska Team:

Anchorage had 31 consecutive days of rain before we arrived and we have had two consecutive days of sunshine! We had a beautiful view of Mt. McKinley this morning from the hillside outside Anchorage. God's creation never ceases to amaze me.

We divided up into three teams with members of True North Church and ministered in three areas today: college ministry; servant evangelism; and passing out invite cards for this weekend's preview services. Tonight, the team will make home visits to folks who attended a recent block party. There are 49 visits to be made and another block party scheduled for this weekend! Oh, I forgot to say in yesterday's update that the team from Texas did not come in but will be coming back in a couple of weeks. Sooo, it's just the First Baptist team for the next week.

Pastor Brent is so thankful to have us here, especially since the other team was not able to come. We didn't know this in advance but God was certainly not surprised by this turn of events.

Keep praying for hearts to be softened as we will continue to be involved in lots of relational evangelism. Pray for good health and strength for the team. Pray that we will be an encouragement to True North, Pastor Brent, and the Williams family.

Thanks for everyone's support. As Pastor Eric preached on this past Sunday, we are all one body and we need each other. Our Father can do great things when His people are united in accomplishing His will!

For HIS Glory!
Alaska Team

Alaska Team Update #1

2010-08-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Alaska Team:

It was great getting started in ministry today, and what a glorious day God provided here in Anchorage! Mostly sunny and in the 60's.

The morning was an opportunity for us to spend time with the pastor of this new church plant, Brent Williams, and his family. After devotions, we began to dissect the day’s plans into manageable parts.

First, we baked about 150 cookies to deliver to the local fire stations (11 stations). It was a joy to meet and thank these community servants for their contributions to the safety of their community. It was also an opportunity to hand out invite cards to this Sunday's pre-launch service. This will be the last of these types of services before the launch early next month.

The late afternoon was spent mapping out home visits for the next several days. These visits are a result of a recent block party and the numbers are extremely encouraging. We will be holding another block party this Saturday in a local park.

Continue to pray for our health and strength so that we can be "about our Father's business." Pray for Pastor Brent and his family who have made tremendous sacrifices to come to the least churched state in our country to push back the darkness. Pray for our home visits and the upcoming block party.

We are so grateful for our church family holding us up in prayer as we have answered God's call to share the Good News here in Alaska. Pastor Brent shared the sobering conditions that evangelicals face in trying to reach this culture for the kingdom and it is daunting!

Again, thank you for your prayers and we look forward to sharing more exciting news with you in the days ahead.

For HIS Glory & By HIS Grace!
Alaska Team

Dominican Republic Update #5

2010-08-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Good Evening!
The last two days have been absolutely wonderful in the DR! On Thursday, we broke into two teams before and after lunch, sending one team into the community to paint faces, do bible stories, play games, and teach them songs while the other team went to finish the projects at the school. What a joy and a blessing it was to do what we did! This was one experience that you walk away from having learned much more about the love of Christ than what you taught to the children. Both morning and afternoon, we had to turn kids away because of the lack of space where we were working. It was heart-breaking to do, but it was a reminder of both God's call for us to reach the world for Christ and His sovereignty in doing so! There are so many opportunities out there. Although we could not reach everyone, we prayed for those that we could not reach that the team coming next week would pick up where we left off.

Today, we went to see another part of the country that is more prominent financially than Los Alcarriozos. We went to Santo Domingo, where we stopped by a market and did a little bargain shopping. Afterwards, we toured the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere, as well as much of the "Old City". It was beautiful! We finished our time there with a delicious lunch and some time at the beach. When we got back, we ate another great dinner and had some time where we talked about our week and all that God did among us. What a joy it has been to lead this group on this journey for God's glory this week. They have each taught me something personally in different ways, and I am thankful for God bringing every person in the team together as it worked perfectly for what needed to be accomplished this week. Thank you all for your prayer, and it will be my joy to see you tomorrow at the airport!

For His Glory,
Tim Whitney

Update #3 from Joshua in Asia

2010-08-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

For the past three days, I have been with the M and a national named Supreet in Uhlasnagar, the S capitol (hereafter abbreivated U). We went hoping to make contact with S believers in the city. My M had one lead, which we followed up. One of his pastor friends in Mumbai knew of an S woman who had come to faith recently as a result of God healing her, and he gave us the phone number of her nephew. Her nephew then lead us to his best friend, a believer of 10 years. We arranged to meet with the best friend on our second day in U. The next morning we spent p-walking throughout the industrial and market districts of the city. We met and shared with a man who owned a sewing shop. That afternoon, Supreet got a phone call from the nephew who told us his best friend wanted us to meet with his pastors, and asked if we could meet around 7. We agreed, and followed one of Supreet's ideas: go meet with a Catholic priest and find out if he knew of any Protestant pastors in the area. We found Fr. Zacharias, who told us about three denominations within Indian Catholicism. His church followed the St. Thomas rite, which claims to go all the way back to AD 52 when St. Thomas (the doubter) brought Christianity to India. He claimed there were 59 churches among the S people in U, and directed us to one. We followed his suggestion and found the Maharati Methodist Church. One of the church members took us into his home and shared with us about that church's 35 year ministry in U. He the directed us to the local Salvation Army church, where we met Pastor V. This pastor shared with us that an S church met in his building twice a week. By this time, we were fervently thanking God for showing us the vibrant believing community within U! After dinner, we returned to the hotel and met with two S pastors, pastor Raju and pastor Jeevan. They have been pastoring churches in the U area for the past twenty years. My M shared with them his vision for seeing the church multiply among the S, and they seemed very accepting. We met with them again this morning (Friday, Aug. 13), and they showed us their church facility. They have a strong believing congregation, and face regular persecution from both the government and social forces. We left there praising God, for He brought us to the Persons of Peace which my M had been searching for over the past eight months. I will leave Mumbai with my M having an opening into the S community, to help the church there to grow and reach their entire people. If you are interested in praying more specifically for these M's, email me for more information. They have prayer request emails they send out, which people can commit to pray for them and their work. Email me at Josh.p.herring@gmail.com
and I will pass on the link to join their prayer network. This has been an incredible trip, and I thank all those who helped me to come work in Mumbai for these two weeks. God's hand is moving in India, and it has been a privilege to be a small part of what He is doing here.

Dominican Republic Update #4

2010-08-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Dominican Republic Team:

Good Afternoon!

Today was another wonderful day serving the Lord in the DR! After morning devotions and breakfast, we headed out into the community to help put in a cement floor for a family. The families in the community here live in what we consider wooden sheds with a tin roof, most of them having dirt floors. It is a blessing to get a cement floor, because when it rains you are off the ground and out of the water. They were very joyful to see us working so hard, and it was a blessing to serve them and play with the crowd of children that we drew. We worked all morning long, and it took all 23 of us to form a line long enough to make a chain back and forth from the cement being mixed to the house, but bucket by bucket it was finally finished! It was very rewarding to see the simplest thing make a family so happy.

After some Dominican hamburgers and a game of keep-away in the pool during siesta, we then went back to the school to continue painting and working hard to finish the weight room and classroom buildings we have been assigned. Our team has been growing together more and more, and everyone is still joyful at the hard, yet satisfying work we are accomplishing.

Please continue to pray for our health, both spiritually and physically, as we are half way through our journey. Every participant has grown so much so far, so please pray especially that we not only remain open to what God wants to do through us, but also to what He wants to do in us this week.

For His Glory,
Tim Whitney

Dominican Republic Update #3

2010-08-11T05:19:00.001-07:00

Here is an update from the Dominican Republic Team:

Good Evening!
Our third day in the Dominican has been another great day to see God's love at work through us both in word and action! After a hearty breakfast, we arrived at the school around 9:15 to continue working and painting on all of the projects that Cristian has for us! We continued to work on the weight room, different classrooms, and the front of two of the buildings. After a long morning of painting and sanding, we broke for lunch and our new found love, siesta!

After lunch and our brief break, we headed back to the school to find over 100 kids waiting for us! We broke into three different teams, and rotated the kids through. There was a music and Bible story station, a face painting and craft station, and a recreation station. No one on our team speaks much Spanish, but the smiles on the kids' faces seem to say that they appreciated what we were doing for them. It was amazing to see the level of excitement as they were singing and dancing about God's love, and learning how Christ freed us from the bondage of sin!

God has been very gracious to us so far this trip. Rain has come at perfect times to cool us down, a breeze is always just around the corner when needed, and we have seen so much progress in our projects at the school that tomorrow we will be going out into the community to work on a house and do mission work there! Thank you all for praying for us. Please continue to pray that we would have the strength and be faithful to serve as God directs us to.

For His Glory,
Tim Whitney

Dominican Republic Update #2

2010-08-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Dominican Republic Team:

Good morning everyone! We have had a wonderful time so far in the Dominican Republic getting familiar with the city and getting introduced to the people. After a our travel day on Saturday, we arrived at the compound around 9:15. We would have been a little earlier, but the further you get away from Santo Domingo, the more exciting the roads become for driving. Our driver miscalculated a pothole in the road, but the guys worked hard and quickly to get us moving again. The locals were wonderful in helping us out (literally!), and already we began to feel the hospitality of the people in Los Alcarriozos. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a very generous portion of chicken, rice, vegetables, and of course "pop". After such an exciting trip, Cristian (the local missionary) gave us a great overview for the week, and after some time to talk about our day and what would come tomorrow we were off to bed.

Sunday started at 7AM. We were up for devotionals, and ready for breakfast at 8:30. We began walking to the church at 9:30, and were very excited to worship with the local church. It is always a joy to worship in a foreign country! The pastor is from Korea, and we joked that we could not understand his Spanish because of his Korean accent! During the service we got to see how Jesus is glorified in the Dominican culture. They like loud music and moving to it! In the little church with a portable sound system and no air conditioning, it seemed as if everyone from the worship team down to the children in the congregation were worshiping with total abandon. It was a privilege to then introduce our team, and Moriah Brillhart sang a beautiful Spanish rendition of "I'm Singing" by Kari Jobe.

After church, we walked back to the compound to eat another very good meal, followed by our first "siesta". We all determined afterward that we are going to introduce the idea of a siesta in America, because resting from 1 to 2 was wonderful! It was a good time to think about the service, and prepare our hearts for the walk that Cristian was going to take us on. Cristian's desire was to not only show us how the people live, but who they are. We walked up and down many different streets, and handed candy to the children who seemed to latch onto us for as long as we had candy to give. Even after, they followed us around the entire time, coming up and trying to talk and then running away. It was a humbling experience to see them and their families smiling and content in their tin homes with one room. Cristian showed us many of the homes and schools that God has miraculously provided money and teams to build, and also shared his vision of what he would like to do next. When asked "How many people have you seen come to Christ because of what's been done here?", he replied, "The exact number, I am not sure. But I know well over 10,000."

We then went to the school, and played baseball (which the local kids destroyed us in), basketball (which we kind of held our ground, but still lost terribly), volleyball (the only reason we did OK is because we are taller), and soccer (we made a noble effort!). It was a great introduction to the kids, and a great time of building relationships. Later this week, we will be coming back to share Christ with the very kids we were playing with. What an exciting time that will be!

As our day was winding down after dinner, we took some time to think about our expectations for coming and our perceptions now that we are here. The people here are very generous, very poor, and very much need Jesus. After a time of great conversation and evening devotions, we were off to sleep to rest for our first day of hard labor.

Today (Monday) we are sanding down concrete walls in the soon-to-be only weight room around, painting, and cleaning up cement bricks and wood in order to paint. Cristian shared that there is a major drug problem in the area, and the work we are doing is providing people with an alternate place where they can hang out, work out, play sports, and learn about the Gospel. Thank you all for praying for us so far! Please continue to pray for our health, our servant attitudes, and that we would also not miss what God is doing in our own lives through this time of serving Him. More to be posted tomorrow!

For His Glory,
Tim Whitney

Dominican Republic Update

2010-08-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Dominican Republic Team:

We arrived safely and on time! Today (Sunday) we are going to worship with the local church and do a community tour, then come back for a basketball and volleyball tournament with the school. There is a picture of the team at the airport on www.transformedblog.org. Please continue to pray for God's blessing as we minister to the people of the Dominican Republic.

Tim Whitney

Joshua in Asia Report #2

2010-08-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

The past two days have incredibly exciting for the work here in this city. I went with an M to a slum on the outskirts of the city in hopes of meeting with a new believer and teaching him about the water ceremony. I was amazed at the conditions people live in - literally on the side of a mountain, with no regular running water. Everyone has his shack, usually some combination of aluminum walls and tarps. As many as 10 people may live in a 15'x5' space. Garbage, and stray dogs (with the occasional goat) were everywhere. I was both shocked and impressed that people could live like this. We found the shack we were looking for, but the man we wanted to speak with was at work. We then shared with his brother. The brother listened as we told the story of the Prodigal Son, and seemed to want to believe in X. The sticking point for him was the need to stop worshipping all his other gods if he were to follow X. We then went and spent an hour and a half sharing with a Hindu man a fews rows down the hill. He seemed very open, and began to understand his need for redemption from sin, and then at a certain point it was as if the weeds began choking out the seeds we had planted. We then went back to the first shack, as out intended man had come home from work. We taught him about the water ceremony, and he will soon go through it! A local national leader will perform the ceremony sometime next week. I was most struck by our visit to the second man, and the placement of his gods. All along the back wall, he had several posters of the gods he worshipped. I am convinced that these gods are invitations to the enemy to come and dwell in these homes. Please pray that such invitations would be overcome as we bring light into the darkness. Last night I went with the main M i'm working with to a local church in Chembur and we met the pastor there. Pastor Samuel has founded three churches, and claims to have taken 1800 people through the water ceremony. He has members of the S group in his congregation, and will be a wonderful contact for the continuation of the work here. Please pray that God would bless Pastor Samuel and his work as Indians continue to reach Indians. I would also ask for prayer for my self, that i would be bold about sharing with people. I find it far too easy to be polite; I need to be more offensive to people, in the sense that the message we share is offensive. Thank you for your continual prayers!

Josh Herring

Debriefing with our WV team!

2010-08-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

The West Virginia Team is home! It doesn't feel like enough to just thank everyone for praying for us. We witnessed many hurdles jumped because of the power of your prayer. The bible camps went smoothly, the children came, the team stayed healthy, and the weather cooperated. Many distractions can occur down in the holler, and we had many. Even yesterday's thunderstorm did not keep us from celebrating with a community block party. Through prayer, the clouds rolled away, and we didn't miss a beat with a cookout, games, facepainting, bouncing house, and prizes. Oh! I can't forget the Saddle Ridge Ranch songs performed by the children--they loved those songs!

At Scott's trailer park, we had 31 children registered with 23-25 attending each morning. Two teens impressed us with their attentiveness and desire to know more. Yellowbud Place Apts. had 18 children in attendance by the end of the week. Even a few parents attended with their children each day and we were able to connect with them. We felt those parents had the opportunity to listen and learn as well. The gospel was presented on Thurs. as a simply sweet but direct message resulting in 9 children making decisions for Christ! That was targeted prayer in action. Through donations we were able to give 49 bibles! (We had 50 with us) At noon and 2pm each day we assisted Pastor Dan in distributing healthy bag lunches to both needy communities.

Pastor Dan now has a bi-vocational childrens/youth minister serving with him. His name is Nathan, wife Sonya and 3-mth Micah. Please keep them in prayers as they are house searching. It is exciting to return to Old Fields Baptist and see that the church is growing in membership. In fact, Dan is going to do his first baby dedication in a few weeks.

As you can see, the past 5 days have been extremely busy. I am quite proud of the YAH's determination to serve our Lord in the heat, rain, mud, and even a cornfield. It's always a blessing to assist them on their mission journeys.

West Virginia Trip Pictures

2010-08-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Update from Mumbai

2010-08-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

Here's an update from Mumbai. I've been working with the M here, trying to reach the S people group. We've been doing lots of street EV and p-walking. Thus far, we've shared with Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and a couple of Catholics. The overall strategy is to first find the S people, and then hopefully find believers already within the population and equip them to reach their own people. To do this, we've been going to different areas around the city where the S people live and work, trying to strike up conversations leading to discussion of J. We've also given out several J-films, in both Hindi and Sindhi languages. They only cost 70 ruppees, or roughly $1.40! I'm living with a SS101 worker named Will, who is from Alabama. He's been here for four months, and is involved in discipling several people he and others have led to believe. There are also some Hands On girls here, as well to two J-man girls. Mumbai is a huge city, and the work is ready for harvesters! Everywhere we've gone there are temples. Please p that God would show these people the darkness in which they live. The major gods the S people follow are within the Hindu religion - Juli-la, Sai-Balba, and Ganesh. The hardest part of EV here seems to be explaining to people their need for salvation. There is no sin consciousness here, only an expectation that the next life will be another chance to do better. The other strategy we are following is p-ing for the search for the Person of Peace, from Luke 10. The M's here are greatly in need of such a person to provide an entry into a very tightly closed community of S people. Please p that God would lead us to the right people to share with! It's been a phenomenal experience thus far, and I can't wait to see what God does in the next ten days!

Our First Report from the West Virginia Team!

2010-08-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

WOW! What an exciting trip so far. We arrived safely in Moorefield, WV yesterday around 4:00. After unpacking all the vehicles at the Old Fields Baptist, we headed out to distribute our bible camp invitations to two project sites. Evening concluded with a worship service at OFB and a dinner fellowship with Pastor Dan, his family and the new Children’s/Youth Minister and his family. Today at Scott’s Trailer park we had 21 children and 2 teens attended our program. In the afternoon, we arrived at Yellowbud Place (apartments), setup, and presented bible camp for 11 children. We were also able to distribute bag lunches at each site for a summer feeding program. Tomorrow, we are anticipating more children attending each camp and an additional visit of the entire team to Misty Terrace trailer community to prayer walk and distribute flyers for OFB.

Keep praying for cool weather and lots of children.

Significant Training Opportunities!

2010-07-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that one of our members who if preparing for the mission field will be leading a class on Chronological Bible Storying beginning on August 18 in room 308. Here is a brief decription:

Not everyone can read, but all people love a great story! What's better than to learn to share the story of the Bible? Missionaries use this around the world and we can use this in our church too. Speak to the hearts of students, neighbors, and coworkers with this great way to show that God's word is truly alive.

We are also developing training times for the Soularium Cards that our Portugal team used this year on mission. They have returned and are sharing this method with us. More classes will be coming soon!

West Virginia Team is starting their engines!

2010-07-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dear WV Prayer Warriors:

Thank you so much for your commitment to pray for the West Virginia Team as we serve in Moorefield, WV Aug 1-6. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16 I know that we cannot do God's work on our own. It takes the prayers of our friends and families to gird us and keep us on track. We consider it an honor that you are praying for us next week.

Please lift these requests before the Lord for us beginning now:

PREPARATION: Pray for the team to be unified in their commitment to serve in WV. Pray that we bond and serve the Lord with gladness. Pray for our attitudes to be positive and like-minded---for us to be flexible, helpful, and content in all things. Pray for all our final preparations to go smoothly: supplies, packing, finances. Pray for our families in our absence from home. Give them praise that they are willing to sacrifice us for one week. Pray for the team's health and especially for travel mercies. Once we arrive in Moorefield, we have lots of travelling back and forth to work sites each day. Nothing is "around the corner." It's "down in the holler."

WEATHER: Pray for cool temperatures. Wed. and Thurs.'s forecast is 92º. One worksite is outside, please ask the Lord to grant us a cool breeze and clear skies for the week. Thurs. evening a block party is planned at Yellowbud Apts. as a finale to bible camp. Again, cool temps and clear skies so that we can conclude our bible camp with the children and celebrate with the residents.

BIBLE CAMP: We will be hosting 2 bible camps at different worksites for 4 days. One site is at Scott's Trailer Park, please pray for the children to attend as well as some parents. Pray for us to be sensitive (not offensive) to the needs of these families. Pray for us to renew friendships made during past trips. The second camp is at Yellowbud Place Apts. in Moorefield. This is a new work that we helped Pastor Dan establish last year. Pray for lots of children to attend both camps, for hearts to be receptive, and cultural barriers to dissolve. Pray for a harvest of new believers. Pray for Yellowbud's manager, Melissa. Pray for her to be gracious and accepting of us each day bombarding her clubhouse.

THE HOWARD FAMILY: Pray for Pastor Dan, Holly (wife) and their six children. This is the Young at Hearts' 4th mission trip to Moorefield. Dan's church is Old Field Baptist Church. Dan is known and respected in his community for ministering to others. Pray for his zeal, stamina, and commitment to the Lord. His church is the only baptist church in this area. He desires to plant more churches. Recently, a bi-vocational minister has began serving at OFB, part time. Please pray for him, his wife, and new baby, too.

OUR WITNESS: Everywhere we go, the hotel, restaurants, Wal-Mart, trailer park, apartments, at Dan's church--pray that our conversations, demeanor, and attitudes will bring glory to God. People do know that we are visitors, and they do watch us and ask us.

Dan's church members see us everywhere too. Pray we have a spotless witness and that we represent Christ. Change our hearts next week for a passion to serve Christ not only in West Virginia, but in our own backyards.

WV Team Members: Denise Maples, Jo Rush, Trish Skinner, Marie Johnson, Sam Maddox, Vivian Connelly, Vivian Deal, Jim Grogg,

Bill and Judy Bassette, Sybil Qullin, Shelia Carter, and Karen Tucker. Please pray for each team member individually, too.

Please check www.bigserveglobal.org for updates throughout the week. (That is if we can get cell or internet service!)

Thanks again for your prayers,

Denise

Malawi team update #3

2010-07-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

July 25, 2010
Team Malawi has been very busy in ministry since their arrival, handling a program that last year engaged a team nearly twice its size. Yet all has been carried out with no arguing or complaining.

Tuesday, July 20th, found the team decorating for Soul Care, a women’s retreat for missionary wives. And on that day Stephanie Freeman arrived, luggage complete—another blessing from God. Those who have been on mission overseas know how remarkable it is for the two dozen parcels we carried collectively to have arrived with us on the same day.

Wednesday and Thursday, July 21st and 22nd, were spent in the Soul Care Retreat. Sheila Arnold, Stephanie Freeman, and Brittany Hammond ministered to the women as Josiah Luttrull, Sarah Brown, Anna Park, and Ray Smith provided a VBS-style program for six missionary children, ages 3 to 15. Evenings were spent in preparations, and days were long, even as the team struggled with jet lag. It was a great blessing for those women to have some time away and to themselves because budget cuts have greatly reduced or eliminated such activities. And the kids? What wonderful children, without exception!

On Friday and Saturday the team went to work in the village of Kalolo. There is a church in the village, but the previous pastor had to move back to the city, and the church has been declining. Regular meetings had ceased. Recently Brino, a young Malawian attending the Bible School in Lilongwe, has stepped up to lead the congregation. He is a delightful and dedicated man with a heart for the people of the village. The team spent the two days in VBS programs for the children, discipleship teaching for the adult men and women, and hut-to-hut evangelism. About a dozen people, men and women, attended the discipleship classes. Many in the villages listened and prayed to receive Christ. And 250 or more children heard Bible stories, including the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Sunday again found us back in Kalolo village. There were adult Bible studies led by Ray and Stephanie and a children’s Bible lesson led by Sheila, Josiah, Brittany, Sarah, and Anna. There were two baptisms in the portable baptistery (or as it was labeled, “Baptist tree”). And Josiah preached from John 9 about Jesus having delivered us from our spiritual blindness and led us into the light of His Gospel. There were many songs, including “Hosanna” sung by the team and a Malawian song, sung by the Malawian evangelism team (our interpreters) along with the azungu team (that would be First Norfolk). Joyous worship!

The Holy Spirit has blessed this team with a wonderful spirit of unity. The result is that much has been accomplished in these busy days and evenings. As Anna Park observed at a recent devotional time, “It is incredible to see how much people can do when they work together.” Amen, and amen.

Please pray for us as we move Monday into urban neighborhood evangelism. Pray for continued unity for the team. And pray for Brittany who is resting as I write this, sick with intestinal complaints. We need her to be up and around for the evangelism in which she wants so much to take part. Her helpful and encouraging spirit has been a boon for us all. And finally, pray for the people of Malawi, and those of Kalolo in particular. God is reviving a work in that village. Take a share in what God is doing by lifting them and us up in prayer. Your prayers are the engine of our ministry. Don’t forget it!

I am sorry not to have provided more timely reports. Late nights and access to computers have conspired to delay us.

Ray Smith, for Team Malawi

NC Journey Update

2010-07-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dear North Carolina Prayer Partners:

This is why I don't leave home without being surrounded by a wall of prayer warriors. What an amazing trip. It makes my heart happy over what was accomplished through the power of prayer. God did as He pleased, and the team was ready and willing with whatever came our way.

Travelling was a breeze, our accommodations were terrific and convenient, and everyone stayed healthy. Our biggest prayer concern was to have 30+ children. We exceeded that the first day. In the end we had an enrollment of 39. The God-moment was with the 14-16 youth that attended each day! Then I knew why I had felt so anxious to prepare lessons for that age group. I prayed that God would send us 4 youth--well, you guys must have slipped in some extra prayers! One of our students was a 45 yr. old downs syndrome man. He was such an inspiration to all of us with his sweet spirit and love for the Lord. On Thursday, three youth made decisions for Christ. Continue praying for God's word to penetrate the minds/hearts of all the children. Pray for these youth to carry out their decisions with baptism and discipleship.

Our VBS mission project was to collect items for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. We started with 10 boxes but the children swiftly filled 19 by Friday. It was a tight competition each day, but the "cowboys" beat the "cowgirls"---all in great fun.

We had many incidences of equipment problems, but they were always resolved. The program always continued uninterrupted and on-time. The enemy may tinkle with our technology, but not God's plans. All team members had responsibilities and everything was carried out without any glitches from bible study, to crafts, music, snack, and recreation. The team's attitudes were positive, loving, and genuine. Undoubtedly, that is what kept the children returning and inviting their friends to come.

The Busch's are a great family and have a tremendous commitment to their church and community. They received us warmly even as we converted their fellowship hall and classrooms into a ranch with hay, horses, and bunkhouses. Eventually, even the piano was disguised as a cover wagon. Continue to pray for church growth and young families to attend Hamilton Baptist.

On Friday, the block party trailer arrived with 11 more members of FBCN. After a threat of rain, the festivities began at 4:30pm in the church yard with bouncing houses, games, balloons, facepainting, and prizes. VBS concluded with a dinner, performances of the VBS songs (being led by Hamilton's youth!), and the youth performing 2 puppet shows. Again, answered prayer for more of our folks to join the Clayton family circus and for great weather!

Without a doubt, our team was humbled by God's work as we served Him this past week. We were constantly reminded that it was not by our might but God's might that we accomplished each task. It was so hard to say our goodbye's and drive away Friday night, but each one of us felt blessed for the new friends we had made and for experiencing God where He was working in Hamilton, NC.

Please contact me if you would like for a member of the NC Team to speak to your bible study group. Thanks for all your prayers for NC. I'll be forwarding prayer requests for West VA this week.

God Cares!

Denise

To See Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=258939&id=614864965&l=21aef94813

Malawi team update

2010-07-22T13:10:00.001-07:00

Hello :). Thank you for your faithfulness in remembering us in prayer. Our team has been hard at work over the past few days setting up for and conducting a retreat for missionary women serving in/near Lilongwe and VBS for missionary kids. Both of these endeavors have been a blessing to our team in the States and a chance to encourage our sisters in Christ. Everyone is healthy and the team is working well together. Tomorrow we begin the first of three days in a nearby village. We will be conducting VBS with the children, doing leadership/Bible study training in the church, and visiting hut-to-hut. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek to minister to the people of Malawi.

Love,
Team Malawi

What's happening in Hamilton, NC?

2010-07-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Update from Monday evening:

What a fantastic day! Yesterday we arrived and spent the whole afternoon setting up the church’s fellowship hall for Saddle Ridge Ranch.

What a transformation. Then today, we were ready and waiting for the 31 students that showed up at our door. Thanks for the prayers for 30 children. Most amazingly, 14 of those students were middle-schoolers and 1 high-schooler. I had to move the tiny room I set up for VBX to accommodate the crowd of pre-teens I’m expecting tomorrow. All the children were pumped and excited and we know they will bring friends tomorrow.

God is providing and we are delivering all that we have to offer. Pastor Busch is thrilled with the turnout and especially excited for the tweens that are joining us. Thanks for all the prayers, God is honoring them and His name is being praised.

Continue to pray for more children to join us and cooler weather for the recreation team. We will be waiting anxiously for the block party trailer on Friday.

Update from Tuesday:

Today we had 39 students in attendance! Eighteen pre-teens! They are bringing friends. The pre-tns are learning the music and are assisting in the worship rally. They are also learning how to work the puppets and learned to puppet skits today. It has been a thrill.

Tomorrow promises to be even more amazing with water games but most importantly the children will be hearing and learning about the ABC’s.

Please pray for hearts to be receptive and for the leaders to present with clarity and sincerity. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in these young hearts and profess Jesus as Lord.

Note from Craig: We could still use some volunteers to serve with us on Friday, if you would like to serve on a one-day missions journey to NC. Contact the Missions department for more information.

Team Malawi arrives safely!

2010-07-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Malawi,

We arrived today in Lilongwe, Malawi after an overnight in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are tired but in good spirits. Two hours late at the airport, but Mat Lawrence and an intern Kym met us and took us to the Lawrence’s; they are hosting us in their home.

Praise God for His answer to prayer and watchful care: All our luggage—ALL our luggage, arrived with us at the airport. God is going before us.

After a nice home-cooked meal we set out our plans for tomorrow. Then time singing around the piano.

We will have more to report over the next few days as the team conducts a women’s retreat for the missionary women.

Later,

Ray

North Carolina Team Update

2010-07-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the North Carolina team:

Dear Prayer Partners:

The North Carolina Mission Team leaves Sunday, July 18, for Hamilton NC. Thank you so much for partnering with our team in prayer. Prayer sets the foundation for our mission as well as places a wall of protection around us. It enables us to do God's will and keep His desires in focus as we are on our projects.

This is a list of prayer concerns we need as we serve in Hamilton, North Carolina.

Preparation: keep us lifted as we are finishing our final preparations for departure. Pray for: our families while we are away, bonding as a team, travel mercies to Hamilton and the trip back and forth from Hamilton to Williamston each day. Pray for the team's health, stamina, and attitudes.

Project: Pray for 30+ children to attend our Saddle Ridge VBS each day, especially for older students to join us. Pray for their hearts to be open to the gospel message. Wed. is the day they learn about accepting Christ. Please be in prayer that many will accept the gift of salvation and will make a public profession of faith. Pray for the parents of the students, too, that they will discover Hamilton Baptist to be a great church home.

Equipment: Pray that all the sound equipment, projectors, computer--all work flawlessly to help us lead a hi-tech, hi-energy VBS.

VBS Leaders: pray we present a clear message and that the crafts, music, and recreation teams/activities follow-through with reinforcing each lesson clearly and precisely. Pray that we love on each child genuinely with the love of Christ and that no child leaves on any day feeling rejected. Pray that the children return the next day and bring friends.

The Busch Family: Pray for Pastor Brian, wife Kelly, and their 4 children. Pray for their health, acceptance of us taking over their church, and for their leadership in the church and the community. Praises for them allowing a team to come and assist them and pray for us to be a mentor to their congregants. Pray that VBS will open the door for new members and baptisms.

New Commitment: Pray that Christ ignites in the team members a stronger desire to serve Him.

Block Party Team: Friday, July 23, will be the closing of VBS. Hamilton Baptist will host a cookout and Craig Clayton is bringing FBCN's block party trailer. Please pray for the Clayton family as they travel. Pray for a couple of more families to join them for a one-day mission trip. Pray for the Block Party to attract more community members.

Team Members: Denise Maples, Jo Rush, Trish Skinner, Charles and Betty Blackman, Lyle and Clare Thoburn, Terry Freeman, Nancy Rantanen, Rosalind Rogers, Marie Johnson, and Ann Reed. Please pray for each member individually.

While we are in Carolina, please check www.bigserveglobal.org for updates.

Thanks so much for your prayers. We covet every word!
Denise Maples

Honduras Team update (7/11/10)

2010-07-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Honduras team:

Dear Church Family,

We arrived safe and sound in Honduras. Everything has been going great with the accommodations, the driver, and the translators. God is leading the way and we are making ourselves available for His work.

We spent Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday and Sunday with the 13 Hope House girls. We also attended church with them today and God is here among these people. There are several girls still living in the house who were here two years ago. Some have had set-backs but they are still there. Two of the ones we spent time with 2 years ago did get pregnant and have to leave the house. We are reminding these girls to be godly women, that we are proud of them, and to study. The poverty is still shocking to see. Every home, business, and restaurant has bars on the windows. Our hotel has armed guards. The Orphan Helpers staff will not let us go anywhere alone. We went to a national park today and armed guards are around to keep the drug dealers out. Crime and drugs are rampant. No one has bothered us. We are here to plant seeds into the younger generation to help change this society. We want them to know they are loved and how they can share our joy.

Tomorrow we will spend the day at a boys’ center - ages 12 - 18. We have two devotions planned and activities to reinforce the devotions. We also will make the plan of salvation bracelets together. We expect about 50 boys at the center. They are orphans, kids that have been picked up from the streets, or boys that have been turned over to the center by their parents because they cannot control them. They are overcrowded and there is not much room for activities. We have read Exodus 4: 1-12 together this evening and have asked God to use us tomorrow.

Our team is bonding so well. Most of us didn't really know each other very well and this is another benefit to short-term mission trips - new friends for life.

We are very thankful to you our church and our family and friends that funded the trip.

Blessings to you in Virginia Beach,

Tracy Stewart

Ukraine Team Update (7/6/10)

2010-07-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Ukraine team:

Dear Prayer Warriors,

It has been several days since our last update but we have certainly felt your faithful prayers. Much has happened for the glory of God and many more have repented.

Last Friday, July 2 was the last day of our two VBS Camps. On this final day, it was a blessing to hear the children quote John 3:16 by memory both as a group and as individuals. What a precious sound it was to hear His Word coming from the lips of these Ukrainian children. We can never know this side of heaven what God has done and is going to do in and throughout their lives because of this past week. It is a joy to share that God brought more children to both camps. In Studenytsia, we saw it grow from 44 to 56 children and in Strizhivka we grew from 40 to 70 children. Even more exciting is that on our last day of camp 11 additional children repented in the morning camp and 10 more children repented at the Strizhivka Camp. Hallelujah!

We also held an Evangelistic Service on Friday with one person indicating she had repented. On Saturday morning we were able to share Jesus in the village of Novopil. We held an outside service near the main intersection of this tiny village and with statue of Lenin nearby. We are praising God for the birth of a new Christ follower at this service.

On Saturday afternoon, our team was able to participate in and witness the baptism of 3 new believers in one of the rivers. It was such a beautiful sight to see Pastor Vasily baptize two women and one man who was the first man to be baptized from the village of Strizhivka.

On Sunday, we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of 23 new believers who were from various churches in the Zhitomir area. It was pouring rain and it must have been cold for those being baptized in the river, but nothing was more of a blessing than celebrating with these new followers of Christ. Afterwards our team sang at Central Baptist and worshiped the Lord through The Lord's Supper. Later that evening we led worship and shared God's Word at First Baptist Zhitomir. What a beautiful day it was worshiping with God's people. His love transcends all language and cultural differences. Amen!

On Monday, July 5, we walked throughout two villages, Kronyn and Turbivka, and invited people to our services. God once again moved in both services. Twelve people repented in Kronyn and two people repented in Turbivka.

Finally, today we held a service in the village of Zerenlia with about 70 people in attendance. Though no one repented there were many seeds planted. Praise the Lord for Jim Freeman who preached with power though he had been feeling poorly for several days. God used him in a mighty way.

And this evening, we were able to celebrate with 5 people who repented in Baranivka. God still moves.

Tomorrow is our final day of ministry in two more villages. Please pray for physical and spiritual strength and perseverance as we continue on this missionary journey with Jesus here in Ukraine.

We love you and look forward to being back with you on Sunday. Blessings to you each.

Living the Mission
Your Ukraine Team
John 17:20

Ukraine Team Update (7/1/10)

2010-07-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Ukraine Team:

Slava Bog! The Father was so gracious today with another beautiful day
of ministry. Thank you for your many prayers for our team. We truly
sense God's strength and presence as we live His mission here in
Ukraine.

As you remember, we asked you to pray for our team and the children at
our two VBS Camps today. Today we had 55 children in our morning camp
and 62 in our afternoon camp. Today the children heard a very clear
presentation of the gospel and as a result of God's work, 16 children
repented in the morning camp and 53 children repented in the afternoon
camp. We are overwhelmed and giving God praise for these children.
Please pray for Pastor Vasily and his church members as they follow up
with these new young believers. Tomorrow the children will be learning how
to share Jesus through the salvation bracelet.

Your prayers were also felt as we held an Evangelistic Service in the
village of Kamiana Brid. We are praising God for the four people who
repented and came to Christ tonight. He is so good!

In addition to these new children of God, one of our teams had the joy
of leading a ninety year old lady to Jesus who is unable to walk. Please
lift up our new sister in Christ, Olga. It was a glorious day in Christ
indeed.

Please pray for the final day of our VBS camps and our Evanglestic
Service tomorrow. Please pray for Jim as he preaches and for Gloria and
Dan as they give their testimony. May many others come to Christ tomorrow.

We love you all and thank you for sharing in the mission Christ has
called us all to in these days.

Slava Bog,

Your Ukraine Mission Team
John 17: 20