Lighthouse Mission Trips

July 23, 2008

2008-07-23T23:07:00.004-04:00

There are a couple of good posts about the trip here that include a few pictures:

http://missionlifeline.blogspot.com/2008/07/july-23-2008.html

http://missionlifeline.blogspot.com/2008/07/wow.html

VBS in the Mountains

2008-07-22T22:12:00.003-04:00

The following note is from Tammy and it gives some awesome highlights of today's VBS in the mountains.
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Hello everyone! We are having a wonderful time in Haiti. The VBS has gone very well so far, and we are managing to handle the heat.

Today was a really hot, exhausting, emotional, awesome day! Some of us rode in the truck, while others from the team hiked up to Petit Bwa. What an experience! The road was REALLY rough! In the cage of the truck it was Brenda, Diane and I; along with Robensen, Pastor Rony, and Patrick. It was very cramped as we were in the little truck and had all of the VBS supplies with us as well. I am very afraid of heights - especially riding in the back of a truck on the edge of a mountain with no guard rails. The road was all rocks with some huge holes. At one point, we almost tipped over. We were thankful that God placed two Haitians right at that spot. It took them, along with Adam, Robensen, Patrick and Pastor Rony, to hold the cage of the truck up so we didn't all tip over. As the guys were holding up the truck, Troy gunned it and made it up. We found out later that the wheel of the truck on one side was completely up in the air. Needless to say, we were doing a LOT of praying!

After we reached the top of the mountain, we started VBS. It went so well. This was such a great group of kids. After VBS, we handed out candy and Bible story books to the kids, and Bibles to the adults. We took a short break to drink a coke. (Somebody up there just happened to have a case of it). Unfortunately, there was a mix up with our lunch. Adam (the other missionary) was supposed to bring lunch up for us in the truck, but he forgot it. Oops!! We were a little hungry, but we pooled our snacks from our backpacks and we managed just fine.

After our break, some of us went into the village to pray with some people at their homes. This has definitely been the highlight of the trip so far. We prayed with several people and gave them Bibles. The village witch doctor saw us praying and was curious. He asked if someone could come pray with him. We went to his house and Pastor Rony and the village pastor talked to him for quite awhile. At that moment I was thinking that we should be praying for the blood of Jesus to cover the house and rid it of evil. All of a sudden the pastors started singing and we realized that they were singing "Power in the Blood", so we all joined in (in English of course). After the song ended, the man dropped to his knees to pray. In Haiti it is the custom that everyone just prays all at the same time, so we all prayed for him, and he accepted Jesus as his Savior. It was absolutely amazing and had most of us in tears. You could just feel the power of God there! We decided that if this was the only thing we did on this trip, it would be worth it.

Sunday in LaDigue

2008-07-20T23:53:00.001-04:00

See this blog post for a run down of today's events in LaDigue.

July 2008 Haiti Team Has Arrived

2008-07-19T22:47:00.002-04:00

We received word that the July 2008 Haiti team has arrived safely at the mission in LaDigue. Here is what Tammy had to say: "Yes - we made it in and got to the mission at around 7:00 or so. We had a really good supper and now we are exhausted! I think we'll head to bed soon."

Please pray for the team as they lead Vacation Bible School for four different groups of kids this week.

Home at Last!

2008-02-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

We all made it safely to GR this afternoon! Even though our team was split into two separate flights, we ended up arriving within 15 minutes of each other. Thank you for all of your prayers!!

Making the most of it...

2008-02-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

We're stuck in the airport in Miami overnight... yuck. We all had tents and sleeping bags along with us because we had planned on sleeping in the mountains overnight Saturday to go to church there in the morning, but that never happened. Since we had all our camping stuff, and we had to spend the night in the airport, we found a good spot to sleep in and set up our tents. We have a 10'x14' tent set up by a wall next to a baggage claim thing. About all of the workers have walked past and laughed at us. Lots of people walked past too and were taking pictures. Our guess is that we are going to end up on YouTube or the news or AFV or something like that. That would be so cool!! Here is a picture of us tenting it...

(P.S. This is Tori and Chad and John updating this crazy thing just so you know that!! :))

Newest update

2008-02-06T18:51:00.001-05:00

Most of the Haiti team will be flying to GR tomorrow via Chicago at 2:00pm
Flight 4006 American.

Aaron Bonk, and The Gates family will be flying into GR tomorrow via Dallas at 3:05pm
Flight 3693 American

Thanks to everyone who prayed for them today.

Haiti team

2008-02-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

Update for the Haiti team. Flights from Miami to Chicago and Chicago to GR
Have been cancelled. Will let you know anything more when I hear it. I was able to call Haiti and let them know before they boarded their flight.

Last Full Day

2008-02-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

For our last full day here, we tackled the remaining jobs. Once again, this primarily involved the medical clinic and Aline's house. The painting, chair setup, and cleanup for the medical clinic is now complete. Woo hoo! For Aline's house, the remaining rafters were put up. The rest of this project will be completed by a group of people from the village. We also put up a basketball hoop for the the Livesays and countless others to enjoy. Finally, we installed a water heater in the house that we are staying in. There's a funny story for that job, but we'll save that for Nate to tell sometime. :)

At night, we were able to attend part of a revival service at a church in the village. This was awesome. They had a similar service last night as well. The churches in the area are holding revival meetings during the time of Mardi Gras, which is typically a dark time down here. These meetings go on for hours with all kinds of singing and preaching. The singing literally makes your ears ring and gives you goosebumps! Once again, we were able to witness authentic, heartfelt worship and it was humbling to be a part of it. John was also able to share a song and Rick shared a few words with the people. This was great way to round out the week!

This should be the last post until we are home tomorrow. We have had a great trip but we are looking forward to seeing our families. Our prayer request is for good weather and no delays!

Work and Fun in the Sun

2008-02-05T06:07:00.000-05:00

On Monday, nearly everyone spent the morning working on the medical clinic. It's really starting to come together now. We weren't able to continue with the trusses on Aline's house because there was more cement work that needed to be done. A group of people from the village have been doing this part of the project. Hopefully, they will have this done by Tuesday so that the truss work can continue.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Wahoo Bay resort for some sun, snorkling, and a delicious dinner.

On Tuesday, we will be finishing up the medical clinic and Aline's house. Thank you again for your prayers! They are making a big difference!

Mountain Trek Pictures

2008-02-04T13:19:00.000-05:00

Mountain Trek

2008-02-04T12:51:00.003-05:00

(NOTE: We have had some internet connection difficulties, which is making it a challenge to update the blog and really hard to add pictures.)

Well, yesterday was a big day. Bright and early (a little after 6:00 a.m.), we drove to Barbencourt and got on mules for our two hour journey up the mountain to Bwa Dom. If there was no elevation change, it would be a three mile journey as the crow flies. With the change in elevation, it is about a 2000 foot climb. It was an absolutely beautiful morning with great visibility to...uh...see the donkey in front of you. :) Seriously, with the turn of your head, a large portion of the coastline was in view.

We arrived at Pastor Fritznel's house and were served a delicious breakfast. (By the way, Pastor Fritznel and others traveled down to bring the mules even brighter and earlier in the morning.) After breakfast, we headed to church. There was a wonderful time of praise and worship along with some special music from various church members. These Haitians really know how to worship the Lord--it was awesome.

Nate gave a brief message, which encouraged all of us to be the true body of Christ. In response, we spent time praying with each other. This included praying for those that were sick as well having all of the children gather for us to pray for. Finally, most of us traveled further up the moutain to visit five people who were sick and needed prayer. After lunch, we headed back down the mountain. It was a day to remember for all of us.

Rest of the Day

2008-02-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

In the late afternoon, we went to market. There are no pictures to show because it is not advisable to take any there. The market is indescribable unless you've been there; but suffice it to say that this place really illustrates the poverty of the country. Just outside the market is Charcoal Beach. We then went to the Cabaret Berci Orphanage to spend some time with the kids there. Finally, we wrapped up the day with an authentic Haitian meal (complete with goat).

Early tomorrow morning, we will be heading up the mountain on donkeys
to go to church there. (We are not staying overnight as originally planned, but we are looking forward to a great time of worship.)

Pastors Training

2008-02-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

Rick and Nate led Pastor's training this morning. There was around
fifty pastors that attended. Rick gave his testimony of how he was led
to become a pastor. This transitioned into a message on discipleship and
reaching out to identify people whom God is calling to spread the
gospel.

We weren't really sure how they were accepting the message when
suddenly a pastor spoke from his heart. He said that there was a
conflict between the pastors, and if the pastors were in conflict with
each one another, then they wouldn't be able to disciple others. If they are
going to lead others to repentance, then they would first need to repent themselves. All of the men knelt on the floor, put there arms
around each other, and prayed for repentance and revival with tears.

Then, Nate spoke and asked for repentance because, as missionaries, we have made the Haitians rely on us instead of discipling them and sending
them out. He then exhorted the men to identify two people
in their congregations and disciple them for one year. Then at
pastor's training in February of 2009, we will have a commissioning
service for 100 new missionaries. They were very excited about this
and most willingly agreed to this challenge. One pastor then stood up
with tears and said he had never heard a missionary say this and he was
convicted that they were the ones that needed to go out and preach the
gospel--they should not rely on foreign missionaries, which was the
point of the day. At the end, they all shared in time of heartfelt
prayer. It was an awesome, Spirit-filled day.

More Work Projects

2008-02-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

Today we began putting a roof on Aline's house. Aain, she is the head cook at Lifeline. This is going to be a challenging project because the blocked walls are difficult to work with. But at the end of the day, we had three trusses up, which cover about half of the house. We will resume this on Monday. The rest of the team continued working on the medical clinic.

Work Day

2008-02-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

Today began with devotions at the prayer rock; it was the perfect start for the day. Then we got to see the kids in school (the one on the grounds of the mission compound) and, best of all, to hear them sing!

We then went to work on various projects. The main emphasis was on the medical clinic. There was electrical work, plumbing, painting (even Isaac and Noah helped out), chairs to put together, and equipment/supplies to sort and organize (with Jenn giving direction). Another group went to a school in the village to take child information (height, weight, etc.) for potential sponsorship. Other tasks included putting together some baby furniture for the Livesays, unloading a truck with supplies, troubleshooting a solar power issue, etc.

There was a bit of excitement when a garbage burn pile got a little out of control. But Lance was quick to respond with a big bucket of water. We are thankful that it didn't spread because it was close to the buildings and everything is very dry. There was also some excitement in the medical clinic when a mouse was running around. Debbie took a great whack at it but it somehow survived; then it ran around the feet of some screaming girls and finally got away. :)

In the evening, we enjoyed a nice sunset, a delicious dinner cooked up by Tara, some singing at the cross, and more hanging out together. The weather was beautiful today (sounds like it is much nicer than back at home :).

Tommorrow, the current plan is to work in the village on Aline's house (the head cook here at the mission). It was a treat to tell her about it tonight and to pray with her. Thanks again for your continued prayers!

Up at the Cross

2008-02-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

Last night, we went up the hill to the cross--always a fun thing to do.

Barbencourt Happenings - Part 2

2008-01-31T20:21:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember Jean Reane. If the picture upload works, he is the boy with the tie-dye shirt, and he is one of those who excitedly accepted Christ last summer when the August team was down here for the Vacation Bible School. When he saw Nate (on the left if you don't know him), Jean's eyes lit up and he gave Nate a big hug.

After the movie, we were able to help out with the feeding program. On the menu? Rice and beans with a spaghetti/tomato sauce. It was humbling and fun to serve the kids this meal, which for many is the only one they will have today.

Afterward, many of us walked to the mission with a bunch of kids from the village holding our hands. Then we had some chow, took a tour of the mission compund, and hung out. Bye for now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thanks!

Barbencourt Happenings - Part 1

2008-01-31T19:32:00.001-05:00

There's a missionary from America named Daniel who is going around to all of the cities in Haiti showing a great film about Jesus. Today he and his Haitian partner Ruben showed it in Barbencourt before the regularly scheduled feeding program. We were privileged to be able to help setup and watch it with the kids.

Our guesstimate is that there were around 250 kids who ended up coming to see it. Afterward, Ruben explained what it meant to commit your life to Christ and the kids responded well to this. He led all of the kids in a prayer and then Robenson encouraged anyone who sincerely made a commitment to Christ to talk to Pastor Rony or Troy for follow-up. It was a great time and awesome to see the kids glued to the movie. The movie was a mix between a modern-day situation (real actors) along with a computer-animated presentation of key Biblical events including the fall of man into sin, Jesus' life, His death, and His ressurrection. Very cool! As a sidenote, Daniel is even able to show this movie in Haitian public schools since there are no restrictions like we have in America.

We Made It!

2008-01-31T19:32:00.000-05:00

Thank you to for all of your prayers! God gave us a great trip and we are here safely in LaDigue. Although we were delayed yesterday, that ending up working out well. We were very happy with how well American Airlines worked with us to rebook flights. God provided us with a super friendly (and fast-typing) agent who got us all rebooked in time for the earlier of two flights to Miami. Also, this delay gave us a chance to get to know one another a litttle better and to prepare some more before arriving today.

We got into Port au Prince around 9:30 this morning. Troy and Peter drove us straight to Barbencourt rather than going to the mission. It's definitely an eye-opener to see the poverty and the horrible living conditions (familiar to those of you who have gone before, but a bit hard to take in for those of us who are first-timers). We'll attempt to post on Barbencourt with some pcitures now. Hopefullly, it works--the internet connection is pretty flaky right now. (Troy will be working with someone in the next week or two to get the satelllite internet link configured better.) Again, thank you for your prayers. They were definitely answered!!

In the Air

2008-01-31T07:45:00.000-05:00

The Haiti team is finally on the final phase of getting to Haiti! They should arrive around 9:25 am!

They had a small delay when American had to get a piece of luggage off the plane that belonged to a passenger that didn't show. Does that sound familiar to anyone that has gone before?!

It is becoming quite common! :)

Their first stop after arriving in Haiti is a trip to Barbencourt where they will be showing the Jesus film to the children there! What an exciting start to their trip!!

This should be the last time I, Brenda should be filling you in and the Haiti team will be blogging!!

Haiti team update!!

2008-01-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

thought I would put an update on here for all of you on where the Haiti team is at this momemt. Due to many delays they are finally in the air on their way to Miami. They should arrive this evening about 4:00pm and then will be staying overnight.

Their flight to Haiti leaves at around 7:00am tomorrow morning and they should arrive around 9:00am.

thank you so much for all the prayers that went up on their behalf!!!

Haiti Flight Itinerary 1/30/08

2008-01-28T00:02:00.000-05:00

American Airlines

Flight: 4152
From: GRAND RAPIDS MI, MI (GRR) ; Departs: 7:00am
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD); Arrives: 7:00am

Flight: 1048
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD); Departs: 8:35am
To: MIAMI INTERNTNL, FL (MIA); Arrives: 12:35pm

Flight: 803
From: MIAMI INTERNTNL, FL (MIA); Departs: 2:05pm
To: PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI (PAP); Arrives: 4:00pm

Haiti team is home!!

2007-08-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

We arrived home very late last night!!! Thanks to all those that met us at the airport!!!

We are tired but very happy and blessed to have been used by God for the last 9 days!!! God truly was with us every second and we could feel every prayer!!! Keep checking the blog every now and then as as I have time I will be adding a few more pictures and a few videos if I can get them from a few key people? God put an awsesome team together and each person was able use their gifts to further God's kingome. Thank you to everyone that prayed for us, helped us financially. These trips cannot be done without all of you!!! We have some great stories and cannot wait to share them!!!!

2007-08-11T14:12:00.000-04:00

Marge had the memory verse and snack rotation
Pictures in the village
We tried to get a picture of how hard it was raining
This was a picture of the crowd that was waiting to get in
the gate for carnival.

2007-08-11T14:04:00.000-04:00

VBS went so well and was so much fun!! The kids really seemed to
enjoy it!!!

Haiti pictures

2007-08-11T13:33:00.000-04:00

Riding to Barbencourt

We were able to help hand out the food at Barbencourt

The team walking back

2007-08-11T12:43:00.001-04:00

Lance and Aaron's station was games
Theresa and Brenda had the movie room

Some of the team took a walk to Barbencourt

VBS kids singing

2007-08-11T12:43:00.000-04:00

Everyday VBS would start out and end with the kids singing songs. It was so awesome to see. The kids always sing full out and are really loud!!!

VBS

2007-08-11T12:03:00.000-04:00

We would do two days of VBS and on the 2nd day Lance would give the salvation message and ask the kids if they wanted to receive Jesus. It was always so incredible. I tried to caputre a little bit on video.

Degage, God, and our purpose

2007-08-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

Hello all!
Sorry we did not post yesterday. It was raining so hard we could not get the site to come up. I will try to fill you in as much as possible and then later we will try to post some pictures as we have had problems with that as well. It is hot. I mean real hot, but the biggest thing is the rain. It's not like it rains all the time, usually later in the afternoon it gets dark, and then the heavens open up. Yesterday, it rained harder than it has before. Unfortunantly we were in the trucks on our way back from an afternoon of regrouping at the resort. It was going okay until the windshield wiper on our truck went flying off. Troy was way ahead of us and did not see us stop. When I (Nate) stopped the truck and everyone in the back ( Yes, the open back) of the truck thought I was being funny. I could not see it was raining so hard and the last thing you want to do is drive on a Haitian road without seeing. So Lance and I surveyed the situation and after we realized there was no way to fix the wiper, we decided to degage. This is a Haitian saying that means make it work, soooooo Lance crawled out on top of the truck so he could wipe the windshield by hand. I got inside the truck and all we saw was this hand with a wiper in it going across the windshield. We all laughed so hard I could not drive for like five minutes. You should have seen the Haitian's faces when they saw a blan on top of a truck wiping the windshield. It was great!! When we caught up to Troy, he came to tell us the road was washed out but did not see Lance right away, when he did he about fell over laughing. We then had to go off the road to park outside the gate, as we drove in I hit a rut about two feet deep. In slow motion we watched Lance roll of the top, then off the hood, then on the ground. There was a nervous hush in the truck until Lance got up cheering with his hands in the air. We then were all rolling with laughter again. The things we do for the gospel!!
God is once again moving today. The new kids came in and are even more excited and ready than the last. We have great video we will try to post later.
I must tell you one story though. Robinson came and said that a couple boys had forged a ticket to come in. He was going to send them away. We did not feel right about this so I went to talk to them. We brought them in and they were so scared to have to meet me. I asked them if they wanted to come in because they wanted to hear about Jesus. They said YES!! I asked them if they were going to make trouble. They said NO!! I said then if you want to learn about Jesus we want you here, you may come in. Their faces lit up like I have never seen. I walked up with them and put my arm around them and they were just overwhelmed that they were welcomed. God is good. Another little girl walked in with a track that we had handed out last time, all worn and tattered, because she had no Bible, that was what she had.
Please keep your prayers coming. Souls ARE being added to the Kingdom this week. It is humbling and awesome that God would have us here to participate.
You are reading less than 1% of what is happening so be ready for us when we return. :(
We love you all. We ALL have a job to do for the Lord, look to HIM for strength!!

Busy Busy Busy!!

2007-08-07T23:11:00.000-04:00

Hello all from Haiti. We are trying to update the blog as much as possible, but we are busy from sun up until way past sundown. Today was a great day, we wrapped up our first VBS. It was a huge success. It went way better than we could ever have expected. The kids were running in excited to come for another day. At one point I was outside and could hear kids excited voices coming from all different directions. Today we focused on the sacrifice of Christ. When the kids were watching the Jesus film, they would stare intently at the screen after Jesus' death, and when he was raised from the dead they would yell JEZI!! (Jesus) . At the closing Lance told them about the love of the father and how they could be a child of God. We then asked them to close there eyes and raise thier hands if they wanted Jesus in their hearts. We were all shocked when almost all of them raised thier hand!!! It has been an incredible trip and it is only Tuesday! We also walked to Barbencourt and spent some time in the village of La Digue. We met many great people. It was great to see the kids from VBS and spend time with them at thier homes. We even got a little physical work done around the mission. This team is great and are all working together really well. You would almost think God put this team together. ( You think?)
We are all healthy and full of energy, even though it is very hot and humid. Tomorrow is very full again, but we will have some time in the afternoon to kick back and enjoy some swimming and snorkeling in the ocean. We will try to post some pictures later. Thank you for all your prayers. Keep them up, God is defenantly moving here, BIG TIME!!

2007-08-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

We also spent some time tonight at Cabaret kids orphanage. Once a month they do a birthday party for the kids birthday's that month and they waited until we came down to do this. What a fun time of playing with the kids and just spending time holding them!!!

2007-08-07T00:08:00.000-04:00

We went to a school today and and we took pictures, heights and weights of the children. These children will be able to be sponsored very soon. The kids were so much fun and we had a great time interacting with the kids.

2007-08-07T00:04:00.000-04:00

Just a few VBS pictures. The kids were so receptive and well behaved!!!

These girls were a part of the drama rotation. The girl in the green shirt with her head turned is really Tori!!

2007-08-06T23:59:00.000-04:00

Our twins for the day! They had no idea that they were going to dress alike!!!

The church in Luly gave us this fruit as a gift!!!

2007-08-06T23:51:00.000-04:00

Pictures from yesterday at church. The internet connection has been a little slower so it is taking a lot longer to get things uploaded. I will try to just put a bunch of pictures up and I hope to have a longer update about bible school soon. I will say that it went well and that we had about 150 kids. There were only a few small issues that went on. One of them being our projector overheated and we had to really improvise but God is soooooo good!!!

Some Monday VBS Pics

2007-08-06T12:59:00.000-04:00

Check out some pictures from Monday's VBS here and here, too.

Hello from Haiti

2007-08-05T17:42:00.000-04:00

After a 2 hour sit on the plane in Miami (a passenger not showing up and they had to get one piece of luggage off the plane due to security reasons. Imagine human hands having to find one bag out of hundreds of pieces of luggage or more) we arrived in Haiti at 6:30 pm our time instread of 4:00pm. We were all very tired and we had a 2 hour ride back to the mission in the pitch black but we made it very safely and only little sore from the ride. We had a wonderful Authentic Kreyold meal and then pretty much went to bed.

This morning we were all a litt more awake and we went to the church in Luly this morning. It was an amazing day. You can always fell God at this little church near the Ocean. It turned out that the convention that we raised money for was actually today and we were all there to take part in this!!! Wow! It was also the church's 14th birthday. There was a wedding, a baby dediction, 2 baptisms (in the early morning before we arrived). Nate was asked to pray for the wedding and the baby dediction and it was so neat to just be a part of all this. There was ton of singing and it was incredible!!! It gives me goosebumps everytime we take part in these services and it is also very humbling to know that God called each one of us to Haiti and this time and to take part. They knew were coming so they deciced to have the convetion when we were there. Church was packed and after 3 hours it was Nate's time to preach! It went so well and the truth was spoken and please pray that hearts were opened and that some of those that were there would come to call Christ, their Lord and savior. Its has been raining and thunderstorming but the storms here are awesome!!!! We are getting ready for our first day of bible school tomorrow. Lots of preperation but we are all in high spirits and feeling great!! Thanks for the prayers. They are being felt!!!!! Hopefully we will be able to get some pictures on soon. We had some really fun times today with the Haitians!!!!

Sunday Morning

2007-08-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

See this Livesay blog entry for some pictures of the team heading off to church Sunday morning.

- Chad

They have arrived....

2007-08-04T22:30:00.000-04:00

According to the Livesay blog, the team has arrived safely in Haiti! Big praise!!

- Chad B.

Things we will be doing in Haiti

2007-07-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

This is the church in Luly!!

Saturday: Arrive at airport no later than 5:00am. Arrive at Lifelines around 6:30pm Get settled, have supper, go over guidelines and rules, and try to get a good nights sleep.

Sunday: Leave for church in Luly around 8:30am. Nate will be preaching, so please be in prayer that the message is well received. Dinner at church. Arrive back at Lifelines around 1:00pm. Take tour of mission and village and prepare for VBS.

Monday and Tuesday: 8:30-1:00pm VBS. Afternoons and evenings will be filled with work projects, trips to orphanages and medical clinic, and door to door evangelism.

Wednesday: Morning is open for projects. 12:00 we will go to the resort for swimming, snorkeling, and dinner around 4:00pm. Back to Mission around 6:30pm

Thursday: VBS in Morning. Afternoon projects and preparing for shower. Evening baby shower for Tara.

Friday: VBS in Morning. Preparation for carnival in afternoon. Carnival late afternoon, and Jesus film in village at night.

Saturday: Misc. Activities. Hike up mountain to Petit Bwa. Open market in the afternoon. Wrap up projects. Pack for departure and clean up in evening.

Sunday: Depart La Digue around 7:30am. Arrive in GR around 10:25pm

This is a tentative schedule that most likely will change but gives us an idea of what we will be going day to day.

Haiti Itinerary August 4-12th 2007

2007-07-27T16:22:00.000-04:00

Haiti trip
August 4-12, 2007

SAT AUG 04 American Airlines
4152 Lv Grand Rapids 705A
American eagle Ar Chicago 700A

SAT AUG 04 American Airlines 1048
Lv Chicago 810A
Ar Miami 1210P

SAT AUG 04 American Airlines 803
Lv Miami 235p
Ar Port Au Prince 335p

SUN AUG 12 American Airlines 1988
Lv Port Au Prince 1105A
Ar Ft. Lauderdale 205p
Lv Ft. Lauderdale 330p
Ar Dallas/Ft. Worth 530p

SUN AUG 12 American Airlines 3781
Lv Dallas/Ft. Worth 700p
Ar Grand Rapids 1025p

Pray for safe travel home for Kenya team

2007-07-27T09:50:00.000-04:00

The Kenya team left this morning for home. Pray for safe travels and no lost luggage!

They should be arriving home on Saturday. Here is there last flight details.

AR GRAND RAPIDS MI 234
PNORTHWEST1752L

New update from Kenya team!

2007-07-23T17:24:00.000-04:00

We are all well and are on our way back to Nairobi.
We had a wonderful weekend with the people in the Sijoa area.
God blessed our time with them and they were very thankful to see the Jesus film
and learn more about the Bible. We showed the film 5 different times at 4 locations.
And had a wonderful Sunday worship service at the Sijoa church.

Overall the impact of our mission trip has been great and we praise God for using us
to strengthen the churches here in Kenya. The Sijoa church (which was a very discouraged
church and nearly falling apart) rejoiced at the fact that God brought visitors who pointed them
to the faithfullness of God!

Thank you for sending us and keeping us in your prayers.

The Kenya Team from Lighthouse Community Church

Tom, Rob, Darrick and Sango

2007-07-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Sango, Shane and Walter giving a final word and some Bible gifts to the people at the Sijoa church.
Rob playing guitar and Tom singing praise songs at the Sijoa church
Using the Bible Story Cloth at the Sijoa church.
Using the Bible Story Cloth at Sango’s village.
Showing the Jesus film at the Mambia Friends Church.

2007-07-23T17:16:00.000-04:00

Tom and Darrick setting up for showing the Jesus Film at the Magogongo church
Children from the Sigulu Primary School thanking us for the scripture booklets
The local orphans wearing Special Ministry T-shirts they were given.

2007-07-23T17:10:00.000-04:00

Rhinos at the Nakuru National Park.

The Lighthouse Team at the Equator

Walter and Shane standing by the Special Ministries sign at Chippema Hope Center.
Tom sharing pictures with the children outside the church.

2007-07-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

Finally we got an internet spot. We are well God has been with us. We have seen and sensed the move of God in many people--thanks for your prayers. Attached are some pictures plus the stories that go with each picture.The best tool we had was the Jesus Film in the local language (Luragoli and Swahili)-both young and old have been encouraged by the words of Jesus in the language they understand--we thank God we were obedient to HIS call--only eternity will tell.

Greetings to all believers at Lighthouse Community Church .

Tom, Rob, Darrick, Sango and Special Ministries in Kenya.

2007-07-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

9. Sango talking with students from the Sigulu Primary School. You can see soccer balls we gave as gifts, we also passed out scripture booklets after his talk.

10. Showing the "Jesus Film" to the students from Sigulu Primary School at the Magogongo Church.
11. A young girl reading the scripture booklet she had received the day before.

2007-07-21T09:26:00.000-04:00

6. On our way from Niarobi to Mambia we passed the "Great Rift Valley" which is behind us in the photo.

7. Sango remembering days gone by in a classroom. The building here used to be a gas station

8. Rob sharing the story of the Bible in Sango’s village using the "Bible Story Cloth". Walter & Sango are holding the cloth.

2007-07-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

3. Sango talking with Ken, a lame man in the village of Mambia. He does shoe repair for a living.

4. Children who are neighbors of Walter from Special Ministries. We gave them a ball and they enjoyed it.

5. We visited Sango’s Father-in-Law, (Karen’s dad) Alfred Amisi. He is 3rd from the left.

Finally an update from Kenya with pictures!!

2007-07-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

1. Rob and Darrick using the Bible Story Cloth with children, at the Mambia Friends Church.

2. We met with the leadership of the "Friends Church" including the General Secretary 5th from right

Kenya team

2007-07-16T18:24:00.000-04:00

We had word today that unfortunately the Kenya team has no Internet at this point. Hopefully they will be able to post soon. We will try to keep you updated as we get word back.

Kenya team update

2007-07-14T14:01:00.000-04:00

The Kenya team wanted everyone to know they are enroute to Kakamega villiage and should arrive around 3pm our time. (new update: they have arrived early) They are in very good spirits and they are feeling good. They plan to share the Jesus film with the church tommorrow. Kenya is 7 hours ahead of us so when you are praying you will know if they are up or sleeping.

Their missing bag has also show up!! Praise God!!!

They will post their own messages as soon as they get a chance!! Keep praying!!

Kenya team has arrived!!

2007-07-13T16:08:00.000-04:00

I just received word that the Kenya team is safe and sound in Kenya!! Praise God!!

They are only missing one piece of luggage and they hope to have it soon.

Kenya Team

2007-07-04T17:20:00.000-04:00

With our trip to Kenya just a week away, I thought a photo of our team would be nice.

Starting from the left; Sango Otieno, Tom Bruins, Rob Allen & Derrick Gates.

Kenya Team Itinerary!!!!

2007-06-30T11:01:00.000-04:00

SPECIAL MINISTRIES
Kenya Trip:
Allendale Lighthouse Community Church
July, 2007
Thank you for hearing God’s call to spend time with Special Ministries in Kenya.

Flight Itinerary

TH 12JUL
LV GRAND RAPIDS MI 5:05p
AR DETROIT/METRO 600p

NORTHWEST 416T
TH 12JUL
13JUL
LV DETROIT/METRO 710p
AR AMSTERDAM 900A

NORTHWEST 54T
FR 13JUL
LV AMSTERDAM 1015A
AR NAIROBI 710P
OPERATED BY KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES-KL565

FR 27JUL
28JUL
LV NAIROBI 1015p
AR AMSTERDAM 530A
OPERATED BY KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES-KL566

NORTHWEST
8566L
SA 28JUL
LV AMSTERDAM 800A
AR DETROIT/METRO 1035A

NORTHWEST
39L
SA 28JUL
LV DETROIT/METRO 147P
AR GRAND RAPIDS MI 234P
NORTHWEST
1752L

Internal Itinerary:
You will depart for Kenya on July 12. Here is a suggestion of your internal itinerary, although this may change once you are in Kenya.

July 12: Depart Grand Rapids NW 416 Depart 5:05 p.m.

July 13: Arrive Nairobi (Met by Special Ministries staff)
Overnight at Flora Hostel

14: Depart Nairobi 7:00 a.m. for Kakamega (arrive 3 p.m.)
Overnight at local hotel

15: Sunday services at Mambai evangelism and fellowship.

16: Evangelism at Mambai Primary School and Church area.

17: Evangelism at Mambai Primary School and Church area.

18: Travel to Busia: Five hour trip.

19: Rest – visit Sijoa

20: Evangelism in Sijoa Primary School and Church area.

21: Evangelism in Sijoa Primary School and Church area.

22: Sunday services at Sijoa, evangelism and fellowship

23: Depart 7:00 a.m. for Lake Nakuru National Park.
Lunch at Simba Lodge, afternoon Game Drive,
Dinner and Overnight at Simba Lodge.

24: Breakfast and morning Game Drive
Proceed to Nairobi
Afternoon: rest, visit places of interest in Nairobi
Overnight at Flora Hostel

25: Meet Special Ministries staff in the office
Visit a HOPE Centre
Overnight at Flora Hostel

26: Rest, Audio Scripture Ministries
LUNCH at Carnivore Restaurant
Shopping in Westlands
Overnight at Flora Hostel

27: Rest, packing, visit places of interest in Nairobi
DINNER with Shane and Kara at their house.
Depart for the Airport at 7:00 p.m.

Who you will be working with:
The Special Ministries Kenya staff members are:
Shane and Kara Gauther, Africa Director of Special Ministries
Elijah, Christian Education Director
Magdalene, Accountant
Janet and Ben, Sponsorship Department
Walter, Field Administrator
Shado (Shadrack) Logistics Department (Ask him for help with luggage)
Florence, Housekeeping (Ask her for a cup of Kenya tea!)
Peris, Office Administrator (Ask her for help of any kind!)
In the Hope Centers: Chaplains, teachers, nurses, and other leaders.
(All of our leaders speak perfect English, so talk to them if you get a chance.)
4. Contact telephone numbers and address while you are in Kenya:

Special Ministries
P.O. Box 76270
Nairobi, 00508 Kenya
Tel: 011-254-722-895532 Office
0721-165952 Shane Gauther
0722-594080 Mama Newman in Kenya

2007-06-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings to All!

It's Thursday morning and we are heading out for another long day of work. We have gotten more done that our construction manager every thought we could and he had to find more work for us. Not bragging here - God has just provided us with no injuries and basically great weather to accomplish everything He wants us to. We have painted, hung cabinets, laid carpet, tile, drywall, etc. The lists are long but there is still so much to do here. It is unbelievable the houses that are still without new roofs after all this time.We are heading to the beach tonight to do devotions and talk about what has gone on so far this week. Everything has gone so well - we thank you for your prayers. Keep Chris VanderWal in your prayers today and tomorrow. He recently returned from Guatemala and brought a "visitor" with him and he had to take the dreaded orange (clean out the system) pill yesterday. Pray that he can continue to work and not be in any discomfort! All is well and we'll be leaving Saturday morning for home.

Team Allendale in Gulfport, MS

First post from Mississippi team!!

2007-06-18T22:32:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Gulfport, MS

We arrived safely Saturday PM about 11:00. All the travel was great, not much traffic and no road construction after we left Michigan! We went to Little Rock Missionary Baptist church Sunday AM and we really "rocked & rolled"! In the afternoon we relaxed and went down to the beach to cool off. The water was really warm - at least 80 degrees. Today, Monday we had our first work day -what an experience for all of us. We divided into about 4 different work crews and tackled many different jobs - drywalling, putting down flooring, hanging cabinets, put up rais gutters, etc. Barb & Marge are keeping us fed very well! - no weight loss this week. It is very warm - upper 90's with about 95% humidity and had showers off and on today. It's about time to call it a day because tomorrow is another big work day. We are so blessed - God is good! No major injuries - for all the hours we put in today between us that is a miracle! Keep praying - some big days coming up. More later - hopefully pictures!

Joanie Hodson
Office Coordinator
S.M.A.R.T. Center331-8587

2007-06-17T17:03:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!!!
We are enjoying the 100 degree weather here, with no airconditioning or swimming pools. So if you have either of those, be greatful!!! Today we had Pastor Gigi, Lavi, Ruben and Miriam over for lunch. I grilled chicken and mici and we had mashed potatoes, carrots, salad, bread, and flan for dessert. Can you imagine how hot the kitchen was after cooking and then with 9 people eating in there? We had church this morning. Many of you are in church now :). We have church again in 2 hours, and then some of my friend will be coming over to the mission house. We are keeping very busy. Yesterday was our only free day. We visited Dracula's hometown, Sighisoara. We had a wonderful time. We have gone to 3 villages, and have 4 more this week. One every day. They have gone extremely well. The kids are very responsive and very excited that we are there. For me, it is exciting, because I have been to 2 out of 3 of the villages we went to, so I knew some kids at both. We have also gone strawberry picking, and cleaned the church kitchen.This week, we will visit a friend of mine and Gerri's, who just had twins and got home from the hospital Friday. I am excited to see her and the babies. We will also go for lunch at an older friend's house.
We have little time for rest and relaxation, but it is not necessary here. God is giving me the strength I need, and I have not felt tired. Our luggage did arrive on Monday, except for 3 boxes which came here on Wednesday. But we were able to do everything we needed to do. God provided for us.
Continue to pray for us in our last few days here. Thank you for all your prayers already. They have been heard by God and felt by us!!!! We will leave here on Friday morning around 9, and arrive in Grand Rapids around 6:30, if all goes well. :)
God bless!!!Love, Melissa

Hello from Romania

2007-06-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!!!We have arrived in Romania! As many of you already know, we were delayed about 30 hours. We spent the night in the Chicago airport before catching a flight to Frankfurt and then to Romania. We arrived in Romania about 30 hours after we had planned. Unfortunately, our luggage did not arrive with us. We received word today that it was stuck in Chicago. So we pray that it arrives today or tomorrow here in Medias. We begin our first Bible school tomorrow evening at 5:30. We have 7 villages that we will be going to and doing a Bible story, craft, games, and songs at each one. We will go to one each day for the rest of the time we are here. With weekend off. This Saturday we will go to Dracula's Castle in Sighisoara. We will keep you updated on our adventures as we are here. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and pray that we will receive our luggage soon!

Thank you!!
Love, Melissa

New Missions Blog

2007-06-11T11:03:00.000-04:00

This Blog has been set up for all teams to use that are going on mission trips for Lighthouse community church. If you want to post your own blog entries/pictures please contact me:
Brenda Yonker tearsofjoy@highstream.net

If you have never had experience with doing a blog before I would be happy to post your info and pictures for you. You will just have to email me your blog entry and your pictures! This will be a fun way for everyone to keep up on what is happening on your mission trip!!

Any questions please feel free to contact me!!