Park Valley Church Missions

Reflections: Mission of Hope

2008-07-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Kelly has been kind enough to send us all a brief set of thoughts after she returned from Guatemala. Please email me your reflections and I will post them (if you want me to. Enjoy:

Good morning Team Guatemala!

Hard to imagine that just a week ago we were hanging our first sheets of plastic and preparing activities and lunch for our first comedor lunch! I trust all made it home safely to families and friends that were so glad to see them and hear all about the trip! I know I was really glad to see my girls but looking at Zoë everyday reminds me so much of all we saw, did, and experienced in Chiquimula Guatemala.

Thank you for being such a wonderful, service oriented group. You all were a total blast to travel with and the things we accomplished were only because we were united in the love of Christ to do His work. All the praise to Him!

Pastor Barry has asked me to prepare 10 slides and talk a bit briefly about our trip. If anyone wants to share something at the three services this weekend, by all means please let me know. I would love it if we could wear our Guatemala Mission t-shirts -- if for no other reason than to provide me some comfort and solidarity by seeing you all in the audience:-)

The box that right now contains all the stuff we didn't have room for will be picked up on Friday, July 25th. If anyone has any small items to include, such as photos, jewelry that didn't make it to Carla last Sunday or anything like that, let me know and make plans to drop it off at my house before Friday. I will be out of town on business on July 22-23 but someone will be here during the day so feel free to drop in. It would be great if we could send a book to Carla of her photos from her party and any individual photos you took with the kids that you would like Myra to give to them, that would be awesome!

We will be planning a picnic for the Guatemala team and their families before the summer ends to continue our fellowship -- more details and potential dates to follow.

You all did an amazing job in Guatemala! Thanks for your love and support of the people there. Your blessings on them -- from Myra and her staff to the poorest of the poor -- were truly God working through each and every one of you.

Going forward, I would like to gather any volunteers who are interested in fundraising, soliciting corporate donors, finding more church partners, working on grants, etc. for the school/comedor building. This is a big step but it is so needed in that area. Imagine how many more children that could go to school if a school was standing and operational? We are looking to raise about $75K. Just email if you are interested and we will work together over the next 4-5 months to see what God wishes to accomplish though us for this school.

As a reminder for some of you that were interested in helping individual families, the cost of the Lorena stove is about $125 USD and the latrine is about $325-$340. These are basic needs of most all the families we visited and/or saw during our time in Guatemala. As the holidays approach, you might consider these as gifts in someone else's name or working with a couple families to raise the money for these items. Any monetary donation should be sent to WMOTW (watchmen on the walls ministries) at 3415 Fallstaff Road, Baltimore, MD 21215. Make sure to indicate on the check memo line what or who the money is to go for/to. Myra also has payment option through PayPal. Any donation is tax deductible and Myra sends out tax receipts at the beginning of the year.

I miss serving with you all but I miss breakfast with you all the most I think because it was our quiet morning time to share God's word and reflect on how His word is changing and has changed each of us. I encourage you to continue being in His word and consider a day or time of fasting to remember all we have and how much others -- Marcos, Lester, Sarita, Javier, etc. -- don't have.

Keep walking in your faith and thank you again for a truly life changing experience,
Love to all,
Kelly

P.S. Please don't forget to upload your pictures to Kodak Easy Share Gallery so we can all view and download/print those that we wish to have and share with others.

Update on Marco

2008-07-17T01:27:00.000-07:00

See the note from Myra below on Marco's status:

Subject: update on Marco Tulio

He is okay. He was sent home today (Wednesday). He came by and I gave him the shirt and ball from Mike. he said the bag of oranges he had across his back saved his life but we know it was God. He has a big knot on the forhead and a few scraps and bruises but otherwiise looks good. I took a photo but can't find it. Go figger.

Alicia is rejoicing. He needed some medication and I used the money that Emily gave me this morning and it was exactly what I needed to get his presciption filled.

He said thank you. Please pray that he will rest.

Angel said to tell everyone he missed ou all...me too.

Love Myra

More Pictures from Day 6

2008-07-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Enjoy (and don't forget to pray for the safe return of the team - they are traveling today):

Day 6 Update

2008-07-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

A final update from Guatemala from Kelly:

Hi Mark,
We have just finished our debrief with Myra after a traditional dinner of empanadas - YUM! We are emotionally exhausted I believe it is fair to say -- we've learned so much about Myra and ministry here, the people, each other, and of course, how God has worked with us and through us. This trip was incredible in so many ways and we again thank everyone for their support and prayers. None of us would be here working in Chiquimula Guatemala without the love and support of the husbands, grandparents, and friends and other family members that are holding it all together while we are here! Thanks so very very much!

Today was a perfect end to a week of hard work here in Chiquimula. We started this morning around 8:30 am up the mountain by bus where we were to deliver blankets, graciously donated by the Power Up kids (grades 1-5 at PVC), to the families and to cover five other houses in plastic. We also visited the house of Graciela who was the recipient of a latrine for her family. It was really hot and sunny today so we were anxious to get started with the very physical task of ripping out old plastic and replacing the new. She lives with her husband and four children and mother in law and a few other family members outside of Chiquimula. Interestingly, all the families on this mountain wanted us to leave the plastic so that they could put it up later. We were happy to comply with their wishes but we wondered if word of our workmanship had somehow spread to this mountain (hehehehehe). The pride these people have for their homes and the dignity that comes with doing something yourself is so evident and so important to these people, just as it is for us--whether you have a mansion or a home made of plastic -- it is still your home. We walk along the river at one point and all around are mountains that are just breathtaking. It is rainy season so the vegetation is lush, abundant, and the farm animals with their ribs showing are finally getting some grass to eat. We finish delivering all the plastic and begin our walk back to Myra's to get ready for visiting the Songs of Joy home for children. The home, or hogar, is not really an orphanage because the kids here all have parents but they have been abandoned or placed there for their safety. We load up a huge bag of basketballs, jump ropes, frisbees, balls, parachutes and bean bag games and head out to the hogar. We are welcomed by Betty who is the acting "manager" while the administrators of the hogar, who are missionaries from the U.S., are away. Betty first takes us on a tour of the facility -- it is a very clean and beautiful home. The children range in age from infants to 17 years and the hogar includes sleeping quarters, a huge kitchen and dining area, pool, basketball court and a primary school. We could not get over how beautiful it was--but this is not the norm for a children's home in Guatemala. After our tour, we asked all the kids to come play. About 60 kids came flying over to see what we had brought and all of sudden, balls of all shapes and sizes--along with frisbees, were flying in the air. Girls took turns jumping rope and playing with the parachutes. The kids were so loving and it took no time at all for them to warm up to us. I turned around at one point after dodging three flying frisbees and at least 4 members of our group were holding kids and tickling them, making them laugh so much! Everyone had a wonderful time!

We reflected tonight on our experience here -- so many emotions it is hard to express in words! We are blessed to have had the opportunity to serve here--to learn and interact with a field missionary and to serve from hundreds of people literally from her garage. We have given much, but feel we are taking so much more with us. We forged relationships with Myra, with the kids and their families, and with each other. Above all, each of us as individuals have experienced a deepening relationship with the Lord our Savior. It is bittersweet leaving--there is much to do -- sometimes it is overwhelming to think of the needs that need to be met. But we long to see our families and God will provide further opportunity for us to serve this ministry here in Chiquimula.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel home on Wednesday. Peace and Blessings,
Kelly

Pictures from Day 6

2008-07-15T08:40:00.001-07:00

One more:

Day 6 Update

2008-07-15T08:38:00.001-07:00

From Kelly again, please read and pray:

Hey Mark,
...
here is some important info for the blog--we need a lot of prayer right now for a little boy, Marcos, who lives directly up the hill from Myra's. He got hit by a car yesterday on the road outside of Myra's house and is in critical condition. The driver that hit him drove away. Marcos has been following us all week and went to the pool with us. At first he was very shy but really warmed up to all of us and his mom is really worried that he will die. Please ask everyone in the church and anyone reading the blog to take a few minutes this morning to pray for Marcos.
We are heading out the door for a very long day repairing houses and visiting the children's home. Will write again later tonight
I've attached two photos of Marcos.
thanks Mark,
Peace and Blessings,
Kelly

Pictures from Day 5!

2008-07-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Day 5 - please see the previous post, or the context won't be as clear as it could be:

Day 5 Update

2008-07-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest from Kelly:

Hi Mark,
We are all going out to lunch in Chiquimula so i thought i would email the events of this morning now.
...

Sunday - This has been a very emotional morning for all of us in many different ways. We are exhausted and it's only 11:30 am here! I believe it is because we all realize that such little things that we take for granted, like a birthday party, are so uncommon here and many kids' birthdays come and go just like any other day. But............not today for Carla, a young lady who celebrated her 15th birthday which is a huge deal here in Guatemala and in the latino/hispanic culture. We likened it to a young woman's first prom or even a very small wedding, but it really is something very special to celebrate. Carla arrived before 8 am this morning. From our generous donations and fundraising activities, our group paid for her skirt, blouse, shoes, and the very traditional and special ring that a girl of 15 receives from her family. We also brought a big bag full of special gifts for her--makeup, hair adornments, body wash, a journal, jewelry. Carla appeared before us from upstairs as beautiful as she could be in her new clothes, makeup and special hair do. There were very few dry eyes from our group--it was as though we were watching our daughter in this very traditional and special event. Our group also made a three tiered yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. We had some issues with the cake not cooperating but with the expert help of our team, we patched it up with frosting--no one complains about too much frosting, right??
About 100 people came for the birthday party and gospel message this morning. Carla was presented to everyone and Francisco, a new pastor to Chiquimula, came to give the gospel message. He spoke about how you can do anything with Christ -- that Jesus will help you with all your problems, small to very big. He spoke of God's love for all of us and that God is perfect and shows perfect love! It was very moving. Finally it came time for Carla's family to present to her the special ring. Both her mother and father and siblings attended. She was overwhelmed with joy! We sang songs (well, the people attending the church service sang songs) and then presented Carla with a prayer. We told her that God should be number one in her heart and that he will love her for her entire life. Then Carla stood up and thanked her parents and when she turned to our group, well, let's just say that tears of joy were flowing freely from our entire group, Carla and our translator, Aimee. You could feel the Lord in the presence of this church service and birthday celebration. IT was so awesome. We served cake to everyone and then sang "How Great is our God" to the people. I think that while they didn't understand english, they got the message. The gift of song and God's love transcends all language.
Thank you all again for your prayers -- they are so encouraging and we are very grateful!
Peace and Blessings

Pictures from Day 4!

2008-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Mike Jenkins for day 4 (remember, for full-size pictures, click on the link):

Day 4 Update

2008-07-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

Another great update from Kelly:

Hey Mark,
We are all doing great! Had one minor injury today with Gus Malone -- he fell at the pool and busted his knee and had to get 5 staples. The doctor is a Christian and loves to help missionaries and so he fixed him right up and sent him back. They were back at Myra's before we got back to her house. Not like an emergency room visit to PWC hospital! anyway, here's an update and Michael Jenkins will send photos later tonight. we are having storms right now.
take care,
Peace and Blessings -- and thanks again for all the prayers!
Kelly

Saturday - Today was an awesome day! At 8 AM the kids were lined up in Myra's garage ready for bathing suits and ready for the all day fun fair and pool day! First we distributed bathing suits to the kids and then started the 1/2 mile + walk down the highway, across the bridge and to the government operated pool. Walking down this highway with 70 kids was a real trip -- literally a road like Rt 66. We were all nervous about managing so many children but it worked out fine. Once at the pool, the children received a gospel lesson while we set up 10 different activities and games -- face painting, bean bag toss, t-shirt decorating, beaded jewelry, water races, basketball, frisbees, beaded bandanas, ring toss, and a host of other activities. The kids loved everything!! The joy in their faces was priceless and worth every ounce of our work to get there and get all the games and activities organized. We did these activities for a couple hours. It was so incredibly hot that so we all headed for the pool. This pool was so nice -- two slides, deep end, shallow end and the biggest "baby" pool we'd ever seen. The kids laughed, jumped, splashed, ran (the whistles would be going crazy at Piedmont and Dominion Valley) and swam until lunch time. We ate lunch of black bean sandwiches, and nutella and jelly (yum!) and then headed back to the pool. We spent all afternoon (yes, we are much closer to the equator here so we have a lot of burned bodies!) in the pool having a ball! Games, splashing, picking up kids and throwing them, and all the time, they just wanted to be with us and experience our love and attention -- which we were more than happy to give in abundance. Our hearts were weary as we thought about what the kids experienced today knowing that tonight, they will be sleeping on dirt floors in a terrible storm that we are experiencing. But, they remain happy. God provides, God is good, God is faithful. Knowing this, we can sleep well tonight preparing for another day with the beautiful people in Chiquimula.

More Day 3 Pictures!

2008-07-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch more from Day 3. If you'd like to download the full-size picture, click on the picture and download from Picasa. Enjoy!

Pictures of Day 3!

2008-07-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

See below:

Day 3 Update

2008-07-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Another Update from Kelly:

Day 3 - Friday
In the early morning, 9 of us set out to repair two homes on the mountain. These homes are made of plastic and corrugated steel -- the plastic was so dry rotted and ripped that any weather events would leak on the families there. in the winter, temperatures in the mountains can go as low as 40 degrees F. We removed the filthy plastic, coated with soot and dirt from their cooking fires which they keep inside. For one family of four, we repaired their entire two room home. Note that in the sleeping area, there is a muddy floor -- no beds. Kids and parents sleep on dirty bed rolls. We hope to bring blankets to these families later this week.

At the next home we find a 6 year old caring for her 3 year old sister and 6 MONTH old sister. -- there mother is away in the river washing dishes. The infant weighs about 7 lbs -- she look like a newborn and brought us all to tears as we took turns holding her. Her sister shows the classic signs of malnutrition -- reddish hair and distended bellies. We struggle to get to work but finally begin to take down the old plastic and completely "re-plastic" their home. As we finish, the mom returns and is happy with her new home.

Back at Myra's garage, four of our team prepares food for 150 people -- today is rice, vegetables and chicken in a broth with a warm, fresh tortilla. They also get all the craft supplies out for the hundred or so kids that come to the comedor for lunch. The kids make puppets and put on a puppet show behind our PVC pipe theater that we brought. They play with Playdough and then blew bubbles--which was an event in and of itself. Every child and mother wanted bubbles--very popular!!

After 4.5 hours on the mountain, the 9 of our team returned dirty (very) and tired (very) to the comedor. When we walked in the door and saw all the kids making puppets and playing with the Playdough, we were instantly filled with energy that only comes from seeing all of the God's children. We served all the kids and mothers their lunch. After lunch, Myra and our team handed out medications for those that were ill. You can only dispense as much as they need for a few days-- a bottle of tylenol is worth a lot of money and many sick people will sell it for money.

One of the very special things that happened during the comedor was that some of our team members who are supporting children to go to school got to meet in person. One little girl, Juanita, ran to her sponsor, Jen Zombron and hugged her so tight. So many more children need sponsors so that they can attend public school -- it is the ONLY way to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala and so many other 3rd world countries.

Tonight, we eat and make a large cake to take with us to the pool and "fun fair" program we are doing tomorrow (Saturday). Look for further entries on Sunday.
We ask for your continued prayers that we do God's will here in Guatemala and grow as Christians working together.

Note that Kelly had led her update with the following:

...
Sorry for the delay in getting to you -- we have been so busy but Michael Jenkins got Myra's new computer up and running! its works great!
Photos to come soon - having a little issue with the internet. thanks so much!
Kelly

Day 2 Picture

2008-07-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture from Day 2:

Day 2 Update

2008-07-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Further update from Kelly Schaeffer:

Day 2 - Thursday - Today was eye opening and spent both in the City of Chiquimula and at Myra's home, which serves as the primary place for the women, children and men that come to Myra's ministry, feeding program and for medicines. We first go shopping in the open air market in Chiquimula -- we buy all our food for us and for the "comedor" -- the feeding program-- for the next 4 days. After an adventurous ride to and from the city markets, we start working on Myra's home -- we painted the kitchen, dining room which took awhile since we discovered that someone in the market had stolen one of our full cans of paint! BAck to the city of Chiquimula for another can! We sorted all of our materials for Friday and Saturday children's programs and at the end of the day, treated Myra's ministry workers to pedicures and manicures. We were so happy to serve Myra and help her with the things she needed done in her home. It's the little things that makest some of the biggest impact to people's lives.

Day 1 Update

2008-07-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Kelly Schaeffer has sent along this brief update of their first day of activity:

Day one - Wednesday -- long travel day --we didn't get into Chiquimula until about 11 PM eastern time. Everyone was exhausted but so glad to be here in Guatemala and get to serving the Lord and the people here.

We traveled with 26 bags--25 of them made it to Guatemala! We thought that was pretty good but of course, for Suzanne Mason who was absent her clothes, it wasn't so good! But everyone is chipping in and helping "share" clothes.
We sleep ready for our first day of serving in the mission here.

Off to Guatemala: July 9th Update

2008-07-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

The team left early this morning to go from Dulles to Guatemala. Please pray for them as they are spending a good deal of today traveling via plane and then bus. I will post an email from Kelly as soon as they get settled tomorrow. And hopefully add a picture or two, as well.

One week to go for Guatemala!

2008-07-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the thoughts that Kelly had put together prior to the trip. Its a solid read, especially for all of you supporters that are not getting a chance to go down there with the team. Please read:

As we enter into our final week before the trip, please continue to pray for God’s guidance and safety as we travel and share in the lives of the people in Chiquimula Guatemala. What you will experience there will be unique to you; however, I can assure you will be impacted by your visit. I would really like us, as a group, to meet each morning for breakfast and spend some time in God’s word and prayer before beginning our daily activities.

I am attaching a few things to remember, some are etiquette type things that are specific to Guatemala and its people. I am also providing you with some basic Spanish that will get you by in the markets and visiting with the families.

1. Purpose of the Trip: To reach people in the Chiquimula area of Guatemala with the gospel of Christ by enabling and supporting the work of Myra Smith and her church. Minister to the people and to Myra Smith, the single missionary working in Chiquimula, and her staff. Being a missionary in the field, especially being single, can be a very lonely life. It is our privilege to serve Myra and her staff and do the tasks that they normally do such as cooking, dishes, cleaning up and any other jobs like that. We are there to serve God in many ways.

2. Toilets: No where in Guatemala can you put toilet paper in the toilet. There is always a trashcan or plastic/paper bag near the toilets where you are to dispose of your paper. This is hard to get used to but very important because their rudimentary sewer system can not process toilet paper. You might want to bring some toilet paper for our walks as we will have no access to bathrooms and a plastic grocery bag for example.

3. Flexibility: While we have spent great efforts in organizing our trip and the activities we want to accomplish, I can assure you that things often do not go according to plan☺ We will all need to remain flexible and allow God to guide us. By remaining open to His plan and His will, we will experience even more than what we could have imagined. I will have extra cash in the event we are led to do some other project that presents itself while we are in Chiquimula.

4. Safety: Myra’s house is a short walk from the hotel. However, it is located on a very busy road near a bar, bank and gas station – so we will be quite visible when walking to and from the hotel. For safety purposes, I am requesting that no one travel unaccompanied. This applies to everyone in our group. In fact, we should never have less than 3 people together at all times. So if we have finished dinner at Myra’s and you wish to return to your hotel, we need to make sure we travel in groups – ether all together or in groups of 3 or more. Also, you should not carry a lot of cash on your person on a daily basis—just enough for a snack and soda will suffice, unless otherwise directed. You can also leave your passports hidden in your room (they might have a safe but I can’t remember). Cameras are okay to be out or around your neck. Keeping your items in a small daypack is strongly recommended (i.e., bug spray, hats, bandanas, water, small amount of cash, photos). When we are in the city, keep your money and passport on your person.

5. Area: Guatemala is located in Central America; the capital, Guatemala City, is the arrival point and Chiquimula is located slightly north and west of the capital, which is about a 3-4 hour bus ride from the capital. In general, Guatemala is fairly safe—there are reports of petty crime (pick pocketing, etc.) to more violent crimes of thefts and hijacking of buses and cars. There is not an Anti-American sentiment in Guatemala and having traveled there four times in the last two years, I personally have never felt unsafe. There are armed guards (with very big guns) everywhere. They often make buses pull over for “checks.” There government is fairly stable right now, which helps to reduce violent crimes; however, poverty is rampant and the there are little to no social programs in Guatemala so crimes associated with poverty, drug use, etc. are plentiful.

6. Food: We will eat breakfast at the hotel – they serve coffee, juice, eggs, pancakes, etc. Not sure if they have cereal. If you are worried about eating the food, bring granola bars or whatever you like to eat for breakfast. We will eat lunch at the ministry. On two days we will have traditional Guatemalan food. For dinner we will likely order out each night (sandwiches, chicken, pizza, etc). Lunch is really their big meal so if you want to bring instant oatmeal, mac and cheese, ramen noodles – that will be good. We’ll also have plenty of fruit. We will have no problem getting bottled water—drink lots of it to avoid dehydration. It is not advisable to drink any of the well water in Guatemala—including brushing your teeth with the faucet water in your hotel room. Use bottled water and remember to bring pepto bismol and Imodium.

7. Working with the people: The women are very quiet and tend to be a little shy. It is best to kneel on their level and compliment their children (Tu ninas/hijas estas muy linda” (your girls/daugthers are very pretty) or “Tu hijos estas muy guapo” (your sons are very handsome). The children are sometimes shy but warm up quickly to the attention. As a courtesy to the Guatemalan people, ask before you take photos. None of the women speak English but Myra and her daughter, Aimee, will be there to translate. There are also people in our group that can help with translation. Feel free to ask questions and talk to people through the translators. They like the attention and it is another way to show that they are loved.

Good News: No more money!

2008-06-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here's yet another update from Kelly on the trip to Guatemala (its great news):

Good afternoon,
This afternoon I met with Pastor Barry and Janice Iddins who does the books and handles all the checks, money etc. at PVC. We have raised a lot of money and therefore, through our donations from friends, fundraisers, and individual donors, you will not need to provide any additional money for our trip. In fact, our fundraising efforts will cover your hotel rooms, all meals and water, your bus fare and individual donation to the ministry.

You will only need to take spending money (sodas, snacks, souvenirs, etc.).
Thanks to everyone for all your efforts in individual and group fundraising efforts! We have been truly Blessed!
The only thing I need from everyone but Chelsea is a copy of their passport.
Peace and Blessings,
Kelly

Guatemala Trip Update

2008-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Here's Kelly's extensive email describing the trip planning and our progress:

Good morning,
We had a great meeting on Wednesday night -- thanks to those who could make it. I think we are set for our activities and supplies for our programs that we will do in Guatemala. Of course, all the planning is the world is great but God's in control, so we remain ever flexible and open to His "programs" :-)

Here's a summary of our meeting. I have highlighted areas to pay special attention to. NOTE: WE WILL BE MEETING ON TUESDAY, JULY 8TH AT 6:30 pm AT MY HOUSE TO FILL OUR BAGS WITH STUFF AND WEIGHT THEM -- DETAILS BELOW.

1) Alvey and Mountain View school supply collection: Kerry Dempsey and Lisa Malone collected an INCREDIBLE amount of left over school supplies! They were overwhelmed by the teacher's and student participation. In short, Kerry and Lisa collected truckloads of stuff -- so much that they took a truckload to the Barn, a truckload to SERVE and they still have tons of supplies for Guatemala, which we discussed shipping later this year. Many thanks to Lisa and Kerry for collecting and sorting all those donations.

2) Final itinerary and packing list -- I reviewed these with the group (see attached files) -- You may certainly pack and wear shorts (walking short length is totally acceptable) but you will want to include a pair of light weight pants also because of mosquitoes and vegetation while hiking. Lisa volunteered to bring a couple cans of mosquito repellent with deet; Jen Z. will bring repellent that is without deet. I will be bringing a first aid kit but feel free to pack your personal first aid items also.

Shoes: sandals are okay for traveling and evenings but close toe shoes are required for hiking --it's unsanitary and the terrain is rough.

3) copy of your passport - I need a copy of your passport before we leave the country. I am keeping all our info in a binder that anyone of us could use in the event of an emergency. Please make at least two copies of your passport--leave one with a family member or friend, give me one for our trip binder, and if you want to carry your own personal copy with you, make an extra copy and pack with your things.

4) List of items we need and who is getting them:
Commercial strength staple guns and staple (4) Lisa Malone
Kelly and Christina are both bringing one
Hammers - Lisa, Kelly, Jackie
Nails - Kelly
Tarps/drop cloths - Lisa
Glue - Kerry and Lisa will get from the school supplies
Brown paper lunch bags (quantity: 400) - Lisa and Kerry -- Please check to see if we have enough in the school supplies

Colored pencils - Lisa and Kerry have this in the school supplies
Markers - Lisa and Kerry have this in the school supplies
5 boxes of Vanilla cake mix - NEED VOLUNTEERS TO PICK UP THESE ITEMS
10 tubs of chocolate icing - NEED VOLUNTEERS TO PICK UP THESE ITEMS
Shampoo and conditioner - NEED VOLUNTEERS TO PICK UP THESE ITEMS (TOTAL OF 5 OF EACH)
4 basketballs (flat) with pump - Christina
small gift for 15 year having the birthday (under $5) - Everyone pick up something --ideas: dangling earrings, stationary, t shirt (medium), necklace, bracelet, etc., shampoo and conditioner, lip balm

5) Donations to the ministry - we will be making the $100 donation to the ministry (per person) from our fundraising money. We are also bringing irons and shampoo for the ministry staff and we will also be giving them $25 each. The ladies also like dangling earrings if you would like to pick up some extras at Wal-Mart or Kohl's.

Chris and Amy Pool have made a tremendous donation to our trip -- a new Toshiba laptop for Myra since hers is failing regularly. When you see Chris and Amy, please be sure to thank them.

6) Register on the State Department Website and other important info: people have asked about the plane flights, emergency numbers, etc. I am attaching a list of those items.

7) Packing -- pack light--we will need all the space we can get for the items we are bringing with us. If you are traveling with a child or spouse, try to get all of your clothes in one bag so that we can use your second bag for the items. I recommend using duffle bags, especially those with wheels. They hold a lot more stuff and don't weight as much as a suitcase so you can get more in!

Please bring any items to have for the ministry along with an empty large duffle or suitcase to my house on Tuesday, July 8th at 6:30 PM and we will distribute all the stuff so that we remain under the 50 lb limit for our bags. USAIR has indicated that they will be charging $25 for our second checked bag so we each need to be prepared to pay that when we check in on Wednesday, July 9th.

Directions to my house: 6833 Rathbone Place, Gainesville VA 20155- I am on the back side of Piedmont (off Catharpin Road). Come through the gate at the back side of Piedmont (off Catharpin Road), check in at the guard shack and then proceed to the Stop sign. Turn right and then turn left on Rathbone Place. I am the 4th house on the right. Cell phone number is 703-967-9490.

8) Collecting additional Money - a lot of you have asked about the donations you've received from the letters you sent and how that applies to the trip. The long and short of it is that whatever donations you received are yours to use to offset your expenses for this trip. I need to collect money from each of you to cover our bas fare ($50/person) and lunch and water for 6 days ($60 per person) for a total of $110.00. you will also be covering your breakfast and dinner cost and hotel. Other than that, we should be in good shape. You can give me your check this weekend (I will be teaching Sunday school at the 9:30 am service so look for me between services in the hallway or drop your check in the collection basket and indicate that it is for "Guatemala trip expenses".

I am meeting with Pastor Barry and Janice this afternoon so they will determine how to get your donated money to you.

I believe that is it!!!! If you want to volunteer to pick up one or more of the items listed above, email me and copy the group.

I would be remiss not to tell you that we have raised close to $10,000 through our fundraisers, individual donors, and schools. WELL DONE!! Our church and local community has Blessed us with supplies and money that are going towards all the things we are doing and will do in Guatemala. We have already made a difference in one family's life there by buying them a latrine. This $330 latrine will change their life in ways we probably can't comprehend. I am so excited to be part of this group and serving the Lord with you.

Any questions, don't hesitate to call or email me.

Peace and Blessings,
Kelly

Guatemala Trip Update

2008-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here the most recent update to the team going to Guatemala. If you aren't going, but are interested in their work and preparations, please read on. If you'd like to help out, feel free to contact me and I'll find something for you to do :)

From Kelly's most recent email:

Good afternoon Mission Team!
This will be a long email so I apologize in advance. I am going on vacation tomorrow until June 19th so if you have any questions, I will respond when I return. This is a no cell phone no computer -- just mom and kids vacation!

First, many many thanks to those who either ordered or participated in our Dinner Done Fundraiser on Sunday, June 8th. We earned $945 in just over 2 hours worth of meal prep -- not bad!! So far, I have calculated that we have raised a whopping $6,705.35! This includes $3500 from an individual donor to the Guatemala mission; 1,101.35 for the car wash; 1,159.00 from the Mission's weekend envelopes, and $945 from Dinner Done. Amazing that God has touched people and that they have been so generous in their giving. Deb McCarthy is also doing a kids giving project (grades 1-5) during the month of June with a focus on children's medications.

Kudos and blessings to everyone who has supported, prayed, and participated in these activities!!!

While we have made a significant amount of money, we have spent some supporting the plane fare costs which totaled $484 per person, leaving us with $1640.00 of our $3500 individual donation. To date, we have asked each mission team member to contribute $400. there are four additional costs that were included in your original outline of total costs of this mission trip. Those are: 1) food and water at the ministry; 2) ministry donation of $100 per person; 3) hotel costs; and 4) bus transportation to and from Guatemala City.

For the ministry donation, I have discussed with Myra that the new laptop will count for some portion of that donation. The food and water at the ministry will be around $10 usd/per person per day. Hotel will run you around $40 per room - double occupancy--you pay for that when you check out. I need to send a check to Myra for the bus fare ($50/person), food and bottled water at the ministry (lunch and all the water you need), and supplies for putting new plastic on houses, and paint for the ministry windows. I would prefer that each individual cover their hotel, bus and ministry food and water until we see how we are doing with our budget and items we need while we are there. We will be using our fundraising money in part for the fun fair supplies, all children's program supplies (including orphanage programming), food for the pool day for 80 people, the ministry computer, a latrine for one family and possibly a stove for one family. In addition, we will be paying for an interpreter (around $50/day) if and when we go up on the mountains without Myra. All that said, we need to collect $125 per person in the next two weeks to cover the bus, food and bottled water. I will cover the supplies for housing projects out of our general funds that we raised.

If you have received donations in your name, just let me know so I will know that Janice already has it. If you are not sure, contact Janice@parkvalleychurch.com and she can help you.

Finally, I am attaching a draft itinerary that I have worked on with Myra. You will see we have lots planned and of course, some downtime too. I would like to host a meeting at Starbucks on Thursday, June 19th at 7:30 for about an hour to finalize all the supplies we will need for our programs and collect the payment for bus, etc. I need to place in order by next weekend with Oriental Trader so that we make sure we have all the supplies that we need to take before July 1st.

Please let me know if that is a good day and time for you all and if you have any questions, I will get back to you on the 19th when I return.

Thanks again for everything and I am very excited about serving God with you all in Guatemala!
Love and Blessings,
Kelly

News From Thailand

2008-06-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief update about some ministry needs for the work the Kensels are doing with teh Pow Karen in Thailand. Please let me know if you are able to help out financially or through prayer.

Since we got the Karen font on computer now, we are going to need at need at least 2 laptops so the village guys can practice typing and get everything on computer.

We are also into rainy season, which means malaria. We have always helped out with the meds for malaria, but now that we are freer to have broader ministry scope than before, we are trying to establish an on-going special fund for malaria treatment for the people in the jungle that can't get to the hospital in the rainy season. It's basically a dose of artesenate, two pills of antibiotics and an IV; altogether this is about $10 a person.

We are also trying to get together a program that we hope will strengthen families and help them stay together. We'll have printed material with basic biblical philosophy (no chapter or verse references, just about family values) in Thai and in Karen. Our idea is to try to supplement the family income or food for single moms or stay at home moms that might have just enough or are on the edge of able to provide for their families. So we are planning to have a daily portion of food (rice, or eggs or something) if the mothers give us an hour or two of work a day on projects that we have around the Thai town or just community help projects that we become aware of. With the new contacts and the community work we are hoping to meet a lot more people and hopefully have an influence on them hearing the gospel. This is just a brief run down of what we are trying to do now that we are free to help in the needs that we see; instead of being tied to NTMs policies and guidelines about ministry.

But we are still pursuing translation and teaching in the village that we are in and that is our main goal - to get a complete Karen bible and have that influence the Karen in the area. We just got done with a translation session where we completed a second phase check of the first chapter of Colossians. In translation sessions they almost always present good times for teaching, going through the first chapter of Colossians I taught the guys what a complete and perfect gift of salvation is and that it has nothing to do with our works or what we do (or don't do), but just our faith and what Christ did.

Please pray about the translation work: that attitudes would be focused on Christ instead of what someone may or may not have done on the translation. Also that everyone would see it as something God wants done and not something they are doing for God.

Dinner Done Success!

2008-06-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all that helped out with the "Dinner Done" fund-raiser. Here's an update from Kelly:

Thanks again for all your help yesterday! It was fun and we earned over $800 in the 2 hours we spent actually making the dinners. That was the easy part! Getting all that food home and getting it sorted out was much harder :-)

I have some left over items and wanted to make sure you have what you need. For the mozzarella meatballs, you should have 2 containers of marinara sauce.

Also, I am heading down to dinner done at noon to make Karen's (my friend in my small group) order that I forgot to include on the spreadsheet. If you need anything, call me on 703-967-9490 or email before 11 am so I am sure I will get the message. Enjoy your meals!

Dinner Done Fundraiser in progress

2008-05-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Remember from Kelly's previous email:

The Dinner Done menu for our group is complete and I am attaching that form for you so you can go out to your friends and family and get as many orders as you can. If we can all make a push for this fundraiser this week and send Suzanne Mason the number of orders you have by next weekend (May 17-18) then we can see what we will need to target from church members. Here's what we need you to do: print out the attached form and have each buyer write their name, phone and address in the top right hand corner. CIRCLE the entrees that they order and put a quantity beside each entrée they order. Suzanne and I will track using a spreadsheet to make sure everyone gets the correct entrees and in the correct quantity. The orders you take from friends and family or neighbors will be your responsibility to deliver on June 8th. We will not be delivering meals to church members -- they will need to come to Dinner Done between 2-4 PM on June 8 to pick up their entrees. Each entree is $23 and payments need to be received when the order is taken. Suzanne is checking today on whether we can write individual checks to Dinner Done. Of course, cash always works too. All orders (what we get from friends and family AND the church) need to be given to Suzanne no later than June 2nd.

For this fundraiser, we will have a booth set up next weekend and again on May 31-June 1 to take orders from church members.

Here is the menu describing the meals available through our fundraiser - hungary yet?

Wash-n-Worship Success

2008-05-18T18:25:00.001-07:00

A quick word from Kelly about the Wash-n-Worship held today [I'll post pictures soon]:

Good evening everyone!
First, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out today to help with the car wash, those that got their car washed, and/or those who prayed for a morning without rain and a successful fundraiser!

We were truly Blessed on many accounts:
1) weather was great--overcast but no rain which really helped us because the soap dried quickly on the cars and it wasn't even sunny!

2) we had a great time working together--I don't know how many cars we washed but we never stopped after about 9:15 am when the first cars arrived!

2) We made some great profits today toward our mission trip activities -- $1,131.35! This will be enough to get 80 kids into the public pool in Guatemala, buy our supplies for the fun fair, and some medical supplies too!

3) The Thomas' provided the water from their home. We are going to send them $30 to cover our water use this morning!

A huge thanks to Tony Greathouse for his event leadership, all his supplies, and for his prayer service before the wash started. Thanks to the many families that worked together today to make this happen: the Jenkins family, the Glenn family, the Bulkeley family, Amy and Jenny Pool, and Renee, my daughter. Another thanks to Tonya Pickeral and Emily Bulkeley for helping to cover Sunday school classes so we could have more volunteers out in the car wash area. Emily Chaplin --girl, you can wash some cars!! Jen Zombron and Carly Glenn, you are some awesome drivers! If I am forgetting someone, I apologize -- I am pretty tired tonight!

Thanks again for everyone's prayers --God was Awesome today--we thank Him and give Him the glory! Have a wonderful week and keep working on getting the word out and orders taken for the Dinner Done meals!

Washing in faith :-)
Kelly

Raise Support!

2008-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Kelly and I have gotten an Example Support Letter together. It is linked to a Word document that you can download and alter to personalize it. Sorry for the delay in posting.

Information for Guatemala Trip

2008-02-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everybody that went to our organizational meeting this past Saturday evening after the worship service. Kelly did a great job of summarizing the goals of the missions trip and sharing a bit about what you can expect on the trip.

For those of you who are interested in going, but weren't able to make it to this meeting, I'm linking to files of the handouts that were shared. Also, if you do not have a passport and are planning on going, please see Will Line. He can help you through the process and hook you up.

As a reminder, here is Kelly's email address and here is mine. And now for the files:

Sample Itineary
Things to Bring
Information Sheet
Items for the Ministry

2008 Missions Trip to Guatemala

2008-01-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

For those that weren't able to chat with Kelly, Tony or myself after the services this weekend, I've uploaded the information that we were handing out. If you are interested in going, please shoot a quick email to Kelly Schaeffer.

Here is the PowerPoint presentation that is a summary of the trip.

A more detailed description of the trip is in this post below.

2008-01-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Overview of Guatemala Missions Trip

July 9 – 13 and July 9-16

As you consider and pray about your participation in the Guatemala missions trip, here are a few things to help you understand the country, the tasks we might participate in, and some general health and lodging items.

Purpose of the Trip: To reach people in the Chiquimula area of Guatemala with the gospel of Christ by enabling and supporting the work of Myra Smith and her church. Minister to the people and to Myra Smith, the single missionary working in Chiquimula.

Trip Dates: You will notice that you have two options for this trip. You can go 4 days and this will give you a feel for the area and people and what God is doing in Chiquimula without taking too much vacation or being away from your family for too long. I will be staying a full week and you are welcome to stay that long and serve.

Area: Guatemala is located in Central America; the capital, Guatemala City, is the arrival point and Chiquimula is located slightly north and west of the capital, which is about a 3-4 hour bus ride from the capital. In general, Guatemala is fairly safe—there are reports of petty crime (pick pocketing, etc.) to more violent crimes of thefts and hijacking of buses and cars. There is not an Anti-American sentiment in Guatemala and having traveled there four times in the last two years, I personally have never felt unsafe. There are armed guards (with very big guns) everywhere. They often make buses pull over for “checks.” There government is fairly stable, which helps to reduce violent crimes; however, poverty is rampant and the there are little to no social programs in Guatemala so crimes associated with poverty, drug use, etc. are plentiful.

Guatemala is a beautiful country – very mountainous and it has 22 volcanoes. To the far North of the capital is the jungle area; to the extreme south, beaches and water access. Chiquimula is a large, thriving town. A university is located there as well as a hospital and many business and open air markets. In July, Chiquimula will be hot. The walks up the mountains to visit families will be somewhat strenuous. If you walk regularly, you will be fine.

Getting there: We will take a major air carrier from Dulles to Guatemala City. Typically, the flight from here to Guatemala City is a little over 4 hours. It is possible on Taca to fly direct or fly into San Salvador and in 35 minutes, be in Guatemala City. From Guatemala City, we will take a private bus to Chiquimula. The bus ride has taken me anywhere from 3 hours to 6 hours (the 6 hours was due to a strike by teachers)!

Lodging and Food: We will stay in a small hotel near Myra’s house. The rooms are clean but spartan. They have running water—may or may not be hot. They are also air conditioned. The hotel costs about $20 per person per night based on double occupancy. The rooms have two double beds, so you can share with your family or friend or choose to have your own room.

We will have no problem getting bottled water. It is not advisable to drink any of the well water in Guatemala. Our stomachs are not usually equipped to deal with the different microbes in their water and some of the water systems are impaired. We will have breakfast daily at the hotel. They serve eggs, pancakes, coffee and typical Guatemalan breakfast (beans, eggs, coffee). Lunches will be served from Myra’s house and are usually chicken, chicken and chicken  Seriously, she makes great chicken vegetable soup and chicken chow mein! There is a “Texaco” across the street and it has a small cantina and store similar to a Texaco station here in the states. You can get sodas, water, snacks, candy etc. there. We will also likely order out pizza for dinner one night—yep, even in remote Guatemala, they have great pizza and it is delivered too! The pizza store in Chiquimula City proper trained in NYC! It is truly a small world. We will probably go out to dinner one night in town and have a “typical” Guatemala meal.

Passports, Visas, Immunizations: Everybody traveling to Guatemala needs a passport. Passports require at least 12 weeks to process. There is NO Immunizations required for the part of Guatemala that we will be going to. Visas are NOT required for trips to Guatemala. Will Line will offer a passport “class” for those that are preparing their applications.

What we will do in Chiquimula: pray with families, visit them in their homes, serve meals and prepare food, do basic medical assessments (if we have a nurse in our group), visit with sponsored kids and their families, arts and crafts workshop for the kids, if the building is constructed, we could paint murals.

Cost: The cost for the trip we estimate is approximately $1000. Flights will run between $400-$600; private bus transportation is $50 per person RT; food will be around $15 per day and hotel is $20-$40 per day (all these costs are USD). The ministry asks that we donate $100 per person in addition to bringing some items for the ministry. We will likely talk about some fundraisers to offset our costs per person.

We will have an informational meeting sometime around February 8-10 to answer your questions and talk more about the trip!

Thanks for your interest!

Missions Trip Presentation

2008-01-28T04:24:00.000-08:00

Chad & Kim and their baby!

2007-12-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

See below for a message from Chad and Kim Deakyne:

Dear friends and family,

On August 15, 2007, Pavel Alan Deakyne was born! It seems already as if he has been a part of our family for years…

Pavel has changed and developed enormously in his first four months! He rolls himself over occasionally, he reaches for his toys regularly, and he offers smiles freely. He has brought great joy to our little flat! Margot the cat, however, has grown restless with jealousy…she is currently biting at the wires beneath the desk where I type.

L’Abri has also changed and developed so much in the last four months! The “launch team” has been meeting twice a week for planning and prayer, our new small group designed as an introduction to the Christian faith is growing, and we have been holding worship services once a month since September! Tell us what you think of the new website for the church at: www.labri-sqy.org .

Culte d’Inauguration: Beginning on Sunday, January 27, 2008, l’Abri will hold public worship services once a month! We have been preparing for this step for months and now everything is falling into place: the room where we will be holding the service is ready, the various responsibilities have been divided up amongst the members of the team, and we have friends who are eager to participate. As you can imagine, the team has had some lively discussions about these upcoming worship services; conversations about the style of music, the liturgy, the sermon, the “look” of the room, etc. We are currently working through the final list of tasks to accomplish before the big day in January: design invitations for our friends, decorate the sanctuary (plants and paintings), prepare Sunday School for the children, etc. If time remains, we plan to gather the guys from the youth group in Magny-les-Hameaux in order to build a pulpit together.

Les 7 Soirées: As we mentioned in our last letter, we have started a new small group that serves as an introduction to the essentials of the Christian faith. In order to vary the teaching style, we have integrated into our study various examples, both classic and popular, of the seven art forms. We have already completed three of the seven sessions and the group is growing. Kimberly and I hosted the first session and used a poem of Victor Hugo and a few works of Michelangelo in order to deepen our understanding of the Genesis account of Creation. Our teammates, Baptiste and Emilie Margaillan hosted the second evening on the Fall and did a wonderful job leading the discussion into the wee hours of the night. And finally, just last week, the group returned to our flat for the third session on Redemption. While I was a bit disappointed with my presentation, the essential was communicated and the response was positive. The high point of the evening was probably the discussion on a particular scene from Schindler’s List… Pray that this group would join us for worship on January 27th and would become the core group of the church.

Special need:
L’Abri would like to purchase a video projector and is now starting to gather the resources to do so. We have been able to borrow a projector from France V.I.E. (World Team France) up to this point, but because five different churches share the projector, it is becoming increasingly difficult to “reserve” when needed most. With the additional activities that we have started since September and the worship services beginning in January, we feel as though it is time to make this purchase.

Would you consider helping us with this investement? We are presently looking at a model that costs around 650 €uros (about $930 with the weak dollar). If you or your church is interested in making a "special financial gift" for the purchase of a video projector, please let Kimberly and I know. Financial gifts can be sent to World Team with a note explaining that they are to be used by Chad and Kimberly Deakyne for the purchase of a projector. While we plan to use the projector for the activities at l’Abri (worship services, Les 7 Soirées, film discussion nights), the projector would also be used for certain activities at the church in Magny-les-Hameaux.

2008 Paris Prayer Conference:
Our annual conference is designed as a short-term mission trip for those interested in partnering with France V.I.E. in prayer. Please contact us should your family or your church desire to participate in the 2008 conference (June 7-14). Now that we have helped to organize a few conferences in a row, we can confirm that there is no better way to understand and participate in our ministry, no better way to encourage the French Christians that welcomed us into their country. Look for the brochure that describes the conference attached to this e-mail…

Christmas and New Years:
Kimberly, Pavel, and I will be back in the States for the holidays…one week in Fort Wayne, IN, and one week in Philadelphia, PA! This short trip will give us the opportunity to present Pavel to those in the family who have not yet met him. Pray with us that the time change does not throw him off for the entirety of the trip!

Baptiste and Emilie Margaillan have recently finished a short video in order present their ministry and help them through the support raising process. If you would like to see their video (in English), follow the link on the right hand side of their web page: http://2coeurspourservir.free.fr .

Joyeux Noël et bonne année!
Chad, Kimberly, & Pavel Deakyne

Here's a montage of pictures:

Pictures of a Building That is Not Yet

2007-11-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Bob Berriz has taken the lead on bringing the concept of the Commedor de Paz to life. He has been very generous with his staff's time at TerraScape to put together pictures and plans for the building. Here is a view of the outside of the building:

Here is the the lower level, second level and the third level:
Here is a picture of the kitchen:

Please Pray for Miss Bea

2007-11-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

Lisa Malone just shot me a quick note:

According to the Lakeshore web site, Miss Bea is having heart bypass surgery today, Please keep her in your prayers! Lisa

Get more details here.

Update on 11-09-2007 at 5:22 pm:
From Lisa Malone again:

Mark FYI: From the web site: Mrs. Bea made it out of surgery well. They performed a triple bypass on her. According to the doctor, everything went smoothly and according to plan. She is in recovery and resting. Mrs. Bea has asked us to pray for a speedy recovery. She looks to get back on her feet soon and get busy organizing the Christmas gift donations that have already begun trickling in.

Trunk or Treat 2007!

2007-10-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everybody that made Trunk or Treat a great success! We had another beautiful night for our Trunk or Treat. It did cool off - but it was perfect. We introduced a lot of people to Park Valley Church and I think their impression should be favorable. We gave away over 2,000 hot dogs and over $1k of candy.

In addition, the Teen Band played and rocked out. I'm not sure how their fingers didn't freeze off at then end (I don't think it works to play guitar with gloves on), but they sounded great.

In the midst of the fun and entertainment, there was an Elvis siting.

Here is a video showing all of the fun:

Preliminary Building Layout: Commedor de Paz

2007-10-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

While in Guatemala, we took a number of measurements to try to scope out the building layout that Myra had started. We quickly figured out that the building wasn't square (but neither is her property). Bob Berriz was kind enough to get the drawings together and we have a view of the plans in PDF form. Take a look!

We're Back!

2007-10-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Kelly, Tony, Bob & I made it back safely into the good ol' U.S.A. late on Sunday night. Our flights were on time - we actually made it to Immigration right at 11pm when our flight was scheduled to land at 11. Then things slowed down a bit. Our bags took their sweet time to arrive and then it took forever to get through customs. In fact, Bob had the pleasure of getting a detailed inspection at customs, leaving me to wonder where he had gone (I had gone outside to start loading up the car - Christa had come to pick us up). I think that it must have taken 25 minutes for Bob to clear customs - but we finally made and then safely home not too much later.

We will write some more about the trip in this space - but suffice to say that our perspective of what we should be doing down there has changed a bit. We are working toward pulling a short and long set of videos together to help spread the word and raise money. More to follow!

Off to Guatemala This Week

2007-10-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

This week, Kelly Schaeffer, Tony Greathouse, Bob Berriz and myself will be going down to Guatemala for a quick (four day) survey trip. We will be flying down to Guatemala City and then meeting the missionary that we will be working with, Myra. From there, we have a bit of a bus ride to the city we'll be working out of.

Thanks to everybody that brought medical supplies in to church for us to bring with us. I'm sure Myra will be able to make good use of them.

Delay and a Logo: Mission of Hope to Guatemala

2007-09-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that Tony, Kelly and myself did not make it to Guatemala this week as originally planned. Kelly's daughter, Zoe, fell on the playground at church last Sunday morning and had to get some serious medical attention to properly prepare it to heal. Kelly & Zoe had to head down to Children's Hospital to have surgery to proper set the arm and then I believe were able to get a full cast on yesterday. Pray for Zoe that her arm would heal quickly.

We are working on rescheduling our trip for mid-October and will let you know when we do.

Some of you may be wondering what this trip is all about. What are the goals of the effort? Who will we be working with? When will we send a large missions group from the church? and most importantly, How can I (you) be involved? Here's a first cut at posting information on the trip:

Goals & Plan of the Trip:

A Plan for Guatemala_2007-09-15.pdf

Who we'll be working with:
Here is the link to Myra's website. This is a good site for people to learn more about Myra and her ministry.

An Awesome Logo:
Jenny Showalter has been kind enough to put together a very cool logo for our effort. Check it out below:

July Update from the Williams

2007-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know its confusing that we support two missionary families with the last name of the Williams, but this is an update from Tony & Heather who are serving in Nicaragua. Please read on.

Dear friends,

Things have been very hectic lately between doctor's appointments and travel. Please allow me to share what has been happening with the Williams family.

Heather's Health
As you know, we returned to the US in February due to Heather's health. We are very thankful to the Lord that she has been restored. Thank you for your prayers on her behalf. We look forward to visiting some churches before heading back to the mission field.

We've moved on from Tennessee
Pastor Rob Hoffman and the folks at Victory Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee have been great hosts during a great time of need. We will forever be indebted to them for their love and generosity.

Nicaragua News
In our absence, several have stepped in to help out. Keni & Vanessa Epp and Donna Woodson work as part of Brian & Rachael Weed's ministry in the capital, Managua. They have been faithful traveling to Leon each weekend. Keni & Vanessa have just emerged from language school. It might seem like jumping into the deep end of the pool to learn to swim, but teaching and preaching gives you great experience. Just this last week, 3 precious souls accepted Christ.

Mexico Trip
Heather and I were invited to Mexico City by BBF missionaries, Ed & Anita Hoagland. We first me Ed & Anita during our internship at University Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. University is the sending church for both of our families.
God has blessed the Hoaglands efforts in their 23 years ministering in one of the world's largest cities. They have developed a Bible Institute that meets in the evenings from 6pm to 9pm. Many of these graduates have started churches within Mexico City. Currently, the Hoaglands oversee 8 mission works. Four years ago, they began an exciting campaign for reaching their city called 7-10-10. The goal is to begin 10 churches and 10 missions in the next 7 years.
Five years ago, the Lord opened up a partnership with the Rawlings Foundation in starting a camp. This summer, along with the collective efforts of several missionaries, the camp will host 2400 unsaved middle school students. Heather and I helped pass out literature and talk to kids about going to camp.

As always, we are thankful to you, our faithful supporters, for all that you do. We never tire of saying thank you.

Update from the Williams

2007-07-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Brent & Miriam Williams sent along this update. Please continue to pray for them:

June 2007

"Can we give our neighborhood security guard a tract and a Bible?" "Can we invite the girls next door to Vacation Bible School?" "Maybe we can meet some people in the park and tell them about Jesus." These are some of the questions and sentiments of our seven year old, Olivia. She has received Christ as her Savior and is very tender towards other who do not know Him. Please pray for her spiritual journey and for us as we try to encourage her desire to share the Gospel with others.

"Are all Peruvians Catholic?" "Are we Catholic?" "Why do Peruvians pray to Mary?" "Do Peruvians know about God?" "Anybody can come to our church, right?" These are some of the questions asked by our five year old, Kyall. He has not come to the understanding of salvation yet, but still has a soft heart. Please pray for him as he continues to learn and for us as we teach and train him.

We also ask that you pray for our Sunday School teachers, who help us and the other parents of our church in the spiritual training of our children.

Cinthya, Jenny and Juana are three of our teachers whose backgrounds couldn't be more different.

Cinthya is the head of our children's ministry as well as church secretary. In spite of being raised in a difficult and unhealthy environment, God kept her heart tender and as a teen she gave her life to serve the Lord. As the head of the children's ministry, she is responsible for training all the new teachers and is leading the children's ministry in the new church plant our church is starting in August.

Jenny grew up in a Christian home and serves faithfully teaching children every week. Currently, she lives with her aunt and uncle who are not in favor of her attending our church and prohibit her from attending various activities. Her quite faithfulness has been a testimony to them and her teaching has helped her grow with the children. She recently surrendered to study in a Bible college and follow God's plan for her life.

Juana was not raised in church but was saved as an adult. As a mother of three teenage boys and the owner of two businesses, she has very little free time. Each week though, she gives her time to teach a children's class where she encourages her class to memorize verses, study God's word, and give to missions.

We are thankful for the leaders God has given us and the work He is still doing in their hearts and pray that He will continue to bless us with more like them.

Payment Update for Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-07-04T13:36:00.001-07:00

This has been a long time coming, and I apologize. But there is good news -

For all of us who went on the trip, our remaining obligations are $0! Donations for the project have covered the remaining expenses and you owe nothing past your initial deposit.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Also - keep your eye out for another opportunity that will be coming up to serve with PVC. I'll give you a hint.

A Sign for the Kitchen

2007-06-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Diana Cercy put together a cool sign for the Lakeshore volunteer kitchen. See it here:

Vicki was also kind enough to send along a picture of the house that we put the roof on. The work continues:

Flag Raising on May 6th

2007-05-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

We noticed that the flag at Lakeshore was not looking too well (actually, Tony noticed). We bought a new one and put it up before we left. Check out the pictures that Emily took.

Thanks Emily!

Slideshow Video

2007-05-20T12:43:00.001-07:00

Check out the slideshow that was presented this morning. The music has been changed to protect the innocent, but all of the pictures are unchanged. Enjoy!

Pictures from Tom Rogers

2007-05-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Tom sent me an email with a bunch of pictures attached. Enjoy:

Tom Roger's MtM07

Thoughts from Mike Kestner

2007-05-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

Mike passed along his thoughts via email a couple of days ago and I've been a bit lazy about getting it posted. Here it is:

Well, as always, the efforts of all were such an encouragement. Both times I have gone, I have been blessed by the fellowship of the mission team. Each person putting aside his or her own problems, troubles and needs, of which we all had in abundance, to help someone else. We all shared moments that we would only have shared with old friends. I made friends that will last for a lifetime. From the pirate princess and of course Andrew to all the others who I think were much older than I (just kidding).

Though we worked hard what we did was nothing more than a small dent. I think what we mostly did was offer encouragement to the ones who must live here everyday. That experience the slow grinding motions that rebuilding always encompasses. James Bobbitt, who tries anything he can to help when he lives in a house in the middle of the construction process himself. Pastor Don, who has a girl drive him around to offer encouragement wherever it is needed because he is all but legally blind. There is also the girl [Jamie Dunbar] who came for a couple weeks and ended up staying a year and still going. Or the guy at Home Depot, who really hasn’t noticed much change when I told him how much better everything looked.

It sometimes is easy to look around and wonder why there are not more people out working to help themselves. Why is there still so much trash in the yards? Why aren’t people working together? These are things that have run through our heads. But, I didn’t lose everything that I owned. I didn’t lose friends, family, children or life-long possessions. The despair has not stolen my hope. Our compassion for these people must be so great as to look past our own reasoning or our own expectations.

God didn’t say help only those that help themselves. What he said was help all that ask. To push beyond and give things that it hurts to give. To give your time even when you don’t think you have it to give. It is our walk with the Lord; it is our mission to come to the aid of others. The struggle is with the devil that battles in our minds and tries to say that they do not deserve help or that they are not helping themselves. Or even that our own needs are just as much or even greater. The walk is definitely ours to make.

Finally, “Forty Days of Purpose” never ends. There will always be needs and there will always be cries for help. Even as we were in Mississippi, Kansas was hit and people lost everything. Jesus said that there would always be poor and that there would always be a need. Let us always be open to help to give and to stretch beyond what we think we can do. There are two little girls who sleep on a couch because their rooms were flooded a couple years back. Numerous people from Park Valley have given there Saturdays and evenings to make this a better situation and bring it to a conclusion but as always in this business it was a bigger thing than we thought. So the project grinds on and the mission and the walk will continue.

As a church, won’t it be great if we could continually reach out and always have a project in the works and that there would always be an over abundance of volunteers to help. May the Lord open our hearts and place a desire there that will never be satisfied to help others in there time of need no matter how large or small.

Thanks to Park Valley for helping me to participate and greetings to all my new friends and also the old, may the Lord live in your lives abundantly.

Mike

Even More Pictures!

2007-05-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Tom & Vicki passed along their pictures to me today at church. Check them out here or click on the picture below. All those that haven't sent me theirs already, please do! Thanks.

Tom & Vicki's MtM 2007

More Pictures!

2007-05-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

Check out the Duvall's web gallery of their pictures here. I'll include these on the DVD, so no need to download them all yourself, but you can check them out in the meantime.

A Link from Pastor Don

2007-05-10T04:31:00.000-07:00

Pastor Don has linked to our website here and posted a picture from our posted picture gallery. The picture that he posted is of my driveway. That doesn't sound like it would be too interesting, but you should take a look. Emily (my daughter) got creative with chalk and wanted to wish us well on our trip.

Pastor Don also had a kind word for our team's work. You guys rock!

Tony's thoughts on Mission to Mississippi

2007-05-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get other people's perspective of the trip up here on the website. Tony is the first to send me his thoughts and here they are:

We traveled far, encouraged, shared sorrows, we showed our support to James Bobbitt, Pastor Don, and to all we came in contact with. We worked hard for long days and gave as much of our strength as we could muster. It rained on us. The bugs beat. The sun burned us. It was Mississippi hot. We got dirty. We used our gifts and skills to help progress the recovery. The bed was hard. I hear the snoring was loud but I was asleep. The kitchen sergeants were tough and the food was not as good as last year. The toilet facilities were not good and the shower had a line. The flight home was late and Dulles’ ground transportation was terrible. We gathered as strangers and went home friends. We shared our experiences and thoughts and we laughed a lot. Jesus Christ was our example and being more like him is our mission. If we grew, learned, loved, and achieved anything on this mission all glory goes to God. The mission started the day we believed and put Jesus in our hearts. The mission continues.

Thanks to Tony for his thoughts.

Day 5: Mission to Mississippi

2007-05-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

We're Home!

It did take a while - part of the reason I didn't really write this post last night. Our flight from Atlanta to Dulles was delayed by an hour and fifteen minutes. Then, when we got to Dulles, there wasn't a spot for our plane. Then the fuel truck was in the way of the "mobile lounge". It was all smooth from there, though.

Day 5 was really just a traveling day, so not too much interesting really happened. We got a late start (at least I did, others were up reasonably early) and enjoyed some doughnuts that Bob bought for the group. Lisa (and some others?) visited some jobsites with James and Danny caught James up on the progress we made on the Ladner's roof. We cleaned up and then each car decided how to get from Waveland to Gulfport and where to eat breakfast. Many of us ended up at a few of the dozens of Waffle Houses that exist between those two locations. Christa thought it funny that the breakfast was pretty good except for the waffles - they could have been better.

Security didn't take long at Gulfport, although most of us got "puffed" before we went through the metal detector (that was only my second time being "searched" like that). We hung out together in Atlanta. A game of Pig was played and perhaps a few others.

I was able to get some pictures uploaded (my own), but am hoping for others from group members. Here's our group shot on the last day:

Here is a before and after photo of the Ladner's house:

Here is the entire album of my pictures:

Mission to Mississippi 2007

Day 4: Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-05-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Our last day of work - and we did work hard.

Today our team finished up several big-ish projects.

Keith & Josette's house:
Bob, Robbie, David and Tom (Rogers) worked hard carting concrete to the holes they had gotten inspected yesterday afternoon. The ground was soft so the cement truck couldn't back far enough to chute right to the first row of holes. The softness also didn't help the wheelbarrows. After emptying the holes of water, Bob and David made sure the cement was at the right level. The cement operator was very helpful and mentioned that our being here was making him consider going back to church. Keith and Josette offered to feed them crawdads and they stayed and enjoyed.

Cindy Ladner's house:
We worked hard to get the roof rafters up and had to improvise a bit. The sun beat down and took a lot out us, but we did get all the rafters up and started on the OMB sheeting. Fortunately, there is a framing crew coming tomorrow or Monday that will be able to catch up where we left off so the project will continue moving forward.

Bo's house:
The women painted, stained and painted some more. Bo came by to help and they did get much accomplished despite the humid (very humid) conditions.

Store/Warehouse Operations:
And part of our team continued to work hard with the free distribution warehouse and store. They've been working toward helping the Lakeshore people be able to get out of the gymnasium that they have been using as a warehouse. As well as continuously stocking shelves for the seemingly unending stream of customers.

Dinner:
We ate out at Las Palmas - a small Cuban restaurant not far from the church. Good food and lots of it.

Evening meeting:
We got together at 10pm to share again. We had just hanging out and chatting - I think some of it was sleep deprivation - but we have gotten comfortable enough with each other to just talk.

Leaving our mark:
I'll post a picture tomorrow or Monday of our mark, but Diana, Andrew and Raquel worked hard to provide something much larger than a t-shirt to leave our mark with.

Day 3: Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-05-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

More work today - but sustained rains made it difficult to get too much done.

It rained all night and into the afternoon. It didn't stop until 3pm making us all pretty soggy. Worse yet, the lightning kept the framing group (a few of our guys and the Alabama crew) from continuing work.

Fortunately, the rain did stop and some work did get done. The cement foundation crew was able to get their work inspected and approved so that the cement could be poured tomorrow. In addition, Danny got up to speed on the framing job, which we will be continuing tomorrow.

The ladies (and Andrew) continued to work hard in the warehouse and store - trying to keep them in good shape for the next week.

Day 2: Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-05-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today we got down to work. We worked hard as four separate teams and then got together at 9pm (we worked late) to talk about the day.

Lisa Malone took charge with the warehouse operations and kept Emily Chaplin, Vicki Boggess and Andrew Bulkeley busy. They worked hard (despite telling us that they took a nap). They got things in order at the warehouse and stocked up the sheds for the "store". In the store, Debbie and Raquel worked hard to keep the shelves stocked. They had a lot of customers throughout the day that kept them busy.

Some of the ladies (Christa, Emily, Laura and Diana) did some inside work at a house still under construction. They sanded drywall, painted on some primer, stained cabinets and stained an outside wall.

One of the groups of guys (Tony, Mike, Danny, Mark, Tom and Tom) worked on setting and digging 36 holes for a house's foundation. The auger that was rented from home depot was barely up to the task, but it turns out, also didn't have a functioning alternator. About two hours in to our job, the unit just quit. The guy over at home depot was helpful and bought a new battery. Unfortunately, it too died after several hours - just before the last hole or two was dug. At that point, we had to call it a night, and it was a night. We didn't get back to the church until almost 7:45.

The other group of guys (Bob, Robbie and David) finished up some other foundation work, but this one for a concrete foundation requiring (as I understand it) lots of bent rebar. After they rented the right kind of bender for it, they were able to get the job done well. They were able to get to know the family and their story. They (family of five) were here when the storm came and fought hard to survive. They did, only to find the aftermath quite difficult. Insurance paid them little, but they still owe on their previous (no longer existing) home. They are working hard to get their new house built and we are glad that we can help.

I'm tired and the snoring has started already, so I will finish up. Please comment if you have any questions.

Day 1: Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-05-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

We're here. Despite not getting too much work done today, I think we are all ready for bed - even though its only 9:30 EPT. Here's what we were up to:

We all made it without incident to Dulles and through the long day of travel. Our layover time in Atlanta was longish, but it did allow us to get to know each other a little bit better. Our flight landed on time at Gulfport, MS where we found the airport under heavy construction, but perfectly suitable. We jumped in our rental vans and scattered.

When I say we scattered, we ended up taking different routes to Waveland. A couple of cars hit I-10, and another bunch went on US-90. The latter route, US-90, had a notable bridge taken out by Hurricane Katrina, so the group of us that went down it did so only after consulting the MS DOT website to ensure that the road was not out of commission. The website was silent on any bridge closure, but sure enough, 5 miles away we were sent on a detour back to I-10. It turns out not to have been a total waste, because the groups that went down I-10 were backed up in traffic due to a horrendous accident (it delayed them 30 minutes; sadly, several people died in the accident).

We all eventually made it to Lakeshore Baptist. We didn't get too much done but some distribution/store work did get done. In addition, the skilled among us went (which does not include me) went with the project coordinator to survey our work site for several days. We are going to be spending effort trying to get a post foundation set correctly and will hopefully have some other painting projects to report on as well.

We are fortunate to have a couple of old pros in the kitchen. Dinner was great and we look forward to more good food!

We were able to hear Pastor Don preach - something we missed out on last year due to him attending a conference (his first break since the storm). The Wednesday evening service was great. There are two other large teams here, one from Michigan with a bunch of teens and a big group from Alabama of "more experienced" folks. All groups were down previously and felt burdened to come back. We are looking forward to working alongside of them.

I will not be the "official" team photographer this year - Robbie Berriz brought his 30D and already has been snapping away. I will try to steal (borrow?) some of his pictures and post them as soon as they are available. [Update: I was able to steal a couple of pictures and upload them:

The team waiting in Atlanta:

Unloading our first trailer's worth of goods:

The men are all bunking in the main church building (good thing I brought my ear plugs). The women are in the converted shipping containers and small bunk rooms right next to them. I think we are all excited to get to work tomorrow and ready for some rest.

Final Update before the Trip

2007-04-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

As I said in my email:

After talking with the AirTran folks today, I have two minor additional pieces of information:

a) They want us there two hours in advance (because we are a group). I pushed back suggesting that would put us at 4:40am. She checked when they opened and then suggested that 5am is fine (I think they open at 5am). I will try to be there very close to 5am and will go through the line. Please make sure I know that you're there before you head through security - I'll try to keep track to make sure we've all arrived.

b) We do not need to check in all together. Instead, you should just need your name. The other flight information is: AirTran
May 02, 2007, Flight 65 Departing Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD) at 6:40 AM. Our reservation code is K38YWI if you happen to need anything more. Call me immediately if you have any problems. They should give you a paper boarding pass that will get you through security. Don't forget your valid photo ID!

I have contact everybody by phone that needs a ride and I was on the hook to arrange one for you (if you need a ride and haven't heard from me - check your voicemail - then call me).

Notes on Last Meeting

2007-04-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

We met at Superior this afternoon at 2pm to discuss the final details.

We went over this handout (I've updated a little bit).

I've also promised to email out the mobile phone list - unfortunately I can't do that tonight - my computer is not working correctly - it will go out tomorrow morning.

I promised to post Andrew's presentation about why he wanted to go to Mississippi. Here it is.

Anybody who needs a ride and hasn't signed up yet, please let me know right away! We have more willing drivers than we have passengers right now.

Meeting on Sunday

2007-04-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't get my email I sent this morning, here it is:

During the Sunday morning services, we will be having a "send off" for our team. Please make a special effort to be there.

This Sunday at 2pm we will be getting together for our final organizational meeting prior to our trip down to Mississippi. Please let me know if you will not be able to make it - we should chat beforehand if you won't be there. I'd really like to get us all together before the trip, if possible.

We will meet at Superior Paving in Gainesville (see link)

Please call or shoot me an email if you have any questions before then. Thanks!

An Update from the Deakynes

2007-04-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

Below is a nicely detailed letter about what the Deakynes are up to in France. Please read through and pray with me about their work.

Dear friends and family,

Should any of you desire to receive our newsletters by e-mail, please drop us a line (chad.deakyne@worldteam.org) and we will make sure that this happens.

Bien fraternellement,

Chad & Kimberly Deakyne

--------------------------------------------------------------
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge (abri); my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~ Psalm 18.2 ~
--------------------------------------------------------------

What does a successful life look like?

In February, ten of our friends gathered together to watch the film Fauteuils d’Orchestre at a local café. This was one of the questions we discussed during the discussion afterward. In many ways, the film itself asks this question and its characters search desperately for answers. The main characters, all of whom are celebrities in the arts, are looking for their place in the world. Imagine a concert hall filling up with people just minutes before the curtain opens. Where is the best seat in the house? It is certainly not off in the back, far removed from the action…but it is not necessarily up front either, among the orchestra seats where you have to strain just to see the action.

Kimberly and I continue to plan events like this ciné-débat in order to meet the people of our town and develop friendships. We continue to participate in the various cultural events organized by the Forum and help out with an English discussion group each month.

Association Protestante Evangélique de Saint Quentin Centre – “l’Abri”

Voilà the name of our church plant in Saint Quentin Centre! In late December, our sub-team held our Assemblée Générale Constitutive and officially created the association. The word “l’Abri” means “refuge” or “shelter” and is taken from the theme verse for the church: Psalms 18.2. It is our desire that the church be a place of refuge, a shelter where we may go and be reminded that in the Lord we find security and salvation.

Kimberly and I feel as though we have been running since early January…but the race is good! We have had some excellent opportunities to teach both in Magny and in Saint Quentin. In mid February, I team-taught a workshop on worship with our teammate Baptiste Margaillan. There are a few couples in the church plant in Magny who have recently started leading worship on a rotating basis and they needed to be trained. Baptiste, who is an excellent musician, and I recognized the need and worked together to offer them a vision for worship, an introduction to the elements of the liturgy, and some practical hints and tools. As I was preparing for the workshop, I thought to myself, “In the States, each of our supporting churches has a worship leader. If I were in the States, I would probably never teach a workshop on worship!” The workshop was a success and the participants were grateful for the training.

Family Section
Kimberly is four months pregnant! That’s right...welcome to the first installment of the family section of our newsletter! Mother and child are both healthy and are both growing as the months progress. The doctor that Kimberly has been seeing is great. Kimberly is comfortable with him, his office is within walking distance from our flat, and he is patiently walking us through the details of the French health system. I am sure we will be flooding you with pictures after August 25, 2007!

France Challenge Project
France V.I.E. (World Team France) continues to partner with various missions and unions of churches to work toward the creation of 1 local church for every 10,000 inhabitants of France. We continue to pursue three main avenues in order to achieve this goal.

1. 2. 3. Key Areas of Activity
1. To establish new churches through multi-cultural teams
A. There are six people on our church planting subteam: Jerry & Carolyn Moyer, Baptiste & Emilie Margaillan, Chad & Kimberly Deakyne. We are currently working on two separate church plants in two separate locations: the church in Magny-les-Hameaux which is well under way and the church plant in Saint Quentin Centre (l’Abri) which is just beginning.
B. We are ready at any moment to bring in three or four new team members to open a third church plant in the area. These team members could be missionaries from overseas, they could be French church planters, or they could be lay persons ready to help out with the project.
2. To encourage churches to plant daughter churches (networking)
A. With only 11 evangelical churches for the 500,000 people in our area, we are desperate for new partners.
B. Through the network of local evangelical churches, we are hoping to organize a conference on church multiplication. The goal of this conference would be to formulate a common vision for the southern portion of our county (Yvelines). Pray that God would work through the different denominations and unions of churches that are present so that the existing churches of the area would multiply.
3. To train French nationals in pioneer church planting
A. Baptiste will be joining France V.I.E. as a full time church planter in September. This will be the completion (and in some ways the beginning) of his training. We are now looking for a young pastoral intern for the church in Magny. We need to begin to train someone who can meet the pastoral needs of the community.
B. As a result of our recruitment efforts here in France, we have recently made contact with three students who are interested in the vision of France V.I.E.

To the praise of His glory,
Chad & Kimberly Deakyne

21, boulevard Vauban
l’Ascot
78180 Montigny-le-Bretonneux
France

World Team
1431 Stuckert Road
Warrington, PA 18976
800.967.7109
www.worldteam.org

Summary of Organizational Meeting

2007-04-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post for everybody that wasn't able to make it to the organizational meeting that we had over at Superior this afternoon.

We first went through this presentation. Its been posted in Adobe Acrobat format which should work for almost everybody. Note that it is an 11 MB file and the hosting service I'm using is free - and not fast. Give it some time before you give up trying to downloading.

It passed out this handout. Very similar to last years', for those of you that came last year.

Here is some promised information about the flights:
AirTran
May 02, 2007, Flight 65 Departing Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD) at 6:40 AM
Arriving Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 8:31 AM
May 02, 2007, Flight 1590 Departing Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 12:15 PM
Arriving Gulfport/Biloxi, MS (GPT) at 12:34 PM

And on the way home:
May 06, 2007, Flight 1591 Departing Gulfport/Biloxi, MS (GPT) at 1:05 PM
Arriving Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 3:22 PM
May 06, 2007, Flight 68 Departing Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 6:11 PM
Arriving Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD) at 7:59 PM

Our arrival on the return trip is later than I'd like, but it is the best schedule that I could work out. In addition, upon a closer view, it looks like I was optimistic on the lay-over timing. We will be spending some quality time in the Atlanta airport. As I remember, there were no later flights we could take and still get to our destination, though.

Finally, check out the Rebuild Lakeshore website. [Note I was wrong about the URL at the meeting - sorry]

Update from the Williams

2007-04-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a note from the Tony & Heather Williams. Please keep Heather in your prayers.

Dear Friends,

For some time now, Heather has experienced serious health issues that have as yet been unidentified by medical tests. After counseling with our Paster, Missions Director, and other colleagues, we have returned to the States to allow Heather to be further evaluated and seek treatment. We are renting a small apartment in Maryville, Tennessee owned by Victory Baptist Church. It is close to Heather's physicians and we are able to participate in their worship services. We are grateful to Pastor Rob Hoffman and the people of Victory Baptist Church.
Heather is my priority; however, I will need to visit some churches while in the US. . . . . I am so grateful we are a part of your Missionary family. Your prayers and support are essential to our family at this time. Our ministry in Nicaragua is in good hands and we are excited about returning to the field as soon as the Lord allows.

Before leaving Nicaragua, God allowed us to take part in a very special event.
Our neighbors' daughter, Francina, was married in the Cathedral. With nearly 200 spectators inside and 500+ outside, it turned into a major event. And who was that gringita (literally, little foreign girl - I know, sounds harsh, but it is quite endearing) walking down the aisle in front of the bride? Moriah! She was invited to be a part of something so very special. Francina has visited our worship service a couple of times and Ladies' Bible Study with Heather. Pray for Francina and Cesar in their new life together.
As a little "goodbye" before we left Nicaragua, Francina's parents took us out to dinner. Martha told us that while she is Catholic, she is concerned that her kids will not continue to be so. She shared that being Catholic is part of her identity. Martha continued, "I give you Francina and Cesar. They need to make God the center of their lives and they should be involved with your ministry." Please pray for Martha for she is very sick with cancer. Pray for her salvation as well.

Organizational Meeting

2007-04-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

I would like to get together next Sunday afternoon (4/15) for a quick informational/organizational meeting. I would love for everybody to be there, if at all possible. The meeting will start at 2pm and will last about an hour. It will be held at Superior Paving in Gainesville. Directions can be found here.

From an informational perspective, I want to give everybody a sense of what to expect for the trip (though many of you know from last year). Also, though, I'd like to make sure everybody knows everybody else! We will have many of the same, but also many different people as last year and I want us to get to know each other.

From an organizational perspective, I need to get a list of skills that each person has. From there, I will pass that along to the people at Lakeshore and they will try to line us up against jobs that we are well suited for. Seemingly mundane, but important stuff.

Also, its been noted before, but feel free to raise support directly for your expenses. To do this, you may want to send a letter to potential supporters. A sample letter can be found here.

I need Deposits!

2007-03-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

If you are joining us for the trip - make sure you get me your $100 deposit as soon as you can. Alternately, pass it along to any of PVC's pastors (I won't be there Saturday night) and they will make sure it gets to me. Thanks!

Pictures from Last Year's Trip

2007-03-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like Google has made big progress linking Blogger and Picasa - so I've posted a bunch of pictures from our trip to Mississippi last year. Take a look:

PVC Waveland Trip

Updated Information for "Mission to Mississippi 2007"

2007-03-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Trip Updates
Here is our current cost estimate:

Airfare: $226.60	(that's not really an estimate, but our locked in price)
Car Rental: $60.00	(1 car per four people)
Gas: $20.00
Food: $50.00	(we'll be largely eating donated food)
Other stuff: $up to you.00
---------------------------
Total: $300 to $400	per person

Note that last year's cost was $364 per person, of which about $200 was covered by donations from church members.

If you are planning on coming, you may want to think about raising some support for the trip and find sponsors. You can use this Sample Letter as a template for a letter to send out to prospective supporters.

Please look in the archives of this website to see the description of where we are headed and the likely accommodations, etc. Start in January 2006 and work your way through February 2006, April 2006 and May 2006. Because this is a blog, you have to work your way from the bottom to the top of each of those pages to get it in proper chronological order.

Remember, you must let me know that you are coming by Tuesday, March 19. Send me an email at markbulk@comcast.net.

Mission to Mississippi 2007

2007-03-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

The News!
We are heading to Waveland Mississippi again this year to contribute to the rebuilding efforts there. We will again be partnering with Lakeshore Baptist Church in Waveland, MS. We had a great trip last year, bringing about 25 members down there to work hard and make progress.

We'd like to bring just as many again this year, so we need you!

The Plan
Our basic plan will be this:
1) Fly down to New Orleans early on May 2nd.
2) Drive to Waveland (about an hour and a half trip, we could fly into Gulfport, but there are no direct flights from here)
3) Survey the work projects for the upcoming days on the afternoon of the 2nd, and perhaps get started.
4) Work hard Thursday through Saturday
5) Leave Sunday morning. (Unfortunately, the flight schedule does not allow us to stay for morning worship, unless we can convince Pastor Elbourne to have a very early morning service).
6) Return home (at Dulles) the afternoon of the 6th.

What to Expect
The accomodations down there range from cots to tents - so be ready for a camping-like experience (although I will say that our food was much better than camp food last year).

The expected cost for the trip will be about $500 (most of that for the flight down and back and the rental cars), but I will firm up the numbers in the not too distant future.

We need people willing to come and to help out in the following areas:
1) Food preparation - we will be doing our part to help prepare food for all of the volunteers that are down there
2) Stocking "store" shelves
3) All sorts of building (drywall, roofing, etc., etc.)

Please give me a shout at markbulk@comcast.net if you'd like to join us.

See the video we played this weekend introducing the trip below.

A Message from Pastor Don

2006-12-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't remember, Pastor Don Elbourne is the pastor of Lakeshore Baptist Church. Unfortunately (for us/good for him), the week we served, he was away for a conference. Anyways, he just recently sent out this email and I wanted to pass it along to all of you:

On behalf of Lakeshore Baptist Church and our community, I pray that you have a joy filled Christ exalting holiday season.

We continue to move forward in the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts. A good number of people in Lakeshore will celebrate Christmas in a new home this year, but hundred's more will awake Christmas morning in a camper. One grandmother told me this week that she asked her 10 year old grandson what he wanted for Christmas. He said, "All I want is my house back." If volunteer teams continue to flood into our community, Lord willing, he will see his dream some time in 2007. Humble requests like this keep me pushing forward.

We covet your prayer and ask that God continue to support us with his sustaining grace. As Lakeshore Baptist Church ministers to her storm ravaged community, we depend on God's mighty hand working all things to his glory through the gracious generosity of his people.

Please visit our recently re-designed web site http://rebuildlakeshore.com/ for information, news, and frequent updates on the progress. Please feel free to forward this web address to others who may be interested in rebuilding Lakeshore to the glory of God.

May the Lord richly bless you with a heart that leans hard upon his grace.

--
by grace alone,

Pastor Don A. Elbourne Jr.
Lakeshore Baptist Church
http://lakeshorebaptist.net

Pastor's blog: Locusts & Wild Honey
http://elbourne.org

Rebuilding Lakeshore to the glory of God
http://rebuildlakeshore.com

A Quick word from Chad & Kim

2006-11-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Our newest missionaries, Chad and Kim, are back in France. Chad sent me a quick note recently, a portion of which is below:

hello mark...

long time no see...! not sure we ever really gave each other a final answer regarding vonage. go ahead and cancel that for us...if its not already done. skype is working well for us...and we connect using that. we have also started with skype out for those who don't have skype themeselves. it has worked well.

thanks so much for providing vonage for us for so long! that was a huge help to know that we could be connected with our families in that way.

how are things for you guys? overall, furlough was great...very tiring and very encouraging. i must say that we are thrilled to be back home...living out of a suitcase was more difficult than we thought. [...]

we made some new connections [on our visit to the states] with some churches that truly fit kimberly and i...i was happy about that.

did you receive a missions packet from us before we left the states...that would be late september?

say hello to the [pvc] family for me!

chad

They are back serving in a church on the outskirts of Paris. Please pray for them as they continue their ministry there.

Trunk or Treat 2006: An Amazing Success

2006-10-29T19:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your trunk! Trunk-or-Treat 2006 was a great success due to your efforts to put together a creative and cool trunk -- as well as pass out a lot of candy.

We had 60 trunks in attendance and an estimated 3500 people there! and lots of opportunities to explain to people who we are as a church and why we do this event. Wow! That was a lot of candy and a lot of fun.

Our first place trunk was "Captain Jack" (Carl and Laurene Craig). Congratulations!

And here is a picture of the Bulkeley's (we didn't win, but had lots of fun) as Gilligan's Island:

A very special "Thank You!" to Frank Jenkins for virtually making this event happen. He was almost solely responsible for the hotdogs, buns, soda, popcorn and the Evergreen Fire crew attending. So many other people made significant contributions and we couldn't put this event on without your help. A few (and I know its not comprehensive) more thanks: Bryan for bouncehouses, ice and lots of other organization, Dean Matthews for the lights, Bob Surface & Roger White for the grill and grill crew. Thanks to everybody.

Trunk or Treat 2006 is Coming Soon!

2006-09-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

We will be holding our 3rd annual Trunk-or-Treat community event on Sunday, October 29th at Alvey Elementary School. Check out the following video to find out more about what Trunk-or-Treat is all about:

So, to make Trunk-or-Treat 2006 a success, I need your trunk! Have fun with it and start putting together your creative ideas for trunk decorations. I will also need some help on the food side. We will be giving away free hot dogs and drinks and literature about Park Valley Church (our whole point of doing this). I will also need some help getting the 3 to 4 bounce-houses to Alvey and set up. Let me know if you want to be part of this awesome event. Email me at markbulk@comcast.net.

A Couple of Prayer Request from the Kensels

2006-09-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

A lot is going on in Thailand. Please pray that the coup d'etat that just happened will be resolved quickly and calmly. It has been bloodless so far and the king has apparently endoursed it, but the situation could quickly turn volatile. The BBC has covered the story here. The lead into a page one story in the Wall Street Journal is below:

An apparent coup in Thailand raises serious questions about the stability of a key U.S. ally in Asia that until recently had served as an anchor of democracy and investment in the region.

Amid a tropical downpour late yesterday in Bangkok, tanks moved on key government offices and television stations in the Thai capital and seized command of the city while the country's caretaker prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was traveling in New York. Government-run television stations said the armed forces and the police had taken control of the country, and a statement signed by the Thai army's commander in chief imposed martial law.

The seemingly bloodless coup, the outcome of which still is unclear, underscored longstanding questions about who runs Thailand, a country of 65 million people that is a favorite of Western tourists and companies despite its opaque governance. Thailand is known as a parliamentary democracy, and early this decade Mr. Thaksin became the first civilian prime minister to complete his term.

I was chatting with my sister this morning and yesterday on Skype and she mentioned that they are going to be forced to find a new place soon. Below are a few snippets from our IM conversation (pasted in for convenience). Please pray for a house for the Kensels:

dkensel1 says: we are looking at houses trying to find a place to move to as our landlord wants to sell the land
dkensel1 says: well, we think we could but it would be difficult, also they want to tear our house down and use the wood someplace else (it is worth A LOT) and have us live in the newer place that they figure costs 2-3 million with the land, we were never interested in buying but that price is so high as to be pretty impossible
dkensel1 says: we just want to rent, more freedom, [...] etc
dkensel1 says: we saw a house we had tried to rent 6 years ago, it still has no one in it, but the neighbor says the owners aren't interested in renting
dkensel1 says: it will not be easy (humanly speaking) to find a place
dkensel1 says: most of the open houses are too small, but if we are desperate we would do it

Just this morning she thinks that they might have some

Debbie was also kind enough to forward some recent pictures of their work up in the village.
"the men are around a small deisel tractor engine that they use for tractor or for a grinder or whatever using a pulley set up"

Here, "a Karen believer and his friend recently released from jail (in glasses); the friend seems to have been saved in jail"

Update from the Kensels

2006-09-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Deb, Dan and family have spent some more time in their "townhouse" than they were intending recently. They had to get some maintenance done and it ended up being less than trivial to accomplish. But, in that time they were able to sign up for DSL and end their dependence on a bad sattelite connection for internet access (which should make Skype phone calls much easier).

They were able to make some progress on the language side. Up to this point, most if not all of the teaching, hads been done orally. Dan sent me the following note on their progress:

Here are the Lekki characters "Alphabet" I've been able to put the time in finally and get I asked 3 guys to write down the characters and get them check and then get the proper sounds put with the letters. Doing this to get thier langauge put in to Omni script so it will be able to get put on to a keyboard to we can then type and get lessons and scripture out to them more easilly.

He also forwarded some pictures of the script that is being developed and hopefully soon integrated into a simpler computer interface for Dan to prepare the lessons. Below are a couple of examples:

I've also just heard this week that they will be visiting us in April of next year -- a few months sooner than they had originally been planning! (yes, I am a bit excited)

There is also an update on the lady that they had requested prayer for some time back. The original request can be found here . Dan hiked into the village recently and was able to see the lady and she was doing much better. While she has 6 more months of medicine to go (they are very careful about treatment because there are well-founded fears of resistence), she is looking much better and is thriving back in the village.

September update from the Halls

2006-09-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the Hall's update from up north, eh?

52 Norland Circle. Do you recognize that address? No? Well, it’s our new address here in Oshawa! During our visiting here in July for a few weeks we found this gorgeous house to rent in a brand new subdivision. It’s in a great part of town and right near the colleges here in Oshawa (which also means our neighborhood is a college neighborhood, but that just means more ministry opportunities.). It’s awesome and we’re very happy here. Thank you for praying for us as we searched for a new house. We’ve been welcomed with loving arms at Affinity and we’re thrilled to be ministering here.

The missions teams that came to visit in July were a blessing to us and other churches in the Toronto area. Thank you for praying for them. We hope next year to do the same.

Nathan has been able to lead the congregation at Affinity while Jarret and Jenn took a vacation. He is coming into his role here as Associate Pastor at Affinity and
is enjoying it very much; I’m sure when we’re ready to start our own work that this position will have taught us a great deal of ministry lessons. Jarret and Jenn are phenomenal to work with and we’re excited to learn from them.

September 17 is our fall kickoff service at Affinity. Summer was somewhat of a slow time for us, but we’re hoping that our Fall Kickoff will stir up some momentum in the community. Pray for the activities during the fall that members of the community will be excited about what God is doing here and will seek us out for curiosity’s sake, if nothing else.

They finish up their letter with a quick list of prayer requests. Please note:

Traveling during this and next month as we are approved by the BBFI as full time missionaries and attending mission conferences
Nolan as he turns 2; obedience and love for Jesus
Continued support-raising
Health for us and for our pastor here at Affinity
Church growth, spiritually and physical numbers
Fall activities at Affinity

Guatamal Video

2006-09-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

After some fiddling, I was finally able to get a video together and posted on YouTube of Kelly's trip to Guatamala. Please check it out when you get a chance, the run time is about 11 minutes.

For some reason the embedded window wasn't working, so here is a direct link to YouTube's site.

Lakeshore, One Year Later

2006-09-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Its hard to imagine what it must be like for the good people down in Waveland (and elsewhere) to know that a whole year has gone by and they are far from back to "normal". There is so much more work to do and many things to discourage you if that is what you are looking for. However, God is still working through churches around the country at Lakeshore Baptist Church and sharing his love. Check out Pastor Don's blog, Locusts and Wild Honey for his latest take. Pastor Don mentions his excitement in the help of Jamie Dunbar, an missionary intern who is also a blogger. Check out her blog Because of Grace. Their job maintaining the free distribution center is anything from over. Check out a following recent picture posted on Pastor Don's blog:

One final note, Joell Fricke who all of us remember well, just gave birth to an eight-pound baby boy! Keep her and her family in your prayers. Their house was one of those destroyed (pictures here) and they have not yet been able to rebuild. So they are all in a camper for the time being. I would post a picture, but after looking at the 500 or so we (as a group) took, I couldn't find a single one with Joell in it. I don't know how that could happen, but I suspect she does :)

Guatamala - Shoes Needed and Thank You from Kelly

2006-09-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Kelly Schaeffer sent me this note along today thanking Park Valley Church for their support of her recent trip to Guatamala. Please read on and note that Kelly has some more plans:

Hi PVC Families! During my summer mission to Chiquimula, Guatemala, I noticed that most of the children do not have shoes, dramatically increasing their risk of injury, infections, and parasites. I am now collecting shoes for the children in Chiquimula Guatemala with the intent of shipping these items this fall or early winter. So when cleaning out your closets from summer and buying new school shoes for your kids, please consider donating your gently used shoes, especially sandals. I am looking for all sizes -- especially children's 1-5. Flip flops are especially good. If you have women's sandals size 4-8, those would be great too. I will have a large box marked with "Chiquimula Children Shoe Donation" in the hallway beginning Sunday, September 9th. I will also be taking cash donations to offset the shipping, which is likely to be around $200. Thanks in advance for providing for these children and families.

I am behind the eight-ball in getting a movie together from Kelly's trip. Be looking for a short 3 to 5 minute presentation of her trip in church. I'll also post on YouTube for my "web-only" readers.

Below is the "Thank You" card that Kelly has sent to the church and her other supporters

July Update from the Williams (Nicaragua)

2006-08-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, we will have to make sure that we can keep the Williams (Peru) separate in our minds from the Williams (Nicaragua), but I think we can do it. Tony and Heather were at our church not too long ago and here is their July update:

God blessed with a very busy June:
- Mother's Day
- Child's Day
- Father's Day
- Youth Camp
- Vacation Bible School

We also celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and Moriah's birthday. All of these activities provided us with unique opportunities to share Jesus with many people.

Our initial contact with Lilliam and Rene was when we invited their son to Jonah's birthday party. As Lilliam strolled around during the party, she noticed some of our literature that we had available as well as our bulliten boards with activities and photos. She inquired, "Are you guys Christians?" I said yes and explained that we held a worship service every Sunday.

Lilliam's husband, Rene later shared that he and his wife had to get married in an Evangelical Church since his mother-in-law was Evangelical (Everyone non-Catholic gets put into this group). They stayed longer than all the other guests. We took advantage of this great opportunity to share our ministry.

They came for our Mother's Day Celebration. Rene indicated on his visitor card that he'd like to know more about an intimate relationship with Jesus. I set up a time for us to get together. After sorting through his background and talking about side issues, we came to his 'salvation' decision. While still engaged, Rene was urged forward by his soon-to-be mother-in-law after an emotional appeal was offered. He and several others were asked, "Do you accept Jesus?" After saying yes, he was asked to fill out a card and then asked to sit down.

It was my privilege to show Rene from the Bible how he could know God and establish a relationship with Him through his Son, Jesus. Rene eagerly bowed his head and prayed, "Jesus, please come into my heart and life and make me Yours. Change me. Help me be a better husband and father. In Jesus name, amen." Pray for his Christian growth. This is the first man that we have led to the Lord. Here, men are harder to win than women. Pray for more men to come to the Lord.

PRAISE: Through e-mail, we let many of you know that we were praying for Tony's health. A few weeks ago, he was in severe pain in his joints from the waist down. At one point, it became very difficult to walk. He has responded well to medicaiton. He is still under the doctor's care. We will probably never know what caused all of this. The doctor thinks he had a bad reaction to a virus.

The Future of Field Missions

2006-08-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

I am not only interested in missions at Park Valley Church, but also interested more generally in how the church does missions. So I was pretty excited when I heard Dan Crane (a New Tribes Mission missionary to Paraguay) speak at the church that Christa and I grew up in (South Apalachin Baptist Church). Below is a picture of Dan and Peggy and their two youngest:

I've known Dan for a long time. It was way back in 1989 that I volunteered a summer at a youth camp (El Rancho de Paz) and met Dan. He was then the guy in charge of all of the farming operations (the camp has a fully operating farm associated with it) and I was a "ranch hand". Dan was a great guy to work for and with. He worked us hard as I remember, but I can't remember him ever being in a foul mood or discouraged about sometimes uncooperative farm machinery. It was some time later that Dan and his wife Peggy were called to the missions field with New Tribes, roughly about the same time that my sister Deb was going through the New Tribes training. I've left out other important details, but suffice to say that Dan is a guy that I both respect and value his opinion.

So when Dan was speaking last Memorial Day on this topic, I knew that I had to have a copy of the sermon. I asked his permission to post the message and he graciously allowed me to do so (thanks to Mike Welch for burning the CD for me). It is slightly edited for length and some "local" content, so any odd breaks in the flow are my own fault and not Dan's. Just click on the play button below to listen. If you would like a copy of it on CD, just let me know.

July Update from the Williams (Peru)

2006-08-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Brent and Miriam on the birth of their new baby boy, Lucas! Read on for their July update:

Babies, Babies & More Babies

There are some neighborhoods in Lima that are so rough you just don't go into them unless you live there. Cristina and her nine brothers and sisters were raised in one of them by a very Catholic mother. Cristina is the nursery director at our church and she has been respondible in more than one way for the babies in our church.

For the past several years, Cristina has been witnessing to her family and inviting them to our church. Last year she convinced her youngest brother, Paul, to come with her. He was a seventeen year old declared athiest. Two months later he was a born again baby Christian. Today he is a part of our praise team.

Several weeks ago her persistence paid off again. One of her older sisters began attending our service with her two teenage children... and you guessed it, more babies. Just this past Sunday, her niece and nephew accepted Christ as their Savior; just weeks after their monther experienced her new birth.

In the past months, God has added several more new baby Christians to our family. We have also been able to host two youth groups from the U.S. on evangelism mission trips. The two together have allowed us to share the gospel with several thousand people and see hundreds make public professions of faith. Please pray for these newborns as the local churches in their areas follow up and help them grow.

I mentioned above that Cristina was responsible in more than one way for the babies in the church, well, last night she gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. She was the third baby in the last three months born in our church with three more to come in the next four months. -- There's more than one way to grow a church, you know!

One of those babies was our own. Lucas Seth Williams was born April 17. We are so thankful for him.

June-July Update from the Halls

2006-08-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

See below for Halls' update:

We’ve been blessed...certainly we’ve been blessed by all of you who support us , but we’ve also been blessed to have life in this country; to have life at all, really. Sometimes we lose sight of these blessings during the diffi cult and slow times. This summer is one of those times!

Summer is always a hard time for missionaries, but we have had a slow time scheduling churches at all. Many of you know about the mass mailing we just mailed a few weeks ago, and for those who prayed, THANK YOU! It worked! We have received a good response and have thus far scheduled about 10 or so churches. Our most exciting news, though, is that it looks like we’ll be able to move to Oshawa in August!

Through various means, we have enough temporary support coming in that we can move to Oshawa until our deputation in the States is through. We will continue to schedule presentation dates until we have enough church support in the States and can discontinue relying on the temporary support that has been offered to us. That thrills us so much; we have been looking forward to this day for almost a year.

When you get this letter, we will be in Toronto, hosting two missions teams from the States to come and help out with various activities at Affinity. We’re excited to visit, and hope to find
a place to live while we’re there.

Prayer Requests:
*Housing in Oshawa
*Scheduling churches and the rest of our support to come in
*Melissa hopes to start a mom and tot time next fall 2007 which will hopefully generate some relationships and salvations.
*Moving to Oshawa; safety, finances
*Nolan: obedience as he enters the ‘terrible twos’, love for Jesus, and our parenting
*Schooling decision *(while it’s not for another two years, it will come quickly!)
*Safety in traveling
*Summer missions teams
*Home group Bible studies at Affinity

Teens are off to Mexico!

2006-07-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to remind everybody to pray for our teens who are off in Mexico working to help build houses outside of Tijuana, Mexico. Although I hear that they almost missed their flight to San Diego (from there is was a bus ride to Mexico), they did make. But some of their luggage didn't (fortunately only one bag).

The conditions are quite rustic: cold showers, latrines, and such. But they have been kept very busy.

A couple of things to pray for: continued safety of the group, success in making an impact on the people they encounter and in the work that they do, and healing for Kathy Harris (she has an infected cut that has was bad enough to have to seek medical treatment). I'll pass along any additional updates as I get them.

Updated Prayer Request from the Kensels

2006-07-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a revised prayer request that the Kensels sent me yesterday (the original can be found here). I've blanked out the names because I'm not sure if they are OK with passing them along, but I'm pretty sure that will not limit the effectiveness of your prayers. Please keep this couple in your prayers:

Dear friends,

Please pray for the wife of a believer. We think she is a believer too. She has had a couple years of off and on illnesses that remained undiagnosed and has been very sick these last few months. In the last month she was diagnosed with TB. She is emotionally and physically pretty tired. With the meds and separation from her family, she is having some pretty severe emotional problems with fear. Some would call them panic attacks. Pray that God would give her peace of mind and would heal her of these things. The husband is one of the stronger believers and is continuing to pray and look to God for healing for his wife.
Tomorrow they go in to see the doctor to see if they can return home and continue taking the medication there (the TB meds are supposed to be taken in the presence of a doctor). It is a 6 month course of treatment for TB so she would be separated from her family (7 kids) for the next 5 months otherwise. Their names are B__ (the husband) and N__ ___ __ (wife).
In Him,
The Kensels

Update from the Kelly Schaeffer

2006-07-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

I got this yesterday, but was out of the office and not diligently checking email. Kelly's promised update has arrived. Read on:

Good morning mark,
Thanks to everyone for all the prayers! We arrived safely in Guatemala on Tuesday and spent Wednesday in Antigua Guatemala before spending a five hour bus ride to Chiquimula. There was so much traffic in Guatemala City and then there was a protest/strike among the school teachers on Thursday morning that had traffic tied up for hours. We finally made it here to Myra's home in Chiquimula.

We sorted all the clothes, shoes, socks, and toys into boys and girls and then went to the market for food. What an experience -- rows and rows of fresh fruits and vegetables, chicken, etc. We bought chicken and fruits and vegetables for our food for the weekend.

The kids are really amazed at everything they are seeing. Here in Chiquimula, water is very precious -- we don't waste a drop! Also, there is no hot water -- so last night we all took cool water showers--that's okay though, it is very hot here. Each afternoon we have experienced the afternooon storms and rains of the "rainy season". Yesterday I saw three young girls that went down the mountain to the road where there is a public well. one of the little girls carrying a jug of water wasn't any more than 4 or 5 years old. I blew them each a balloon -- you should have seen their eyes as i was blowing it up. Then I got out some bubbles we had brought for the children. I had tears in my eyes watching them catch their first bubbles in the air.

Today (Friday), we went up the mountain to a very poor village to meet some families and let them know that we have lots of children's clothes and shoes. The first home we visited, we prayed with the wife and husband. Alicia, the wife, prays daily for her husband because he drinks a lot and beats her. They have ten children. The second home we visited, they also have 10 children and the husband has some disability so he asked us if we could find him a wheelchair so he could get to his therapy in Chiquimula proper. Later, in our visits, we went to another home where they had three wheelchairs--what a Blessing! After a lot of bargaining, we took the oldest wheelchair and delivered it to the family that needed it.

I have seen poverty but i am always blown away when i actually see people living in it. Many of the families do the best they can with dirt floors, no plumbing or latrines, no water. Tomorrow, we visit the most poor in this area. Sunday we will deliver the corn and beans. It is actually much more expensive here to provide rice than corn. Rice is three times as much as corn. I would never have thought that.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers -- they are much appreciated! I will provide another update on Sunday after services.

God Bless,
Kelly

The Schaeffers Leave Tomorrow

2006-07-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who missed our service yesterday (Sunday July 23rd) and recent blog posts - Kelly and her family are headed to Guatamala starting tomorrow.

Kelly did send me a picture of the whole clan from last Christmas. Here they are:

Our church is partnering with her and will be funding the construction of a new stove for a needy family down there. This will allow a family to go from inhaling all of the smoke associated with cooking indoors like the picture below:

To this:

You can get more details at the Watchmen on the Walls website.

Pray for their safety as they travel to Myra's tomorrow.

Operation Waveland: (Not) Final Report

2006-07-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Operation Waveland was a success! Thanks to everybody who worked hard volunteering time to man the collection station (PackRat) and organizing the donated materials and then finally, loading the truck for shipment to Mississippi.

My apologies for my slowness in publishing the final report of our efforts to fill up the PackRat (generously donated) and send needed materials down to Lakeshore Baptist Church in Waveland, MS. But here it is.

Gene Clarke and Larry Warren's dad headed down to Lakeshore on the weekend of July 1st. The trip went without a hitch. Here are a couple of pictures from Sunday June 18th after church.

I'm not sure Gene was back even a day before he started thinking about what is next. He felt lead to be looking into providing Lakeshore a water purification system that could be used instead of relying on (expensive to transport) bottled water. Gene has been spending time on this and a water sample from Lakeshore is on its way to a company in Lakeland, FL for testing to ensure that the filtration system he is thinking will, actually will. Just as a note, and something to think about, the system will probably be in the range of $2,000. The next challenge will be to try to get donated plastic jugs for people to use, and figure out how to set it up in a more permanent fashion so it could be used for years, instead of quickly forgotten.

So the reason that this is not a final report is that we will likely work toward raising funds to purchase the filtration system. Anybody with expertise or interest in this matter, please let me know.

Update on the Schaeffer Family Missions Trip

2006-07-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

July 25 is fast approaching. Our own Kelly Schaeffer, her mom and three children will be heading down to Chiquimula, Guatemala to volunteer time and serve with a missionary (Myra Smith). Details are available here if you missed the orginal post. They are planning on working hard with a ministry that is serving the poorest and most needy.

Some of you may not know Kelly, but you'd probably recognize her. Sadly, she didn't send me a picture of herself, but rather one of her kids.

She also wanted to send along a picture of her mother of which there are few digital photos excepting those with a young Elvis included. Carol (Kelly's mom) is below:

Keep this family in your prayers. They leave July 25th! Kelly has promised to take many pictures and will report back to us when she returns. I look forward to hearing about her trip.

New PVC Missionaries = The Williams

2006-07-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last week we were fortunate to have the Williams family visiting with us. The Williams are currently planting a church in the Nicaraguan city of Leon which a was northwest of the capital city of Managua, roughly on the west coast (Pacific side) of the country. They are focusing on reaching the young professionals in that city, of which there are quite a few given that this is the "University Town" of Nicaragua. Below is a picture (somewhat recent Tony tells me) of their family:

Pastor Barry has known Tony for some time and has kept in touch with him over the years as the Williams went first to Costa Rica for language school and then made their way to Leon to begin their ministry. I hope to get more pictures of their church (currently meeting in their home) and their most recent newsletter posted as soon as I have them. Please keep the Williams in your prayers.

OK, I know you are thinking that I just posted that we are adding the Deakynes for support - and now we are adding yet another. That's probably what the trustees are thinking too. If you feel led to be directly supporting our missionary families (of which we now have five: the Williams (Peru), the Williams (Nicaragua), the Kensels (Thailand), the Halls (Toronto), and the Deakynes (Paris) ), please feel free to provide support through the church. Just designate your gift as "PVC Missions" and we will know where to direct it.

Maybe even more importantly, keep these families in your prayers. Each has special challenges that they are facing and a unique way that they are spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. You can be part of their ministry by regularly praying for them.

New PVC Missionaries = The Deakynes

2006-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

I hope you all remember Chad and Kim that joined in our morning services two weeks ago. To help jog your memory, I've pasted in a picture below. They are currently serving as missionaries to France with a group called World Team. Park Valley Church has begun to support them in their work in France (outside of Paris) and are excited about what the opportunities will be going forward.

When they were with us in the morning service they talked about kindness (in keeping with Barry's message) and how it was so important for them, and how much they have felt from the people they have met and grown close to in France. They are currently working to start a church in the southwest suburbs of Paris, not far from Versailles. I was excited to hear from them after the service that there were a number of people with close ties to France (grew up there, flies there every week, etc.) that they were able to get to know. God has a neat way of connecting people all across the world!

Chad and Kim are good friends of Chirsta and mine. We've known them for some time (when they were teachers at a Christian school in Fairfax and living in Warrenton). They love to hike - while they were visiting us we were able to take a hike up "Old Rag" in the Shenandoahs. It was a good hike except for the whole bear incident. Here's a pic of Kim with the kids taking a quick break.

Prayer Request from the Kensels

2006-07-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

I was chatting via Skype with my sister (Deb Kensel) today and she wanted me to pass along this prayer request to the church:

Please pray for a lady who is the wife of a young believer - we are not sure if she has believed. She is having medical problems and psychiatric problems, she has been sick for the last two weeks and not really well for the last 3 years, please pray God would see fit to heal her.

Please do pray and I will keep you up to speed on any progress of this situation. Deb also mentioned that the van that they purchased a while back (with help from PVC):

... on a related subject the van has been a tremendous help, not only did we still have wheels while the truck was stuck in the village we have been able to help the orphanage and a halfway house with transportation and suppies.

Finally, here is a quick picture of the boys - Stephen, John and James on John's recent birthday working hard at their pumpkin pie (John prefers it to cake).

A PVC Family's Mission Trip: Introduction

2006-07-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Kelly Schaeffer, her mom and family will be heading to Central America. She recently provided me some of the details. It is a great trip! I'll keep people posted along the way, but here are the details to pray for. From a recent email from Kelly:

On July 25, 2006, we will begin our journey to work with the people in Chiquimula, Guatemala. I will be traveling with my mother, Carol, and my three children - Nicholas (age 10), Renee (age 8) and Zoë (age 21 months). For me, this trip will be fulfilling a promise I made two years ago. It was in December 2004 that I had my first encounter with beautiful Guatemala, and her people, through the adoption of my youngest daughter, Zoë. During my week long visit in 2004, I met many people in some of the poorest living conditions that I had ever seen--many were women and children. I vowed to return someday to Guatemala and volunteer my time helping the Guatemalan children.

In January 2006, I began researching volunteer organizations/opportunities, where I found many opportunities for my mom and me, but I really wanted to be able to travel with my children and have them also experience serving others. I found Myra Smith, of Watchmen on the Walls Ministry in Guatemala. How I found Myra is truly a blessing from God. Myra actually raised a friend's two Guatemalan children while they were in an orphanage waiting for their adoption process to be complete. My friend told me about Myra and what she was doing in Chiqumiula. Myra is originally from Baltimore, MD and she has has been living in Guatemala for 10 years, and sharing the word of God with some of the poorest people in Guatemala, many of whom have learned what God can do in their lives and have accepted Christ as their Savior. I decided to see if Myra would be willing to allow my whole family to volunteer with her mission in Chiquimula, Guatemala. Myra said, "absolutely", and so began the planning for our trip to Guatemala.

Chiquimula is located about three hours by road (improved and unimproved) from Guatemala City. It is typically hot and dry, although Guatemala is about to enter into their "rainy" season beginning in early August through November. While in Chiquimula, we will be bagging vegetables, rice, and beans and delivering them to the homes of some of the local people that Myra knows are either without any support (i.e., husbands that are working), are sick or injured, or have just had babies. While at these homes, we will talk and pray with the people. Nicholas and Renee will be in charge of introducing the kids to bubbles, playing games, and reading. Renee has been practicing reading books in Spanish, such as "Where the Wild Things Are".

In addition, some local Guatemalan people are constructing a large building that will serve as a large kitchen (Comedor), school and part time clinic. The kitchen will serve hot meals to mostly women and children that might not otherwise eat. we are hopeful to have some opportunity to work some on the Comedor. Finally, on Sunday, we will participate with the 40-60 women that regularly attend church services and their collective 220 children! I am looking forward to trying to sing worship songs in Spanish:-)

More details to come . . .

Here's What You Owe . . .

2006-06-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing.

Yep. Really. You owe nothing. I'm not saying that you can't provide an additional donation if you don't want to, but you don't owe anything.

Now, just for the record my estimate of $550 per person for the trip was not too too far off, if conservative as expected. The total expense for the trip was $9,091 or $364 per person (which doesn't include personal expenses such as lunch on the way there and back, crawfish for Gene and Sonic for Ken). Much of this cost was offset by donations to the church, and your initial deposits for the plane tickets. I'm not aware of the final tally of donations, but they were solid.

So you are done if you want to be. But I do know that some of you were expecting and would like to make a contribution to this effort and please feel free to. Just note in the memo line of the check, "Mission to Mississippi" and it will be directed there. Also note, that we (Park Valley Church) will incur expenses in getting the current Operation Waveland donated materials down to Mississippi.

I'm sure all of you are aware of the times that the Operation Waveland pod is open (and are already volunteering), but if you haven't signed up yet, Bryan mentioned to me this morning that he is looking for help on Saturdays. Shoot him an email at bryan@parkvalleychurch.com to let him know of your interest/availability. Here's a pretty rough (camera phone) picture I took today of the pod at Alvey. I'll replace with a better one later.

A final note - for those of you that had direct expenses (rental cars, gas, etc.) your receipts have been submitted and you should receive a check at church this coming week. Sorry it has taken this long.

June Update from the Kensels

2006-06-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

I just got a quick update from my sister. Keep the Kensels in your prayers. Read on . . .

Dear Mark,

Hey, we are all doing alright. Had Steven's birthday the end of April and John's is coming up this month. They are definitely growing. Sarah has started standing on her own and cruising around furniture. School has been coming a long bit by bit. James and John are getting into the hang of it a little better, and Steven doesn't need so much time yet.

Dan has been working more on getting the script ready to be able to be used on the computer. When that is done, hopefully it will be turned into unicode someday. We are getting ready for rainy season - getting supplies for a continual 3-4 months up there.

Love,
Dan and Deb

"Operation Waveland" Coming Soon!

2006-05-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

So, we said that this trip would not be the end of our involvement - and it won't. Here's our next step (though not our last). Bryan Olden has sent me details (I'm not leading this, but will certainly be involved).

"Operation Waveland"

The basic idea is that we are going to send donated items down to Waveland at the end of June. The way we will do this is through a donated "pod" that we will be placing at Alvey and then loading up with donated goods. Bryan provides the following details:

The pod will be delivered on June 1st at 9:30 a.m. to the school (Alvey). So people will be able to drop off supplies from June 1st through June 29th. After the 29th we will have the items delivered to Waveland. So the 29th is the last day for donations.

I need voluntary to stay at the school during the drop off time which will be Mon –Fri 6-8 p.m. / Saturdays 10 a.m. -12 p.m. and 2 p.m. -4 p.m. /Sundays 9 a.m. – 1p.m.

Items needed are: water, razors, canned food, canned fruit, canned vegetables, mac & cheese, spam, vienna sausages, canned tuna, spaghetti sauce, stuffing, gravy, ravioli or chef boy ardee meals, cereals, jelly, coffee, cake or brownie mixes, canned frosting, TOLET PAPER, paper towels, clothes, shoes, diapers, baby formula, tooth brushes, tooth paste, deodorant, etc.

For info call the church office 703.366.3870 or Bryans cell 703.994.2336 or his email at bryan@parkvalleychurch.com

Bryan and I chatted some last night about the plan. I suggested that we should plan on doing a good deal of sorting/labeling of items to lessen the workload on the Lakshore end. We have a number of experts on how the warehouse works, and should put that knowledge to good use. This would include separating clothes by gender/size and making sure everything is clean and fit to give away. Please get in touch with Bryan as soon as you can (or grab him after church on Sunday - he's the bald dude up front leading worship).

We are also working toward getting use of a truck donated so that we can drive it down to Mississippi for just the price of fuel (assuming we can find somebody in the church willing and qualified to drive).

Note that this will not just be a Park Valley Church activity. Bryan is already talking to the good folks at the Bull Run Observer about getting an article published. Any additional ideas on publisizing the effort should be directed to Bryan.

Post of this Morning's Video

2006-05-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you not able to make it, we had a great service this morning, including testimonies from team members: Kerry, Suzanne, and Tony. The movie below was also played. Please let me know if you have any problems viewing it.

March 2006 Update from the Williams

2006-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Below is an update from the Williams, currently serving in Peru. I'm working on getting a similar update from the Kensels soon. As always, any typos are my own. Enjoy!

----

March 2006

Evangelizing Missionaries?

Peru is a country of the last minute. So it was not unusual to have th esignup and take the deposit for our missions trip on Sunday before we left on our trip that next Wednesday night. What was surprising was when Jonathan, our church intern, came and told me that Eduardo, who was faithfully attending his small group, had signed up , paid his deposit and that . . . "He's not saved."

So a plan was devised. Eduardo would not be turned away but instead would sit on the bus and room with either Jonathan or Jaime, our evangelism and discipleship specialist.

By Thursday at lunch Eduardo was living the New Life.

Our mission was to help a small church in the Peruvian jungle-mountains. In just two and a half days we presented the gospel at eight different events. We held a three day VBS that averaged 150 children a day, presented the gospel through mimes and art each night and sponsored an evangelistic youth meeting. There were times that nearly everyone in our group of 27 was personally leading someone to Christ. Several adults and many, many children made decisions during those 60 hours. . . just as one of our own missionaries did.

Too often one doesn't get to see the fruit of his missions trip grow, but we get to. Since we've been back Eduardo has not missed a service and is in our New Faith class on Sunday.

The summer (January - March) our family has been busy leading and teaching in two youth camps, one ladies camp, preaching a multi-church family retreat, co-teaching a marriage seminar, assisting a U.S. missions trip, three weeks of Bible Club style VBS and of course, our own missions trip. Together with our partners, the Garrison family, and other fellow missionaries and national pastors we have seen many saved and surrender their lives to fulltime service. Needless to say, we kind of like the summer around here.

Information about Lakeshore and Waveland

2006-05-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Ken Kocher sent along this article, which was published in the Washington Post on September 2, 2005. It was clear even then that Waveland was not getting the attention or the help that they needed and they were deprioritized relative to more populous areas. Ken's only comment was "Wow" I think that sums it up. There is a lot more to do.

While were at it, you might want to check out this site. It includes before and after pictures and stories from residents.

For a look at Lakeshore prior to our arrival, see these pictures. A lot of work has been done to get things up to where they were when we arrived. Despite all of the debris that we saw, based on these pictures, a lot has already been cleared out. I feel bad that I didn't find this site prior to the trip - there are probably a hundred pictures that lay out the site and the work pretty clearly.

Some information on previous monies that have been donated and where they have gone can be found here. It is a long list of donations that an organization has made, but search for Lakeshore and you will find information on the temporary church building cost and timing of its construction.

Also, you can check out Pastor Don's blog. He hasn't yet posted anything since he's been back from the conference, but hopefully will soon. Go back into the archives and read up on what he has seen these last nine months.

Day 5: Coming Home!

2006-04-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

We slept in a bit - lights on at 6:30. It took us some time to clean up, but we vacuumed the sanctuary and cleaned up after ourselves, set the chairs up (according to the diagram on the pulpit), got a group shot in front of the fallen steeple and got out of there before 8am. Each car decided where to eat on the way in. We did get a group t-shirt together to hang on their wall of t-shirts of previous groups.

Ok, so we got to the airport a little bit early. Or so everybody tells me. I think we got there at just the right time. We did have some time to chat in the airport and hang out, and get breakfast and read the paper. But we made it on time. Ken's group hit downtown very briefly and walked down Bourbon Street, saw the Mississippi River and statue of Andrew Jackson.

Our flight departed a tad bit early and we are on our way home. Yolanda Brittle and Todd Kennedy (and a bunch of family members) are all lined up to give some of the team rides home. I think we are all looking forward to seeing our families and sleeping in our own beds. Not that the accommodations were bad, we were very well taken care of.

Lisa Malone and Barry got a report from home that the church service opened with the video that we Fedex'd on Thursday. From what they heard, the video was very well received and the service went very well (without Barry). We would have loved to be there (also would have loved the chance to be at Lakeshore Baptist Church), but the timing just didn't work out on either end.

Sadly, we didn't get to see Pastor Don (the leader of Lakeshore) or Greg London (their volunteer coordinator, himself a volunteer from Georgia). They were out of town the entire time that we were there, but we will have to catch them the next time.

Parting Thoughts:
Traveling in large groups is way more fun than traveling alone or just with the family. Its great to be surrounded by people you know and like. Flying is a lot more like hanging-out rather than just spending a couple of hours in a very confined space alone in the midst of people.

Dulles, just in the distance. It won't be long now.

Day 4: Last Day of Work

2006-04-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

The forth day started just like the two before it. Early, with a hot breakfast and strong coffee. I think each day I'm getting out of bed a little bit slower. And based on the grunts and groans of all of the other men, I bet many felt the same as I.

The day proceeded well. The rain that was predicted to hit by noon, never really came until nightfall. It didn't impact any of the team's work. Drywall, siding, demo(lition) work, warehouse and store operations went on through the day. Here are some pictures from each:

Kerry asked Sue, one of the ladies whose homes we worked on to write down her experience from the storm. Sue gave it to her today. I'll get the letter posted shortly, but it is really amazing to read a first-hand account of living through the storm. Here's a picture of Kerry, Sue and Sue'llen:

We decided to sample some of the local cuisine for dinner - grabbing some catfish, oysters, shrimp and hushpuppies from "Catfish One" in Waveland and eating back at the church. It was all good stuff and disappeared pretty quickly.

A Birthday Celebration
Saturday was a special day. Our pastor turned the big 4-0. We had cake and ice cream to celebrate, though due to local fire codes, we could only have a representative number of candles lit. The wind gusts almost conspired to blow them all out anyways, barely giving Barry the opportunity to blow them out.

The team searched all day for a gift for Barry in the warehouse and in the store. After passing on stuffed animals, a forest green sports coat and an M-R-E, we went with 52 birthday cards (a set of playing cards). A big thanks to Suzanne for grabbing the birthday cakes and deck of cards for the present. [sorry, no pictures, I was carrying the cake]

Evening Get-together
In our evening get-together, we talked about what we were thankful for. I think everybody on the team spoke up and shared (even Danny :) ). Those who were quiet at the beginning of the week, have become much less so (in a good way). Many mentioned that they felt a sense of family among the group that they didn't have before.

Barry spoke briefly on Barnabus - the so-called "Son of encouragement." He relayed a story of how he gave an older lady a hand with a mattress earlier in the day. Barry was part of the crew putting siding on a house, when a older lady came hurrying down the road shouting, "I need help with a mattress, I need help with a mattress" So Barry went with her to her home where a delivery truck was out front. Barry helped the delivery guy get the mattress where it needed to be and the older lady was very appreciative. But so was the delivery guy. He said that if it wasn't for church folk coming down and helping out, there wouldn't be much getting done. He said it was real encouraging to see us come down. I think from a job-satisfaction standpoint, that was the best part of the trip. People were very vocal with their thanks. Barry's hope was that our church would be known as an encouragement for those we come in contact with.

Our evening get-togethers, none more than Saturday night, were a lot of fun. Lots of joking and laughter, lots of camaraderie. One of the more amusing aspects of the trip is for the folks who had somewhat set limits for their participation before coming. Christa was interested in doing drywall, but in no way wanted to be stuck in the kitchen. Danny was interested in any construction but roofing. Mike was willing to do anything but drywall. In the end, God put them in those places. Each survived and did a great job serving in those capacities.

Some ideas came up about how we can continue to help. There was a general consensus among the group that more needs to be done. A second trip for our church will probably be in the work for either later this year or early next. There is also interest in coordinating a shipment of food down to the area. We will work to coordinate with other churches in our area and grocery stores. Lisa Malone volunteered to help with this effort and many others were interested, as well.

Our meeting was winding down, when out of nowhere, we heard a hollow sounding thump. Not knowing if one of our rental cars got hit, we all rushed outside to find the church steeple had blown over in a particularly fierce blast of wind. Fortunately, none of our rental cars were in striking distance of the steeple. We left it down: the wind was still howling and we figured it was likely to blow down again if we set it upright. Here's the steeple upright and after the tumble:

While the rain had held off for most of the day, it came in buckets during the night. The temporary church building is all metal on the outside, so we heard it pretty well, even with the ear plugs in. The women in the shipping containers said that it was pretty noisy from there too, but we all stayed dry and comfortable in our sleeping bags.

Before the rain came, I was able to snap some cool pictures around the Lakeshore Baptist property. Hope you enjoy!

Day 3: We're Tired

2006-04-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, not all of us are tired. But I think the general sentiment is that we have all worked pretty hard and are beat.

I've taken many pictures and video and will share more at church, but I wanted to share some now. Barry has also been good enough to record another moblog entry. If you are already subscribed to our podcast (see directions here: http://parkvalleychurch.com/pvc_podcast.htm), you will get this automatically. But if you haven't, its as simple as clicking here:

Here is one of the converted shipping containers that the women on the team are sleeping in. From what I here they are quite comfortable, but the air conditioners are loud. Loud enough to keep some of the ladies up for a good portion of the night. But although that sound suspiciously like a complaint, don't take it that way. We are very grateful for our accommodations! We are well taken care of and the hot showers at the end of the day are very nice.

I've been spending a lot of time (with many other hard working folks) in the kitchen. Aside from burning a large quantity of rice everything went off without a hitch and the burritos we put together for lunch were (at least we are told) quite edible. The kitchen facilities are more than adequate, but probably have led us to attempt more elaborate meals than we would have otherwise.

We were relatively well organized for todays meals, so I was able to see some of the worksites and chat with some of the folks for whom we've been doing the work. But before those pictures, we went to the "Warehouse" that Lakeshore Baptist Church has been running from the inside of an elementary school gym.

They use this to organize donations that come in daily, then when its organized, bring it over to the "store". Nothing in the store is for sale. It operates strictly on a take-what-you-need basis. But given what human nature is, volunteers have to oversee the whole process. A rotating cast from our team has been pitching in and lending a hand to make sure the operations procede efficiently.

We finished our first job today - the roofing of a carport. Pastor Barry, Danny, Chad, David and Jon were all part of the team to make it happen - and safely. As long as we don't count David Saul's head-to-head encounter with a scaffolding beam. He's OK, though, we promise. Tomorrow, the same crew will be tackling a siding job, which they probably won't have time to finish. But they will at the very least make some good headway.

A large part of the team spent time today drywalling and mudding a house of a very friendly older couple. They left when the storm hit (but had considered staying), and they consider the fact that their sailboat survived as miraculous. It is moored right behind their house and held on by only one of the mooring cables - the 25 foot rise in the water level shocked everybody. The best part about this job was that they had their air conditioning functioning. So, there was a lot of work to do, but it was in relative comfort. From what I could tell, the working environment was very easy going and productive. These guys (and gals - Sue'llen and Kerry were there) were having a good time getting the drywall up and on right.

After dinner, we got together to discuss the stories we've heard recounted by the folks living every day in the midst of rebuilding. Lots of mistrust of the government. Lots of disappointment, anger and resignation at the insurance companies. And a lot of gratitude for the help that they've gotten from normal people. If, when talking to somebody, even the cashier at Wal-Mart, they find out that you're here to help people rebuild, they are grateful. "We really appreciate you guys coming and helping!" But, they also seem to appreciate telling their story to somebody who can empathize and just listen. They want somebody else to know what they've been through. The miraculous near misses. The struggle. The crook down the street (that applied for a FEMA trailor even though he hadn't ever lived in the house as a first home). They open up in a big way. And then they inevitably ask why we came.

We also spent some time talking about how this trip will impact us. I hope that God will use this trip to help us as a church see our way forward to how He wants us to tackle missions as a church. I firmly believe that the support of full-time missionaries will continue to be something that we should and will do. But, the sending of teams to areas of need in this country and in others should be something that we seek out opportunities for.

When the question was posed "Who here has never done a missions trip or anything like this trip before, raise their hand." About half of us raised our hands. When a follow-on question was asked, "Who here would do a trip like this again," not a single hand was unraised.

Day 2: The Work Begins

2006-04-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Writing this hasn't started well: its past 10 and my wireless conncection has stopped responding and I've just started writing. Not an auspicious start. Here goes. . .

The day started off early. I was up at 5:30 to help get breakfast around with Emily, Michele and (supposed to be) Christa. Christa didn't show until about 6 and then complained that we didn't get her up.

Our plans for breakfast (we are now in charge of getting all of the food together) we immediately altered due to the milk not unfreezing overnight. So, we were flexible (a word emphasized many time before the beginning of the trip), and we made pancakes and scrambled eggs. This is when we found out how valuable some experience at feeding large groups of people can be. Justin Exner and Emily Chaplin jumped in with the eggs and pancakes respectively and showed the rest of us how it is done. It went off without a hitch and we survived.

We quickly shot a welcome video that will be showed in church on Sunday morning (presuming that UPS makes it). The team was then split up into subgroups to tackle the days work. There was roofing, drywall and warehouse activities. (Pictures to come later).

Lunch went more smoothly. We made tuna fish sandwiches and grilled cheese. I know, not gourmet, but it worked and was (I think) enjoyed by all of those dining.

After lunch it was back to work for all involved. By the end of the day, everybody was pretty tired and enjoyed a hotdog and hamburger fest (along with beans, chili and fries). After we were all cleaned up, we had a short time where we got together, Barry shared a few words and then opened it up for stories.

The survival stories are amazing and I'm sure you will hear more in future. Many people are still without much materially, but more importantly, many are without hope. It is striking how so many people have mentioned that they are glad to see us and its because they find it so hard to look forward to the future. They have lost so much. The week after the storm hit, Lakeshore Baptist Church (with a then regular attendence of 80 people) met and 34 people made it. When Pastor Don asked how many people lost a friend or a family member in the storm, everybody raised their hand. Everybody.

And though we are rebuilding only houses, hopefully, in some small way, God is working through us to raise these people up. To bring them some hope and some small comfort. To see the tangible love that He has for them.

Continue to pray for safety and unity in our group. Not that we are having any conflicts or discontent. In fact, I think as a team, we are enjoying ourselves as much here as any other vacation that we've taken. The comraderie is strong, the task is great, but so is our God!

More tomorrow, pictures I promise (maybe even a moblog entry). Thanks for reading and following along.