Hope Chapel Missions

Hope Chapel Holiday Helping

2011-11-14T15:21:00.007-05:00

Did you know that you are entering your mission field as soon as you head out your front door? Our community has a world of people lost and in need living right in our own neighborhood. As the hands and feet of Jesus, we want to demonstrate God's love in tangible ways. Here are some things you can do to help:

Food Pantry Items
Help us make sure families have food in their pantry this holiday season! Hope Chapel will once again be collecting canned goods to be distributed to families in need in our community. A suggested shopping list is available at the Welcome Center or click here. Food will be collected November 13 thru November 20th. Please no glass jars!

Mitten Tree
Cold weather is inconvenient and can lead to sickness, especially in children and the elderly. Did you realize that there are many children here in our area that do not have the means to purchase a simple pair of mittens or gloves? This holiday season a “mitten tree” will be displayed in HOPE Zone children's ministry area waiting for your donated “ornaments” of clean or new mittens, gloves, hats and scarves.

These items will then be donated to the Hispanic Foursquare Church in Cary, NC who will use them as gifts during their holiday outreach programs. “Decorating” the tree starts on November 27th and continues through December 18th.

Soles 4 Souls
Over 1.5 billion pairs of shoes lay idle in American closets. Over 300 million children around the world are without shoes. This Christmas our congregation will partner with the Soles 4 Souls an organization which has given away over 12 million pairs of shoes to people in need in over 124 countries on 5 continents. To participate simply bring in your gently used or new shoes wrapped together with a rubber band. Each pair needs to have $2 placed in the toe of a shoe to cover shipping and handling. Drop off stations will be available in the Worship Center starting at the This.Christmas concert on Saturday, December 10th and continue through December 18th. You can learn more about this organization by visiting GiveShoes.org

mi familia

2011-10-04T22:54:00.001-04:00

When I was asked to write up a blog post to describe my experience here, I was a bit overwhelmed by the task at hand. How can I encapsulate everything I have witnessed here- the people, the depth of their eyes, the warmth and graciousness of their smiles, the poverty of the barrios, the countless starving dogs, the array of smells, the heaviness of the Holy Spirit, etc. The only way I can begin is with one word: thankful. As I watched these people, marveling at how creative they can be to make things work with what we would consider dirty old trash (that wouldn’t even be fit to sell at a yard sale), I began to realize how easily… that could have been me.

Why God? Why did you choose to give me one of the biggest blessings of being born in the US? I have often prayed for God’s favor and blessing- and yet I’ve just now realized that He already has favored me- just by determining the place I was born!

It makes me feelcompletely foolish for some of the things I pray about whenever I hear the Haitians’ prayer requests. Out of the two pastor’s we’ve met, the biggest needs they have are safety, water, and a roof that doesn’t leak. Americans wouldn’t step foot in a church that didn’t have these basic needs. But what makes us any different from the Haitian people? We just live in a different location and have different skin tones- but that doesn’t really matter, does it? We have the same father, and love Jesus. Therefore, that makes us brothers and sisters in Christ, right? Yet we are living totally different lifestyles, and our problems have a magnitude of difference between them, and so on. As I first encountered these horrors I witnessed, I leaned towards the thought: “Oh those poor people”. But after praying that God would allow me to see through His eyes, I began to think more like this: “that could have just as easily had been me”. This simple change in thinking not only allowed me to see how I am so blessed beyond measure, but it has also started me along the right path towards truly loving my neighbor as myself.

-whit

kitchen

crib

favorite (possibly only) toy

bathtub

“Dios te bendiga”

2011-10-02T15:53:00.003-04:00

“Dios te bendiga”

“God bless you”

I have never handed out Christian tracts to strangers. Except for today. This morning, I was handed a stack of tiny booklets which explained the gospel in espanol and french creole. Then, the local missionaries taught me one sentence, “Dios te bendiga.” Apparently, that was all I needed to know in order to be prepared for short term missions work.

I was far from prepared. I don’t think anything could have prepared me. I’ve seen films, heard stories, read books, and looked at pictures. But as I waded through an open air market in the slums of a third world city – I realized that nothing could prepare me for the poverty, sickness, or chaos that I was encountering.

I stared deep into the eyes of men, women, children and even stray dogs. They all returned with stares of excitement and curiosity because I was “Americano.” However, I could still see the despair and pain that they held within. Unfortunately, the only thing I could offer them today was a christian booklet and a simple statement, “God bless you.”

…I hope he does.

-Bill Rose

Youth Pastor Mission Adventure

2011-09-29T16:19:00.008-04:00

Hope Chapel's youth pastor, Bill Rose, his wife Whitney, and our friend Charles, are heading off to the beautiful country of the Dominican Republic (D.R.) on a mission trip with Foursquare Missions International (FMI)! This is the first mission trip for Bill - and his first time going outside the USA!

This will be a survey trip to discover how to better help the Haitian population in the D.R.
The Haitian community in the D.R. has been growing because of the affects of the recent earthquake. Haitian refugees enter the country looking for a new life but because they are the minority they experience a lot of discrimination.

We will be visiting some churches in the D.R. and assisting in a mission which helps the Haitian community by meeting practical needs and providing spiritual support to Haitian pastors and their churches.

Please keep us in prayer as we scout out the land for the work of missions! We return in 1 short week, on Thursday, October 6th.

Disaster Relief - Alabama

2011-05-24T09:31:00.005-04:00

The cross above this wall was not built by the survivors. It was part of the rafters that fell against the wall and kept the roof from falling on them. They had to push it into that position to get out.

Hope Chapel and Foursquare USA has sent one of our own, Joe Ellen, as a Foursquare Crisis Chaplain. Joe has been busy in Alabama ministering to folks who survived the tornado. We'll be posting some of his thoughts and photos while he's working in the fields.

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Today was my first chance to get out and talk to people. Unbelievable people, unbelievable stories. Talked to a man about some grandparents holding their 4 grandkids to protect them from the roof falling on them. By the time they were found both grandparents were dead but all 4 children were unharmed. They had to pry the grandmothers arms off 2 of the kids.

Best of all is Shotgun Annie. She lived in an old house across the road from an upscale subdivision. No one would have anything to do with her. After the storm and all the survivers left, Annie put a chair in front of her property and guarded the entire neighborhood. Even up to having 2 looters arrested. She salvaged all the neighbors homes and put the things in separate plastic tubs for them. Now she is a hero and brought the entire neighborhood together.

- Joe

Seeing God's Plan at Last!

2011-03-30T15:38:00.009-04:00

The greatest part of a mission trip is the moment you feel like you totally see God's plan for the trip. While you're planning the trip and setting your goals, you pray and seek God's will for the trip, but you realize that once you arrive flexibility is key. Things never go as planned. God only requires our willingness to go, and our willingness to go with the flow. If we are flexible, then He can use us to accomplish any purpose in any place.

Our recent trip to El Salvador was just like that. Last year on this trip we experienced such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in so many places, and saw so many people truly turn to God and give their lives to Christ. This year, however, was a little different.

Other than one day at the girl's prison, most of our ministry time was spent with young children in elementary schools and orphanages. We had a lot of fun with each class teaching about the importance of good nutrition, exercise, brushing teeth, washing hands, and especially, washing hearts. With each class, Charles would get the students laughing by pretending sweets were part of the vegetable or fruit group, and surreptitiously sneak something off of a student's desk. Then he would pretend to have a question at the end of the hand washing segment, and would ask how one could clean one's heart. He would explain how his own heart gets dirty when he hits his friends (pantomiming hitting one of us), tells a fib ("I'm President Obama!"), or steals things (holding up the item he swiped from a student). Then he would ask if swallowing soap could clean his heart. The kids loved it and in most places the kids would answer that "Dios!" (God!) could wash his heart. We prayed with each group to receive Christ, but sometimes wondered if these kids really needed us.

We learned that often within the culture there, people are taught about God, but not that they need a personal relationship with Him. But we were reminded us of Isaiah 55:11, “The words I speak…will not return to me without producing results. They will accomplish what I want them to. They will do exactly what I sent them to do.” What words did we speak to these children, from God, that will come back to them as they grow up and have to make difficult decisions about their lives? When confronted with a choice, will they choose the right way, God’s way, because we came and told them how God wants to clean their heart? I pray that they will, because God says that His word produces results.

As important as our ministry was, we really felt after a couple of days that God had placed us there at that time to support His missionaries. Our missionary hostess, is fostering a 2 year old girl, whose parentage is unclear, and there is reason to believe she may be Guatemalan.There is concern that the government might try to send her to an orphanage in Guatemala or back to the mother who tried to sell her on the black market.

We also spent some time counseling another young missionary there having some difficulties with her local church who will soon be starting an orphanage. Finally, we were able to meet with the national Foursquare missionary and were blessed to break bread with him and leave a small blessing as well.

Everyone needs to be ministered to at times, and we felt God truly took us to El Salvador not only to minister to the orphans, prisoners, and children, but to strengthen His workers there in the field. That was made possible by our wonderful supporters and prayer-partners. Thanks to them and to the Lord! It is always a fantastic experience to see God at work!

Deuces, El Salvador

2011-03-19T01:52:00.011-04:00

Today marked the last day of our work in El Salvador. As Heather mentioned yesterday, that’s only if you can consider it work. This morning we visited yet another school and it was a beautiful one, larger than usual. We continued our hygiene and nutrition classes to some very fun and interested groups, who laughed with us (not at us, I’m sure). We also met Pastor Pablo Pena, who is our local Foursquare Missionary here. He is involved in sponsoring scholarships for two of the kids in the school we visited. He showed us the first church he planted in El Salvador, which was beautiful, and we had lunch with him and his wife, Alma. We had a great conversation about his work and how he became a missionary – at which point he told (a skeptical) me that asking about mission work is the first step to doing.

Later this evening we visited another incredible orphanage run by a man from Oregon and his El Salvadorian wife. We brought popcorn and soda for the kids and watched Wall-E in Spanish, which we all enjoyed. We are struck by how well-loved the children are that we’ve seen so far. Hugs and kisses for greeting and parting are rampant. Though the practice is somewhat cultural, it’s clear that the kids aren’t doing it out of obligation. They are doing it out of a love they need to feel and also an overflow of love they are getting from those who pour into their lives. It really goes to show that a genuine investment in the lives of these kids can pay off, whether they have “real families” or not.

We spent time as a group this evening talking about what events from the week struck us. Universally, we were impressed with the love and acceptance that we’ve felt from everyone we’ve met. I must say that El Salvador surpasses even the South in hospitality. The people we’ve met and the stories we’ve heard are sometimes beautiful, sometimes awful, sometimes inconceivable, but always clearly reflecting God’s grace and love for all of us, regardless of nationality or language.

1 John 2:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
I personally came on this trip as an act of obedience to God’s calling to go and tell His people about Him, and not out of any particular calling to El Salvador or to working with children. However, I cannot even express the number of blessings I’ve received by being here. The only negatives were my lack of Spanish skills that hampered communication and the fact that we didn’t spend enough time with everyone we met. I could stay with each group for days just building relationships. I have had mission trips before where I say that I’ll go back, or that I’ll keep in touch with the people I’ve met and I never do. However, I really feel (and hope) that this time will be legitimate. I have never been so struck by the people, and just the joy that I get out of being with them. I pray that doesn’t leave when I do.

Thanks for everything to Lorraine and all the people in El Salvador from Anti-Doodles and the Bad Bootys.

-Miriam

How can this be work?

2011-03-18T01:15:00.014-04:00

Luke 18: 16-17
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Today we visited a children’s orphanage that houses 17 kids. We came with crafts and a Bible story ready to share God’s love, but we left as the ones being blessed. Juanita was the head of the orphanage and she gave us a tour with great pride and love in her heart. She provided the names of every child and showed us which bed that they slept in. From the start, it was easy to tell that these children were well loved. The children had fun with the crafts which included making bouncing balls, spin art and rainbows to go along with the story of Noah. We then spent some time playing games in the yard and were introduced to a common EL Salvadorian game called ‘the cat and the mouse’. The house was filled with much laughter.

My favorite moment was when Becky and I were with 4 of the younger children making bouncy balls. After submerging the molds in water, they have to set for 3 minutes. But as anyone with kids knows, 3 minutes can seem like an eternity while waiting in anticipation. To help them pass the time, I suggested that they sing us a song. I admit I was waiting for the shy responses and refusals as I would have received from my own children. But instead, they enthusiastically rewarded us with not one but three songs. Thankfully, Luis was there to interpret for us. The first song was about Jesus and how much he loves us. The second was about how we should follow Jesus and obey him so that we can live with him forever in Heaven and the third song was about the Holy Spirit. Can I get an Amen?

The ages of the children living in the home ranged from 5 to 17 and since they are older children (not babies), they have no real hope of adoption. At the age of 18, they have to leave the house and go out on their own. I hope that you will pray along with us that the love and compassion shown to them in this home will follow them throughout their lives.

Heather

A Hard Day....

2011-03-17T00:40:00.010-04:00

O LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow. – Psalm 144:3-4

Today we visited a girl’s prison. Not a women’s prison, but a prison where girls – ages 12-18 – are sentenced for their crimes. We met with a few girls who have just recently found themselves in prison. I asked one of them if she had a boyfriend. She answered, “No, I killed him.” Yet she seemed to be a sweet and giggly 17-year old girl, talking about her hopes to be a doctor, chatting about her friends, and making jokes. We presented a skit about the fleeting nature of Life and how death will meet us all. We hope to give them a hard look at where their lives are going if they don’t make good decisions now. It was a hard day for us.

In several ways, this was a difficult day for our team as we interacted with young girls who had committed horrible crimes. We presented some hygiene information as well as our skit, then just spent time talking to them – they rarely get visitors here. Becky on our team shared this - “After lunch, I was talking with 3 or 4 of the girls when the conversation turned to their futures and what they wanted to do with their lives. They talked a lot about wanting to leave the prison because they didn’t like being there. They said they were bored and didn’t like the restrictions. I told them that today is the first day on the way to their futures and their choices today will determine how long they stay, which will determine how soon they can start making their dreams come true.

Mostly I would share a thought and my translator, Luis, would take my point and elaborate it in a way the kids could relate to. [He is only 22 but is very mature, smart and has a really caring heart.] I think it made a difference coming from someone with whom they could better relate. I let them know that God has a plan specific for their life but they have to make that conscious choice to follow Him and live to please Him, not themselves. They may not want to at times but earthly pleasures last only a short while, while the joy that God gives lasts forever. Especially, I let them know that they matter and are very important to God and that this was why we came to see them. It was then that I just felt overwhelmed with emotion. I know that I was touched and I could see on their faces that they were too.”

Becky is right. This is why we have traveled 1653 miles and taken a week away from our families, our work, and the comforts of home to come to a foreign country and spend time with people who don’t speak the same language or eat the same food. God cares for them. We have the message of hope. We should...no, we must share it with those who are dying to hear it.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ – Matt. 25:34-36.

Charles B.

Not an empty word

2011-03-16T01:05:00.008-04:00

Today was a lot like yesterday, only in a different location. Today we taught our classes to children in a school near the beach, and I led the exercise portion of our lesson. At lunch, as we talked with a woman washing her family’s clothes in the river, I was reminded once again of how fortunate I am that God placed me where He did. I am a United States citizen with all of the freedom and privileges that endows. I have an excellent education, opportunity to pursue any career I choose, safety in my home and town, “luxuries” like a washer/dryer and air conditioner, and basic necessities like food, clean running water, and septic systems.

So many of those rights and privileges we take for granted, but that is not where our happiness resides. If it were, we would not have been graced with the joy we saw on people’s faces today. Students and teachers at this school are not blessed often with visitors of any kind, and were especially grateful for our presence. They just glowed as they welcomed us. As Paul said, he had found the secret to being satisfied with what he had, whether it was much or little. Am I as at peace with my life as that woman doing laundry in the river? Are you?

On the ride home tonight, God pointed out in Isaiah 55:11, “The words I speak…will not return to me without producing results. They will accomplish what I want them to. They will do exactly what I sent them to do.” What words have we spoken to these children today and yesterday for God that will come back to them as they grow up and have to make more difficult decisions about their lives? When confronted with a choice, will they choose the right way, God’s way, because we came and told them how God wants to clean their heart? I pray that they will, because God says that His word produces results.

Stacey B

2011-03-14T22:42:00.011-04:00

We had an early start to our day today, driving back to the same community where we attended church yesterday, to visit a local school. We taught health & hygiene to 6 classes of kindergarten through 5th grade children. Miriam talked about nutrition and the importance of hand washing. Heather talked about the importance of brushing your teeth. Charles talked about the importance of having a pure and clean heart and how Jesus can clean our hearts by washing away all the bad things we do that make our hearts dirty. We explained that He cleans our hearts with the blood that He shed on the cross and then we lead the children in a prayer.

Lastly Becky talked about the importance of exercise by taking the children out into the courtyard to do some stretches, jumping jacks and to kick a soccer ball back & forth. We ended the class by giving the children a coloring sheet about washing their hands, new toothbrushes, oranges and a pamphlet about trusting God.

The children were so cute, enthusiastic, mostly attentive and very smart. We are reminded that no matter what country or culture we are in, children are very much alike; full of energy, joy, curiosity and innocence. We thoroughly enjoyed interacting with them.

When we returned home, a situation arose regarding our host, Lorraine and her family. Please pray for her. God knows the situation, and we are trusting Him for resolution.

Becky P

Looks Like We Made It!

2011-03-13T23:40:00.013-04:00

WE MADE IT!! After weeks and weeks of anticipation our Hope Chapel mission team finally made it to El Salvador! I think we were all a little nervous of what to expect based on things we heard about, and what exactly being a “missionary” there meant. Praise God, our trip down was uneventful. We had a “little” wait to get Visas to get into the country but our hostess spoiled us rotten by greeting us with pizza and ice cold water!

We enjoyed the ride in through El Salvador and just taking in this new world. I’m always amazed as I travel outside of the US by the livestock just lumbering along the side of the road and the people that are always hanging out everywhere. We got a nice view of the active volcano as we drove towards our host home. Our hostess, Lorraine, from Hannah’s Hands is fantastic! Our living conditions are quite comfy although I do miss air conditioning! Joyce Meyer once said that we are addicted to comfort in the US, and I would have to agree with her. We are thankful to have our Coke Zero and chocolate though! It’s the little things in life, isn’t it?

Today we went to a small church plant in a very poor town outside of San Salvador and we were truly blessed by the music, the service, and an amazing drama put on by their youth. The church congregation is mostly youth that bring their parents and grandparents with them which is so incredible to witness. Our team had the opportunity to pray for all the youth in the congregation. It was AWESOME, and the kids, who at first were apprehensive, all came together to receive their prayers. God sent a word through our Mission leader Charles to make sure that the children knew that no matter how rich or poor, old or young they were, that God knows them , loves them, and will use them to help expand his kingdom if they will let them.

After church, we were invited to lunch at a lovely missionary’s house, Beth from Pennsylvania. I thought we had gone back to North Carolina! We grilled out hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and even had Deviled Eggs! Beth is AMAZING. The house she lives in is currently in the process of being converted to an orphanage. They are planning to open next month and will hopefully house 7 children between the ages of 3 and 8. She has also been a HUGE factor in planting the church along with too many other wonderful things to have time to mention. Both she and Lorraine inspire me to do more missions work and find different ways locally to help out the many, many needs that surround us.

As with every Hispanic country I have visited, the people are absolutely wonderful. They are loving, affectionate, and very giving. They greet you with open arms, and when they say they are happy to meet you, they truly mean it. That being said, it is a very poor country and many of the places we are visiting are the poorest of the poor, BUT they still smile, they still love, and they are still happy. How can it be that in a church that becomes an empty room after church so thieves won’t steal everything out of it, can still be used to bring people to Christ and show God’s love? I believe it is because people don’t need a fancy church to be close to Christ, we just need the heart to do so.

-Jolie M

Flexibility is Key!

2011-03-01T09:41:00.005-05:00

When we are gearing up folks for the first (or second or third) time missions, one of our mantras is "Flexibility is Key!" Read the following to understand it has always been this way!

http://bit.ly/eD3LBH

Why do we 'Do' missions anyway?

2010-10-06T11:04:00.001-04:00

Lessons Learned Along the Way: Worship as Missions: "“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, be..."

The Home Stretch!

2010-10-05T16:11:00.012-04:00

We drove out to Area 5, a relocated village on the outskirts of Tete City. The small church that meets here is on fire for God though it gathers for worship in a cardboard box… literally. The pastors are very young and they are eager for this new season of the village to be a new season in the growth of the church as well!

Our first outreach was in the afternoon attended by many children and mothers. After the dancing and praise, Bill spoke a testimony calling the people to come to know Jesus. Many came forward and gave their lives to God and the church probably tripled in number just from that one service. One woman showed up to give a testimony with her baby. Last time the Wheresoever team was here, they prayed for this baby who had been diagnosed HIV+. The mother came and testified that the baby is now testing negative for HIV! God is indeed good!

Just before the 2nd outreach began, a dust-storm blew in to the village with high winds and swirling clouds that made the sunset through the baobab trees turn hazy. The crowd that had gathered dwindled to about half of the previous outreach that day. Charles shared a parable about seeking the One True God Who Loves and several ladies came forward to receive Jesus afterwards. Once the ministry time was finished, folks scattered due to the increasing dust flying around the ground.

We slept well, having found a guesthouse with air conditioning. We hadn’t had any A/C available in any of the cars or any of the accommodations, but we enjoyed the comfort and luxury of a good night’s sleep. The white noise of the A/C also had the added benefit of covering the noisy highway sounds through the night.

We spent Tuesday morning getting supplies in downtown Tete. After picking up a soldering iron and a thermos, we joined the rest of the team on the road to Mamese village #2. We stopped briefly to pick up our luggage and began the 2 hour journey towards Mamese village. We had to stop for fuel on the way, so we took advantage of a local gas “station.” Unfortunately, there were no clean restrooms nor cold drinks available.

We got to Mamese village but didn’t find the other part of our team there. After checking throughout the village, we determined that due to the risk of the car failing on the way back to the base at Vila Ulongue, we would head on and leave the team to do the outreach Wheresoever they might be!

The drive back was through beautiful African savannah. We were blessed by a beautiful sunset over the mountains. The setting sun seemed to be our closing sign that we have come to the end of our Mozambiquan adventure. We have had obstacles and setbacks, but we realize that God is moving in Mozambique and His enemy doesn’t like it. But no matter what the devil has to say about it, Jesus is Lord over Mozambique!

1 Step forward, 4 steps back?

2010-10-04T08:41:00.010-04:00

The tribal drums sounded through the night while noises of animal screams and growls punctuated the rhythmic tempo. The traditional animal dancers – worshippers of animal spirits – were holding a celebration or ritual dance. Scenes from Tarzan played through our minds as we tried to sleep.

We had just finished 3 days of pastoral training and seminars. Several churches in the border area of Saqama and Zobue had invited Wheresoever to come in and put on these seminars, since few of the pastors have theological or other spiritual training. As part of our mission, Bill spoke about faith, Steve K. spoke about the spirit of anger, Steve E. on business, and Charles on resisting fear as well as the essentials of the Christian faith. Kenneth and Enesia Lewisi - a husband and wife team that helps lead Wheresoever in Africa - had added their topics as well on the power of prayer, and the Holy Spirit.

We were amazed to find that the pastors and leaders were so hungry for the training that they would forego lunch each day since no one wanted to leave the training to prepare the meal. We ended the seminars earlier than usual so they could find food for the evening. Most of the visiting pastors slept overnight in the beautiful church high on the hill. We saw the Holy Spirit touch and fill them with a new zeal for their churches and power for the work in their area.

Though the seminar went very well, not all our ministry was so successful. We had planned 3 outreach crusades in the area, but were beset by strange hindrances. We had arranged an outreach on Friday by the mountain church but that was on school property and the authorities denied us permission to setup there until after dark – too late for us as we had an evening crusade planned elsewhere.

Our next crusade, the same day, was scheduled for the evening (around 7 p.m.) but, after we had shown up and setup, it had to be cancelled due to a child’s funeral taking place next door. The following Saturday evening, the amplifier blew during the last day of seminars and we had no means of broadcasting voices or music to large crowds without one.

Sunday morning, all of us split up and brought messages and greetings to various churches nearby. We found most of them to be quite small and with little but 4 walls and roof to show that there was a church meeting there. One church that Bill Moore spoke to had almost 20 people, but only 1 Bible – and that belonged to the Pastor. There is so much work to do here, and so few resources or people to help. God, send out harvesters!

Sunday afternoon, we hit the road to Tete City, the capital of the Tete province. Since the team is so large (18 of us total) we have to use 2 vehicles to transport the equipment as well as the people. About ½ way to our destination, the smaller vehicle containing 8 of us overheated and steam began rising from the engine. A water-coolant line had busted and we could not drive it again without finding parts and repairing it. It was arranged that the larger vehicle would tow the small one, but that left 8 of us wondering how we’d get to the city.

Along came the local transportation – a mini-bus meant to hold about 15 people. There were plenty of seats for us, so we piled in and began our journey. Even Danny & Lindy had not taken cross-country local transport before this, so it was a new experience. As we drove into the lower plains, the heat began to be noticeably more humid and hotter. We’d stop every few miles and pick up more passengers. By the time we were close to our destination, 28 men, women, and children were packed into the 15 passenger vehicle!

We are thankful that we made it safely. Once again, however, due to the late hour of our arrival and the separation of the team, no outreach could be carried out – 4 significant outreaches cancelled in just 3 days! We prayed together as a team and plan on forging ahead without allowing a victory for God’s enemy!

Our time on Monday has been spent looking for car parts and another amplifier. Our plans are to do 2 outreaches today and one tomorrow afternoon. Following Tuesday’s outreach, we’ll drive back the few hours to Vila Ulongue, the base for Wheresoever in Mozambique.

We hope to finish strong, so pray for us as we impact this area for Jesus, bringing hope and healing for the lost. The needs are evident around us, but the equipment is hard-pressed and it wears out quickly in this harsh climate. We are still praying for another vehicle that will be reliable and we are confident that God has a plan. Thank you all for your prayers – they are VITAL to this work.

Taking Jesus to the uttermost ends of the Earth

2010-09-29T04:09:00.015-04:00

As we load up the Cruiser with the supplies and equipment, we work hard to get all of the team into the single vehicle that will carry us into the distant village. This is both one of the most difficult yet enjoyable parts of our work here. The discomfort of sitting on broken benches and holding equipment and bags on our laps is overshadowed by the enjoyment of singing, fellowship, and friendly chatter among the group. We are praying hard for God to provide another vehicle for Wheresoever Ministries, as having a single truck is really hampering the plans laid down for outreach. Meanwhile, we pack ourselves in like sardines and hit the road - or cowpath - with joy.

The night ministry is quite interesting. The people here love music and dancing so the local team hooks up loud-speakers and lights and begin exuberant worship and dancing. This always draws a large crowd - averaging about 300 the last couple of nights. They introduce the crowd to the concept that worshipping God is enjoyable and not drudgery. Often the entire crowd is clapping and dancing along with the team.

Once they've gathered around and enjoyed worship - which in actual fact is spiritual warfare for the beginning of the preaching - there is usually a testimony that comes on, followed by a message of God's love for the people. At the end, to keep their interest and drive home the point, there is usually a skit. Last night, we watched a rather creative interpretation of the Prodigal son story, which had the crowd laughing and clapping enthusiastically.

At the end, many men, women, and children came forward to give their lives for Jesus. And, of course, that is why we are here. That is how we can bear with the transport problems, the change of food and hygiene habits, the lack of our own western comforts - these are but temporary sacrifices for an eternal gain.

Pray for us to be safe in the vehicles, to maintain good health, and to hear from the Holy Spirit as we move around Mozambique in the next several days. Your prayer support and intercession is vital to the work that we do here. We are merely the spear-point. You are the shaft of the spear as God thrusts it into the nation of Mozambique.

Orphans and Preaching in the Bush

2010-09-28T03:59:00.012-04:00

We drove precariously through the narrow cow-lane up into the hills towards the village clearing. The battered old Land Cruiser wheezed and groaned as it picked over the rocks and through the deep ruts and holes in the dry red dirt. The vehicle was packed to over-flowing with people and equipment for the outdoor evangelism service we would start when we arrive in the remote village.

We had just ministered to several orphans at a local church off the highway. We were so blessed to be able to deliver new t-shirts, soap, and notebooks to the children. They all live with a foster-family, but they are often overlooked when provisions are made within the families. The children listened closely when they heard the story about Cain and Abel and how God can give us strength to resist temptation to do wrong things. Danny and Lindy Bravo elicited roars of laughter when describing how the Azungu (white folks) had such a hard time flying all the way from America to see them in the little thatched-roof brick church. Several bright faces responded to the invitation to follow Jesus with their lives and hearts.

Now we were crowded with 17 of us in the rusty and dilapidated Land Cruiser, carefully trying to find a way up to the village high up in the hills. We had learned that the “traditional animal dancers” – those who worshipped animal spirits and strived to emulate animals themselves - were due to hold a ritual dance that night – in the same spot we had chosen to preach and teach! We prayed fervently that God would give us favor and that those who would be normally worshipping created beings would instead hear about the one true God who loved them more than any animal.

We set up the spot under two large trees. Unloading and starting the generator, we soon powered up a small soundboard, speakers, a keyboard, bright lights and microphones. Night had fallen and music and invitations over the loudspeakers drew locals out from the bush from the dark of the evening. Many had never been to church and didn’t know the traditional responses to shouts of Alleluia and praises to God that came from the local team as they began singing and dancing in worship to Jesus.

After much joyful worship and dancing, Charles shared a story of God’s love proven through creation and the sending of His own son to die for the lost and His resurrection to eternal life for all. Steve Konzman shared from his own testimony about how he found God in the midst of trouble. A drama emphasized the hold that sin has over us until we turn our lives over to Jesus. Finally, the invitation was given to those who would receive and many hands were raised as they prayed to ask Jesus to save them.

God is at work in these people – they are seeking and searching for deliverance from their spiritual bondage. Wheresoever Ministries is hard at work, bringing the Good News to those who have never heard. They are in need another vehicle, as our trip here has amply demonstrated.

Pray for God's provision for this. Also, please continue to pray that our team would be effective in bringing God’s message of love and salvation to the people of Mozambique.

Mozambique at Last!

2010-09-27T04:13:00.007-04:00

Steve Estes and Charles met with Steve Konzman and Bill Moore at Johannesburg Airport Friday morning, Sept. 24th, while Ron Elmore caught his flight back to the US. The new team flew on together to Lilongwe, Malawi. Upon arrival Friday afternoon, we gathered together all of our checked luggage (supplies for Wheresoever Ministries) and went through customs with no problem, by God’s protection.

We were then whisked away to the home of nearby friends that host missionaries in Malawi. We found immediate trouble in logistics as the main vehicle we were to use had to have the manual gear housing replaced. Easy enough, except that finding a replacement part proved to be difficult and, as of this writing, unaccomplished. Remembering our lessons in flexibility, on Saturday morning we switched to a different vehicle, piling on the supplies and piling in the missionaries.

We spent a wonderful time driving to the border of Mozambique. The border crossing was interesting, as we had to exit at one border and walk across a “no-man’s land” to the next border. We re-loaded ourselves into the vehicle and began driving when suddenly our customs paperwork went flying out of the driver’s window. It was now about 7:30 p.m. and fully dark – this was the darkness of an African wilderness, not of a city or town street. With our small flashlights, we searched the side of the highway under the blanket of stars sweeping overhead. God lead us to finding the documents in the brush, we sped away and finally arrived at the team base.

After a good night’s sleep, we woke to roosters crowing, dogs barking, and children laughing outside the windows. We headed off to the church service, where several of the local Foursquare Churches had gathered for a bi-monthly fellowship. We had a wonderful time entering into worship with our brothers and sisters, dancing and singing into the morning. Charles and Bill gave a greeting to the congregation. Afterwards, the local leaders brought a short message and we entered into a time of prayer for healing and deliverance, in which each of the team was directly involved.

After a very late lunch, we walked over to the local prison – a squalid and unadorned cement block building with about 100 men crowded into a place designed for 40. We worshipped together with the men and then Steve Estes and Steve Konzman brought a message of hope for the men inside. Several declared their desire to follow Christ as they felt the tug of the Holy Spirit leading them.

The end of the evening was a time of relaxing and enjoying dinner with the local African team with whom we will be spending our days. We’ll drive out Monday to meet the orphans that Wheresoever has been providing for and afterwards to an evening crusade. This will be Tuesday's plan as well.

Our hope and prayer is that God will make Himself known to those He brings us into contact with and that we’ll be obedient to follow His direction. Please continue to pray for us as we travel around the province and proclaim His name in this nation.

Swaziland, farewell

2010-09-22T15:19:00.007-04:00

Our final day in Swaziland has been a joy. We headed out towards Nsoko, where Adventures in Missions (AIM) has their Anchor Center. On the way, we stopped at Matata and bought some supplies. We arrived at the Carepoint and met with Eric and Matt, American missionaries stationed here. They helped us as we carried the supplies and four mattresses to the tiny shack where the four boys that Ron and Ann Marie Elmore sponsor live.

What a wonderful experience to see the boys as their eyes lighted up upon seeing 4 mattresses. They were quite excited to realize that they'd be sleeping on real mattresses for the first time. They knew we'd be coming today and had taken care to clean and sweep up the little 10x10 hut. In addition to the mattresses, Ron delivered some extra special treats like fruit and eggs that they don't often get to eat.

We leave Swaziland with confidence that we will keep the command of God to "look after widows and orphans." Hope Chapel does this now in our own community, but we are looking forward to seeing how God will lead us to serve the "least of these" halfway around the world.

Tomorrow, we head out to Johannesburg, South Africa. We'll stay overnight with some friends there and then Ron Elmore will fly back to Raleigh while Steve Estes and Charles meet up with Bill Moore and Steve Konzman at the airport. From there we'll fly together to Malawi to join up with Danny & Lindy Bravo of Wheresoever Ministries. We'll be spending about 2 weeks working with them in Mozambique.

Please pray for our team as we begin work in Mozambique. We want to see the Lord glorified and His name spread among the people there. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and support.

Carepoints and more Carepoints!

2010-09-21T14:59:00.005-04:00

It seems we are finally rested enough to get through our jet-lag. The time difference is only 6 hours, but after flying for about 19 hours, that adds up. We were rested this morning when we left for Mpaka, a town east of Manzini. The carepoint there has a kitchen area, storage, latrine, water, church facility and a playground. The children there, however, are not sponsored for food or schooling. We found this little girl there with her mother.

We visited a few other carepoints as well, heading up into the mountains with Dennis to look at a brand-new carepoint – Ngungwane – which had just been built about 2 months ago. The view from the top of the mountains was beautiful, though the drive on the rocky dirt paths led to a few exciting moments wondering whether we should have rented a 4-wheel drive instead of a sedan.

Progress on some of the sponsored carepoints has been, according to Ron and Steve, remarkable. Some of the 5 places we visited had newly built fences and kitchens, and other signs of progress. The children still are fed, but the extra facilities make it easier for the Gogos to care for them during rainy season.

We ended the day with a visit to Mpholi, where Pastor Bill had made a sweet friend last January. The good news is it seems there is a newly built kitchen ready for use there as well! If His people will listen, God will get the job done of taking care of these little ones – we must only be faithful to His command to do our part.

Tomorrow, we’ll be heading back to Nsoko one last time and encouraging the missionaries there, as well as playing with the children. Swaziland is a hard country, but God is at work here. We want to bring hope to those who have none - our partnership with Adventures in Missions and Children’s HopeChest will enable those who have no bread to eat and be satisfied while they also hear about He who is the Bread of Life.

Swaziland - AIM & Nsoko

2010-09-20T15:33:00.005-04:00

Our first full day in Swaziland. This photo is Dennis & Zwakele Brock, AIM missionaries. Dennis is from NY state and has been in Swaziland for 4 years. He met Zwakele in a local church and they married a couple of years ago. They are expecting their first child in late March. Hope Chapel is hoping to support them and their work here in Swaziland on an ongoing basis, if possible.

After 24 hours of travel, we finally arrived and spent Sunday night in the Tum’s George Hotel in Manzini, Swaziland. After breakfast, I, Ron, thought I had lost my wallet, but discovered it well-hidden in my room, much to the relief of the team – and an answer to prayer. Dennis and his wife gathered us together and on we went to Nsoko Swaziland, about an hour from where we are staying in Manzini. We stopped for lunch at a Game Preserve and met up with Jumbo, AIM’s director for Swaziland. We then went on to Nsoko and the anchor center for the carepoints in that region. We met the Peterson family who had just arrived for a 3-month stint working with the orphans at the Nsoko carepoints. Their story is inspirational – ask me about it sometime.

Finally it was time for my visit with the 4 boys Ann Marie and I sponsor. The boys live on the homestead of an elderly Gogo (grandmother). In this photo is the Gogo, and from the left, Mandla (11), Sibusiso (9), Cel-musa (5), Sanelo (10). This was my third visit to see the boys at their home and they were very excited to receive some t-shirts and a football. We spent a good time throwing the ball around and playing. After much too short a time, we left to go and look around a potential carepoint – Mbuthu. It is a bare-bones area, lacking in all basic necessities, but being a place of feeding for about 30 children.

We headed back to Manzini, ready to continue tomorrow with what God is bringing us. Tuesday we will be visiting an established carepoint – Tambini – where we hope to get a full picture of what our carepoint could be. Next we go Mpaka, which is unique in that it is a completed and built-out carepoint, but no children have been sponsored as of yet. Before the end of the day, we’ll head over to Mpholi to visit the children there – along with Pastor Bill’s sponsored child, Simongele.

Please keep us in your prayers as we finalize the carepoint selection. We have seen God at work already, and are confident that He is leading us as we go.

Flexibility is Key!!

2010-09-19T11:25:00.003-04:00

When going on a mission of any kind, the first rule is: Flexibility is key! Don't expect your expectations to come about as planned, but be pleasantly suprised when they do. When they don't, look around and see what God is doing...He may have a plan that you were unaware of.

We started our trip to Africa leaving RDU at a reasonable hour, everything packed, no problems with checked luggage. We arrived at Dulles and had a nice lunch waiting until our check-in time. Well, we arrived at our gate with a few hours to spare and discovered that, not only was our flight not on time, it had been cancelled until the next morning. That put our schedule behind by a day! If we hadn't been flexible, we would have lost it big-time.

The airline put us up at a hotel and we invited a few other stranded travellers to join us for dinner. Well, we ate with a couple of muslims from another African country and a young South African teenager returning home after working a summer camp. We had a wonderful time getting to know our new friends and a few questions were asked and answered. At the end of it all, we were invited to continue our discussions as we could. Could this have been a God moment, even before we left the USA?

My thoughts are this: Why do we believe that we must leave our own shores to be a witness to the world? The world comes to the USA everyday! International students, foreign tourists, legal and even illegal immigrants - they come to the USA and we are already here. Think about it.

Finally, we arrived a day late to Swaziland and we'll be heading out tomorrow to look over the Carepoints where we hope to begin sponsoring children. Keep us in prayer and let us give thanks for God's plans - even when we don't fully get them.

God is indeed good....all the time.

Your Hope Chapel Missions Team

Lessons Learned Along the Way: The Mission Trip Phenomenon

2010-09-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

Lessons Learned Along the Way: The Mission Trip Phenomenon: "I have a love-hate relationship with mission trips – at least the ones that my husband takes 2 or 3 times a year. I love that he is fulfilli..."

2010-09-13T14:39:00.001-04:00

Swaziland - Nation in Need - From Lonely Planet: "Currently, Swaziland’s greatest challenge comes from the HIV/AIDS pandemic; the country has the world’s highest HIV infection rate (almost 39% for adults between 15 and 49 years of age), and life expectancy has fallen as a result from 58 to 33 years. It’s estimated that there are currently more than 70,000 AIDS orphans in the country, and by 2010 [that is NOW] one out of six people will be a child under 15 who has lost both parents."

Steve Estes, Ron Elmore and Charles are heading to Swaziland Africa on Saturday, September 17th. We go to secure a place - a Carepoint - for Hope Chapel to begin sponsorship of a small fraction of these 70,000 AIDS orphans. Please pray for us that God will give us favor and that the details of our commitment to the Carepoint will be worked out clearly.

Psalm 82:3-4 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Remembering our Place

2010-08-20T10:56:00.001-04:00

As we go along in life, sometimes we need to be put in our place. We've traveled many places and served all over, and observed the state of the world and still, we forget how blessed we are. I think this blog posting says it best, so I'll let the blogger speak.

But as those who are called to take the Good News all over, sometimes we need to remember to be thankful for where God has put us. We also need to think about how we use our own resources - is it mostly for our own comfort? Do we give to help other in a way that is meaningful...or is it just our leftovers? While I'm not bashing the lifestyle of most of us, I'm asking that we think - and pray - about how we can share what we have somehow.

We are blessed to be a blessing!

Trusting God to Grow Seed

2010-03-15T21:57:00.019-04:00

Well, we’re back—much to my dismay, I must admit. After spending many months preparing for this trip, it seems strange that it’s already over. But the work the Lord has been doing in El Salvador is far from over! His name be praised forevermore! As I returned to classes today, I had several people ask me what I did in El Salvador and every time I told them the trip wasn’t at all about what the team did, it was about what GOD did and is still doing!

One of the things that stuck with me the most from the trip was our outreach in the girls’ prison on Thursday. That was a rough day for me. The girls are split into two groups—the girls who are waiting to hear their sentences and live upstairs in the prison, and the girls who are serving their sentences and live downstairs. It was a blessing to sing with the girls upstairs as they unashamedly praised the Lord! When asked if any of them wanted to rededicate their lives to Christ, almost all of the girls came up and prayed with us. How awesome to see those girls desire Christ-filled lives! (Note: We were not allowed to take pictures in the prison. The photo above is from the park outreach day.)

The girls downstairs, however, were tough. They live in a world that is cruel and unfair and their hearts are hardened as a result. I admitted later that I didn’t want to look in their eyes because what I saw there scared me. Just one glance will tell you everything you need to know about their lives—they are young but the world has been mean to them and they are determined to make it on their own. They have no need for this Jesus we spoke of.

To see such disregard for the Word of God first startled me, then frightened me and eventually even angered me. Couldn’t these girls see we were trying to provide them with hope and a way to eternal life? How could they simply turn and walk away from it? As usual, the Lord turned my eyes back on myself and I realized that I have often done the same thing. He reminded me that He still loves them even if they show no interest in Him, and that my job is not to be angry with them but to pray for them.

The Lord is moving in that place. The Lord is moving all over El Salvador and the work He is doing is nothing short of incredible! Please continue to pray for the county of El Salvador, Lorraine and the work she is doing there, and the people we met this past week. Seeds were planted and His name was glorified—we can ask for nothing more.

Thank you again for all your prayers! There may have only been five of us who went to El Salvador but it was your prayers that got us there, kept us safe, and made a way for the Lord to work through us! Only when we arrive in Heaven will you know the full impact of your prayers!

Laura

For God's Glory

2010-03-10T21:40:00.013-05:00

What a great day! We went to an orphanage again today. At the orphanage we worked with the children with special needs and the babies that we spent time with Monday. When we arrived, we split into two groups and the group I was in went to help with the baths for the children with special needs, but their baths were already completed. So, we went out to their shelter outside in the courtyard. Robert Gray, the PE/Physical Therapist was there again today. We were able to play with the children using his equipment that he has built over the years. The children played with the balls hanging from the roof. Several of the children could use their arms, so we put them near the balls and played with them and let them play by themselves a little while we worked with some of the other children. Robert had built “benches” on wheels, so a couple of the children got to be strapped to the wheel-boards to try to push themselves around. It was so fun to watch their faces as they played with these “toys!” (Robert has been coming from the US and working with special needs children for three months each year for several years. He complimented Lorraine and told her that this team has done more with these children in two days than any team has done in the entire time he’s been coming. All praise goes to the Lord who enabled us to work well with these children!)

After a couple of hours, it was time for the children to eat lunch. We helped the workers feed them. Some had bottles of pureed food, some ate whole foods, and some ate soupy foods. It was messy! We were able to use extra shirts as bibs today, so the children stayed pretty clean and dry throughout the process.

After our quick lunch, we were able to go play with the babies. This is my absolute favorite part! We were able to carry them around, change their diapers, change their clothes, sing little songs to them, and play Patty-Cake with them. Wish you could have seen the babies faces light up. The one or two workers that take care of them don’t have time to feed them by holding them and rocking them; we did. What a blessing! Nothing compares with cuddling a little tiny baby and rocking them.

This evening, after eating a pork roast dinner prepared by Chef Greg, we will be working on the drama that Laura Kuhns and Megan Creed put together and practicing songs in Spanish for tomorrow’s undertaking. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to do all this for Your Glory.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Sheila

Small Talents, Big Changes Day By Day

2010-03-09T23:57:00.019-05:00

Today we visited the girls of Hope House. In January we did many repairs to this house so today we went back for minor follow up repairs and were pleasantly surprised by the condition. The picture is of Lorraine McNeill, Hannah's Hands missionary, and Myrna of the house.

All of the work we did in January was appreciated and was being kept up! The house looked great and when we arrived the girls were all doing homework.

When the homework was finished Sheila gave sewing lessons on a brand new sewing machine to all of the girls. Now they have a talent they can work with. While that was going on Curtis and I worked on plumbing, painting and fixing of cabinets but we did this with 2 of the young men from the boys orphanage (Faith House). We worked with them to teach them how to do these basic yet important skills. What a joy to see the satisfaction on all of these young men and women when we were finished! They were so proud and now this week the boys will go back on Friday and while the girls have a bible lesson the boys can finish what we taught them! What a great experience to work with them while mentoring them at the same time.

When We finished at Hope house it was off to San Diego Beach. What a blessing to get to go and unwind for 3 hours after our day with the children yesterday and reflect on our first 3 days.

Please pray for our team, as tomorrow we return to help with the babies and special needs children again. The things we see here are difficult to understand and heart wrenching.

We ask that you pray for strength, courage and wisdom from God for all of us.

I end by asking you to read Mathew 25:32-40 which ends with "And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me"

"The way to the Father is through the Son"

Greg Lewis

Their smiles broke our hearts

2010-03-08T22:02:00.013-05:00

We are now on day three of lots of sunshine, Spanish, and wonderful, heart-breaking service! Sunday (yesterday), we attended the Union Church with Lorraine and met and were encouraged by some of the other believers. After lunch with our translators we headed over to Mi Casa, a home for orphaned boys and girls. We had worked with the kids from Mi Casa on saturday night to put together a drama to present in a community park on Sunday afternoon. The kids from this orphanage are so well behaved and loving towards each other, it is truly encouraging and wonderful to see. Some of the older boys (college age) who used to live in the orphange but have now 'graduated out' have chosen to stay involved with the orphans who are still there. These young men live together in an apartment, go to work each day at their jobs, have their own bills to pay and their own lives to worry about, yet they have all decided that they want to spend some of their free time with the younger children, and spend some of their salaries to help with the upkeep of the orphanage! It's incredible the love that exists between these kids!

At the park we put on a drama and a little bit of music. There was not a huge crowd of listeners, but our mission was as much about sharing the gospel of Christ as it was about teaching the orphans and helpers to share the gospel of Christ. The kids were wonderful and really seemed to enjoy putting on the drama! Laura, Sheila and I began the singing in the park with our fumbling Spanish, but by the end the children had taken over and were singing the Christian songs they knew. It was a beautiful thing to witness! As they sang, several people from the park (most of them claiming to already be born-again christians) came up and asked for prayers and talked with our team some!

Today (monday) was the most difficult day for me so far. We got an early start and went over to a state orphanage that houses babies, children with special needs, and young pregnant girls who have all been raped by family members. We split ourselves into two small groups: one group with the babies and the other group with the children who had special needs; we switched stations after lunch.

It was difficult to see the conditions of these children. Most of the babies had rashes and their skin was dry and cracked from the heat. The saddest thing, however, was that their eyes just seemed so lifeless. The woman who works in the baby room truly does love the children, but the fact of the matter is she is one woman who sometimes has over a dozen babies to take care of. She told us that sometimes all she can do is start at the first crib and go down the line changing all the diapers, then start over going down the line giving each child a bath, then start over again with a bottle for each child. She has no time to give special attention to each child, nor hold and play with each one. We prayed over the babies and told each one that God made them and loves them more than they can imagine. It is my prayer that those words will follow those children for their whole lives, and that they will come to know just how much they are worth in God's eyes.

Playing with the children with special needs was fun, simple, but emotionally challenging. Most of the children are in make-shift wheel chairs, and only a few can speak. Their smiles say it all however, when you begin pushing them around in circles. Their eyes lit up like Christmas had come; and all we had done was push their wheelchair and make zooming noises. In those smiles I saw complete joy, and felt complete sadness.

For the most part, no one is allowed into this orphanage to visit the children. For several years they shut out any groups wanting to come in and help because some people were taking pictures of the children and then getting the organization in trouble for the conditions of the facility. It is not so much that the organization neglects the children or that they don't treat them well, it is simply that they do not have enough resources or staff to keep everything perfect and lovely. These people do the best they can with what they have, and it is a blessing that there is a program for these unwanted children at all. But even so, the children get hardly any personal interaction - no sensory stimulation - and they seem so lifeless. We did meet a man today who has been coming to the orphanage to do physically stimulating activities with the kids for the last 4 years. He told us that today was the liveliest he had seen the children in a long time, and he believed it was because of the attention and interaction we were giving to them! We praise God that we can be a spark of light in the lives of these children!

(By the way, because of the recent tension over visitors in the facility, we are not allowed to post any pictures from the state orphanage on the internet).

We stayed at the state orphanage today from early morning until mid-afternoon and afterward were mentally and emotionally exhausted. But God is our sustainer and we trust Him to give us new strength for tomorrow! We are having a wonderful time here and being blessed by everything we see and everyone we meet. We are growing in our giving, and I know God is working in us just as much as He is working through us.

Keep checking for updates!

In Christ,

Megan

Riding Shotgun with the March El Salvador Team

2010-03-07T23:48:00.012-05:00

Surprise!
Lorraine McNeill, ministering in El Salvador with Hannanh's Hands International, had a need for additional people to fill out her March missions team!
Megan Creed and Laura Kuhn, students at Appalachian State University, graciously welcomed three of us from the January 2010 Hope Chapel team to join them for this March trip!
Allow me to introduce the March 2010 Hannah's Hands team! In this picture, left to right, are Laura, Megan, Sheila Smith, Greg Lewis, and Curtis Smith.

We arrived in San Salvador around noon on Saturday, and traveled to the Mission House to drop off our bags and Lorraine, and then take a quick tour of the area. Our driver gave us a tour of the countryside few people have the opportunity to see! We definitely took the "road less traveled"! Within minutes of leaving the city of two and one-half million people, our van was driving along a trail bordered by beautiful trees and plenteous vegetation. Breath-taking vistas and humble dwellings were interspersed along the way. Vehicular traffic was unusual here as attested by the local people's inquisitive reactions to our passing by. The few people we saw were walking several kilometers from the last bus stop back up the mountain to their humble homes. Cows laid claim to the right-of-way, and we were happy to yield, as their horns were much bigger than ours, and turning around on this rocky, narrow trail was not an option. We could not have planned a more effective team-building adventure!

Stay tuned!

Curtis

Hearts Overflowing

2010-02-06T09:46:00.001-05:00

We arrived home Sunday, January 31, after spending an extra day traveling because of the snow and ice in Raleigh. With all internet and electrical blogging challenges, we were not able to communicate much while we were gone. An evening will be schedule (TBD), for the team to give a full report, for now a summary…….

We have all heard from a distance about orphans, “care points”, hunger, and the amazing death toll AIDS is taking on Swaziland’s population. We quickly learned there is no way to indirectly experience the reality of 80,000 orphan children living on the very edge of hopelessness. Most have no parents, many families are led by 9-10 year old children and most are unable to attend school because public schools charge tuition and uniforms are required.

A whole new model of what “need” means became clear when we learned that care point orphans gets 6-8 meals a week and the sum of orphans’ possessions is often the clothing they are wearing

and yet at each location we visited, we were greeted by excited children with ready smiles, ready and willing to be hugged, held and played with. Other faces held the heaviness of their lives. Sometimes we physically hurt to leave a care point after only a couple of hours of time spent with children who have no less need of a mom and dad than our children back home. Our hearts and minds were opened wide as we visited many care points.

We selected two of the “greatest need” care points for you “heart gifts” (sweater, jackets, crocs and plastic ware) to be distributed. Dennis, our American guide for the week, will send us pictures when they are given to the children.

We also visited homes of families that had a family member dying of AIDS. I can’t remember a time when I felt more inadequate than when we listened to and prayed with a mom already grieving her dying son asking us, ”…why does God allow so many innocent people to die so miserably?” Our hearts just ached and we so wanted to provide some kind of comfort. When we talked to a Swazi pastor later he said, “…when you visit a family like this, you just join in what they are feeling that day…if they are dying, you die a little with them…if they are having a good day, you have a good day with them. When you pray, you simply pray what is in your heart. Mostly dying people like to feel someone is sharing a small part of the difficult journey they are on.”

We met many “Gogos”(women and grandmas who cook and provide some level of care to orphans at the care points), ........

as well as a number of Swazi pastors, Adventures in Missions (AIM) missionaries, Tom Davis from Children’s Hope Chest and many other Swazi believers who have amazing hearts to do what they can. We left Swaziland with hearts overflowing with excitement and passion to return to Hope Chapel to tell our stories and build a God inspired vision as to how our Hope Chapel family will rise up to be impactful in the lives of Swazi orphans, and do the good work of the Kingdom to the end that God will be glorified by our collective efforts. Let us pray together as we seek God’s will as to how we will put arms and legs to the vision we are developing even as we speak. Stay tuned to hear of ways you can take one of these children by the hand and be an instrument of change that will change the destiny of a child and maybe …a nation

It's about the Children.

2010-01-25T21:01:00.002-05:00

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day in Manzini, Swaziland. We all had an early breakfast and sat down for our daily devotions. Plagues and our Lord’s suffering. Both stories of defeat redeemed by God’s victorious desire (Exodus 6-8, Luke 23).

Our prayer this morning was that we might really see what God sees in the children we will be meeting. The two Care Points we were to visit are primarily serving orphans who have lost both parents to AIDS. HIV-AIDS is pandemic in Swaziland infecting over half of the adult population. Very sad.

We took off from the hotel and headed southeast to Big Bend. The Care Point was some 10 kilometers out of town in an area surrounded by sugar cane. Pastor Temba established this Care Point to minister to 150+ children. Let me tell you it was smoking hot … both in temp and compassion.

The children were so beautiful and friendly. We spent quite some time playing and hanging out with them. One of the highlights was a young blind boy who zeroed in on Ron’s singing. He came and sat right next to him to listen. What an amazing scene to watch him listening to Ron and to see Ron and Ann Marie reach over to pray for him. So much prayer needed everywhere we look. We have some amazing video of Ron helping him throw a football to a hilarious group of children. They were all laughing and running and clapping. It was sad to leave them but we had a long drive to the next Care Point.

Care Point number two was one of Care Points that ‘feed under a tree’. No buildings, no play area, no electricity and no water. They carry the water from a stream over two kilometers away. Two amazing saints of God feed 80+ children at this developing Care Point. What beautiful women that love Jesus and orphans. They all sang us a song in SaSwati. The words were something close to:

We are your children Jesus

And we can do nothing with your intervention

We are in need of you everyday

It is so true that everyone needs the intervening hand of Jesus. No one person any more than another … though the need here is startling. The Go-Go’s (grandmother in SaSwati) and children sang and prayed before their only meal of the day. After giving thanks they lined the children up under the trees and feed them out of a big black pot suspended over a wood fire.

There are so many stories we could tell but our day is coming to a close. When we return we will share the pictures and videos we are shooting. Four videos today of the children playing catch and singing – about 1200 photos of beautiful smiling faces. Ha, I guess if you aren’t traveling with us that last statement sounds like a bad evening at Uncle Bennie’s and Aunt Gertie’s house watching movies of their vacation to Iowa … well, maybe a bit better.

Good night friends in the America!

We are connected

2010-01-22T14:02:00.000-05:00

For multiple reasons, we have not been able to blog but we are now powered and connected.

We were blessed to have Marcia help check us in at RDU. As many of you heard, Steve’s Mom had some medical issues. Praise God she is doing well and he was able to join us yesterday (Wednesday), more on that latter.

We arrived Tuesday evening, 5:30 South African time, checked into our hotel by candle and lantern light. The following morning we took care of some unexpected business before visiting a World Orphan Children’s Home, Temba South Africa, north of Jo-burg.

First order of business was to get a larger vehicle to handle the luggage. Thanks to all you provided, we had 12 checked bags. Ron and Bill went back to the airport and were able to get an 8 person “bus”. They call vans, busses. Second order of business was to get travel documents for me (Ann Marie) to re-enter the US. Thirty minutes before Ron and I left for the airport, Ron was making copies of my new Canadian passport and realized my green card expired 11/09. Monday was a holiday so Ron had to call the Johannesburg US Consulate for the solution. This morning we downloaded an application then e-mailed it with supporting documents to the Consulate. The plan is to pick up a "re-entry" travel document on the way to the airport. I will update my status ASAP after our return!

Mid-day we were able to make our way to Temba to visit with a World Orphan Children’s Home. One of the purposes of our trip is to learn about different models of care for orphans. The World Orphan Children’s Home gave a good example of a local Church establisihing "homes" on church property to reach the orphans in their community.

We left Temba to make our way back to the airport to pick up Steve, missed our turn, toured Jo-burg for over an hour. Bill says google maps works as well in Jo-burg as it does in Raleigh. After several attempts using google maps, we got directions from three people before finding our way to the airport. (Thanks to Sheem who drove 12 hrs with Steve from Missouri to Atlanta to catch his flight then drove home to Apex.) We are all so glad Steve was able to make it afterall.

One of our blog issues was not having the right adaptor for the step down transformer. Wednesday evening we got powered up.

Everyone present and accounted for, we made our way to Swaziland this morning (5 hr drive). Met up with, Dennis, our guide for the week and visited four Care Points.

Swaziland does not have orphanages. To support children who are orphaned or vulnerable, Children's Hope Chest and AIM (Adventures in Missions) have partnered to develope Care Points (CPs); Places set up in varrious communities where basic orphan needs can be met (food, water, some medical attention and discipleship). The vision for a Care Point is to grow to include educational opportunties, micro-financing etc.

CPs are in varrious stages of development and support. Thus far we have seen the two most developed CPs and two lesser developed ones. The goal for our time is to gather information and seek His direction for Hope Chapel involvement.

We have lots of photos but am running out of battery so need to post. Thank you so much for your prayers. More soon.

Swaziland Mission Begins!

2010-01-20T17:57:00.005-05:00

The Swaziland team has arrived safely. Steve Estes was also able to join the team, a little late, but with no known mishaps. Thank God for everyone's safe arrival.

They have already begun working. Pastor Bill Gross has reported that they were able to visit an orphanage/church in Tembo with 22 beautiful children and a pastor with a big vision. They were quite inspired and look forward to meeting more of the people of Swaziland.

The purpose of the team is to find the right partnership for Hope Chapel in our long-term vision of reaching out to the orphans of Africa.

The Swaziland team is

Ron & Ann Marie Elmore
Steve Estes
Pastor Bill Gross

Please keep them in your prayers for: Health, safety during travel, wisdom and discernment, team unity, and favor with those whom they meet.

Please post comments to the team to encourage them and let them know your prayers are with them.

More to come! Stay tuned.

Suficiente es Tu Gracia!

2010-01-16T11:46:00.001-05:00

SUFICIENTE ES TU GRACIA

(Your Grace is Enough by songwriter Chris Tomlin)

Great is our faithfulness oh God

You wrestle with the sinner’s heart

You lead us by waters into mercy

And nothing can keep us apart

The lyrics of this song bring back so many wonderful memories of this past week in El Salvador. Our team of ten (10) individuals are from a much different social-economic part of the world and we had much to reflect on as we prepare for our departure.
Our original sights on what we thought could accomplish were far-exceeded by what God's plans were. In the end, we realized that what we had to offer cannot be measured by the many gallons of paint we put on the walls, nor the many boxes of hygienic and dental supplies we distributed, not even the many drinks and sandwiches. One quickly realizes it not the material things that allows one to substain life (although they are greatly appreciate), but instead– it is grace that originates from God. Charles gave us an image to keep in our mind: that we were like the tip of an arrow and that this week we were fortunate to directly touch people lives-- a point that extends back to our families and friends back home and ultimately back to God. We must remember that our ultimate calling is to spread God’s grace (His word).

Great is our faithfulness oh God

You use the weak to lead the strong

You Lead us in the song of Your Salvation

And all your people sing along

Our Day 7 was another unique for the Hope Chapel Missions team in San Salvador. Dr. Mike Tyner and I, along with Lori our translator, headed to the local Children’s hospital to perform surgery while the rest of the team went to San Marcos.

Driving through the street of San Salvador it brought back fond memories of my previous visits here. I had been in San Salvador last year with our Hope Chapel Missions trip … and then many years ago when we brought Michael our son home. Unique this time was my visit to Bloom Hospital, a local public children’s hospital to witness a team of doctors perform surgery on a 10-year old child. I was on a separate purpose to get an understanding of the I/T (information technology) infrastructure within the hospital and see how I could possibly help them out. I was able to talk with the head of their I/T department only to find out how under-staffed and under-funded they were (not a unique problem), but there is only very limited use of technology to run a major hospital. Imagine trying to go through a typical hospital here in the US without interacting with someone behind a computer (Admissions, patient history, lab testing, patient monitoring). There is none here in San Salvador --I now know much they could use that old monitor and old printer that’s collecting dust in my closet.

The highlight of my afternoon was observing and interacting with the team of doctors that performed a 6-hour removal of spleen the size of Rhoad Island. I was able to stand just arm’s length away from the operating table and as much as I hate the sight of blood, I was fascinated by the delicate procedure. At the end, I came away with the feeling that these doctors and nurses are truly dedicated to improving the health of their patients. The Glory goes to God for gifting these talented individuals.

The other part of our team went to San Marcos, a small remote village about 2 hours outside San Salvador. This remote village is a small coastal community with little modern conveniences. Wabha led worship and afterwards there was a hygiene and dental care clinic. Our team prayed over the village with special prayers for physical and spiritual healing.

So Remember Your People

Remember your Children

Remember your Promise, Oh God

So we conclude our mission visit to El Salvador...I much changed, transformed, and renewed.
I witnessed Greg (our resident chef/Caterer) share a missionary that could pray over men suffering from alcohol, Mike (a doctor) become a soccer/basketball player that was able to put his arms around and hug young delinquent boys, Stacy, a mother, become a “sister” to young troubled girls and Sheila, a home-maker, became a singer and pianist of Christian Music…just to name a few. We are all tired from this week's but so excited about the plans that God has for us.

We are so thankful to those who made this trip possible. Our thanks first to God, and then to all of you who prayed and supported us.

Your Grace is Enough,
Brian Wong

A day at the Park

2010-01-15T03:15:00.001-05:00

It's Day 6 of our trip and God has opened a new door for us. We knew when we came to El Salvador we had to have willing hearts and be ready to accept the challenges that God gave us. We knew God would put doors in front of us for us to walk through (in faith ), and when we got to the other side we would see the work he had for us. Today was no different.
8 of us went into a park in downtown San Salvador to do an outreach. We sang songs in Spanish, performed a skit, presented Jesus to those who did know him, and help those who did know him understand him better. Wahba gave a hygiene lesson and we had 21 people accept Christ! We passed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and some cookies and juice for everyone. It was a great expereince!
I was brought to tears when God showed me one of the many reasons he brought me here. Two men came to us early in the event in obvious need of help. They were suffering from alcoholism and we were able to pray for them, with them, and be with them as they accepted Jesus. Later we taught one of them to pray for his friend who needed help and explained how now that he had Jesus in his heart he could also pray for healing for others. We introduced them to the local pastor who will welcome them into his church and help them in anyway he can. It was an amazing experience for me to see these 2 men where I once was, and be able to stand there and tell them that Jesus is how I was able to over come my own addiction to alcohol and be forgiven for my sins... and all they had to do was to have faith and give it all to Jesus. Our God is a forgiving God and without him I would surely still be suffering. I would ask for all of you to pray for them as it will not be an easy road for them as well as everyone who accepted Jesus this week.

Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”

Dr. Michael and Jackie Tyner were able to work at the hospital today and work with the local surgeons and assist in an operation while showing the local doctors some new equipment and techniques. They will return tomorrow to work with them more in the surgical department. This is a great blessing as the doctors here are eager to learn and see more of what can be offered.

After our outreach we were blessed with a trip to the beach through a friend of Hanna’s hands. We walked the beach and swam in the ocean and pool of the Laughing Pelican House. We watched all of Gods glory as the sun set over the pacific before we headed back to the city for dinner.

God Bless all of you and may you see God in all of his amazing glory daily.

Greg Lewis

Hope at the Hope House

2010-01-14T00:48:00.000-05:00

Hope at the Hope House

Matthew 25:34-40

Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me...'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?" And the King will tell them, "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

Today the team divided into three groups to accomplish more. The largest of these went to the Hope House, a home for orphaned young ladies age 14 to 18. We took on the task of house maintenance and painting with an emphasis on including the girls. The girls were able to choose colors for their rooms. We aided them in the actual painting using that time to get to know the girls. The men on the team repaired ceilings, the roof, plumbing and tile floors. Brian and Greg were even able to install two devices in the showers to give the ladies warm water for their showers! A blessing for sure!
Though we were with the girls for a day, we pray that our connection with them and Lorraine's ongoing work will have an enduring benefit in their lives.

John Wahba and Sheila went on a separate mission to the Faith House, a similar home for orphan boys ages 14 to 18. The focus of the visit was to share the gospel through music. This included music lessons on the guitar and electric keyboard. The boys were able to complete a song together, "This Is My Desire" using three boys on guitars, two boys on a keyboard and one on vocal. John and Sheila thought it sounded great.
Ana, the interpreter, helped John and Sheila lead several youth to Christ with Praise, Worship and Prayer.

Michael and Charles went to the Bloom National Pediatric Hospital to reestablish ties with the pediatric surgeons. Through God's help, Charles was able to bridge a communication divide and focus on the needs of the hospital and Michael background in laparoscopic surgery. Discussions were initiated for providing access for further training of their staff members in North Carolina. Today we were able to start the process with an educational series on laparoscopic suturing techniques. Tomorrow,we were invited to participate in several surgeries using laparoscopic approaches. More surgery is anticipated on Friday. We look for God to Bless the surgeons and the patients in these endeavors. We seek your prayer to help this program to grow in the future.

It's late now and we need to rest up. God has blessed our efforts. Thanks for your prayers.

Life-changing opportunities await you!!

2010-01-13T02:23:00.000-05:00

We were warned about culture shock.

What a drastic difference between my own "good Christian home" growing up, and the daily life experience of the boys we were blessed to spend time with this morning! About 45 guys ranging from 12 to 18 years old are living in a concrete and steel-barred compound because they have nowhere else to go. These boys are not prisoners - like the girls we visited yesterday. They are here for a variety of reasons, that can best be summed up in one of the boys own words: "I am here because no one loves me."

Imagine your life being in danger from your own family, or a gang. Imagine being dropped off at the orphanage because your parent(s) did not want you, or perhaps being picked up off of the street because you have no known family at all. No where to live except the sidewalk, or the gutter, or under some cardboard. Now imagine that this is your life, and somehow you made it to age twelve. In this new place, you share a concrete room with 12 - 20 other boys, most of them bigger and older than you. The wind blows through the window openings all year round. Even if the day is hot in the sunshine, the sparse concrete and steel room can stay cold. Privacy for personal hygiene or any other purpose is an unknown luxury. The guards or staff cannot be everywhere. You are afraid. You must adapt in order to survive.

With this mindset, consider the events of today from this boy's perspective.
A van-load of people came to visit today. There were people from the Estados Unidos along with Salvadorians also. They smile and laugh, and talk to the staff people. They set up sound equipment and wave at us. Some of them are talking to some of the other boys here. These are the people one of my roommates met yesterday. He said they were nice. I can understand the language of some of them but not all of them can speak my language. We are told they are going to have music and a drama for us. Meanwhile some of the visitors join a game of futbol, and others of them begin to come over to talk to me.

I recognize one or two of the ladies. They are nice and have been here before! The men seem to be nice too. They are laughing and joking with us. The concert meeting is starting now and we have to go inside and sit together across the room from their musical equipment. There is a man playing guitar and a woman playing an electric piano. There is a man using a big container like a conga drum! The songs talk about God being powerful and loving too. We have fun singing with these nice people. They translate the words or sing the songs in my language so I can sing also. The drama is about a man with two sons. One son takes his part of the father's money and joins a gang. They throw him out after his money is gone. He is feeding pigs and is so hungry is wants to eat the pig's food. Three of the people are pretending to be the pigs! They are funny! At the end of the drama a Salvadorian lady tells us to think about the story and how the father who should have been angry with his son, loved him, forgave him, and had a fiesta when he came home. She said God is a father like the father in the story, and that if we will come to him, he will love us like the son in the story. I want a real father like that. I've never had one. I am crying and I cannot stop. The conga-drumming man is hugging me and crying too. Another man and woman are speaking to many of us now, and saying we can know this God who loves us right now, and be his children. I ask this God to love me and help me. The man hugging me is talking to God about me. I know this because someone is translating what he is saying so I can understand. I hug him tighter and he hugs me tighter too! We cry for a long time. The people give me a booklet and a book. I begin to read some of the pages with the man, and understand he is saying I should keep the book and read it. Another man tells us we can talk to God about things and this Father-God will help me. We get lots of hugs from the people and most of us are smiling. The motor-scooter delivery people from Pizza Hut are here! They are bringing us food! I am glad the people came to visit us today!

This is only one of many many stories from today. About 20 of the 45 boys living in this Boys Home asked Jesus to forgive them and for God to be their Father. Our team was so humble and so loving! We are a team of doctors, nurses, and business people; moms, dads, sons, and daughters; we had translators who are ministers themselves, and translators that are just here to help us. What we did today did not require years of training or special skills. We simply made ourselves available to show love to those who need it.

Thank you for supporting us with your prayers! God is working here, and the need is unfathomably huge. Child abuse is common. Poverty is rampant. The government and local churches here have limited resources. Please pray that our loving God will touch more people's hearts to take time to work in His harvest field (read Matthew 9: 35 - 38). Consider and pray about joining Lorraine here in El Salvador on a short-term mission trip (see http://hannahshands.org). Our team can tell you, come once and you will never be the same!

Curtis S.

Spirit Moves in Mighty Way in Girls Prison

2010-01-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

The Spirit moved in mighty ways in El Salvador today! We had an incredible time in the girls prison today. The girls are between the ages of 15 - 18 years old. Our morning session was with the girls who are serving out their sentences. When we walked in, some of the girls immediately came running over to hug and talk to us. We worshiped for a while in English & Spanish, then performed a short drama about the prodigal "daughter". Several of the girls accepted Christ, praise God! I had such a sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit there from the moment we started to worship. As awesome as that time was, the afternoon session was even more so. We were warned before we went in not to expect the same from the next group of girls, that the atmosphere would be much cooler and more aloof. These girls had only been in the prison a short time, and were awaiting their sentencing. Most were involved in gangs before they were arrested for that activity, and they have caused many problems since arriving at the prison. There have been riots, and they set fires and burned all the chairs there. They aren't allowed to leave the dormitory room they are confined to, so we had to go in and set up for our program there. Well, God had certainly gone before us there today. When we walked in, they were even more receptive than the morning group. They welcomed us, and we all talked, laughed and had fun while we were setting up. God's presence was almost tangible in the room when we finished and issued an invitation for them to accept Christ. There was hardly a dry eye in the room as almost all of them (approx. 20!) prayed for Christ to come into their lives. My heart weeps for these girls who have such a hard life here. Many are assaulted by family members or kicked out of their homes by the time they are teenagers. Several of the girls asked us to pray for the children or spouses (remember, they are age 15-18!). That prayer time was so touching as we invited the girls to pray for each other. We emphasized now that Christ lives in them, their prayers are just as powerful as ours. I felt such power from God in the prayer of the girl nearest me. Even though I couldn't understand her words, the fervency with which she prayed so touched me since she had just accepted Christ moments before. So please keep all of these girls in your prayers as they begin their walk of faith. Pray that God strengthens and protects their new faith from those around them who will seek to deter them.

Stacy B.

His mission

2010-01-10T23:08:00.003-05:00

It's 6pm Sunday evening. I'm sitting on the back patio at Lorraine's house. It is 73° and breezy. I can hear faint Latin rhythms from a neighbor, thumping over the windchimes - that and occasional loud bangs that I'm convincing myself are fireworks.

Today we visited an Hispanic iglesia and took some teen orphan boys out for ice cream. On the way to iglesia this morning, our driver confused our destination; we were 20 minutes late for service. Worship had started already and I still had never met or played with the worship leader. My El Salvador worship leading debut was not looking good....

Almost two hours later I was still sitting in my seat in the back of the church, realizing I probably wouldn't get to lead the Spanish worship songs I'd learned for my trip. I got pretty discouraged. The El Salvador government is already restricting my medical priveleges. Now it looked as though I wouldn't be leading worship either. I felt myself ask, "So why am I even here?"

Then in the middle of church, a clear Voice answered my question with bigger questions: "Who are you here for? And who is this all about anyway?"

Zing! So busted. So convicted. I promised God at that moment that this was about serving Him the ways HE wants me to, not the ways I'd been picturing it in my head.

In the end, God did give me the chance to lead worship with this group of fervent believers - and it was a fun, un-rehearsed mess of Spanglish celebration & praise. I also had a blast later, leading worship outside in the park with the boys from the orphanage.

But I served from a new place. On His terms, not mine. His scene, not my mental picture.

Thanks for the prayers. We love you and miss you!

WE'RE HERE!!!

2010-01-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

We arrived safely in San Salvador today. :) It was really hot but had a nice breeze to it. It is beautiful out here. The mountains and everything. The ride over here (all day) was quite a trip :) it was relaxing and stressful at the same time. The plane rides were ok and they played movies for us. Everyone got a good nap on the plane (I think) I know my dad and I did. I am really looking forward to this trip! I am very excited and nervous at the same time, but I know God is going to help me get through this :). Tomorrow we are going to the Church in the morning then some shopping, then taking the boys from the orphanage out to ice cream.

I am looking forward to this trip and hope everything goes very well!!!

God Bless~~~

Ari ~* <3 *~
and the team!

El Salvador Team - January 2010

2010-01-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

We're ready for our next journey to the people of El Salvador.

This year we have a new team going, so let's introduce them:

Brian Wong - This is his 2nd time on the trip.
Charles Balan - Just a friendly guy helping out with the Spanish.
Stacy Boxell - Works with Latinos locally and her 1st time in El Salvador.
Greg Lewis - We're hoping that he'll bring his culinary skills with him to El Salvador.
Arianna Lewis - She's expanding her vision of the world at the tender age of 13.
Jackie Tyner - Her 2nd trip to El Salvador and she's loving it.
Mike Tyner - His 2nd trip to El Salvador as well.
Curtis Smith -1st time bringing his wisdom to El Salvador.
Sheila Smith -She's stretching her faith on this 1st time to El Salvador.
John Wahba - 1st time to El Salvador and ready to rock the country.

Please keep us all in your prayers. We'll be serving Hannah's Hands and the people of El Salvador. Pray for our travel and our entry into El Salvador. Recent events have shown that it is becoming more difficult to enter into the country to serve the people there with our medical expertise.

How to pray for the team:

Effortless travel through customs and immigration lines and safety on all vehicles upon which we travel.
Protection from accidents, crime, natural and man-made disasters.
Protection from sickness and disease.
That the team will demonstrate humility, boldness, patience, and love for each other and the local people.
That God would be glorified through them.

Stay tuned to this space to follow us as we go to work in the places God is moving.

Your 2010 El Salvador Team

2009-01-25T01:52:00.010-05:00

A Day of Reflection, an Earthquake, & A Sobering Moment (January 25th)

Our day started with an Earthquake! Not too big, only 4.7 on the Richter Scale. While all you California transplants out in blog world may be use to things like this, most of us certainly were not! The ground shook, the fridge moved back and forth a bit, and it was over.

On our way to the Volcanic Lake, we stopped by the boys orphange to deliver some more soccer balls. It was great to see the boys again, and they were very excited to see us! Most of them were still wearing the jersyes we had given them on Tuesday. Please keep these boys in your prayers, that they will be cared for and developed into Christian men.

The Lake at Ilopengo was a great time of fellowship and relaxation after an exhausting week. No need to talk too much about it, the pictures speak for themselves!

After a quick dinner, we went out to feed the homeless (sorry we don’t have pictures-while we would LOVE to show you what we experienced, we decided it would be better if we didn’t take pictures tonight). Kameron, a 17-year old American who is the son of a Missionary here, came over to lead the adventure. His family has been in El Salvador for five years, and his father also does clinics along with the homeless ministry. Kameron told us that the people could now recognize the sound of their truck from a few blocks away, and all come running. Our first stop was to a place where there are many teenagers and young adults. A majority of them are addicted to sniffing glue, a huge drug problem in El Salvador. For safety purposes, we all stayed in the van. This made it easier to distribute food, soccer jerseys, shorts, and some shoes, which we did through the windows. When they walked over to us, it almost looked like a scene out of “Night Of The Living Dead,” meaning they all had the look of zombies. It was very evident that many of them had completely killed most of their brain cells, and some smelled of fresh glue. There was even a boy there who couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 years old, without an adult. As we continued to pray and pass everything out, it almost didn’t seem real. While everyone was extremely nice and courteous, there was just a “lost” look in their eyes and we realized they didn’t quite understand what was going on. As we were driving away, we heard one last scream of thanks. A young man had just put on a brand new pair of size 15 New Balance high tops (after a long week of distribution, this was all we had left). Keep in mind that these shoes had to be roughly 2X the size of his foot. He looked like he had just won the lottery.

Our next stop had people of all ages-including young children and babies. Once again, our hearts just broke. One man came back for more food and shorts, which is not uncommon. We were prepared to tell him that he had already received his gifts, but he told us he was getting some for his friend who was passed out on the sidewalk. We watched with delight as he walked back over to his friend, laid the shorts on his chest and placed the food under his tiny blanket. For a homeless man who lives day to day hoping for scraps of food and any type of clothes he can find, this selfless act was inspiring. While delivering everything was extremely fulfilling, it was also very frustrating and sobering. We wish we could have had 10 more vans with 10X more food and 10X more clothes to give out. It makes you really think about your own priorities in life. Please pray that the Lord will lay his hand on these individuals. Pray that they can be cured of their addictions, and that will be able to change their lives, and that the will turn to God.

So, tomorrow is the last day we will awake to a cool breeze coming through the windows with birds singing sounds of joy in the trees outside. It is the last day we will sit outside on the back porch and sip delicious El Salvadorian coffee. It is also the last day we have to put our toilet paper in the trashcan instead of the toilet :) While leaving El Salvador will be bitter sweet, our memories will last forever. Whether it was the boys in the orphanage, the patients and children in the remote villages or even the homeless teens addicted to sniffing glue, our lives have been touched. It is our prayer that we return to the United States as different people. That when we are stuck in traffic or frustrated at work, we thank God that we have a car to drive and a place of employment. We will think back to the boys in the orphanage who only have a tiny ½ size locker with barely any possessions, and to the tiny children and babies who were living on the street. The grown men and women celebrating over receiving a pair of soccer shorts, and the patients sigh of relief when receiving medicine for some ailments that have been going on for months. We will continue to thank the Lord for the blessings he has bestowed upon us, and we will continue to deliver the message of His son Jesus Christ.

We THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for sharing this journey with us, and for the continued support and prayer. Maybe one day we can share an expedition with you…

2009-01-24T02:11:00.010-05:00

Donde esta’ el bano? (Friday, January 24th)

Praise report! Lisa woke up feeling pretty good and was able to go with the team. While Donna was still a bit under the weather and did not make the trip today, she was feeling a lot better when we arrived home. Thanks for the prayers! On the flip side, a good portion of team went through an “oh wow I don’t feel very good all of a sudden” time this morning at the clinic. We still don’t know if it was part of the virus or the Cipro we all downed to help us fight off the virus, but we are all good now!

Today was another great day! The trip up North to Awachapan was once again filled beautiful El Salvador scenery, including some inactive volcanoes. We even drove past a field full of black ash & lava that had hardened over the years. When we arrived in the village, there were 5 camouflaged military looking guards with big shotguns. We still can’t figure out why they were there. The stone cold looks on their face made us feel a bit uneasy. However, as we drove past one, a few of us smiled and waved. It appeared as if he thought for ½ a second how to respond…then smiled and waved right back!

We were already on guard a bit ourselves for this village. Lorraine had been there twice before in the last year or two and the exchange between the missionary groups and the village was not always great. We aren’t talking about anything too crazy, just not following rules in regards to the clinic, etc. The morning seemed to be quite interesting with some of us under the weather. Also, the church was rather small, and the patients getting diagnosed were in the same room as the pharmacy as well the shoes/clothes distribution. A few children stopped by on a break from school and we had them start spreading the word about jerseys giveaways and soccer activities in the afternoon when school let out (it seems as if only the older teens go to school all day, while the children go home around lunch time). The patients were continuing to come out of the woodworks, and we didn’t even get a chance to break for a quick lunch until about 2pm.

In the afternoon, the children’s ministry got into full gear. Jerseys and shorts were passed out to all the children and some adults. With both the shoes/baby clothes and jerseys/shorts, there was a steady flow but not a madhouse like in the previous days. This gave the children the opportunity to actually PICK what type of items the received. The first thing that crossed our mind was that they will get whichever color and style we give them…but luckily we quickly reversed that mindset and realized they might never have the opportunity to pick out what they like…AKA shopping. Three sisters giggled happily as they all picked shoes that were close in style. Two amigos slapped high 5’s and immediately threw on their matching soccer jerseys, turning around for each other so they could see their entire new uniform.

Back in the clinic, patients were still trickling in, bringing the total count to a bit over 100 for the day. There was even time to minister a bit to the pastor, as he did not want to pray for a woman because she was catholic. He eventually prayed with her, but still turned down a chance to pray with another ailing man because the ailing man was a Pastor and “would be ok.” This ailing Pastor leads a church close by so there could have also been a little rivalry/jealously.
Right before leaving, we noticed that our front left tire of the bus was flat. In fact, it appeared that there would be no tools to get the tire off. When you’ve been working all day in a hot El Salvadorian village, this isn’t the greatest thing to hear! The Pastor was convinced that we were going to have to spend the night in the village. While all this was going on, it gave the children’s ministry team more time to evangelize. After a VERY long game of soccer on a field spotted with large piles of cow dung, we were able to share the message. Francisco did a fantastic job using the evangicube (a big cube with pictures that tells the story of salvation with every turn). We also did an object lesson as well as sang a really fun children’s Christian song in English that has crazy movements and dances. The kids loved it! Juaritza did a wonderful job translating. In fact, we have forgotten to tell you about our new friend! Juaritza is a 15-year-old El Salvadorian girl. She was born in LA, but moved to El Salvador when she was 5. She is such a sweet spirit with a great outgoing personality. We have all grown very attached to her, as her smile and laughter can brighten up a room!

Ok, so back to the tire…just think…if the tire didn’t go flat, we wouldn’t have had the extra time for a more in depth time to teach the story of Christ. Praise God for using the flat tire for His glory, and for making the day a huge success in His name!

After our long ride home, Brian gave a great devotion about patience (1 Corinthians). We also spent some time debriefing the day and sharing some stories about how we feel we have been changed on this short trip. The dialogue was wonderful, and it was very eye opening for some of our team members.

Tomorrow, we are attempting to go to a volcanic lake. While we still aren’t quite sure what it is, we have heard that it is one of the “Wonders of El Salvador.” After that, we will head back to downtown San Salvador where we will feed the homeless. We have recently learned that El Salvador has the highest gang rate in the world (might be gang/population), almost two times more than the second highest. With that being said, we have felt extremely safe the whole time, especially since there are armed guards with shotguns in front of restaurants and stores. We tell you this not to freak you out, but we imagine there might be former gang members we will be feeding tomorrow night. Please pray that we will be able to minister to them and that God will would prevail.

Hasta Luego!

2009-01-23T00:56:00.009-05:00

Gloria de Dios! (Thursday, January 22nd)

We considered just blogging “Glory to God,” throwing on some pics and calling it a day since we are so tired :) But, we know that our family and friends anxiously await the daily update, so here goes…

Dr. Tyner, with his lovely assistants Christina and Teri, completed a successful laparoscopic gallbladder removal! Unfortunately, the hernia operation was not able to happen due to unforeseen circumstances with the patient. Please pray that this will be able to be completed soon. Along with the operation, Dr. Tyner was able to teach many El Salvadorian doctors. He was even able to show them a video on his laptop of a previous surgery he had done. Their chemistry was wonderful, and the doctors and nurses at the hospital were able to learn many new things. It is obvious Dr. Tyner, Christina and Teri have been an amazing blessing on the hospital staff.

The trip to San Marco was filled with beautiful snapshots of the country of El Salvador. The business of the city was slowly fading away and the picturesque mountains in the distance became smaller and smaller. Roadside stands selling papusa’s and fruit lined both sides of the road. The road eventually turned into gravel/dirt and we continued into the middle of nowhere. We began to slowly descend on the village, leaving the huge sugar cane fields behind us. Dogs lazily slept in the middle of the road, and a few people were taking siestas on hammocks in front of their shacks. Like yesterday, people were already lined up waiting for us as we pulled up at the church.

The pastor of the church, Mirana, is a sweet thirty something with a servant heart. She has a beat up pick-up truck and a warm smile that makes you feel like you’ve known here forever. She feels led to serve in this impoverished area, commuting from 45 minutes away. Like most pastors here, she not only teaches the Word at her church, but she is also the cleaning crew, chair setter upper, and anything/everything you can think of! The great thing about missions trips is not only are you able to minister to people, but you get ministered to. This was not only made evident by the hard work of the pastor, but from the members of the community. Immediately after stepping off the bus, they were offering us homemade food they had just cooked in a hut (cant remember the name, but they looked like empanadas but had potatoes and chicken inside…FANTASTIC!). These people barely have anything, and here they were giving away food that they really couldn’t afford to do. Yes, old widow throwing in two pennies comes to mind…

The clinic and youth ministry was once again extremely effective. We saw over 80 patients, including a 97-year-old woman. The stories were once again sad and joyous-one elderly woman could not even walk and we had to carry her around…and one woman shared her amazing testimony about how she came to find Jesus. In children’s ministry, there were roughly 100 children throughout the day. Along with soccer, we were once again able to just love on the children. Many of us spent most of the day holding hands, hugging, carrying on shoulders, and laughing with the kids. Towards the end of the day, we luckily still had tons of soccer jerseys, shorts, shoes, and baby clothes, to pass out. Words cant describe the feeling a person gets when they look into the eyes of a child receiving an oversized soccer jersey or half worn shoes. Los Abuelas were getting pumped up as well to receive these soccer jerseys! They were even joking around that one was the Goalie, one scored the goals, etc. Just think…70 year old women truly happy by receiving a jersey. It really puts our own lives into perspective.

At the end of the day, we were able to share more of the gospel with the children and some adults who decided to look on. We related the gifts we had just given them to the gift that God gave to us with His son Jesus Christ. The message was well received, with the children repeating our prayer at the end. Although we have gone to a few churches, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all the patients and the children attend that church. If fact, that’s the entire goal of these churches-outreach to the community (once again, learning so much from the Pastor’s here!) When the locals here that Gringos are coming to town with medicine and supplies, they come running. It is our prayer that the individuals who have come to the churches these last two days have had seeds planted and will come to know Jesus if they don’t already.

Which reminds us…our translators have been phenomenal this week! They have ranged from recent college graduates with time to kill because they don’t have a job to well off individuals who just want to “give back.” They have all gotten hooked up through the ministry by Pam’s (the US missionary) networking. We have come to find out that many of these translators may not be saved. However, each one has expressed interest in returning to serve (and they all turned down their small payment). Many of them were in disbelief in all the great things this Ministry is doing, and want to learn more. Please pray that they too have had seeds planted!

Tomorrow we go 1 ½ hours north to another village. Pray that we will have strength and enthusiasm, as this is our last full day of clinics and youth ministry. (Saturday is a mix of serving and fun) Also, please pray for Lisa and Donna. They have both come down with a virus that put them out of commission today. Pray that they will be healed so that they can continue to do the Lords work.

Adios!

2009-01-22T01:29:00.022-05:00

"Tome dos tabletas antes a dormir o si necisita..." (Wednesday, January 21st)

Sometimes the medical treatment of patients can only go so far, but prayer and love can go a lot further…

Our team split up today in the morning to make the most efficient use of our short time here. Dr. Tyner, Christina, Teri and Michael W. were able to go to the National El Salvador Hospital. If you can imagine what a hospital looked like in 1935, this would b it. We’ll spare you most of the details, but a great example is that in the entire hospital there is only 1 cardiac monitor. To put that into perspective, a hospital back home has roughly 1 cardiac monitor for every two beds. After the initial shock of the conditions, the team made rounds and toured the children’s pediatric unit. Some of the most impressionable moments were seeing the very young children with gun shot wounds and the burn unit. They were also able to deliver gifts to the children. Most of these gifts were supposed to be given to the children at Christmas Time, but for some reason this was not done. After the hospital, Dr. Tyner, Christina, Teri and Michael W. headed back to the orphanage. Dr. Tyner performed a minor shoulder surgery, and the team was able to pass out some brand new tennis shoes. Between the hospital gifts and the shoes, praise God that we were able to help bring this joy!

On the other side of town, Iglesia Christina Monte Calvario is tucked away off busy San Salvador streets located halfway up a steep hill. When we arrived, there were already 30 people patiently waiting in the courtyard. The medical team had been a little concerned due to the fact that we were would not be at full strength in the clinic. However, our God is a God of answered prayers and solving problems! We received word at the last minute that most of the children would be arriving in the afternoon. This gave our children’s ministry team a chance to serve in the clinic. Lorraine, Adam, Jackie and Lisa saw patients, with Charles translating. Donna, Mike K and Nick worked in the pharmacy along with our translator Alex. Brian (after building some fantastic shelves at Lorraine’s house) had a chance interact with all the patients waiting to be served while Francisco got all their information. Timmy spent his time ministering to the few children who where there with balloon animals and infectious smiles and laughter. Pastor Jon was able to dialogue with the Pastor of Monte Calvario, as well as spend time praying around the church grounds.

We wish we had time to tell you each and every tear-jerking as well as joyous stories we encountered today. Of course, there were a few funny stories as well. Lisa shared with us that one father was concerned that his little boy would eat nothing but frijoles y queso (beans and cheese). He was baffled and had no idea what the problem was, and being a single father he had no other help. Was it medical? Was something wrong with him? After a few minutes of questioning, Lisa figured out the dreaded diagnosis…this chico just REALLY liked frijoles y queso and was being stubborn and almost starving himself unless he got it! While Lisa had a nice chuckle, she was also able to give parental advice to this father on how to help his son get through this typical childhood action.

Out of the 75 patients we saw today, at least 5 had to go to the hospital immediately. Some of the diagnosis’s included; hypertensive crisis, asthmatic crisis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, and loss of vision. One lady who came for care had not been to see a doctor in 7 years and was in desperate need of a visit to the hospital.

When patients are being accessed, it gives us a great time to evangelize. Charles, Adam and Francisco took this calling to another level. They would pray with each patient before they went to the Pharmacy. One woman had cataracts, glaucoma, no glasses and no money. After several minutes of prayer asking for God’s blessing, the woman was in tears and told them that she felt that the Lord was going to bless her in many ways! This happened as well for a woman who asked for reconciliation with her estranged husband. All in all, many lives were changed today!

We stayed at the church for their Wednesday night service, and many of the patients came back to worship. The Pastor was very excited we were there, and offered up some inspiring opening words. Jahaziel led worship, and Nick took a leap of faith and hopped behind the drum set at the request of Lorraine and Jahaziel. While Nick won’t be on a worship team at Hope Chapel in the near future, it was pretty neat to see what the Holy Spirit can do for a first timer. Pastor Jon then gave a powerful message spoken from the Book of Matthew. (Matthew 16:13-18). His sincere and inspiring words blessed the congregation, and he thanked the church body for showing the love of Jesus in their community by offering clinics and doing outreaches. Pastor Jon also depicted the power and uniqueness of our Lord, and reiterated how He alone is the only way for salvation. After the message, we were able to pray over the Pastors of the church and that they will continue to receive bountiful blessings.

Tomorrow, Dr. Tyner, Teri and Christina will head to the hospital to perform an umbilical hernia surgery on a five year old girl, as well as a gall bladder surgery on an 11 year old girl (at the request of the US Embassy) The rest of us will venture to a primitive village located relatively close to the Pacific Ocean. It is roughly 1 ½ hours away from the mission base, and only accessible by a cow path that has been designated as a road. We are told that the weather might be a scorcher, but should be able to refresh with the coconuts from the trees surrounding the village :) After the clinic and children’s ministry, we will then adventure to the beach for an evening cookout!

Ciao!

2009-01-21T01:19:00.013-05:00

Estamos Muy Cansada! (Tuesday, January 20th)

Today has been such a roller coaster of emotions that we quite don’t know where to start. With that being said, it might be good to start at the beginning…

It was an early rise to get some quick breakfast and head out to ensure we arrived at the orphanage on time. Some translators met us at the house to catch a ride (Francisco, Alex, Sandra, Claudia, Paola and Debra). Francisco & Alex are seminary students who have both taken medical classes. Sandra is a nurse and also Alex’s mom, and she has been serving in this capacity for many years. This is the first time Claudia & Paola have helped. Claudia was born in the states after her parents fled the Civil War in the early 1980’s. She returned in her early teenage years, and apart from attending college at Tulane, has been in El Salvador ever since. Paola is a friend of Claudia’s from high school, and they had heard about Lorraine and Hannah’s Hand through Pam (American Missionary, see earlier blog entry if confused-but praise God for the connections the Lord can make!). Debra has been a translator with Lorraine for about five years. Anyways…the reason we tell you this is that there is tremendous hope for El Salvador through these five young adults. Francisco and Alex have a huge love for Jesus and serving others through medicine. Claudia and Paola are extremely passionate about human rights and child education, while Debra is in law school. Please pray for these individuals and that the Lord will lead them to do great things for El Salvador!

Anyways, on to our impactful day at the orphanage. As we rolled through the towering walls with intimidating barbwire on top, we were greeted with excitement and hope in the children’s eyes. As we waited for our instructions, a little chico named Guillermo hopped on the bus. He must have been 9 or 10 years old, and immediately started hugging us and patting us on our bellies (a show of affection) while rapidly speaking Spanish. He also got the attention of some of our nurses to show them a substantial size cut on his hand that had not properly healed. With this cheerful welcoming, we knew we were in for an incredible day!

We must admit, the orphanage was in a bit better shape than we imagined, but still heartbreaking. The smell of burning trash filled the air, evident by the many piles that littered the outside. The old, open air concrete style buildings coincided with the broken wire fences that attempted to create a few walking trails throughout the grounds. There are four “houses,” to separate the age groups, but are really just buildings connecting to one another. Each one looks the same; hard concrete floors with 2 rooms wall to wall with bunk beds on the left and a tiny common area along with bathrooms/wash area on the right. The ceilings are very high, and there is a “cage” material that covers the ceiling, the windows, and the open-air area above the walls of the room. The bathrooms are also tough to imagine, also an open area with roughly a four-foot wall surrounding it. There are no showers per say, just buckets of water for the children to wash with. Outside are 2 concrete basketball courts adorned with soccer goals beneath the basketball goals. There is a hill with a few trees that the children like to play on, although a good portion of it is covered with burning trash. The only sign of toys were 2 or 3 beat up soccer balls that had lost all the stitching, and a rusty old wheel barrel. They actually even have a swimming pool. One of the caretakers admitted it “need a few chemicals.” We can be honest in saying that many of us thought it may actually be a pool for waste run off before they told us it was for swimming. While the water was not brown, it had a green tint sort of like a lake and there was zero visibility past the surface.

As evident in our first interaction with Guillermo, it was obvious that these boys were starving for attention. As you can imagine, the most fulfilling appeared to be from the men, as they were yearning for father figures. This was confirmed as we began to pick up that they were calling us, “Tio,” or uncle in English. Thus, much of our children’s ministry today was to LOVE. In God’s word Jesus tells us the two most important commandments, to love the Lord with all of your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Love God. Love Others. In short, this is how the children’s ministry went-Soccer, lovin on kids, more soccer, more hugs, more soccer, tag games, even more soccer, more affection, yes-still soccer, balloon animals, taking turns holding the children and throwing them up in the air, and of course…soccer! (did we mention that all soccer is played on concrete?! It’s a good thing we have a doctor and nurses staying with us for all the old folk) The love continued throughout the day, even when the children disassembled their balloon animals in favor of homemade water balloons. Not too many of us managed to stay dry, and the highlight of the water fight was Pastor Jon taking a hard shot to the Cabeza! As he stood there soaking wet and wiped off his glasses, the look on his face said it all…LOVE :)

Over in the clinic, our awesome medical team was able to see 50 patients! This included the orphans, some girls from the prison, and even the staff at the orphanage. While some of the children had physical issues, others had psychological abuse. Many of the children confessed to have been physically and sexually abused by their peers. This abuse has caused anything from stomachaches to major stress issues. Please pray for the heath and safety of these orphans. They do not receive any type of consistent medical care, and what they do receive is very sporadic.

Through generous donations, we were able to give every boy a soccer jersey and pair of shorts. Plus, each “house” was given a soccer ball! As we went to leave, we noticed that many of the children had already begun to disengage with us. The good news is that this orphanage is used to having groups come in to care for them. The bad news is that they realize the harsh truth-that at the end of the day, the people who gave them an entire day of attention will be leaving, most likely never to return ever again. While this made our goodbye’s a tad bit easier at the time, the feeling we had knowing that we could only do so much will stay with us for a good while.

After such a long and draining day, we were treated to a true El Salvadorian dinner. The food and environment was absolutely fantastic, but since this post has been so long we will have to give you the details later! As you can imagine, we had a great debriefing session after dinner. Donna spoke an inspiring word about El Salvador through Isaiah 51. There were also many emotions and reflecting. While it would be too tough to try to communicate it in great detail, here a few quotes from our team members:

-“I was just sad all day by what we saw.”
-“My heart went out…I felt like I was putting a band aid on a broken bone”
-“The children and staff were so gracious and accepting.”
-“I’m thankful for what I/we have…”
-“I’m thankful these children are in an orphanage and not in the streets of San Salvador.”

Tomorrow most of will go to Jazaviel's fathers church to continue the medical clinics and children’s ministry. Dr. Tyner, Terri and Christina will actually head to the local hospital to do some pre-op for an operation later in the week, as well as go back to the orphanage to conduct a minor shoulder surgery. We will all meet back up at the church for an evening service where Pastor Jon will be brining the Word. Please continue to pray for health, safety, and energy! Also, we LOVE to read your comments at the end of a hard day, they are very inspiring. Please keep them coming!

***this last pic is one of “Tent City.” Another story for another time, but basically people bought a plot of land they were promised. The eventual phony salesman of the land went into hiding, and the current owner of the land said it was a, “no-go.” So, everyone stormed the land, set up a place, and now there is, “Tent City.”

2009-01-20T00:12:00.009-05:00

Somos Listos! (Monday, Jan 19th)

So you all must be sitting on pins and needles to hear the conclusion of the elections…

But first, can we say how jealous we are about the snow in NC! I guess that’s what we get for the earlier comment about how lovely the temperature is here :). Please save us some snow for when we get back!

The gossip we heard last night was mostly correct. The Arena Party won a majority of the elections, including for the Mayor position of San Salvador. While we wish we could share more, we can’t…because everybody else is asleep and yours truly cant remember a lot of the details! However, many people we have spoken with have said that while the results of the elections were not 100% ideal, it is very positive for the country, including American missionaries living here. AMEN!

While we were once again eager to get out into the field today, it was a needed day of preparation. The medical team (Dr. Mike, Jackie, Christina, Teri, Lisa, Adam and Donna) spent the day getting the meds ready for tomorrow, which included strategic planning, taking inventory and organizing for the Pharmacy. The soccer/vbs team (Pastor Jon, Charles, Michael W, Timmy and Nick) pumped up soccer balls and organized 100’s of soccer jerseys, shorts, and tennis shoes. Due to the fact we will be in a different area each day, we had to make sure there are sufficient items to give away in each place we visit. While all of this organizing was going on, it gave the Manly Men team (Mike K and Brian) time to fix part of the roof in Lorraine’s house. Mix in a few quick trips to some stores and all in all, it was a very productive day!

Jahaziel & Brenda came by again for fellowship and dinner. Dr. Tyner & Jackie gave a very inspiring devotion, teaching from Acts and talking about Barnabus. They challenged us to take a closer look at individuals and try to find ways to offer encouragement and find the best in people, as Barnabus shows with John Mark in Acts. (we forgot to tell you yesterday that Christina offered an awesome devotion on David!)
After dinner, Charles used his clown skills (insert easy joke here) to teach us how to make balloon animals for the children. Jahaziel & Brenda did the best job!

Tomorrow is going to be a great day…we will all rise at 6am and head to a boys orphanage! There are 135 boys, ages 8-18. From what Lorraine tells us, these boys are extremely in need of love and affection. As you can imagine, their hearts have been hardened a bit due to life circumstances. Please pray for these boys to not only be receptive, but that we will be able to speak into their lives by showing God’s love. There is also a girls prison right down the road where the women will be going at lunch time. God is getting ready to do some amazing things!

Well, off to bed…we have an early start!

Hasta Luego!

2009-01-18T23:50:00.001-05:00

Trabajamos Mucho! (Sunday, Jan 18th)After a much-needed night of rest with a cool breeze blowing through our windows, we awoke to a beautiful morning with the sun shining bright in the sky. (yes, just rubbing it in a bit to all our of cold NC families and friends!) After breakfast, we all began our morning work, which included doing work around Lorraine’s house (aka the Mission Base). The guys fixed the showerhead, scraped paint, & repainted, while the gals helped with the laundry, cleaning, and other odds and ends.

While we were not advised to leave the house today, we decided to venture out for a quick trip to the grocery store around the corner. On our walk we noticed busloads of people flying flags in support of their political party, some even chanting as they went by. Luckily, the store was open, as a majority of the stores and shops were closed today due to the elections. In the parking lot, we met a nice man name Raphael who asked if we were missionaries. He told us that he was a Christian as well, and that he would be praying for us during our trip here. How inspiring!

We had a little down time in the afternoon. A few of us headed out once again to try and find a propane tank. We eventually found one from a gentleman who seemed to be selling them out of his house. Back at the house, everyone else was trying to brush up on our Spanish speaking skills. The medical team was even able to practice learning the parts of the body in Spanish on a mannequin. We were also able to meet Ken & Pam, American Missionaries living here. Ken is a commander in the US Navy and works with the US Embassy. Their insight and information about El Salvador will surely prove to be extremely valuable for us in the days to come.

After dinner, Jahaziel & Brenda stopped by. They are an El Salvadorian couple with a huge love for Jesus. Jahaziel leads worship and works in youth ministry at his church, where his father is the Pastor. We are pumped we get to visit the church on Wednesday night and worship with them! Brenda is a schoolteacher and has endured major persecution at her school over the past few days. Please lift up this amazing couple in your prayers-that the Lord will guide their steps not only in ministry, but that He will lead Brenda to another school.

During their visit, they led an amazing time of worship out on the back porch. Out in the night, there were sounds of small explosions (don’t worry, we think they were fireworks), car alarms, barking dogs, and excited voices eagerly awaiting the election results. We felt honored to be able to contribute to the above-mentioned sounds by singing praises to our Lord. We don’t feel it is a coincidence that we are down here during this historic event for El Salvador. What better way to help serve a country than with prayer and worship echoing into the open air on an election night?!

We continue to anxiously wait our time to go and serve the people of El Salvador!

***Just as we were done writing…This just in! We have just received word from some neighbors that the Arena Political Party (Democratic) has a huge lead over the FMLN Party (Communist) in the elections. These elections were for the Mayors and other important government positions all over the country, and the Arena party is said to have 85% of the country won. This is amazing news, as reports as early as today said that the FMLN party was leading by 10%-15%. We’ll see how tomorrow will turn out, but the FMLN Party is already accusing the Arena Party of foul play…

2009-01-17T22:58:00.001-05:00

Estamos Aqui! (Saturday, Jan 17th)

We have arrived safely in El Salvador! Besides an early 4:30am start at RDU, our travel was pretty seamless. Well-almost…as many of you know, we brought 8 bags of shoes & medical supplies into the country for the orphans and the people in the villages outside of San Salvador. While 12 of us were told to “salida” without any questions at customs, 2 of our team members were taken aside for questioning and had their bags thoroughly searched. Of course, these were two of our “newbie” world travelers who had never been out of the country OR experienced customs. On top of that, they had ALL the medicine, some of the shoes, and “no hablan espanol!” But the Lord prevailed as always and we were on our way.

With the elections tomorrow, our plans to immediately minister had to be altered. So, we
were able to take a quick scenic detour to Volcan San Salvador, a nearby volcanic park.
This volcano has not been active since the 1940’s, and had breathtaking views. Along
the way, we were able to wind through the busy streets and get a feel for the community
we would soon be serving. It’s truly amazing how far a smile can go. While passing
through the tiny villages, smiles and waves were warmly accepted and reciprocated with
joy. This act alone (along with the enticing smell of the popusas from the roadside
vendors) made us extremely excited and pumped up to do God’s work!

After a quick shopping trip and a journey to 6 different stores for a propane tank to cook
dinner (without any luck), we finished our night with great worship & prayer. With that,
as we begin to start our week, we have some prayer requests:

-Please pray for the country of El Salvador during the elections this Sunday, Jan. 18th.
The city of San Salvador is awash with fliers, signs and flags for both major parties, Communist & Democratic.
-Please pray for our health and safety, and that we will serve the Lord with enthusiasm each and every day.
-Please pray for our families and loved ones at home.
-Please pray for us, that we stay nice to each other all week long while living in very small quarters and taking cold showers :)

Hasta Manana Amigos!

2009-01-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

Preparing...

Just wanted to show everyone how the Lord has already blessed us with supplies for the orphans and people of El Salvador! Big Shout out to New Balance of Raleigh who donated 107 pairs of shoes, Eurosport who donated TONS of soccer balls, jerseys, shinguards, etc. and to MAP who donated all the meds. We are also able to bring some food, as well as Theology books written in Spanish. Once again, THANK YOU for your financial contributions as well as the continued prayer that is making this trip possible. We can't wait to get there!

2009-01-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

Prayer Requests and Tentative Schedule

Thank you so much for following our journey to El Salvador! We all feel as if the Lord has led us to serve and are very excited about the amazing things he will do! Jesus LOVED to serve and to share the great news of what it meant to truly have a relationship with God. In fact, this command was given to the Christian church through His apostles.

Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20

Please pray for the following people who have answered the call to serve, fullfiling this Great Commision; Charles Balan, Brian Wong, Donna Wong, Michael Wong, Timmy Wong, Mike Kelly, Lisa Kelly, Nick Errato, Christiana Brown, Teri Rich, Jon Heath , Jackie Tyner, Michael Tyner, and Adam Koehler.

Here are some other prayer requests we would love for you to lift up during our time there:
1) Safety-there are some elections going on during the first few days of our trip and the US Embassy has told us we are not allowed to leave the Missions Base during this time, as there will be rioting regardless of who wins.
2) Power Of The Holy Spirit-we know that we can not do ANY of this on our own! Please pray the Holy Spirit will lead us the entire time, giving us the words to speak in every situation we encounter.
3) The People of El Salvador-that their lives will be changed and they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
4) Energy and good health-that we can work enthusiastically for the LORD!
5) Families-for our families back in the US, that they will be protected and safe while we are gone.

As of now, here is our tentavive schedule:
Saturday, Jan. 17th -Arrive in El Salvador, fellowship & Volcano visit
Sunday, Jan. 18th - Work around the mission base due to the elections, prepare for villages
Monday, Jan. 19th- Work around the mission base due to the elections, prepare for villages
Tuesday, Jan. 20th-medical clinics, soccer/vbs in villages
Wednesday, Jan. 21st-medical clinics, soccer/vbs in villages, church service
Thursday, Jan. 22nd-medical clinics, soccer/vbs in villages
Friday, Jan. 23rd-medical clinics, soccer/vbs in villages
Saturday, Jan. 24th-TBD
Sunday, Jan. 25th-head back to the States

*Along with the schedule, we may also have time to visit orphnages and a girls prison

Thanks again for all your prayers and support, and we hope to update you soon!