Well, we got back late last night from our week at the beach. Boy, what a great week we had! It was so relaxing and peaceful. I had forgotten how nice it was for all of us to be together again.
Rob and I did a lot of praying, reflection, and seeking God this week. We were able to spend some time listening to what God would have for our family. I know that we have already sent our newsletter out to many of you, and in that newsletter we told you what God was calling us to do-step out in faith so that I could come home and help Rob with his ministry at AIM. But, I wanted to give you a little background of how we got where we are right now.
In 2005 we were in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico working with several other missionaries building a children's home. Every week we would have groups from the US come and help us on various projects at the children's home. On our down days, Rob and I would lay outside in our hammock under the one shade tree that we had, and we would ask ourselves, "is this all God has for us?" We were seeing that God was sending these youth groups to Mexico to minister to the Hispanic people, but what was happening was God was doing a work in their lives. These people would go back home changed! Their burden for missions would spread like wildfire in their church. We wanted to reach more people and help them have that experience! We began to pray that God would expand our territory.
In about March of that year I was looking on the internet for a place where a national friend of ours could use her gifts as a translator on the mission field. I stumbled across the AIM website. When I read about all they were doing and what they stood for, I got excited! I told Rob, "We need to check them out!!"
In July 2005, I got very sick. We couldn't quite figure out what was going on-everyday was a struggle to get out of bed. My situation gradually got worse, in that I was becoming dizzy, had severe diareaha, nausea, and everytime I sat up in bed the whole room would spin around. I remember waking up one Sunday morning, and the whole room was spinning. When I tried to get up, I realized I had to lie back down. I was freezing! I had about 3 of those thick wool Mexican blankets on me, and I was still shivering. Our support was only about $1200/month, but we knew that I had to go to the doctor. We called the missionaries that we were working with and asked them if there was anywhere that I could go to get treatment, and they offered to help me get to a local clinic. Monday when I showed up at the clinic, and they completed their tests, I found out that I had a severe case of typhoid fever and parasites. The course of the treatment would take several weeks. By the middle of August, I was feeling somewhat better, but still very tired. I couldn't get out of bed for long periods of time. At one point, I told Rob to get me back to NC because I didn't want to die in Mexico.
The end of August we called a mission house in Merritt Island, FL and asked them if we could come stay for a few months so that I could get some rest and recuperate. Our plans were to return to McAllen, TX in January to attend language school so that we could return to Mexico more equipped to help the Hispanic people we had grown to love.
In the course of this time, we had several mission conferences in Texas that we had to share our ministry. I convinced Rob to contact the AIM office to see if we could visit their Matamoras base for us to see if God could use us there. On our way back to Ramos Arizpe, we were able to meet with the couple that worked in Matamoras. We started praying that if this was God's will, that he would open the door.
We packed up all of our belongings and headed to Merritt Island, FL in September 2005. When we arrived there, we knew that this was where God wanted us right then. The time I had in Merritt Island was a time of rest, reflection, and refilling! We spent time at the church being fed and ministered to as well. We weren't able to raise the support necessary for language school. So we spent several months seeking God's will for our lives. Once again, God led me to AIM. We made arrangements to meet the people at the office in Gainesville, GA. When Rob and I walked out of that meeting, we knew without a doubt that this was where God wanted us! In fact, when we got in the car, we looked at each other and said, "we are coming out of the wilderness!"
We left Merritt Island in March of 2006. We had come to a mission house in Statesville, NC. In April 2006, we signed on with AIM, and we headed to Long Beach, MS to set up and run the AIM base there. We had groups come from all over to help with Hurricane Katrina relief. This was a great summer! I think we had over 350 people come through that base that summer! Unfortunately, we were only getting about $400/week. We had some money that we had saved up, so we were living off our savings.
Upon arriving back in Statesville in August, we were unsure what we were going to do financially. Our support was still not up to where it needed to be, and we knew that we would have to find us a house of our own. I decided that I should go and find a job. I say "I," because it was never in Rob's plan! I went against my husband b/c I thought I needed to help God out a little. Well, after only sending my resume out to about 5 CPA firms, I got a job. I felt that it was God's will, because my boss was very flexible with my hours during the off season. I enjoy my job very much! But, what I am seeing now is that I should have waited and trusted God! I shouldn't have jumped ahead of Him on this one!
It has been 2 years since we started with AIM. What I am finding out now is that Rob is in the center of God's will! He is doing a fantastic job with AIM. That prayer that we prayed for God to expand our territory has been answered! We went from seeing 350 people go to the mission field to seeing around 1500! What I am also finding is that I am not in the center of God's will. I know that it is not God's will for our family to be apart 2-3 months at a time during the summer and 2-3 weekends during the spring. When God called us to missions in 1999, He called us as a family!
Please join us in prayer as we try to be faithful to what God has called us to do!
As the tide rolled in and rushed out on this breezy September morning, it left behind a vast array of shimmering jewels. For as far as the eye could see, there were beautiful shells, sandollars, and even a few starfish. It was truly an amazing sight. Of course, it was like this after every storm, as the ocean fought within itself, they couldn't be contained. So, it was no different after the storm that had just passed. As the rising sun shone down on the shore, these beautiful creatures glistened in the sun's rays.
Among those beautiful trinkets that were left, there was a somewhat odd looking shell whose name was Sandy. With each wave that brought Sandy to shore, she was filled with hope. Hope that today would be the day that some boy or girl would rush over to pick her up and shout with excitement to their Mom, "Look at what I found," and then be tossed into a sand bucket like a prized possession!! You see, Sandy, although the perfect size for a collectible seashell was all alone. She was often picked up, but then as she was turned over and the small cracks and inconsistencies in her fragile shell were discovered, she was immediately tossed back into the sand. It was a lonely life that Sandy lived. She didn't quite understand why no one could see the beauty within her shell. Wasn't there anyone that could rescue her from this life of shame and turmoil?
This particular morning there were lots of visitors to this small island. It seems that they came to observe God's glory in the crashing waves that the storm had brought about. As the family walked along the beach, they were amazed at the power of the winds that were blowing sand everywhere. It certainly wasn't going to be a good day for swimming they thought out loud, as the waves that came crashing in were as high as the father that walked with the small children.
"What are we going to do?" exclaimed the youngest of their trio. "We really wanted to go in the water, but we are afraid we would be carried out to sea!" As he looked out into the massive rushing of water, you could see the disappointment on his face. "Why don't we walk along the shore and see what treasures God left behind for us this morning" their father exclaimed. So, they set off to see what treasures they could find.
Sandy was lying their trying her best not to feel sorry for herself like she sometimes found herself doing, when she thought she heard footsteps. "Could it be?" she thought to herself. She thought for sure that all hope was lost, and she was simply waiting for the tide to take her on yet another lonely journey. As the footsteps got closer, she found herself putting on her best smile, and moving ever so slightly as to hide the cracks on her shell. She desperately wanted a "new" life!
The young boy picked Sandy up, turned her over and looked at her for a moment. There were small cracks in the shell, but he saw past all of that. What he saw was the beautiful colors of purple and pink, and he felt the smoothness as he rubbed his fingers on the inside of her shell . He stopped for a moment as if he could hear the shell speaking to him. He held it to his ear, and it was as if the shell were asking him to save her. He looked around to make sure no one was looking at him because he was sure they would all think he was crazy. A shell couldn't talk-but it was as if this shell was calling to him. Instead of tossing it back onto the sand, he closed his hand around the shell and once again set out on his treasure hunt. Not exactly sure what it was that drew him to this shell, he felt a sense of joy adding it to his collection. All the while, Sandy was filled with excitement and joy as well! She had finally been rescued! No more lonely nights at sea, no more days filled with self-pity! At last she was filled with a sense of hope. This young boy, who was out on his treasure hunt, saw past her imperfections, and he saw her need to be saved!
So, Sandy started a new life. She was no longer taken from place to place, for the boy had the perfect place for Sandy. She lived out her life on his bookshelf beside all of his other prized possessions. She was happy and content for the rest of her days.
This summer has been one that is hard to put into words. First, let me start by saying that God has truly worked in our lives as well as the lives of our group participants this summer. Kingston, Jamaica Our summer started off with a trip to Kingston, Jamaica in June. We had 39 participants that went on this trip. I never thought I would experience a heat like that of the border of Texas and Mexico. That was until I arrived in Kingston, Jamaica. It was truly one of the hottest places that I have ever had the opportunity to minister! But, God placed us in the Salvation Army there in Kingston. It was truly one of the best mission trips as far as ministry was concerned that I have ever led. The Salvation Army was an extremely large compound that housed an orphanage, a blind school, and an elder center all in one. When I asked the Salvation Army commander there on base what his biggest need was, his response to me was, "Prayer. We need your prayer because this area is under attack. There are drug gangs all around us. Please pray for our safety." We took his request seriously as we set out on the week. Prayer walking was a part of our ministry everyday! We spent hours walking around the compound, inside and out, praying for the people of this community. While we were there we had VBS for the kids in the orphanage, led swimming lessons, played soccer with them, and basically just loved them for who they were. These children represented the outcasts of Jamaica-the unwanted and unloved! But, through a group of young people from the United States we were able to share the love of Christ with these children. We had several young people accept Christ, as well as some of the older people in the elder center. On the morning that we were due to leave Kingston, at approximately 3 am, three armed robbers broke into the dormitory and held us all at gunpoint. As they waved guns in our faces, they took our wallets, cell phones, MP3's, and even some passports. However, what amazed me through all of this was that not one person was hurt! God protected each one of us. Also, as the robbery was taking place, several of the people in our group were brave enough to hold hands and pray for our safety, as well as pray for the robbers themselves! When asked if they would return to Kingston, each group said without hesitation, "Yes!" I would definitely go back as well. We are in the process of putting into place security measures that would protect returning groups so that we can once again return to Kingston.
Costa Rica, Central America
Our next trip for the summer was to Costa Rica. This is a place that I have always wanted to visit, and it was everything that I could possibly imagine. We stayed in a small hotel in Philadelphia, in which each room had a small window unit. This was a welcome commodity after our trip to Jamaica. Our ministry took place in a small colonia about 10 miles away named Belen. There were about 3500 people in this small colonia. Our primary focus was children's ministry; where we saw the numbers of children attending our host church grow from 25 the first day to 150 the last day. Of these 150 children that started coming to VBS, we saw many of them accept Christ during the week. Our door to door outreach also proved to be fruitful, in that we saw 11 adults accept Christ!! We also helped the pastor of the local church by doing various construction jobs around the church, and also helping with hurricane cleanup. We also spent time with the pastor and his family encouraging them in the Lord. It was a great week for the participants, in that they all grew closer to the Lord and became more comfortable sharing Christ with others.
Praise & Prayer
We are ending our summer in a state of rest. Thanks to one of our supporters who has a house at the beach in NC, we have had the opportunity this past week to take a much needed rest and spend time in reflection of all that God is doing in our lives. This brings us to a huge prayer request that we have, and we are asking everyone to join us as we pray about our next step of faith. As most of you know, when we returned from Mexico in 2005, our support went down as we had supporters that dropped us for various reasons. But, God is faithful, in that He led us to Adventures in Missions. We have been truly blessed to be a part of this organization over the past couple of years. We have had the opportunity to see approximately 10,000 people, both young and old, go to the mission field! I can remember sitting in our house in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico praying for God to expand our territory-He went above and beyond! While in Mexico we had anywhere from 100-300 participants come to the mission field, now we are experiencing 10,000!!!! We spent 1 year living in mission houses in Florida and North Carolina. This was especially hard for Kim and the boys, as we often felt like nomads. Through much prayer, we decided to settle down and purchase a home. Since our support had dropped, our only option was for Kim to return to the workforce. For the past 2 years, we have been trying to homeschool, do full-time ministry, all the while Kim has worked. It has been hard! When Kim and I accepted God's call to full-time ministry back in 1999, we were a team. We feel that God is leading us to take a new step of faith for Kim to step back in to ministry work with me at Adventures in Missions. With her by my side, we can help more people get to the mission field. She has a passion for missions, and I need her on my team. The only way this will be possible is for us to raise approximately $1800/month! Our goal is to raise approximately $16,000 that would pay off the little expense that we had in fixing up our house, as well as pay our necessary expenses for the next year. We know that God is going to provide this, and we are trusting Him to guide and lead us. If you would like to be a part of what God is doing through our ministry, we would love to talk with you in more detail about all that God is doing!
Because of partners like you, we have been empowered to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Thank you for being part of our AIM family!
Adventures in Missions 6000 Wellspring Trail, Gainesville, GA 30506
This week has been a great experience for our family. We had the opportunity to stay at Emerald Isle at a friends beach house.
When we arrived last Friday, Tropical Storm Hannah was about to make landfall. We were amazed at God's awesome power as we watched the waves come crashing in Saturday and as we listened to the wind roaring Friday night. We didn't have any damage here, thank God!
Sunday, we had the privalege of going to church in Morehead City with a group that went with us to Costa Rica. It was a great service, and afterwards we went to some friends for lunch. It was such an awesome time of fellowship with our new friends.
Throughout the week the boys had a blast playing in the ocean, building sand castles, and collecting shells. It truly was a BEAUTIFUL week!
Yesterday, we were blessed to be able to go out with JP and Tiffany (our friends that went on Costa Rica AIM trip in July) on their boat, and they took us to Cape Lookout. This was a new experience as well. We have never visited the lighthouses, and the boys caught fish in the net and played in the sound as well the beach. Each of the boys took a turn being buried in the sand.
They then took us to Sand Dollar Island and we were able to find several sand dollars. Along the way to Cape Lookout we were able to get a glimpse of the wild horses on Shackleford Island. It was truly an amazing day!
Well, the week has come to an end, and we will be going home tommorrow. But, we have lots of great memories to take with us!!! We will try to get some pictures of our trip loaded when we get home!
After reflecting on the mighty events of this past week's Men's Mission to Matamoros, Mexico; I am convinced that we have made a Kingdom Connection to what God is seeking to do in the earth. He told us through worship ... "Be Still and Know that I AM God". Oh, how He showed Himself!
God led us to start new businesses for Gilbert (above) who is now selling pinuatas and Gabriel Garza (below) selling "AGUA FRESCAS" - fruit water. You can't even imagine how good the taste is!
God is using AIM to awaken "David's Mighty Men" who will be used to form a band of brothers who are submitted to the KING and one another. Together, we are seeking to hear the voice of the LORD and move at His call.
On this mission with GOD, 2 families lives have been touched and blessed forever because of the obedience of God's Mighty Men. I am no longer satisfied with giving a man a fish. I am more interested in "teaching a man how to fish".
Can you imagine leading a young father to start his own business and provide for his family? Can you imagine seeing a Kingdom Investment reap HUGE dividends both in the natural and supernatural realm? We saw God provide 100 times the amount of what these men were providing for their families!
I stand amazed at all God did and will continue to do as we are obedient to follow His voice! If you are a man and you are hearing the voice of the LORD say to you - "AWAKE and ARISE!" I extend a call to you to be one of "David's Mighty Men" who are committing themselves to being tools in God's hands to reach the nations!
By the way ... the food is awesome and the fellowship is greater!
YOU can join the NEXT Men's Mission to Matamoros, Mexico
For the past several months I have been working hard to make sure the groups that I have going on mission trips this Summer are prepared. We at AIM make sure that all of the participants go through missionary training prep. I spend time with my youth pastors and leaders praying with and for them. I also answer any questions or concerns that they may have. I make sure they are ready and have everything they need to carry the love of Jesus to people around the world. We at Aim spend a lot of time during late Winter and early Spring going to the locations cultivating the relationships that we have with local Pastors and beginning new ones. We also make sure we have adequate housing, feeding, service projects, and outreach opportunities. We work extra hard in the so called off-season so that the groups that God has entrusted to us will be able to go to a location and plug into where God is already working. Our prayer is that everyone that goes on an AIM trip will be forever changed. And then will take what God has taught then on their mission trip back to their church and community stronger Disciples of Christ and fishers of men for Jesus on their mission field.
The first two weeks of summer trips I have groups going to Houck Arizona to minister to American Indians of the Navajo Nation, Peru South America, Appalachian Kentucky, New Orleans Louisiana, Atlanta Georgia, Long Beach Mississippi for Katrina relief, and Matamoros Mexico. I believe the best way for me to tell you all what is happening in the lives of God's missionaries on these trips is to let you read there own words. Enjoy!
6/11/07 Long Beach Mississippi
6/14/2007 By: Dawn Hastings, Adult Leader
Jetersville Baptist Church-Virginia
This AIM trip has been awesome. My daughter, Brittany, and I attend Jetersville Baptist Church in Jetersville, Virginia. My daughter and I have been arguing and not really getting along well for a couple of months prior to our trip. The problems we had been having had me considering not making the trip. However, we made the trip as scheduled. On the first full day of our trip, we had the most exciting thing happen. While having our "Listen in Prayer" time, Brittany stayed in front of the church and I walked around back. While I prayed, Brittany grew heavier and heavier on my heart. When I went back to the front to see her, I actually met her half-way with open arms. We hugged and began to cry. We walked around together for a long time and talked about all of the things that we had been through the last couple of months. We both felt such relief and a sense of renewal of our relationship. Since then, we've prayed together and have gotten along great.
Amazing
6/11/2007 By: Macie Bechtel
Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro- Waynesboro, PA
The simplest way to explain our week so far is AMAZING. And it's only Monday night! God has been so present within our group and within all the people we're staying with. In total we have about fifty people here that make up this week's team and it's a wonderful group. I feel so at home and so comfortable here because I'm surrounded by people my age who are completely into God. I've never been as surrounded by God and the Spirit as I am here. We've had amazing experiences with head to head prayer, prayer walks, VBS, and house reconstructing. My group has done painting and prayer covering so far, and it's amazingly powerful. We spent the morning fighting the spiritual battle for our teams with prayer. Then we accomplished helpful house painting in record time! I can't wait to work with the kids and evangelize tomorrow! God is truly, 100% with us.
Matamoros Mexico
BethelBaptist, NC (Joe Woodward)
Looking back these past couple of days, we experienced memorable things with the people participating on the adult trip. There was Frankie, who was a drug addict and gave his life to the Lord. There were Juanita and Cecilia who had been friends for 15 years. They shared their joys and laughs with us. There were also many kids that joined us for VBS and increased a better understanding of our Lord. Overall we helped overcome spiritual warfare in Las Palomas Colonia, and showed to love of Jesus to his people. Thanks to all who participated.
ministry update Appalachian Kentucky
6/20/2007 By: Jimmy Hutson, MC
We are having a great time serving along side each other here in Kentucky. During construction one of our teams from PA got to know a lady named Lillian who taught at the school that we are staying at. The other construction group from PA helped tear down a rock wall. When they first started they were using a wheel barrow and when the family got home they let them use there 4 wheelers and jut got a lot of joy talking and getting encouragement from the family. While at VBS on the second day one of the residents accepted Christ. Praise God. At sports evangelism God was awesome and put the right person at the right place. Nicole from PA who loves to play with kids got to hang out with a lady who brought 7 kids to the park and got to minister to them while playing and talking with the young woman. Our spa ministry team has just been a blessing to all. They did massages and manicures with the ladies at the nursing home but also to those of us serving along side them.
1st day of VBS
6/20/2007 By: Deb
Cornerstone
June 17th Our trip to the nursing home today was really fun! We presented a VBS lesson including music, a bible story, memory verse and game, and a craft. The residents seemed to enjoy the songs and joined in with with clapping and motions. We brought bubbles for one song ad they loved it! We had one woman actually sang us a song and one requested this little light of mine. Everyone joined in for that song! During the invitation for salvation we had several prayer requests for family and roommates! It was really awesome to know that they recognized who their source of help was. We ended our time helping the residents with their craft (we brought picture frames for them to decorate for their rooms) and we were able to give a few ladies hand massages and manicures
We had a great time!!!
Our evening ministry was a work project painting a deck and front porch for a local family. It was a great time of fellowship as we served this family? We laughed a lot and got to know our Christian Vogul one of the members of our leadership team.
Thanks for the opportunity!
First Day of Ministry in Lima Peru
6/19/2007 By: Stella Tippin, interpreter
Four Winds Christian Fellowship- Marshall, MI
We greet you from Lima, Peru after a fruitful first day of ministry. Here's what some of the missionaries have to say about their experiences:
Kirsten Weld of Heritage Christian Academy in Minnesota says: Pray for Joanna, a girl in her 20s (maybe) who we met at a tienda (a little store). A group of us explained about the love of Jesus, and she responded by accepting Jesus as her Savior. You could see the joy of the Lord in her face. We gave her a Bible and also signed our names and wrote encouraging notes in her new Bible. Another group had a chance to ask three teenagers if they knew where they were going after they died. They didn't know. This resulted in an explanation of Heaven and salvation, followed by the sinners' prayer. Some of us asked the Lord for His direction when we were unsure of where to go next during door to door ministry. Autumn pictured a green house with an arch and a white door. We walked, found the house, and invited the little boy there to our VBS. We also had two hours to do "covering prayer." A group of us talked to the Lord about our trip so far. We prayed for individuals and their needs. It's amazing. One might think that praying for two hours would get tiring, but after doing it, you discover the immense blessings that go along with "covering prayer."
Adam Pollard of Covington Christian in Georgia says: Today was great. I could really feel God's presence in worship this morning. When we went to the church, we went on a prayer walk. Then we went door to door.
Kenny Grant of South Carolina says: Door to door in the morning. One man got saved. Also went to kids' school in morning--great. Prayer walked in afternoon.
Debbie Wenlund (staff, from Minnesota) and Becky Cooley (long-term AIM missionary) say: Wow. God rocks!!! Fourteen people gave their lives to Christ today! Amazing. The youth are on fire and can't wait to see what HE has in store for tomorrow. During door to door ministry time in one of the six homes that we visited, Philip and Eric shard the love of Jesus and His salvation with a young man who was so deeply touched by the Lord that he had beads of sweat on his forehead and tears in his eyes as he prayed to accept Christ. Afterwards, everyone prayed for him and encouraged Ricardo to attend the local church to be discipled by the Christian brothers there.
The proof is in the testimonies. Sometimes God wants to do a work in us and sometimes He wants to work through us and sometimes He wants to do both.
Prayer Requests
Kim's step dad- Joe Bishop. Undergoing chemo twice a month for non Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Landon-Most of the testing is complete. He is going to speech therapy twice a week, occupational therapy once a week, and he has got to wear a brace on his feet to help him walk normally. Please pray for Landon to understand that these things are to help him, he is feeling very uncomfortable about having to go every week. The brace will cost $373.00 after the insurance pays their part. The testing also helped us understand how better to teach him in school-he is a visual learner. Please pray for Kim as she tries to prepare his school for the upcoming year.
We need $500 a month support or $6000 to keep us supported through next year.
