Jimison Family Missions

A Cow in Every Kitchen

2011-04-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had our dessert sharing a few nights ago - "A Cow in Every Kitchen". Each of us shared about a portion of the trip. I spoke on child sponsorship. :) That really meant the most to me and is something I will continue to work with as a Child Ambassador.

So if you didn't go - here is a little bit about what I shared...

I had many misconceptions about child sponsorship. I always thought we were giving money to the child's education, maybe a uniform, and perhaps some school supplies. I didn't realize it was LIFE to its fullest for the child. I also wondered...does the child really benefit? Are they real? Do they get the letters? How many sponsors have a child? Does the money go to the right place? Valid questions.

After going, and seeing...I can now answer those questions and more. The money goes to help the child live to his/her fullest - clean water, education, sustainable food, medication, training for parents. It makes a huge life in the qualify of life for that child! Yes - my kids are real, I am the only sponsor, they get the letters, the money goes to the right place and then some!

Child sponsorship is vital for the community. When fresh water is brought for a child - the whole community benefits! Same for food, medication, etc.

I came home and applied to be a Child Ambassador because I believe so highly in World Vision and the work that they do. We sent special "gift notifications" to the all 3 of our kids - workers will go out to their homes and find out what the family needs the most and purchase it for them with our donation...could be a cow in their kitchen, clothes, shoes...whatever is necessary.

If you don't have a sponsor child, it is $35 a month and SO worth it! Let me know and I can get a child for you - any country or in the area we went - Abaya. :) Just email me!

(PS - not all sponsor agencies are the same...some programs do only give to education. World Vision helps the whole child.)

I have some time...

2011-03-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

Now I have time to sit down and write. Warning: this post will be long. :) Grab yourself some coffee and sit down and relax! - and...a warning that these are my various thoughts...I'm blogging and am quite tired! Please excuse mistakes. :)

We started off our trip at the Ethiopian National World Vision Office. They have 1,300 staff, 65 ADP's (communities they serve) with 21 US sponsorships. There are 231,000 kids in Ethiopia being supported by WV (World Vision), 76,000 specifically by the US. Children range from age 3-14. The criteria is that they are from a needy family and are within that age range. There is no criteria for religious background.

mailbox for sponsor letters to Abaya

We viewed many of the World Vision commitments - Christian commitment, church partnership, prayer mobilization, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), food, etc. It was fun visiting the mailroom where we could see all the sponsor letters ready to be delivered to the various communities. Yes, kids actually get the letters! :)

The next day we drove 5 hours (was suppose to be a 3 hour drive, but it was a heavy traffic/donkey/cow day!) We drove to Awassa to check in at the Lewi Piazza Hotel. May I just say we had a very interesting and heated discussion with a camel driver on the way!

Our driver, Akalelu, drove us to Shone ADP. This is an ADP where WV has been part of for about 19 years. They are getting ready to pull out of the area so we were able to see a village at the end of being helped. It is a farming community with 288,000 people. In 1997 26% of the residents had access to clean water. By 2008 it was moved to 42%. A new well will be opened up just this week that will service 48,000 people! World Vision over the years put in 200+ wells.

Shone ADP - World Vision building

new well ready for use

WV also helps the people learn sanitation. They do "poop" walks where they show defecation areas. They call it the walk of shame. They calculate the amount of poop they consume through their water and share it with the people so they will be educated to use a latrine. Now they are 100% free of open defecation. Diarrhea has lessened to only 10%. Their approach to getting rid of disease it to get rid of open defecation. In 1997 27% of the children went to school. Now 97% are enrolled. These are amazing numbers and WV was proud to share them with us.

WV helps education by building schools and supplying the rooms with chalkboards and materials. The government then hires and pays teachers for the schools.

In 1997 1% had access to a medical facility. By 2008 60% received coverage. Currently, 95% of the Shone residents have access to medical!

We visited a Shone water project where there is an area for cleaning, washing, and filling barrels. I found my place here with the kids! I ended up teaching about 30-40 kids some English words in my little by the water classroom. :) It was quite fun!

We visited a Muslim/Christian run orphanage. They all work and pray together to help the poor! Such cooperation and love for each other.

The next day in Shone we were able to visit with college students that are sponsor children! They shared how grateful they were to be a sponsor child and now are able to attend college. The stories were touching. Then we visited a very successful farmer, Elias. He radiated God's love! Really! He had a beaming smile and parables to tell. He is also a church planter and started a church with 6 members that has now grown to 600.

The next day we traveled the opposite direction 1 1/2 hours to Guangua. This is the area where Lakeside has over 200 sponsor kids. WV has only been in the Abaya/Guangua area for 3 years so it is very new to development. We met with Aynalem, the woman in charge of the ADP, and a group of pastors. They shared with us their hopes and prayers for the region. They did say the community has already seen an impact through WV being there only 3 years. The help people have received have caused them to praise God and this has brought new spiritual growth to the region. On the way home, we purchased 6 bananas for a total of 25 cents (4 burr) and a LOT of mangos for 60 cents!

Sunday was a day of worship. We visited the Guangua Church - about 600 members. We loved the worship. We also spent the day with the pastors.

Click here to hear the Abaya worship!

We treated ourselves Monday night to a boat ride on Lake Awassa. We were able to catch the ride right at sunset and had a spectacular view of the sun going down. We also had some fun sites - hippos in their natural habitat and a fisherman on a grass boat. He was catfishing and we laughed at his Calvin Klein underwear because that was all he had on. :)

We went to dinner at the Blue Nile Restaurant and had pizza. It was quite amusing that the men's urinals were right outside the women's room. hmm... quite odd! And a little awkward! I bought a flat basket on the way home for 15 burr (92 cents).

Tuesday we visited our sponsor children. Words can't even express this! First we drove about 2 hours. Part of it was on dirt...I call it a non-road. :) It was an Indiana Jones adventure! The area is beautiful but so poor. Sponsor kids are the poorest of the poor, chosen by the poor of the area!

First I went to Maritha's hut. (Pronounced Marita) At first she was very scared of me and she went and hid behind her dad. I knelt down and talked to her with an interpreter. I showed her my family pictures and gave her her gifts. She really liked her jump rope! I noticed that she was smaller than I anticipated and she had a malnourished looking protruding stomach. This broke my heart. She also had a very congested cough - I am guessing TB. Next we drove only a block to see my next sponsor child, Mama. It was amazing - I chose my 2 sponsor kids months apart from 2 different batches of pictures - and they live only houses down from each other! This was unheard of. :) Mama was also smaller than I thought. He was very shy but liked his gifts. He had wonderful manners and friendly parents. He was VERY VERY overwhelmed. Both Maritha and Mama have never seen white people, cameras, or their own reflection. I think all of these in one day overwhelmed them. The gifts they received were more gifts than they had ever had in their lifetime.

We took Mama, Maritha, and the other sponsor kids back to the ADP for lunch. They ate and ate and ate. We played ball, blew bubbles with them, and played. By the end of the time, Maritha would even come sit on my lap. That's a big step from cowering behind her father!

Mama put on his new clothes for the picture. I gave him clothes from our school.

We spent time visiting other sponsor children from our group - Brad, Scott, Linda A., Tari, and Martin's kids. One thing I will not forget is coming out of one of the huts there was a little baby on the ground outside the gate. I think someone placed him there for us to see. He had a large gaping wound on his head and he was covered with flies. He was eating a little handful of barley. Then, to my COMPLETE surprise, he got up and started walking off. WALKING. Yes, I thought he was a little infant, come to find out he was a toddler who could walk. He was so malnourished, so tiny, that I thought he was an infant. It was sooo sad. We questioned who the parents were but could not get an answer from anyone. We were not allowed to take him with us or I would have. It was so sad and a picture that will never ever leave my mind.

We also visited the water source for the families. Currently, it is filthy - green and full of worms. ick. People bathe, wash animals, and drink from the same water. WV has plans to bring good water to the area, but it is through sponsorship money that the funds are available so as more kids are sponsored, the sooner water will be able to be brought to the area.

The next day we visited the first medical post brought to the area. It has only been there 3 months and serves 2,500 people in a 5-7 km radius. They have 2 doctors and all medical is free. They are open 24-7. Their biggest problems are malaria and diarrhea from water born disease. We looked at their log book which was almost FULL. All we saw was malaria, malaria, malaria. Now, people that were once dying have life through the medication they receive. It's all preventable! They have plans for more health posts, again - it's dependent on sponsorship and donors.

I visited a school - elementary grades 1-4 with 1,500 students. Before WV there were 80 students per classroom including kids outside the room looking in through windows. I met the principal. Kids walk 1 1/2 hours each way - this is very common. Now there are 50 students per classroom with the addition of 2 building built just recently by WV. The principal said there have been positive changes: school obscenities have decreased, school class size diminished to 50, and academic achievement improved.

In Abaya/Guangua WV wants to help the community in the following (in order of preference set by WV)

education
health
WASH (water and sanitation)
food security
capacity building (job training)

I'm not sure why education is first on the list. I thought it would be health or WASH, but for some reason they have education as the priority in the area.

Back in Awassa, we enjoyed cab rides home from dinner. They ride in little 2 seater cabs...blue little things with 3 wheels. Besides the gas fumes, they were fun!

I was so struck by my time with World Vision, I have decided to volunteer with them as a "Child Ambassador" which means I try to match people with a sponsor child. By sponsoring a child, it REALLY DOES make a vital difference in their life!! The money DOES go there, the kids DO get your letters and gifts, and they are positively affected. If you don't have a sponsor child, it is $35 a month and SO worth the investment. You are giving massive opportunities to a child and you can develop a lasting relationship. Please EMAIL me at jimison4Him@sbcglobal.net if you would like to sponsor a child!

My list of things to not forget:

Maritha's tummy, her hut, family, flies on siblings
Meeting the college students
Elias the farmer; his joy for training and farming
Shone: getting villages 100% free of public defecation
Muslim and Christian Community working and praying together for orphans
Lake Awassa boat ride with hippos
Church worship and meeting with pastors. Amazing singing!
Water source
Health post and malaria occurrence
School bell, 80 kids in a room, walking 1 1/2 hours to school
Smiling faces, double hand waves and bow
Teaching the kids at watering hole
Coffee every day - freshly roasted in front of us!
Sickly baby with weeping wound
Donkeys, carts on roads
Taxi with 3 wheels

Scriptures that came alive for me:

Deuteronomy: Moses and striking the rock for water

Genesis: trusting the land to Adam

Luke 2:8-12 as us to Ethiopia

Luke 2:14-21 set the burden free

Luke 4:18-19 Jesus is the role model with working with the poor and oppressed

Leviticus 23:22 leave the gleanings for the poor

2 Cor. 9:6 God has freely blessed us for we need to bless others

Micah 6:8 hearing God's voice

Hoseah 6:6 mercy

Acts 16:6

Moses

2011-03-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

God is amazing how He puts all things together. It started even before I left with my own reading through the Bible in a year. I left off right at Moses and how God commanded him to strike the rock to produce water. At the time, it was just a Moses story to me. Then, during devotions on our trip, Pastor Brad read about Moses striking the rock to produce water. In Ethiopia at the Abaya church the pastor spoke on Moses striking the rock to produce water! Wow. It started to hit me - God has a message in this! The Abaya pastor passionately spoke about the need for faith for the community to receive water from God.

Water is a problem in Guangua, Ethiopia. Guangua is the town in the Abaya area where we spent much of our time. They are in the middle of a drought and water is life to them. It means food or no food. The water source is filthy and full of worms. I realized the importance of sponsorship. It truly means life to Maritha and Mama. It means a clean water source coming, food supplements, and some day education. World Vision is bringing the water and manna to Guangua.

I don't think that I will look at those verses the same again. They have new meaning.

A Cow in Every Kitchen

2011-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

I won't write a whole lot right now...but a little beginning for you!

To say the trip was amazing would be an understatement. It was so incredible, I don't even know where to begin

So before I begin to blog about the trip, I want to some it up with one thing: SPONSORSHIP means the life to a child! I think I never fully comprehended this. I always thought that when one sponsored a child through World Vision, the money went to help the child get an education. Oops. I was off! It means everything - literally.

When you sponsor a child, the money goes to see that the child "lives life to its fullest" through health, water, education, training, etc. So, a sponsored child gets access to medical care, education, clean water, etc. And to do this, the money goes to help the whole village. For example, Lakeside church is sponsoring over 200 kids in the Abaya community. I have 2 of them. The Abaya community is new to World Vision so they are just starting out in the area. They will be putting in schools, medical posts, clean water areas, etc. for everyone in the community through the sponsorship money so that our kids can have access to it. Right now, the water situation and medical are still almost non-existant. But my 2 kids are being sponsored. So - ADP staff check in on them once a week and they will bring them medical care until it is brought to the area. Eventually, they will have access to water, education, and medical within walking distance (2 hour). By sponsoring a child, it brings life to the whole community.

We visited a finishing ADP area where World Vision has been there 20 years. Years ago, 27% of the kids attended school. Now, 97% of the kids attend school. In 1997 only 26% had access to fresh water. In 2008, 42% had access. Next week they open up a new pump that will affect 1 million people!

Our area is Abaya - and World Vision has only been there for 3 years. Within that time they have already built 2 school buildings and 1 medical station. There are 80 students to a classroom.

I will write more later - but I wanted to give my last thoughts about visiting my own sponsor kids. I am sure that I was the first white person they have ever seen. They had never seen a camera or their own reflection. At first Maritha was very scared of me. I'm sure I looked sickly to her! ha. My white skin must have been a shock. She hadn't even seen herself until I took pictures of her with her dad. She recognized her dad, so she could recognize herself. The thing that surprised me the most was her health. She had a protruding stomach that I'm sure was full of worms from contaminated water. She also was coughing and probably has TB. I realized how VITAL my sponsorship is to her. It means she can get medical help and some day - once enough sponsors are in the area - a clean water source will be put in for her. Sponsorship can really mean life or death. Some day she can attend a school, have a medical clinic nearby. I found out I can send gifts for the family for what they need - like a cow or goat. I am going to look into that right away.

If you don't sponsor a child, I highly recommend it. Let me know and I can get one for you. The more kids sponsored, the sooner the Abaya area can get clean water and medication. Let's put a cow in every kitchen!

on the road to Maritha's

giving Maritha her gifts

my child Maritha

Maritha and family

walking to Mama's house

meeting Mama and family

WOW! Look at the difference in Maritha.

Now she came to sit on my lap - look at her precious smile.

I have my hand on Mama's shoulder - he changed into the clothes I gave him.

Beautiful children!!

Posts from our Lakeside Church Blog

2011-03-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

Part of World Vision's Development Credo states, "Start with what they know, build on what they have. Teach by showing, learn by doing." Today we witnessed an emerging community - Abaya in its early transformation. What a joy it was to see a community that is being touched by strangers from distant lands in the form of a new school, capacity building, and health post.

Our day started with a drive on what I call a "non-road" to a current water source. It was quite a drive and we saw the source of water for many people. A family was filling their water, men filling water, and an older woman carrying a 50 pound barrel on her back - a very common sight. The water was filthy. It was green and full of worms. A World Vision worker went over and pulled out a worm for us to see. It is heart-breaking to think about this as a daily water source. I considered my own sponsor child with her belly protruding from malnutrition and I wondered if worms were the source of her protuding belly. Currently 28.5% of the people have access to clean water in Abaya. Mind you, "close water source" is considered a 2 hour walking distance each way.

We then drove to the first health post in this community. It now serves 2,500 people in a 5-7 mile radius. It is staffed by the government with 2 doctors and all medical supplies. It is free for the people to use and it is their because of World Vision and the sponsorship program. We viewed the daily log, a log from a 3 month old health post, and it was nearly full. Each page was riddled with "malaria, malaria, malaria, pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea, malaria..." It is now the source of life to this community. World Vision hopes to put in 6 more health posts in the Abaya area.

As a teacher, I was thrilled to visit the school. Though disappointed that school was out for the day, I was excited to speak with the principal and some students. I spoke with a 5th grade girl who was so happy to share her English with me. She spends 1 1/2 hours for her walk to school each way for a 3 hour total! She wants to grow up to do something with English speaking people. I took pictures of the old buildings, and the two new buildings. Before World Vision built the new buildings, there were 80 students plus in each class...many with standing room only, plus outside viewing in windows. Now the students are spread out to 50 per classroom - the national average for Ethiopia. They share with us positive changes: school obscenities have decreased, school class size has diminished to 50, and academic achievement has improved. The beautiful new building also has basic scholastic materials and chalkboards.

Our final stop for the day was visiting a part of their "capacity building" - a barber shop! Interns are given the opportunity to learn the barber skill and practice it. They are receiving an important training for free.
It was a bittersweet good-bye at the ADP. We enjoyed worship together and a very surprising exchange of gifts. The ADP staff gave each of our team members authentic Ethiopian attire. We had a fun time taking pictures.

We walk away with full memories. My deepest picture is a little baby I saw yesterday outside a sponsor home. I thought the baby was 6 months or so old (able to sit). He had a large weeping sore on his head, covered with flies, and sitting by himself with a small handfull of barley oats. He then, quite wobbly, stood up and walking away down the alley. I was shocked beyond words. I could have sworn he was an infant, but he must have been almost 2. We have seen things that are so hard to describe, and witnessed joy in the transformation. Through our partnership with World Vision,we hope to help these people discover self-sufficiency and new life.

It's incredible, and indescribable. Thank you for parntering with us!
Pam

Monday, February 28, 2011

Today is a day that I think none of us will ever forget. It was a day filled with emotions, both by our team and the people we met. Today we went out into the villages to meet our World Vision sponsor children. As we drove down dirt roads people peeked out curiously from doorways or ran excitedly to the road to see the strangers, many breaking out in huge smiles, returning our waves. Along the way we saw women and young girls, bare foot, hauling huge water jugs on their backs, the first of several trips for the day. Our eyes were opened to the reality of how these people truly live. Life is very difficult for them in a way most of us can't imagine. No electricity. No running water. Homes made of mud or sticks with dirt floors. Here in Abaya, the people work hard simply to survive.
Yet there is joy in the midst of it. Kids are still kids, shy at first but soon won over through games and laughter. We watched a little girl's tentativeness melt into huge grins as she skipped rope, a little boy emerge from his shell as he learned how to play frisbee for the first time, and the whole group of kids melt into squeals of laughter as they blew bubbles and played ring-around-the-rosie.
We listened as Pam taught her children about God through the gifts she had brought them. We saw Scott literally give one father the shirt off his back because his was in tatters. We were welcomed into the home of a family whose lives had been changed by another Lakeside member through sponsorship and designated giving. The gratefulness they showed us toward their sponsor was overwhelming. If anyone has ever wondered how much their sponsorship of a child helps, I can tell you it is huge. It truly makes a difference in the lives of these children and the community overall.
I think everyone on the team would agree that this was a rare and special day. We saw poverty in a way we have never seen it before. We experienced a huge range of emotions as we interacted with these beautiful people. We came to bless them but left feeling blessed. We arrived as strangers but we left as friends. What an incredible day!
Blessings,
Tari
"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."
Philippians 2:4

Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sorry this is a day late friends! I hope you make it to the end of my short novel :) - Allie

Today was the last day our group visited the Shone Community. It has been an eye opening experience thus far, but today was the day our hearts opened too.

When we arrived at the ADP office this morning, there were about 20 young adults hanging around outside. After an exchange of smiles and handshakes (mixed with some broken Amharic on our part), we found out that these kids were university students waiting for transportation to the college. When Samuel, the ADP manager, came out to greet us, he said that all of the kids were grown-up sponsored children. Translation... they're doing it! They are making something out of the opportunity that was given to them by their sponsors overseas. One of the boys spoke up and said that he had been sponsored since he was 14-years-old and that attending college was only possible because of World Vision.

We had the students go around the circle and tell us what they were majoring in. We heard majors from clinical nursing to human resources to agriculture to biology. The greatest joy was when we asked how many of them are Christ followers and every hand shot up. Amazing! More Kingdom workers!! GOD IS GOOD, and these kids would be the first to tell you so!

The big event on today's agenda, however, was to visit a local farmer. From the moment we entered the property, we knew something was different. Most of the land that we have seen (in all our driving!) has been barren... lots of open fields, a few trees, maybe some huts with precious kiddos running around... but open and bare. All of a sudden, we entered into a lush and fruitful garden. Truly the Eden of Ethiopia! I remember questioning, "Where are they getting the water? Is there a spring below?"

We were greeted with such warmth and hospitality (a reoccurring theme we have experienced each and every day that we have been here). Elias was his name, and can I just say, Old McDonald's got nothing on this farmer! He is one of the most charismatic men I have ever met... although he didn't speak a word of English, it didn't matter! We were hooked all the same because this man lives and breathes Jesus... and it is contagious! Through translation we learned about his life including his rough beginning, how he married his wife... and about his garden (please ask one of the team members more about his life as each story has a connection to Jesus, but for now, I'll focus on his farming).

Elias said that everything he knows is from the Bible, including how he learned to grow his garden. He says most farmers in the area are "Lazy Farmers". They don't prepare during the dry season so when the rain comes and they haven't received the gifts they're expecting... they are disappointed (which by the way, rain, is the only source of water for his plants). He keeps a space in his garden barren to teach the local farmers.
"But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." - James 2:18 Elias is a "doer". He lives out his faith by preparing his fields during each dry season and waits in great faith as he knowsGod will provide, without question! And... He does.

Elias received two National Awards from Ethiopia in addition to many more awards from the Ministry of Agriculture. From all of these awards, he received a piece of land which he sold for 27,000 Birr ($1626 Dollars). With this money, he purchased 6 oxen and gave them to his fellow farmers who had none. He did this simply to show God's love for them.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

- Matthew 6:19-21

Elias is eternally minded. He is "no fool [to] give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot). His treasure is in heaven and so is his heart.

To me, this is beauty. This is Jesus' heart expressed in Elias' life. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." Elias is a kingdom worker.

Lets back up 15 hours or so to the night before during our group devotional time. I had just confessed that I was still waiting for something. I was waiting to connect my heart with someone.... a child, a mother, a father... anyone! We have learned so many wonderful things and have seen big movements, but have yet to have some one-on-one time to just get to know the heart of the people.

Now flash back to the farm and back to the tour of the garden. God answered my prayer and everyone on my team got to witness as a little boy sought me out. While we were all gathered around Elias, listening to his stories, this little boy (who looked to be around 6-years-old) walked up to me and held out his hand to offer an avocado. Imagine this sweet boy with perfect, smooth, chocolate skin, in tattered clothes wearing a Barbie sweatshirt, loving innocence radiating from his presence, stretching out his hand to offer me the very best gift he could give. It was at that moment a little boy broke through every barrier - language, cultural, age... - to bless me, to love me. By his action, God said, "I hear you, Allie."

This opened a door to have that heart-to-heart that I've been searching for. With the help of our friend and translator, Tamiru, I was able to find out that his name is Fetene, he is 8-years-old, has 6 siblings and they all live with his Mommy and Daddy. I then gave him a picture of my family. He gasped as if he was given gold! This was the first time I saw a smile. I pointed to each member of my family and explained who they were. We were connecting hearts!

When we finished the tour, we were invited to sit and have lunch at a table in the shade of a tree and enjoy fresh produce. I will never forget the look on Elias' face when he presented us with an extra large platter of fruit. He had the biggest smile which was pushed forward by his pride. Not an arrogant pride, but a healthy pride. A pride that boasts in the Lord. He was beaming as he gave us the very fruit that he grew. All his time, sweat, labor, faith... on a platter. How can I throw a respectable dinner party after that?

We feasted on avocados, exceptionally fat bananas, roasted barley, and coffee - organic of course! His family gathered around as we ate. It was then that I found that Fetene was Elias' son!

Before we left, we prayed for Elias and his family. This picture has also been branded on my heart. Here was a family who - in the eyes of most Americans - had nothing and at the same time, had everything. There he sat, next to his beautiful wife, surrounded by their 6 children, and received our prayer. The image of this family is picture perfect to me. The love that they share is evident as is their heart for Christ, lead by the man of the household. The youngest child was 2-years-old and he prayed quietly with the rest of us as he rested his sweet head on his mother's chest. This was a Christ centered family.

Before we left, I asked Tamiru if he would help me translate something I wanted to ask Elias. By that time, I had given a picture to each of his children by request (it's so strange to me still, but the children received the pictures as treasured gifts!). I wanted him to know that all of his children had pictures of my family. I asked him if he would ask his children to pray for my son, who just turned one. I asked if they would pray for his heart and that he would be a light that would shine for Christ, as he does for his family and anyone who meets him. Elias told me that his work is not just to tend to his crops, but to the hearts of people, and not just people there but people all over the world. Yes, they will pray for my son.

Mothers and fathers out there, you can imagine my heart at that moment. Having a family on the other side of the world support my child - in the name of Jesus!- was an indescribable feeling! Here was another connection of my heart (Jesus was all over my prayer request that day!). My son, Ethan, is my world, my heart, my treasure (in the healthiest way possible, not to undermine Jesus!). There is nothing more I desire than for my son/my children to not just survive their time on earth, but thrive! *Light bulb* My desire for my child is no different than the other mothers in this country. They want their children to thrive too! And the connections just keep on comin'... :)

Families who are reading this and who are sponsoring a child through World Vision, you are touching a family in ways you cannot imagine. Even though I am in the midst of it all right now, I still don't completely understand the extent of our blessing... but I got a piece of it today.

In a way, Elias' family is "sponsoring" my child in El Dorado Hills, CA through prayer. Ethan has prayer partners on the other side of the globe! Seriously?! It's beyond amazing.

It's funny. God's funny. Here I am, on my missions trip, to learn how I can help the poor and the needy. In visiting Elias' garden and his family I am reminded that he is rich, so rich in spirit. At the end of the day, I was the one asking... needing... his help.

Touched and Encouraged,
Allie

Ethiopia Stories from Pastor Brad
Saturday was our last day in Shone. This ADP (Area Development Project) is almost completed. World Vision will pull out in a couple more years. As we were getting ready to pull out for the night, I was stopped by one of the men on the ADP staff. He pulled me aside, and asked, "Would you pray for me with your cape?"

Now, I'm no super hero. Not even a minor hero. And I have no cape. So I questioned him. "You want me to pray for you with my cape?" I asked.

He said, "Yes, please pray for me and I want your cape." Then he pointed to my head. I was wearing my brand new Lakeside hat. He wanted me to pray for him, but he really wanted my "cap"!

So I prayed for him. Then I put my "cape" on his head. He was so happy. So was I. It's not exactly like giving the shirt off your back, but it was pretty fun. I hope my prayers for other people will make them as happy as that cap made this man. And I wish I had a cape!

*****

On Sunday our team drove to Abaya. This is the ADP where so many Lakesiders have sponsored children--200 of them. It is also where we are considering further investments in this group of people.

We received a brief overview of the needs in Abaya. Then it was time for church. We walked into the service after it had begun. (I was late for church; how did that happen?) Of course, everybody stared at us. We stick out a little. (Or maybe it was because we were late.) They seated us close to the front too.

The worship time was fantastic. Gabriel Wilson would have loved it. The people of the church are passionate followers (and worshipers) of Jesus. About 500 people gathered for this service. I was invited to give them a greeting, so all of you Lakesiders reading this blog, you were represented.

I have no idea what the pastor said. A lot of fire in that message, but that's all I could tell. I do know, however, that he referred to two scriptures. The first was Exodus 17 where the people of Israel were needing water. And God provided. The second scripture was Genesis 21. In this story Hagar and Ishmael had been sent out into the desert. They needed water. And God provided.

The irony of these stories might be clear to you. We came here to see if we might help bring clean water. Earlier this week we saw a water project that was just about ready to slake the thirst of 45,000 people. Today we heard a sermon on the power of God to provided blessings...through water. Hmmm.

This is Pastor Brad writing in the Ethiopia blog today. Pour a cup of coffee and settle in for a little journey. We had an amazing day today.

First of all, about that coffee. Ethiopia has the best coffee I have ever tasted. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but the macchiatos here? Whoa!

Today we drove to the Shone ADP (area development project). After 19 hours of flying on Tuesday and Wednesday, and five hours of driving on Thursday, we drove two hours to Shone today. We met with Samuel, the Director of the Shone ADP, to understand his role and the mission of the ADP. World Vision's mission is all about serving children with the love of Jesus in very practical ways. Samuel told us about projects to provide clean water and sanitation, health care and training, food production and security, education, and Christian commitment. It was a very helpful presentation, including some really funny misadventures in communication. (I can't write about these, but I'll tell you about them when we get back. If you ask. More than once. And buy me a macchiato.)

After lunch we drove to the water development project in Shone. Water is a major challenge for developing nations. I was reminded today how much I take for granted the basic gift of fresh, clean, safe and instant water. I have at least 15 sources of water in my house, not counting the case of bottled water in the garage. In Shone we watched as thousands of people (yes, thousands) trekked across country to find this precious, life-giving gift. They traveled on foot, on carts pulled by donkeys or horses (all of these animals also needed water), in tiny crowded buses, in three-wheeled taxis and on bicycles. They came from everywhere because everyone needs water, and nobody has it in their home.

We eventually made our way up to a spring in the hills. (Another 40-minute drive.) That's when we saw the first miracle today. (Actually the first miracle might have been that I got to take a warm shower in the hotel, right inside my own room. Amazing.) World Vision has capped a spring in Shone to provide water for the region. Before doing anything with the spring, though, they built a complex system of laundry and bathing facilities for the locals who would be affected by the capping of the spring. So these local people were cared for first.

Then World Vision's engineers and contractors built a new outlet for the spring a little ways downstream. At that location they built a pump station. They have run a pipeline up the mountain another seven kilometers where they also built a reservoir. (I asked if I could climb down into the still-empty reservoir. They said Yes. How cool was that?) Next week the electrician and engineer are installing the pump in the pump station and within a month water will be flowing up the hill, into the reservoir, out the dispersal pipes and through a network of pipelines taking fresh, clean, life-giving water to 45,000 people! That is 45,000 people who will no longer have to walk to a well. 45,000 people who know little girls who can go to school because they don't have to spend their day carrying water for the family. 45,000 people who may suddenly understand the implications of Jesus' words: I will give you living water. In one month, 45,000 people will believe in miracles. You might not think of it like that, but then, you've probably never lugged water to your house from a spigot half a mile away, three times a day every day your entire life. Yup: miracle!

After this water miracle, we drove to the site of the second miracle. One of World Vision's goals is to encourage the Christian commitment of the people with whom they work, or to bring people to a faith commitment to Jesus. Ethiopia is about 65% Christian. I believe it is about 19% Muslim. In one particular region of Shone there are six churches and eight mosques...and a whole lot of orphans. AIDS is not the epidemic in this part of Ethiopia that it is in some parts of Africa, but it is still a problem. Just ask these kids who have lost Mom or Dad.

Well, in the region of Shone with the mix of mosques and churches, a local Muslim imam and a pastor of one of the churches are friends. They grew up together. They like each other and trust each other. And they began to talk about the problem of these orphans. Who was going to care for them? When someone "appropriated" their family land, who would stand up for them? The pastor and the imam decided they would. They approached World Vision to ask for help. Then they brought together their colleagues from the mosques and the churches to explain the problem and the solution. Together these people are caring for over 200 orphans in peace and harmony. (We can't even get Presbyterians and Baptists to agree on an agenda. These were Christians and Muslims!)

We sat in the community building of these neighbors today and listened as the imam told, without rancor or apology, of the compassionate work of these unlikely teammates. Then one of the Christian pastors told, with grace and truth, of the partnership between them that was making the life of these orphans bearable. We watched and cried as these men (it was not even the women, but the men) told their story of the loving, giving nature of God. In the end they let me pray for them. That was one of the most holy moments I have ever experienced.

Now, some people may say Christians and Muslims should not be joining together for such purposes. After all, we don't believe the same things. And that's true, we don't. But Jesus taught at least two things that were miraculously evident in Shone today: love your neighbor and love these little children. I saw it happen. It was a miracle.

We arrived in Ethiopia Wednesday night, went to be and then had an amazing first day. We spent the morning at the nation headquarters for World Vision in the capital city of Addia Ababs.

We had the privilege of being briefed in three areas of World Vision ministries.

Sponsored Children: WV has 231,000 children sponsored in Ethiopia alone. Every one of these children live in what's called an Area Development Project (ADP). This is basically a 50 square mile radios where WV works with the community in the areas of water, health and sanitation, food and agriculture, education, and eceonimc development. There are 65 ADPs in Ethiopia with 1,300 national staff. We are going to visit the Shone ADP tomorrow.

WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene). Over one-half of childhood deaths csn be prevented in children had access to clean, reliable drinking water. WV staff spent some time with us discussing some if the exciting projects they have completed and the ones they are still working on. We will visit a water project tomorrow.

Christian Committment: WV is a solidly Christian organization and has a process to ensure that every staff member is being spiritually fed and experiencing growth. A leader in this division of WV spent some time explaining this process and it was encouraging to see the high priority placed in this area.

After our meeting at the headquarters, we drove about five hours to s town called Hawasa, where we had dinner and devotions.

We are excited to see how God will work through us this upcoming week.

Scott

We leave Tuesday!

2011-02-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

Today we had our commissioning at the "Ten" at church. It's hard to believe we are leaving in 2 days! wow! I'm not sure about the rest of the group, but I have started my malaria meds today. I'm sure the others have as well. We are allowed 1 bag and I have been wrestling with trying not to overload it. :) Some have decided to bless Seifu and will carry books in another bag to Ethiopia for his village. About 3 years ago my class gathered about 1,500 books for Seifu's village of Archebar. We are still trying to get all the books there!...little by little!

Please pray for us as we prepare to leave. Pray that we will make wise decisions and discern what the Holy Spirit has to tell us. And, of course, pray for safety in travels. (If you know me, you know I am terrified of flying.) Yes, I can feel my blood pressure go up as I even think about it. Ugh. You'd think I'd be over this fear of flying - but I'm not.

We hope to take turns updating the blog while there. I've seen the pictures of the hotels we will stay at and they should have internet access. I am not bringing my computer, but others in the group will. This will be one of the few mission trips I have actually stayed in a hotel.

My fondest (ha) memory of staying in Africa was my first trip to Mozambique where I stayed with the Schmidts. The shower was shared by men and women and on the upstairs patio. There was no lock on the door, so our clue for use was light on - used - light off - empty. The shower was a bathroom/shower in one. So basically you stood in front of the toilet and took a shower. The morning before the shower was freeeeezzzing. So, I decided to get wet, turn off the water, suds up, turn on the water and quickly rinse. Imagine my surprise - 5:30 am, light on, in the shower, and I just finished sudsing up. The power went off. Not only that, the water went off as well. So here I stood all sudsed up, in the dark, with no way to rinse. All I could think of was "light off - empty". I could imagine someone opening up the door for their turn and what a surprise they'd get. I tried to turn the water on and all I could get was a slow trickle down the wall...so I cupped my hand and in the dark tried to splash it on my hair to get out as much shampoo as I could. I then ignored all the soap and tried to dry off, while making a bunch of noise so that no one would think it was empty. :) Yes, I was laughing at myself and thinking...only in Africa. :)

Pam

One week and counting!...

2011-02-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it! I have one week from tomorrow and I will be headed to Ethiopia. It seems a bit surreal. :) I am excited!

I think God must be going to do something amazing. First, I consider the area. Over 250 children are sponsored through World Vision from our church in the Abaya Community. Our family has 2 kids there. We are partnering with World Vision to help this community - water, education, medical, training, food. Then, I consider the team we are taking to Abaya... our pastor Brad (it's awesome he is actually coming on this trip!), Scott H. (leader in investment strategies), Tari B. (World Vision liaison), Allie (new heart for missions), and me (leader of Zone Africa at Lakeside). It's quite a group with many church leaders - specifically in missions. So I think - this isn't a coincidence. And I begin to wonder...what does God have planned for Abaya? It must be exciting!

I continue to pray Micah 6:8 as I prepare for my journey.

What does God expect of us?

2011-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

...to act justly...and to love mercy...and to walk humbly with your God.

This verse has been going through my head lately. It's a great verse and something I need to be reminded of all the time. Especially the mercy and humility stuff! Recently a child got in trouble in my classroom. Later in the day he came up and very quietly said, "Mrs. Jimison, I'm sorry." Well, I had already forgotten that he had been in trouble. Me - "Sorry? For what?" "I'm sorry I was talking. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier." So, with a smile, I told him that it was okay and that I forgave him. In our classroom we have "clips" for behavior. Earlier, he had moved his down to "think about it". Right when he said how sorry he was, a little voice inside me said, "Move his clip back up." So, honestly, I debated in my head. Hmmm...should I move his clip back up? Is he just saying he is sorry so that I will move his clip back up? Then I heard the voice again, "Move his clip back up. Love mercy. Oh - and tell him that he is brave." Thankfully, I listened to that voice - the Holy Spirit - and I moved his clip back up... and I told him he was brave. I showed him love by showing him mercy. The Bible verse reverberated through my mind. Walk humbly, love mercy, act justly...love.

Do you listen to Him? That still small voice? Sometimes I really need to slow down...quiet down...and listen. Then, I need to listen and pay attention...and be obedient.

I'm still preparing for Ethiopia. I'm so excited...beyond words...to go. Somehow I think I am going to use this verse there. I don't know how yet, I just think I will.

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:9

What does God have to say about poverty and justice?

Exodus 22:21-23
1 Samuel 2:7-8
Psalm 10:17-18, 82:3-4
Proverbs 14:31, 19:17, 21:13
Matthew 25:31-46
Acts 2:42-47
James 1:27

PS: More exciting news in our house! Lee has decided to go to Costa Rica with Lakeside on a mission trip. Sadly, he leaves right before I get back. We won't see each other for 3 weeks! boo hoo!

If you would like to give to Lee's Costa Rica mission (he will be replacing a roof) you may click HERE
.

Also - Our daughter LAUREN is going to be heading off to NEPAL this summer for 5 weeks on a mission trip! She just got accepted onto the team and is quite excited! She will be working with child and women trafficking.

Getting ready...

2011-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe - I have a little over a month before I leave for Ethiopia! I must say, I don't think I've ever been so excited for a mission trip. Yes, I've been excited for all of them - but for some reason I'm really excited! :) I am looking forward to working with World Vision. We have been child sponsors for years and have been a part of World Vision for a long time. I must say I am very impressed with all they do. They not only help a child, they help an entire community...education, health, roads, wells, training for parents, ... They help the community become self sustainable, train pastors, then leave. I like that they help the people by training them and giving them resources, then allowing them to continue on their own.

Recently I heard about 30 Hours of Famine. I signed up our Bible study group thinking it would be cool to support. Basically, it is a 30 hour fast that brings attention to world hunger. You raise money and for every $30 raised, it pays for food and needs for a child. I contacted World Vision and asked them if funds could be designated and received special permission for all the funds that we raise to go to the Abaya Community in Ethiopia where we will be going. Wow. This is big. Now - it's even better. Lakeside has decided to take this on as a church and have the congregation participate. And...while the "famine" is going on, we will be in Ethiopia. It's a great prayer and support opportunity.

I must say, since this is my blog and I can share my own feelings here, it's been a rough ride so far with the famine. Everything I read lately has had to do with hunger and the poor/needy...from church to reading Hole in the Gospel to my own devotions...I've been bombarded with God's instruction to feed the hungry and give to the needy. Really. It's been coming at me from all over. So - God is trying to tell me something, right? When I found the 30 Hour Famine, I was soooo excited. Here was an AWESOME chance to give to the needy and feed the hungry. My frustration has been that others don't share the excitement. I've told countless people about the famine and have asked people from my church and school to join me - and you know what? So far not one person has. (Except my mom! Yea for moms!!) Part of me wants to say REALLY? You can't give $30 to feed a child for a month? You don't want to pray for the hungry? I have felt myself get angry over it. It makes me want to stand up and yell...PEOPLE! LET'S DO SOMETHING! It's sad to me. So, I know that I just need to pray that God will open hearts.

Then came my talk with Jeff, our missions pastor, at church where he said, "Let's open it up to the whole church to participate." Yes. I wanted to cry I was so happy. It will be publicized better and people will be able to sign up easily on the web. Yes, it will still be up to each person to decide whether this is something that they want to participate in or not, but it is a start.

I am hoping that through all this the Abaya Community in Ethiopia grows and prospers...that the message of Jesus is preached...lives are transformed and a community is reached for His kingdom.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY WORLD VISION PAGE.

CLICK HERE to email me and request more information.

30 Hour Famine

2010-12-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

More than 1 billion people go hungry every day. There are more than 6 billion people on the planet. One in six will go to bed hungry tonight. Why so many? For some families, the only food they have is whatever they can grow themselves. One drought or flood can wipe out a year’s harvest. When it does, there’s no supermarket or food bank they can turn to. Others can barely afford food for their families, despite their best efforts. Either way, hunger is anything but yesterday’s problem. For 1 billion people, it’s a problem right now. But world hunger is 100 percent preventable, and I want to be ready to be a part of the solution.

This February, I will be joining the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people all over the nation who will set aside the usual “stuff” that fills their daily lives. Instead, we will do World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. This year will be especially special to me because during the famine, I will be in Ethiopia with World Vision. Although I am needing support for my trip, I also want to raise money for world hunger. For every $30 donated, a child will be fed for one month by World Vision staff. $360 will support a child for a year!

Funds raised by 30 Hour Famine participants help feed and care for children in communities in need around the globe through World Vision. Additionally, a portion of the funds raised support World Vision’s efforts to assist families in need in the United States. Famine funds contribute to World Vision’s response in areas where famine, conflict, and other crises make children vulnerable to hunger and preventable disease. Since 1992, 30 Hour Famine has raised close to $130 million, representing countless lives saved. World Vision works in nearly 100 countries, helping approximately 100 million people every year.

Visit www.30hourfamine.org or call 800-7-FAMINE for more information.

Would you be willing to donate $30 to support a child for a month? I have invited my small group at Lakeside Church to join me in raising funds. I am also inviting my CCS class families to join me if they wish. (If this is you - contact me and I will send you the details!) All money is tax deductible. You may make a check out to World Vision and give to me to mail in with our materials. I will send you a receipt. Please email me at jimison4Him@sbcglobal.net if you need my mailing address.

Everything

2010-12-19T09:23:00.001-08:00

God asks us for everything. Think about it. Everything is a big word if you really grasp what that is saying. As we prepare for our trip to Ethiopia in February, our group from Lakeside Church is reading A Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns – current CEO of World Vision. I’ve read it before, but as I work back through it, passages pop out and I wonder – what does that have to do with me and what am I going to do about it?

“Christ calls us to be his partners in changing our world. If your personal faith in Christ has no positive outward expression, then your faith – and mine – has a hole in it…Living out our faith privately was never meant to be an option.”

Lauren took a recent class in general epistles at APU and shared with me some statistics…there are 560 direct commands to care for the poor in the Bible. In the New Testament, 1 out of every 16 verses talks about the poor and in the gospels it is 1 out of every 10…Luke 1 out of 7 and James 1 out of 5.

Dr. Phillip Harter of Stanford University School of Medicine wrote the following: If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of only 100 people, there would be…

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 North and South Americans

8 Africans

30 white

70 nonwhite

6 people would possess 59% of the world’s wealth and all 6 would be from the United States

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer malnutrition

1 would have a college education

1 would own a computer

When I first visited a poor section of Mexico years ago, I was filled with emotion. My tears flowed. Just like this book, I felt guilt – Lord, I didn’t know. But I did. I knew about the poor and suffering in the world. I’ve seen it on tv, read about it in papers. But I must admit – it is different actually seeing it. Yet I have lived in my insulated bubble and looked the other way. It’s easy to do. “Twelve million orphans, and no one noticed? Where was the church?”

“The kingdom of God, which Christ said is within you (Luke 17:21) was intended to change and challenge everything in our fallen world in the here and now. It was not meant to be a way to leave the world but rather the means to actually redeem it.” We’ve been going through the book of Ruth at Lakeside Church and Brad’s message this past week focused on the word “redeem”. Jesus is our redeemer. Christ came to redeem the world. And if we are to bring his gospel to this world – we need to help him redeem it. “We are also commanded to go into the world – to bear fruit by lifting up the poor and the marginalized, challenging injustice where we find it…and loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

I am a full time missionary. My mission is to carry out his gospel daily in my life. Right now, that’s as a teacher at Capital Christian School, a neighbor in El Dorado Hills, a driver on highway 50, a person in line at Costco. Many of you who know me know I would love to work as a full time missionary in Africa or some remote part of the world unreached by His gospel. But, at this point in my life God hasn’t called me to that. He has called me to CCS and EDH. And – for two weeks, Ethiopia. There is that longing on my heart to do more – to reach the unreached, to give to the poor, to spread his love. I can’t turn my eyes away. I need to look farther than my own bubble and go where he sends me…whether it’s only for two weeks or longer.

God asks us for everything. That’s a big call. It’s a whole life. It’s everything. I’m still pondering how that looks…and I’m so thankful for His patience.

Would you like to partner with me? I need prayer and financial support. I'd love to hear from you! If you would like to pray for our trip and receive information by email, please email me at jimison4Him@sbcglobal.net and I'll add you to my info list. You may support me financially by going to http://www.lakesidechurch.com and click the giving tab. Click "missions" and sub-folder "Pam Jimison - Ethiopia '11" . Or, you may mail a check made out to Lakeside Church with Pam Jimison/Ethiopia in the memo line to:

Lakeside Church

ATTN: Gina MacFarlane

745 Oak Avenue Parkway

Folsom, CA 95630

ETHIOPIA: Developing the Abaya Community

2010-11-25T10:33:00.001-08:00

I am very excited that I have decided (and accepted God's calling) to go to ETHIOPIA. :) Lakeside Church is partnering with World Vision to work with a developing community in Abaya. This community is in the beginning stages with World Vision and I am excited to go and visit during the early stages of development because I hope to make a long commitment to this community.

Physical and social needs in the Abaya community, located 220 miles south of Addis Adaba, are pervasive. World Vision has assessed many of the needs and we hope to work with them through 2013. Here is a run-down of the key sectors:

Food: Most members of the community depend on agriculture for their livelihood.

Plans: Develop small scale irrigation, build a cattle trough and cattle crush, community crop training

Water: Only 28.5 percent of the people in Abaya have reasonable access to clean and safe water.

Plans: Develop 4 springs (one per year), construct a safe and sanitary toilet facility, construct 2 communal waste disposal pits

Health: The Abaya community has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS.

Plans: Build an office and staff residence, build a health post and counseling/testing center

School: July half the children eligible by age for grades 1-4 and only one third for grades 5-8 are enrolled in school.

Plans: Build 6 schools, build a library

Work: Plans: Offer vocational training in woodworking, pottery, masonry, mud technology and silk work production, develop nurseries, beekeeping, facilitate microcredit opportunities, increase opportunities for women.

Faith: Churches are not fully participating in the development process within the Abaya community, mostly for lack of leadership. Plans: Train Christian leaders for holistic development, so they can enable members of local churches to care for the marginalized, disadvantages, voiceless, and vulnerable members of their community as an expression of God's love.

All these phases, with World Vision, will take until approximately 2023 to finish. But what awesome plans!

Would you partner with me in this venture? I will need prayer and financial support. Would you be interested in sponsoring a child from this community? Let me know! :)

Trip Dates: February 22 - March 3
You may contribute online at :

http://www.lakesidechurch.com

Click "Give Online"
You may need a username and password. It will step you through the process.
Click "Missions"
Click the subfolder "Ethiopia '11 - Pam Jimison"

OR
Email me and I will give you information to mail it in!
jimison4Him@sbcglobal.net

My Shutterfly Experience

2010-07-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Not a part of our mission trips...but definitely a part of my life...teaching.

I use Shutterfly.com for my classroom website and LOVE it. Using shutterfly is free and enables me to keep the families in my classroom informed. I am able to update our site at any time, load pictures of projects, load files that parents can print out at home, and I can have a safe place for web site links that are commonly used.

I think some of my favorite uses of shutterfly has been keeping extended family members informed! I had one parent send our shutterfly link to the "grandma" in New York. I then was able to upload pictures of the student's book report project so that grandma was able to see it at our classroom site. How cool is that?

I have tried various class web sites and shutterfly is absolutely the easiest to use. It is user friendly! Best of all...it is free! Yea for shutterfly. I hope they continue their service because I rely on their product each week. Thanks, shutterfly.

Holiday Cards
Save the Date!

Want some free things from shutterfly? If you have a blog, post your shutterfly experience. Maybe you'll get some free product samples! :)

Haiti Update

2010-03-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

Lee is back safe and sound! Thank you so much to those who prayed for and supported him! Lee is not much of a writer - so much of this information is from a member on the team, Mike Slusher. Thanks for the info, Mike.

As we entered the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, a city of over 3 million people, we occasionally noticed a building damaged by the earthquake. As we drove closer to the city center, we drove by the U.S. Embassy, the U.N. compound, and other compounds for various other countries military personnel. The damage became more and more noticeable. Instead of 1 or 2 buildings being damaged every 5 or 6 block, we began to see damage every 4 or 5 blocks, then every 3 or 4 blocks, etc. Then, the damage was several buildings on every block until you get to the city center, which is also the Capitol. We were told that an unknown number of bodies remain in many of these buildings.

You may have seen pictures of their Palace. A beautiful white building…completely collapsed. Imagine our capitol building with the dome sitting on the ground and everything crumbled around it. All of the government buildings surrounding the Palace were severely damaged or flattened. Three and four story buildings were nothing more than a pile of ruble with multi-colored government papers mixed in the debris and floating around. A huge tent city has been erected on the grassy areas surrounding the capitol. In fact, everywhere we traveled there were tent cities. The various relief agencies, government, private/religious are providing food and water to those living in these tent cities. The term tent-cities is also a generous term. Although there are numerous tents provided by relief organizations, there are countless rag tents mixed in as well.

We also went into neighborhoods that had been destroyed by the earthquake. We went to one area where over 100,000 people had once lived. Imagine a V shaped ravine. From the top of the ravine to the bottom was at least ¼ mile. The ravine was over ¾ quarters of a mile long and opening out into the bay. We stood at the top of the ravine and looked down a sidewalk that led through the neighborhood to the bottom. As we looked out, it was easier to count the number of homes and business’ that had not been damaged, than to count the damaged ones. We were at this area because one of the pastors, who escorted us, lived in the area. He is a young man who lived with has parents and his church building was located across the sidewalk from his home. The church was destroyed and now a tent, provided by the citizens of the United States, stands in its place. His home, where his step-mother perished, is still a pile of ruble.

Ruble. That’s what is amazing. Ruble is everywhere with no way to remove this much debris. We saw 2 front loaders and 3 or 4 dump trucks removing debris in the capitol area. In the neighborhoods, a handful of people are using sledgehammers and hand tools to break the concrete away from the rebar. They are going to recycle the rebar. The concrete is being left in piles since there are so few private dump trucks to haul it away.
You can’t rebuild until the demolition is done. You can’t demolish because you don’t have the proper equipment to handle the heavy loads and to carry the debris away. If you are living in a tent city, you are so far from your old house, how do you get back and forth? You have to stay in the tent city to get your food and water…and protect what you have left.

We were exploring relief possibilities through Missions Door and Delta Ministries. We visited a destroyed community center/church where the pastor and 4 students escaped. When the earthquake hit, it lasted about 8 seconds, paused and then lasted for 17 seconds. During the 1st shake, this pastor and his students tried to leave the 3rd story of the building only to find the staircase blocked by a collapsed wall. When the 2nd shake struck, the wall fell back out into an open area and the pastor and students were able to step out of the building and flee. As soon as they cleared the building they turned, and watched their building crumble to the ground, completely destroyed.
----
Lakeside Church is sending a new group May 2-8 led by Mike to Haiti to see about working with AIM. There is currently so much ruble that nothing can be done about building until more clean up happens. AIM may send groups for more immediate relief - food, shelter.

Dominican Republic...They landed.

2010-03-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

We finally made it with flight delays and Mike losing his bag. The Airline lost one of his bags so we were at the airport longer than expected. The flight left about 1 1/2 hours late. We had to stop by the store to buy Mike the things he needed to get by this week since we will leave for Haiti before his bag gets here. We just finished eating dinner and we plan on leaving for Haiti at about 7.30 in the morning. I'm on the computer at the hotel. It's going to be another long day on the bus tomorrow. I love you lots and hopefully I will be able to use a computer to write again once in Haiti.

Lee is Off!

2010-03-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Lee is on his way to Haiti! Finally. It was quite a day yesterday. He is traveling with Mike Slusher and Jimmy Record. I dropped Lee off at church for his ride to the airport and came home. By the time I got home, there was a message on our machine saying the airline canceled the flight to NY. So I went back to church and told Lee and we drove home to call Jet Blue. We looked on line again, and the airline said it was now on time. So...we called the others and they all headed to the airport. Their flight was for 11:45 PM. Well, when we got there we found out it was indeed canceled due to storms in NY. They rescheduled the closest time - today at 10:45 PM but this time out of San Francisco.

Thanks for your prayers for the trip! They are now flying through Ft. Lauderdale. Lee won't have his phone, but promises to send me email updates IF he has internet access!

We SOOOO appreciate those who have supported him on this trip!

Lee to Haiti!!

2010-03-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

Well, within the last week Lee has been called to Haiti! This was a last minute request and decision and Lee feels lead by God to accept and GO. He will be on a small 4 man team with Lakeside Church through Delta Ministries to go to Haiti. The purpose of the trip will be two-fold: provide some relief efforts and look into needs for bringing future groups. Lee feels it is a great time to go for him because he is currently out of work and so he has the time!

Mostly, he needs your prayer support! He needs at least 10 people who will partner with him in prayer - agree to pray throughout his whole trip.

He also needs to raise money for the trip so if you would like to donate, you may mail a tax deductible donation to:

Lakeside Church (write Lee Jimison Haiti in the subject line)
attn. Gina Macfarlane c/o (Trip Name)
745 Oak Avenue Parkway
Folsom, CA 95630

He will be gone March 13-19.

Thanks so much for your interest and prayers!!

More New Plans!

2009-05-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like Ethiopia is "back on" again. smile. We are going to have to work HARD at fund-raising about $5,000 for us to go and $5-8,000 for the latrine/construction funds. It's overwhelming to think about...yet November seems to be the date that works the best for the Ethiopians. The school children would do better with me tutoring them in November. Please pray that if it's God's will everything will come through.

Brett is safely in Jamaica! We are praying that he will grow in the Lord while there, and that they will touch many for Jesus...that the Jamaicans will see the light of God through them and that the group will be able to serve them in many ways.

Lauren needs much prayer. Her leg is still injured from running and they aren't sure what the problem is still. She is awaiting insurance okay for a MRI. She really needs prayer for a quick healing. She is due at a running camp in a few weeks - it's a mission opportunity with AIA. It may be a problem if she still is unable to run.

Thanks for all the prayers!!

Bake Sale

2009-05-03T10:29:00.001-07:00

Thanks to our awesome class we raised $333 for our mission trips! We want to thank our families who donated goodies to sell, and everyone who donated and purchased items! This will be a great help to support HIS work this year. Thank you!

2009! A Big Year Again

2009-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

2009 will be another big year for mission trips. Brett has been taking a year long missions class at school - the first to be offered at CCHS. The trip has been in preparation for their Jamaica mission trip in June. Brett still has about $600 to raise. They have done all the fund-raising in school and sending letters. Please pray for the entire group as they prepare to leave. It has been a wonderful experience because the kids have done all the planning work for the trip.

Lauren will be interning this summer at Lakeside Church in the missions department so she will be going to Brazil. This is the same trip I went on last year and it will be a wonderful experience!! The favela area really breaks your heart. I am sure it will be a time of growth and learning and sharing the gospel with a spiritually famished area.

Lee and I are planning a trip to Ethiopia in November. The details are not specific yet but we hope to return to Achebar where Lee brought water last year.

Thank you for praying for us this year!

Ethiopia again!

2009-03-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

We are planning another trip to Ethiopia - Lee and Pam this time! It's in the early stages so nothing is quite firm yet - but we are praying and beginning to plan. The school that is there will be graduating their first senior class and I hope to go and tutor the children to help them pass their exam - it is given in English! I also hope to work with the younger children. Lee hopes to go and work more at the school on construction - perhaps a bathroom. We are planning early because it will be a large trip with both of us going and will take lots of prayer! Please pray with us as we see what God brings our way!

Ethiopia

2008-10-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for sending me to Ethiopia. Our trip was a success in terms of accomplishing the water project but more important the fact that the villagers knew why we had come so far. We had several set backs throughout the week which was almost expected, but the final set back, as discouraging as it was, God used for His purse. On the morning of the last day, we woke up to find that one of the villagers had vandalized our work. He had been one of the workers that had helped through the week, but was angry that he wasn’t asked to work the last day. The elders of the village called a meeting. The young man was given grace for his actions and apologized to the elders and to us. Although he had to pay a fine, we showed forgiveness and were able to demonstrate God’s forgiveness and grace. During the gathering, my partner on the trip, Bob, was able to give a clear presentation of the gospel that I believe will bear fruit. We were able to finish fairly late in the day and when we left they had a water system that will help them every day. The water is available to members of the village and the school. More importantly, we pray that His living water will flow through their lives in the village of Archebar.

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Lee's Home!

2008-10-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yea! Lee arrived safely back home! He had a wonderful time - said it was full of a LOT of work. But they accomplished the task and shared about Jesus! He'll write in a few days and I'll update the blog. His pictures are amazing...still trying to get them off the camera since our cord broke. I just wanted to let you know he was back safe and sound.

www.flickr.com

Getting Ready - Lee to Ethiopia

2008-09-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Lee is getting ready for Ethiopia! He will be leaving October 9. Please pray for him as he prepares for this big trip...pray for him spiritually and physically. Pray that God will prepare the way for their journey and the hearts of the people there. Pray that Lee will be touched as well by the journey. It will be a physically demanding trip but I think he is excited for what is to come! I doubt I will be able to post blogs during his trip...I don't think I will have any contact with him until he touches ground back in the US. But check just in case!

PTL he has raised 3/4 of his money. He needs about $400 more. God is good! He always provides and we thank all the people who have supported his trip. I know he will be contacting people after the trip. As most of you know, he is not much of a computer person :-) . That's why I write the blog for him!

Pictures up top... I was able to see Lauren run at Stanford this weekend. That was exciting! Yea Lauren! Her team placed 3rd behind Stanford and UC Davis. APU beat out a lot of big schools so they were quite excited to place 3rd!

Praying...

Brett will be going with his school to Jamaica next summer. He is taking a missions class and this is the "culmination" of the course. It's exciting!

Our family has been on so many mission trips these past few years. It's amazing, really. I never would have imagined it! God always amazes me...His plans are always so much bigger. This year I decided "no more trips for a while...need to save for college..." Leaving Brazil last year, I knew I wanted to go back. And I still have such a heart for Mozambique! I am praying about both areas again. Myself says, "no, I'm staying home." But I want what God wants...what does HE want me to do? Please pray that I listen to Him whatever He tells me. I want His will...not mine. Pray that I don't shut down His opportunities...or try to open ones that aren't His calling. Thank you!

Lee to Ethiopia!

2008-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, Lee will be going to Ethiopia in October! Please start praying for him and his small team! He will be going with one other man from our trip (Bob) and 2 men from the Ethiopian Church in Sacramento. They will traveling to a small village at the 10,000 foot level to install a water filter system and bring water down from a hill to the nearby village. Seifu, one of the men going, grew up in this village. He started a small Christian School there. Some of you may remember a book drive I held for the school 2 years ago.

Support! He needs a lot of it!

First, he needs prayer support! Begin praying NOW!

Secondly, he needs financial support. He needs to raise almost $3,000.The group needs to raise over $10,000 just for the water system. Checks may be mailed to Lakeside Church / Lee Jimison Ethiopia. Email me and I'll send you the address of the church.

Check back for updates! Did you read about my recent BRAZIL trip?

Trip Recap!

2008-06-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I'm home! I must say Brazil was an amazing trip...much more than I could even describe. It was the hardest trip I've been on - physically and emotionally - yet the best. I would love to give you a day to day recap...but I also know people are busy and don't want to read every last detail!

We ran 2 weekend camps for about 80 kids. The camps were held at Camp California...a very beautiful area! And once you know where the kids come from, you realize how much the camp means to them. At camp we had fun time where kids swam and played, games, crafts, and Bible stories. Our theme was the Olympics and I did puppet shows with Rauel for the bible stories. What was soooo wonderful was sharing the good news of JESUS at camp with the kids! Even "the professor" came to camp and did a magic presentation. I think camp to them is much like Hume Lake to many kids here in California...it can be a life changing experience. For my ending chapel, I spoke to the kids about running a race...they had 2 choices how to run it... they could have a ball and heavy metal chain tied around their race and run over the hurdles all the way to the finish...or...they could have an Olympic athlete runner run with them who would untie the chain, pull them as they ran, and help push them over the hurdles. We wrapped up by showing them how the ball and chain are sin and life without God and the athletic runner is Jesus who can release them of their chain and run with them...the hurdles (difficulties in life) are still there, but Jesus will help them through them to the finish. Camp was wonderful and amazing and I fell in love with so many of the kids I wanted to take them home with me in my backpack!

The rest of my time there during the weeks were spent at the favelas. It's hard to explain the favelas. People who live in favelas are lower than poor, low cast citizens. There are no laws or rules in favelas and they are all run by drug lords. The kids are constantly exposed to drugs, sex, and violence. As on example, I saw a cute little boy playing with a dog. He was, I thought, trying to get the dog to play tug. So I asked someone to translate for me. The boy was actually saying, "Come on dog. I'm going to shoot you. Put this in your mouth so I can shoot you." Another girl, age 13, is a prostitute and uses the money for drugs but last year used part of the money for underwear to attend the camp. This year she came and has a new baby. She is a very troubled girl and without going into major details, became enraged at a boy at camp and wanted to kill him. In fact, she took a knife at camp and hid it to return to later during our night game of "Monge" to retrieve the knife and kill him in the dark. Luckily, it didn't happen. Another girl, age 9, told me she was going to have her "honeymoon" later that day. This is normal life in a favela. I thought I had seen the worst on my Africa trips, but I must say that the Brazilian favelas are worse. Not only are the people extremely poor, but the violence and drugs are so ridiculously out of control! One member of our team was mugged while downtown our last day there.

I would love to write about everything, but I don't think most people want to read a novel on a blog! I can sum it up by saying that it was the worst yet the best. Living conditions are awful, but loving the kids and sharing Jesus with them was amazing. I am so excited that I could share HIS MESSAGE clearly with them and I hope and pray that it touched the life of at least one child there because then it is all worth it.

Please continue to pray for Restoration MInistries. Many of the workers are overworked and underpaid. Many of them grew up in the favelas themselves. They are beautiful, loving people, with a heart for God!

I had special kids I bonded with if you could pray for them... Bruna, Joa' Paulo, Alvaro, Danielo, Camile and Giselle. Please lift them up in your prayers.

Thank you so much to my supporters. You really can't imagine all it has meant to me to be able to go to Brazil and share Jesus with these dear children. They really need love. They need Jesus. I know this was an impact to many of them. I'll try to put up more pictures on utube in the next few weeks that will fill in more of the story!

Choi and Obrigada!

Thursday in Brazil

2008-06-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hi family and friends!
This will have to be a quick blog update. I don~t have much time on the computer here. I am trying to upload a few pictures for you. We~ve been very very busy with lots and lots of kids! One day we had 150 at vbs and we~ve held one camp. Today we are at another favela doing vbs and this weekend we will run another camp. I must say out of all my mission trips, this one has allowed me to SHARE the good news of Jesus directly with kids! It~s great.
The poor kids live in meager conditions but their main problem is drugs, drug trafficing, prostitution, and violence. Today~s favela was right in the middle of a large drug trafficing area. All the men were on each corner...but they gave permission for Restoration Ministries to be there. Last night I counted 12 gun shots outside our hotel.
Keep praying for our work here and that we are able to share Jesus with the kids. Pray for our health because I~ve had a chest cold. I can~t write more but I will write a longer update when I get home!! Thanks!!
PS...I couldn~t get the pictures to upload from here so you~ll have to wait! sorry! obrigada

Monday in Brazil!

2008-06-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we're here! We arrived at "Camp California" and got ready for the kids. The children - ages 10-14 - arrived around 9:00 pm and we fed them dinner. Then the first eve we played games and went to bed around 11:30 pm. I was exhausted! The camp is beautiful and the kids looooovvvved it. They rotated playing games, making crafts, and listening to the Bible story - a puppet show about Paul. Our theme has been Olympics.
All of the children come from the favelas which are the slum areas. The children are exposed to violence and drugs at very early ages. Camp is a time where they can go to a beautiful area and "be a kid".
I'd love to write more, but my computer time is short! Please pray for me because I am getting sick...fever, stomach, and chest. I need to feel well to do HIS work here.
Obrigada!

Leaving Thursday!

2008-06-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

Well, we'll soon be off! I won't be able to update this blog, but...you can check our church blog at http://www.lakesidebrazil2008.blogspot.com for updates! Thanks so much for all your prayers! Please pray for us throughout the trip...each and every day! It's wonderful to know we have prayer support.
Gotta go finish packing!
Love you!
Pam

One week two days!

2008-06-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's getting so close! We have our last Brazil meeting tonight before we leave next week. Please continue praying for our trip. Pray that lives will be changed and children will come to know Jesus through the VBS and camp. Pray that language will not be a barrier and that HIS light will shine through me to all I meet wherever I am...airport, city, camp... Pray for health of our team members. Pray for Lee, Lauren and Brett at home! My mom will be coming a few days as well to visit and I won't be there. boo hoo. Pray she has a nice stay! Thank you so much for your support. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update our blog while I am gone because I will not have a computer so updates may need to wait until I return.

Lauren graduated! Yea! Congratulations to Lauren!! 8-) I love you, Lauren!

God is good!

2008-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful! All my money has been raised for Brazil. It's amazing! Yet, God is amazing! Thank you! I have been working hard on my curriculum for the VBS and camp. Our theme will be "Dream Big" and to go with that we are having an Olympic theme. We have a small group going to Brazil, so I will be doing the Bible lessons either on my own or with one or two helpers. So...I've been writing puppet shows to convey the message. I am borrowing puppets from our high school teacher Yvette Roberts. She's a highly talented puppeteer and has wonderful puppets! She has been so kind to let me bring a couple. My VBS skit will be a take-off on Joseph...only mine will be an Olympic runner. My camp skit will be a take-off on Paul and his trials...only mine will be a gang member. It's fun to plan! I am looking for ideas for crafts so if you have an Olympic craft idea...let me know!
Thanks for your prayers and support!

Mexico 2008

2008-05-04T19:46:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,
We had a blast in Mexico! It was a true blessing to be able to attend as a full family again. We've gone to Mexico now between 6-10 times...depending on the family member! We hadn't been together, all of us, for years, so it was really nice...especially since Lauren will soon be going away to college. We built 2 homes...one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first 12x12 home was for a man, his 8 month pregnant wife, and 2 year old son. The man and his father were delightful. It was their first home ...situated high high high on a hill. (Hills and views here in California are a good thing...there it's a sign of poverty.) The lot was level and they had poured a concrete slab. The day was smooth and the home went up easily. There were a few neighbor kids that came by to play, but being so high up on the hill only a few made the climb.

The second day we built a 12x12 home for a woman and her 8 children. It was quite different. It was down in the town near the dorm where we sleep. In fact, it was just a block or so from the ice cream shop we frequently patronize. When we arrived, the woman was inside and Laura from Caravan Ministries went to talk to her but stopped and said it sounded like she was having "kid problems." So we waited. Soon she came out weeping and crying while carrying a small child (one year old). Other adults joined her outside crying. The child wasn't moving. She headed for a car and got in and left. Lauren was the only one who knew some Spanish so she tried to translate. From what we gathered, the child blacked out and wouldn't waken and was extremely ill. Later that day she came home still crying. We thought perhaps the child died. She said she had to leave the baby at the hospital and was told by doctors that they could not do anything unless she came up with more money. The baby was very sick but the hospital wouldn't run tests without the money. Caravan Ministries said that there is a social work structure there that would help her with expenses but we worried that the child may not live. While we considered paying for her, we were told that help would be given by the system in place and Maggie from Caravan Ministries would follow up. We may never find out exactly the outcome. We built the home for her. Many of her own children helped with nailing. When they weren't, Pam, Lauren, Lee, and Jessica played with the kids...basketball, jump rope, etc. I think it was great to watch her own children get in there and help build. They were so proud of their casa (house).

Open House and Mexico Coming!

2008-04-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Our Open House was tons of fun. Thanks families and friends who attended! We raised $281 for our mission trips! yea!

Our Mexico trip is coming soon...May 1-4 to El Florido, Mexico. This will be our seventh year to Mexico. Each year is different and it is so exciting to build homes for people. We build small 12x16 houses with common hand tools. Oh yes, it would be much quicker to use power tools, but much of the trip is to build relationships with the families and neighbors. By using hand tools, the works goes slower and we have more time to visit and establish friendships. Please begin praying for the families that we will be meeting. Pray that God will break through the language barrier and that we will be able to share HIS love and gospel with the people there!

I have my first Brazil trip today. yea! I am going to start reviewing my Portuguese. I have a language software tool I use...but so far all I've learned are words that I won't probably use like blue rabbit and mattress! ha! ha!

Upcoming Trips!

2008-02-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

We have 2 upcoming mission trips and would appreciate your prayer and support! Our family will be going on our 7th trip to El Florido, Mexico, May 1-4 to build homes for the homeless. Total cost: $500

Pam will be going to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in June to work with Restoration Ministries. The Nature and purpose of this trip is to support Restoration Ministries who ministers to children/families in the favelas (slums) of Sao Paulo,

Brazil

. Ministry will include running two weekend camps at their property, Camp California. During the week, we will run a VBS program at 4 different locations. Total cost: $2,200

Watch for more blogs as we get closer to the dates!

Finish Strong!

2008-01-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

This post is by Marty Listberger. Thanks, Marty!

We are praying for you and we thank God for your prayers and support. Tomorrow (Saturday) will signal the beginning of the conclusion of our time together here in Ica Peru. It is with great joy and sincere gratitude that we will being saying good-bye to our friend, Lee Jimison, as he begins the long journey back home. Before I share my thoughts about this, let me take a few moments to share some of the events of the past 36 hours.

We arrived at Casa por Marilena (Marilena´s House) about 9:00am this morning. Following a day of rest and refresh time at a beautiful oasis called Huacachina, combined with the experience gathered from building Jose and Rosa´s house, the team began working with great confidence. Lee and Jim layed out the chalk lines, David and Lynn setup the cut station and began cutting posts and studs, while Tory and Colleen assisted with the raising of the corner posts. Within 30-minutes the first wall went up and we were off and running.

It was quickly becoming clear to me that the team was functioning well and that they had succeeded in working me out of a job. The team no longer required a leader...they were clear on their mission and each person knew their role. I really credit this to Jim and Lee´s leadership. As I looked around for bent nails to sweep up or pencils to sharpen, I noticed Marilena leaning against the wall accross the street. A little girl ran to her with a tissue to wipe the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. I invited Colleen to join me and explained that the house can wait, ¨we need to comfort Marilena.¨ Marilena was overcome with emotion, not able to believe that people she had never met woke up, prayed up, showed up and were excited, laughing and happy to rebuild her home. A home that fell one evening last August within minutes in the wake of an earthquake. Struggling through her tears, Marilena explained that she wanted to do us a favor. As we hugged each other we explained that the greatest favor she could do is to accept this house as a gift from God and honor Him by making the name of Jesus great throughout this neighborhood. Marilena looked at us and said, ¨in reality, that is what I already do...you came such a long, long way to help me.¨ The only thing I could say was, ¨then Marilena, it is appropriate that God has selected you. Just as he sent Jesus all the way from Heaven to save all of us, He has sent us to help you. He wants to bless you because you truly love Him.¨ Yes, there were more tears and more hugs...we returned to work and Marilena stood watch all day - I believe she will continue to be used by God...she has many neighbors who are watching too!

You may notice that the picture above does not include the entire team. The hot sun and humidity has taken its toll on many of us throughout the week. While everyone tries diligently to maintain proper rest and water, we´ve experienced more than our fair share of instances of heat exahustion. Either that or were experiencing some sort of stomach ailment that is slowly working it´s way through the group. First David, then Tory, Emily, Colleen and now me. We´ve done well to look after one another and Betty has been incredible at providing tea, nurishment and even soothing cool compresses to reduce fever and provide comfort to those that have needed to power through the 24-hours required to get back on their feet. It is wonderful how God has provided both Betty and Pepe as extended members of our team. They are absolutely His saints and we have been blessed in so many ways.

As we approach the final few days of our time in Peru, we were treated to another example of God´s creation and beauty even in this most desolate place in the middle of the desert. Here most people see dirt, poverty, very little in the form of trees and due to the earthquake piles and piles of bricks and stones...yet, God finds ways to reveal himself and all his Glory. This picture was taken while lying in the sand in front of a dune buggy behind Huacachina. I love how the wind forms wave-like markings in the sand and how the setting sun stars just as it meets the horizon.

So, just as the sun sets behind the dunes we prepare to say good-bye, for now, to our friend, Lee. His gifts for construction have been second only to his kindness, gentle manner and spiritual leadership. We´ve all experienced Christ´s love shining brightly through him this week. ¨Thank you Lee.¨ We pray for his safe travels to Lima, Miami, San Francisco, Sacramento and El Dorado Hills as he anxiously anticipates his reunion with family and friends. We also pray for relief in the storms, high winds and rain that have created difficult circumstances throughout northern California.

Meanwhile, as we continue to experience the culture, wonderful food and music (mostly 80´s Rock from the USA in all the Taxis!) in Peru and share the good news to encourage the people of Ica over the next few days we invite you to continue to pray that we finish strong. Pray that each member of the team can find the time to be completely alone with God. Pray that we recognize what He is seeking in each one of us as we prepare to return home to all of you.

P.S. In case you´re feeling that God is calling you to join one of our Lakeside on Mission Impact Peru teams, we have a seat reserved just for you!

Yahoooooooooooooo!

A special hello to Sandy, Shane and Shannan - I love you!

In His Arms,

Marty Listberger

One More to Go!

2008-01-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Lakesiders and Share Partners,

It is Thursday here and it has been a wonderful trip. My fellow team members are just great and we are having a productive yet fun time. Marty keeps us all organized and is doing a great job keeping our focus on the mission and our interaction with each other and the families we are ministering to. He is truly dedicated to the success of this trip!

After a long day on Wednesday we were able to finish Jose and Rosa´s house except for a few small items. It is a very rewarding blessing in having a small part in helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Jose and Rosa know that they have received this blessing from God.

There was much interest by people in the neighborhood as they watched the progress of the house. Our construction methods are different than what they are used to seeing. A wood frame structure and the process in which to construct is far different than the brick and mortar construction they are familiar with. I´m sure they were surprised at the time it took to build and I´m sure will be pleased with the finished product after it is plastered on Saturday.

The kids in the neighborhood are like kids everywhere, they love to play. It was fun to see Lynn, Colleen, and Tory play and spend time with them and have a blast doing it. Between hammering and nailing they were holding the baby and playing soccer. These kids probably just love the attention of having adults spend time with them doing the most important thing, having fun!

I´ve enjoyed working with Jimi who speaks my language. Having been to Peru already to help build another home he was a great help in my understanding of building one of these homes. Truly someone who loves to serve.

Everyone on our team compliments each other with their talents to make this trip so fun. It is wonderful to develop new friends and relationships that will remain from now on. It´s encouraging to see young men like Tory and David who at such a young age are experiencing the blessing of ministry. Lynn and Colleen are just fun to be around and keep us laughing all the time.

It is nice to have Emily and Stephany filming and documenting the devastation from the earthquake. My prayer for them is that their hard work and diligence in making a film will make people aware of the need and energize people to help.

Thank you all for sending me here and to receive the life changing experience of bringing God´s love to those less fortunate. I know we receive more blessing than those were trying to bless. Although I feel that not being able to communicate with words to the families makes it hard for me, I´m glad for my team members that can. I believe the most important part is the relationships that are built. I´m glad that I´m able to contribute a small part and do what is easy for me and that is to build.

I also want to thank Bill Harggett who was so gracious to open his home to are team and to have Pepe and Betty to help us all week long with everything from cooking to translating for us.

God Bless, Lee

Third Day Building

2008-01-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

(This blog was written by a member on Lee's team from Lakeside...sorry...they didn't sign their name!)

Today is day 3 three of building! Wow what an experience already. So much has happened during this trip so far. So many good discussion's so many good experiences and many good blessings! At the beginning of the first work day we came to the work site with just a slab of cement and a pile of materials. Now let me just say that Marty has been an amazing leader setting us up every step of the way always looking for our best interest making this very poverty stricken place a very good time. We manage to always be laughing, smiling, or making jokes at each other. But, we are just blessed to have Jimmy and Lee leading us on the work site because without their patience and expertise I would be in a very bad position! But we are just so blessed to have such an amazing team! Well, now seeing everything come together on day 3 is just awesome. We came to the work site with just a frame and a roof. So, we decided to get an early start so we could finish by lunch time. Colleen and I actually had quite a good experience mixing concrete today. We had a great time using a onion bag as a sifter for sand to mix. And Colleen was all over that she told me she was having a blast with it.. Well, lets just say for a few minutes haha! But, we learned a lot. I can't believe the impact and hope that brings all these people that lives in these "pueblo heavens" poor areas. Finally when about 5 or 6 came around when we were all beyond tired we finally finished. But, what sticks out most in my mind we stood around in prayer with the team and the family Jose, Rosa, their grandparents, Florella, and their baby! And we had our closely grown friend Pepe and translator translate the prayers and after we touched the house with all of our blessings and prayers Jose began to break and tear up. Some of my thoughts for the day are just that we understand we can't help everybody but, to give blessings and prayers and hope to this one family I pray in turn that it will impact the community to become more hopeful and curious about the true reasons we came on this trip and in one day see them in heaven with us all!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Portions of this were written by Colleen, a member of the Peru team from Lakeside...

What a way to start the year, but on a mission in Peru building a house! What a blessing! We got a little bit of a late start due to not getting the best sleep. The Peruvians here brought in the New Year with lots of dancing, fireworks and music and the neighbors very close our were no exception. I think they may have stopped around 5 am.

Today´s goal was to put on the roof and start putting up the siding. We did the get roof on as you will see in the photos. It was hotter today, but we were motivated by a devotional this morning out of the book of Luke that Jim led about service. As Jim puts it, ¨We don´t have to do service, but Jesus tells us to. ¨

Off to the site we go, in the smallest taxis I have ever seen. These little cars are smaller than a Geo, but they are everywhere and stoplights a merely a suggestion. It is always quite an exciting ride even for the short distance we travel.

When we arrived at the house today, it was nice to see the frame up. Lee and Jim are really leading the construction project. Their skills have been invaluable. They have been very patient with everyone as we learn or relearn to use a hammer, saw and screwdriver. We only had one injury so far, Lyn hit her little finger with a hammer. But of course that did not stop her, she kept on going.

Florella is a young girl who is very bright who is a cousin to Jose, of the house we are building. I (Colleen) made a hand puppet of a doll with her today. She is a bright ten year old who wants to be a veterinarian. Lynn spent the many hours holding a baby named Lamamay. This little girls hair won´t lay down, it stands straight up. So they call her Hair of an Angel.

A few of us went for a walk through the neighborhood. Many walls of the homes made of brick are still in piles on the ground. The people have attempted to put back up walls with tarp, stacking the bricks, and by sewing together rice bags. The inner walls of their homes are gone and many roofs have caved in.

We spoke to one woman, who asked us to help her parents, since they were very old and their entire home was destroyed. They had put up some old boards that were found some where for the front of the house, but when you peeked inside, there was nothing else to the home. It is hard to see these experiences some times because there is only so much we can do. We are going to go back and pray for the parents when they are home.

Monday, December 31

2007-12-31T16:12:00.000-08:00

This post was viewed on Lakeside Church's blogspot...written by Jim Record

We started the day with a great devotional by Marty, about the giving of yourselves to
God without question. Then went to see and interview some people on the street. Emily and Stephanie are doing some film work for some of the spanish t.v. stations in the sac area. Met some of the families that are going to get a house. Their grandmother is 76 and preparing to be with the Lord - please pray for comfort and no pain. Grandfather is 84 and cannot hear and is broken hearted - please pray for his comfort. Then went to the construction site on the other side of town and met the family. We proceeded to start framing on the concrete slab and at the end of the day had walls up! We just need to put in window and door frames and then roof. Dave, Tory, Collean and Lynn played soccer with the older kids at the end of the day. God bless you all and have a great happy new year. Jim

We Have Arrived!

2007-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

We have arrived in Ica! HURRAY!! It has taken 2 days to get to our final destination here in Ica and we are all very happy to unpack our bags. WOW what a journey it has been to get here ......The final 6 hour bus ride from Lima Peru to Ica was a very eye opening experience for all of us. The devastation from the earthquake has left many towns in rubble and the people have set up make shift shelters out of whatever they could gather . We have been reminded how grateful and blessed we are.

We will be starting work on our first house this morning Monday........The team is very excited to meet the families we will be building the homes for........We will have more details and pictures this afternoon......Until then, Love and Hugs to all of you from all of us here in Ica

Ica, Peru

2007-12-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

Lee sets out for Ica, Peru on Friday! The group will be departing Lakeside Church in Folsom, California on Friday December 28, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. Please pray for God's protection for safe travels and good health for the team. Following two days of travel they plan to arrive in Ica, Peru on Sunday December 30, 2008 around 6:30 p.m.

Thank you so much to our share partners! We invite you to follow along as we come alongside Shelter Our World to develop greater favor for their work in Ica, Peru. In response to the long terms needs of the survivors of the August 15, 2007 earthquake that resulted in more than 60,000 homes being destroyed, our team will be participating in two low cost home construction projects and Christian outreach in the poor neighborhoods throughout Ica, Peru and the surrounding area.

Back to USA

2007-06-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

We are back home safe and sound! I guess it's taken me a while to update the blog now that we are home! We are adjusting to the time change and culture shock. As many times as I've been on mission trips, it still amazes me when I get home and see how truly blessed we are. But I also am feeling as though part of me is left back in Africa. I love the people there. My heart goes out to them.

I tried to create a video but I must say that the quality on the computer looks quite poor compared to our actual pictures. I think I'm not very good at some of this Internet stuff! My age is showing. Anyway, if you'd like to try to view it, it can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5576618264104974516 . Copy and paste the URL if you can't click on it!

Thanks again for all your prayers and support!

A Relaxing Day at the Beach

2007-06-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

OK, we don't have our beach pictures yet, so this one will do! We spent the day on the beach, relaxing, just like these hippos! We went to Macaneta Beach. We had to take a ferry over but the drive was well worth it! We started off with a jog down the beach, then some of the men helped the local fishermen pull in nets. We packed a picnic lunch, played football, and just had fun! At night Rodger BBQ'd steaks for us as a final hurray - the depindencia is done! Yea!

We leave tomorrow at 11:40 for our long, long flights home. We'll have a 7 hour layover in Johannesburg. Please pray for a safe trip home!

No Water and an AK47

2007-06-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

We are truly experiencing Mozambican life! Today we noticed our water pressure was gone - come to find out that the city had turned off the water a few days ago and we had been using up the tank water. We were almost out of water in the tank. Plus, we were out of drinking water! It's a weird thought to be all out of water! Thankfully, the Lord supplied us with water. This morning we awoke to the water being turned back on and the drinking water will arrive in an hour or so.

What is this about an AK47? Yes, we had quite the experience last night. We went out to dinner and on the drive home in a dark alley we were pulled over by the policia. It is common for them to pull over drivers and ask for papers of the driver. Well, our policia was "policia with attitude." He demanded papers of not only the driver, but also out of all of us. We did not have any papers with us but we did not tell him that. Then another policia arrived with an AK47 and opened Lee's door demanding papers. Rodger knew he had no right to open the door or demand papers so he finally got him to close the door. In the mean time he continued to walk around the car with his rifle trying to intimidate us. Yes, he was intimidating! The other policia argued and argued with Rodger over the papers. I prayed that God would give us favor with this man. After quite a while of heated discussion and intimidation, they let us go. Rodger said it was the first time since 2000 that he was nervous of the policia. Back in 2000 he had an AK47 pointed to his face demanding money from the policia. He said that the stop was night "right" and he was going to call his friend who is a police inspector today and let him know what happened. Needless to say, we had quite an interesting evening! We are thankful for God's protection.

2007-06-13T04:06:00.000-07:00

We’re tryin’ to catch up on our blogging! We’ve been busy. The depindencia is almost complete – finishing installing windows, hardware, painting. It’s looking beautiful! Larry and Lee installed cabinets and will soon be varnishing the windows. The only thing left is painting the floor. Yea! It’s going to be a great place for interns and visitors. We were laughing because from the outside it now looks better than the house.

Monday Pam and George went to Casas das Formigas – an orphanage/daycare type facility. The woman who started it is a 70 year old Brazilian. They have Bible classes along with classes in sewing, crochet, art, basketry (made from recycled school paper), shoe making, tapestry. Lynne hopes to get ideas for neighborhood programs. George was able to diagnose some of their computer issues.

Tuesday was our safari at Kruger Game Park in South Africa. We left the house at 4:45 AM and drove to South Africa. We spent the day appreciating God’s spendor in creation. We were able to see many rhinos, wildbeest, baboons, elephants, giraffe, hippopotamus, impalas, kudus, zebras, vervet monkeys, warthogs, and a leopard at the end of the day. We also saw many reptiles and birds.

Wednesday was another work day. The men finished up windows and installations. Pam and George went into town with Rodger. Lynne had spent the night at a friend’s house and after picking her up, her hand was accidentally slammed shut in the door of the van. It cut her finger and she may have 1-2 broken fingers. She and Rodger are still in town so we haven’t heard the latest. Please pray for Lynne! We hope to take them out to dinner tonight to help her out. George finished up computer work at the Christian school. Pam and Lynne’s friend Corrine went to the orphanage again. (Lynne planned on going but because of her injury she wasn’t able to go.) Again, it is overwhelming seeing the kids at the orphanage. There was one little girl – about 2 months old – that was very skeletal. She had the distended tummy and skin hanging on her arms. It is so sad seeing these sick kids that beg and beg to be picked up. I literally had 6 kids hanging on my legs trying to climb up into my arms. Don’t get me wrong – the orphanage does a great job with the supplies they have – they just need more help there.

We’re back out to work! Thanks for your prayers!

Church - African Style

2007-06-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today we went to church in a remote village (non jungle setting, just rolling plains with cool trees, shrubs and ant hills the size of people). It was awesome. There were about 25 Mozambicans and our band of 8. It was in the village of Xigubuta (pronounced She-gu-butta). The pastor’s name was Alfredo Mikwawa (named after the Mikwawa tree. During the war, Alfredo’s grandparents hit enemy soldiers with the fruit of the Mikwawa tree to knock them out. That is how they were given the last name Mikwawa). It was a truly African experience. We held church in an unfinished block church building with a dirt floor. Most of the church members were barefoot, but all were well dressed and extremely friendly. The music was awesome and Roger interpreted the sermon. They served us a special lunch of Xima (corn paste which looked like mashed potatoes and tasted like corn paste ), Matapa (peanuts, leaves of the Matapa tree, coconut juice and chicken broth), black eyed peas and rice. They also gave us some Mandioca root which they dug up right before our eyes. We are frying these into French fry type sticks for dinner. We then came home and took power naps (well the men folks did at least). Now Lynn and Roger are preparing us a barbecue chicken Mozambican feast!!! Tomorrow is another work day, we are close to being done. Keep praying for us that God would bless our hands and help us communicate to these wonderful people. Larry

The Market!

2007-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
We had a great day of fellowship today. We went to the Saturday market and shopped. We were able to purchase lots of Mozambican goodies - batiks, wood carvings, etc. It's full of bartering so we are thankful to Rodger for his knowledge of the system and language! After a couple hours of bartering, we were off the to fish market. Yum! The fish are all fresh and grilled there. We had a kilo of fish, two kilos of shrimp and a chicken! Another couple joined us - Daniel and Christi. They are newlyweds recently graduated from college. Daniel was born in Mozambique. His family was a missionary family. When he was around 11 someone broke into their home and murdered his father. They were able to escape. It was his desire to return back to the country to live and serve the Lord. They are going to take a year to get situated, have his new wife learn the language, and then they will decide exactly where they will settle here for ministry. They are looking into a sports type ministry or one geared toward youth.

After our lunch we took a quick trip down to the beach. It's quite a beautiful area.

FYI - we have taken a lot of pictures but are unable to post them until we return. Sorry! For those that are new to our blog, the pictures on the blog were taken during my trip last year. We'll put a link for pictures after we return!

Lee's Moz Adventure Log

2007-06-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Today we started the day with a bible study in Philippians led by Pamela. We then proceeded to have a yummy breakfast of egg and cheese burritos with hot sauce. Jim and Corinne with World Venture joined us for breakfast and then we had a prayer time.

George and Rodger left to go to the Christian Academy to work on their computers, and then over to Jim and Corinne’s to help them with their computers.

Larry and myself continued to work on the guest quarters. Larry was finishing up doing the plumbing and diagnosing a few problems while I installed hardware on the doors. The place is really shaping up. Rodger has two Mozambicans, Isaac and Joaquin, helping us to complete the painting which is really transforming the overall appearance. The iron screens are in place with work starting on the gate which will complete that portion of the work. We also worked on the window frames that will be getting new glass that Roger will pick up tomorrow.

Pam was able to meet with Lydia today who is a neighbor that we met yesterday. She came to the house and Pam helped her with learning English and she helped Pam with Portuguese and Xangana. Xangana is the language that the working class are familiar with and Portuguese the trade language. It was fun learning just a few words in Xangana to greet the locals which they thought was very unusual to hear white people speaking their language. Rodger says that Xangana is the language of the heart. It is so much fun to spend time with Rodger and see him interact with these people because of his love for them and to see them respond in turn. It just catches these people off guard that a white man is interested in them and their culture.

At the end of the day we had our first customer to the guest quarters. Since Larry was able to get the hot water working to the shower, Joaquin thought he would try it out and he loved it! It is heart warming to realize that Lakeside can be involved in such a worthy endeavor that will impact these people for God’s Kingdom. Roger hopes to have these rooms occupied with young people who will go out into this community and share the good news and do ministry by January.

At the end of the day Lynn made us a Brazilian dish with beans, rice, tomatoes, onions, and garlic that was very tasty for dinner. Afterwards we headed into town to have some ice cream and drink some coffee next to the Indian Ocean. This was a nice little break from work. We hope to start getting out a little more to see more of Mozambique before we come home. Thank You again for your support and prayers.

Lee

Larry's Tribal Tidbits

2007-06-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday
Well we woke up to another sunny morning in Africa! Today we worked on electrical and plumbing, finally solving the electrical short we have been fighting for several days. We also began painting walls and installing ceiling fans. We have two Mozambicans working with us. They are a joy to work with although the language barrier is frustrating. I really respect their work ethic. They stay busy and don’t have to be told what to do. When they see something that needs done, they jump on it right away. We ended the night with an awesome thunder and lightning storm. It was an awesome show and the lights went out several times. It only lasted about an hour then it was done.

Thursday
Today we made pretty good progress; we almost finished the electrical and plumbing. The ceiling fans are installed and we are putting in new door locks and latches. George went to the Christian Missionary School and began evaluating their computer system so he can set up their network. Pam, Lee and I took a long walk with Roger around the neighborhood. We met many of his neighbors and were given some lettuce by a very nice family. It is interesting to see how they live. Maputo is very similar to Mexico border towns with the litter problems and living conditions and like Mexico the residents appear clean and happy despite the excess garbage lined streets. The work that Roger and Lynn have taken on is very needed in this town and I am happy we can be here to help.

June 6 Orphanage

2007-06-06T04:24:00.001-07:00

I visited the orphanage today at Ulene (You-lay-nee). It's the same one I went to last year and it was a joy to visit again. It's a heartbreaking visit, really, and so very difficult to explain with words. As you walk in there is an inner courtyard and the toddlers "hang out" there. It is fly infested and most kids just sit on the ground or walk around. There are very few, old toys. They beg to be held, vie for your attention, and hang on your legs. They are jealous of each other for one getting held and as many cling on to you as possible. I helped feed the babies...they sit 3 in a row and get fed from the same bowl and spoon at the same time. It's quite a sight. I helped feed the toddlers. I then went outside and played soccer with some older boys.

It's really hard to tell you exactly what it is like. The smells are awful and the children so sick with runny noses and dirty faces. Yet it is a nice orphanage and the children are loved. They just don't get much attention for the few people that work there. I was surprised that I recognized an infant from last year - Angelina - who is now a "toddler". She is a very needy little girl.

The thing that is the saddest is that 95% or more of the children at the orphanage have AIDS. They are sickly and are in so want of love. To be held is the most wonderful thing to them. In one sense I wish they had more toys, but looking at it, I don't think that's what they want. They just want to be held and loved.

Please keep these children in your prayers. I wish I could have taken pictures but cameras are not allowed. (Somehow Stacy last year was able to get permission! You go, Stacy!)

A Blog from George - Mozambique Team

2007-06-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

06/05/07
Today we all seemed to have woken up a bit early due to bad sleeping habits. Wewoke up starting at 2am on through 4am and decided to have some coffee and visit. As we started the day, Lynn and Rodger again provided a bed and breakfast atmosphere for us before we started the work for the day. We continued to trackdown the electrical problem from yesterday and remove all items from walls and ceilings to start painting the intern quarters. It was a blessing to work side by side some local Mozambicans and start a working friendship.
Larry seems to be the hero of construction when tracking electrical shorts and finding a bad element in the water heater. Both Lee and Larry have been mostly working with the window and iron working men to beautify the new "abodencia".
I have been working diligently to get laptops and printers working at the mainhouse for Rodger and Lynn. I(George) was also blessed to accompany Rodger topick up a head board for his bed that was build and hand carved by one of the Mozambicans who has done some carpentry for him in the past. Mozambicans areextremely polite and have a great sense of humor in the midst of the surroundings.
It was amazing to see all the smiling people as they walked passed the brick or straw homes without doors. The homes did not normally have windows but there were concrete floors and many per household. As we traveled a few miles off the paved road to a small 10X10 shack; Arsenio lived here, and he covered Rodgers eyes beforerevealing a beautifully hand carved head board, picturing two giraffes amidstsome palm trees. Arsenio was so happy to provide Rodger with his work. It was quite a treat to see how much happiness it brought him to make this for Rodger.
I am looking forward to going to the Christian school later this week to puttogether a computer lab for the Mozambican students.
In greatful and blessing gratitude,George

We're Here!

2007-06-04T04:15:00.000-07:00

We made it to Mozambique safely! We had a 10+ hour flight to London with a 6 hour layover, then a 10+ hour flight to South Africa with a 2 hour layover and finally made it to Mozambique. We had smooth flights and didn't lose any luggage! Wow! AND...the food was great! Really! We were impressed with British Airways food.

The Schmidts welcomed us with open arms as usual. They are doing fine despite Lynne's accident last week. (In fact, just this morning Lynne honked at a driver and he got made and side swiped her other car trying to knock off the mirror!) We are staying in the home with the Schmidts. Steven gave up his room for George and Larry and Lee and I have the guest room.

Work has started on the dependencia - the ministry house for Mozambican interns. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. It needs a lot of repair - but they have quickly started! Rodger hired some local men to help scrape mold off the outside of the building. While I type this, Lee and Larry are testing out the electrical to figure out what they need to do to get the building safe. We'll be working on plumbing and painting as well.

We had a great time running errands today...very Mozambican. George and I stayed in the car to guard it (I'm a really scary guard!) while Lee, Larry and Rodger went inside. We went to about 5 different shops and got to see a lot of the city. It's been raining this week and the roads were quite interesting!

Thanks so much for your prayers. We hope to post a couple pictures in not too long. Pray that a lot gets done on the building and that we are able to minister to the locals.

Ready to Go!

2007-05-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we're ready to go!

Thank you so very much to all who are supporting us through prayer and financially! God helped us raise our support and it is amazing! Thank you, Lord! We appreciate so much the prayers of our family and friends. We will leave Folsom Friday at noon. Thank you, Jim, for volunteering to drive us to San Francisco! Thanks to Pam's mom for flying out to stay with Lauren and Brett!! yea!! I love you, Mom!

Pray for our families left back home. Please continue to pray for our safety. We will try to post daily blogs IF we are able to get to a computer! If you don't see a blog, don't worry - we were either too busy or couldn't get the computer to work.

Getting Ready

2007-05-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready! We have a praise that after waiting a very long time, despite trying to expedite, Lee's passport came in last Wednesday. We quickly mailed it off for the Visa. We are hoping they will have a quick Visa turn-around!

Thank you so much, supporters and prayer partners, for your support and prayers! We have nearly raised all our money. It's amazing what God can do! Please continue to pray for our family back home - Lauren and Brett. It will be difficult to have mom and dad away at the same time. I am so thankful to my mom for coming to stay with them! It's a long few weeks for her!

We leave Friday, June 1. We still have prayer requests for transportation. We need a ride to the airport in San Francisco Friday afternoon at 1:00. We think we have our ride home covered - that's still in the works as well.

Rodger and Lynn have lots of work planned for us in Mozambique. They are excited for us to come.

Thanks for your prayers!

More Praise

2007-04-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you, everyone, for your support so far of our Mozambique, Africa trip! We are excited that we are able to travel as a couple this year to Africa. We are praying that God will do great things and that HIS will will be accomplished! We still have $2,000 to raise, but are SO grateful for the amount that has come in so far! It's really a miracle and we know that GOD is providing! A special thanks to whoever gave our "anonymous" donation! Wow. Wish we could properly thank you. Only 7 weeks to go! hurray!

Praises!

2007-04-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Lord!
We thank the Lord for His sustaining goodness! We got our camera back! United airlines sent it to us via Federal Express. Yes! This is a picture of the sign they built for the Victory Park home division.

And...I hate to tell this story...but if you are taking the time to read my blog, I will tell you! I was in the shower this morning trying to think of a way to keep my license safe when we travel to Africa. I didn't want to go through another airport without my ID! So I thought and thought and then I remembered...oh yes...I'll hide it in my secret hiding place in my travel purse. Then it hit me. MY SECRET HIDING PLACE! So and looked...and there was my license all along! Augh! I hid it so well I forgot about it! ha. I have to laugh at myself and say sorry to Hertz for thinking they took it! I'm just a ditz!

We're home!

2007-04-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Many praises! Thanks for your prayers. Our last day in McComb was good. We visited friends we met and said our good-byes. Then we headed to Slidell and visited Operation Blessing. They help demolish homes and clear the debris. We visited the Ninth Ward, the place of the most devastation. We ate dinner in the French Quarter. Yum. We've had a week of a lot of good souther cooking!!

Can you believe - we lost our camera with all our pictures!!!! It was left on the plane from Louisiana to LAX. Pray it gets returned to us. I never got my license so I have to go to DMV and fill out paperwork for that. I'm glad we have Monday off school!

Final Prayer Requests...

1. Get camera back
2. Pam to get her license
3. Clodene - a resident who is very, very disturbed since Katrina. She is a sad woman with many trials!
4. Helen and Brenda - residents who lost everything but the joy of the Lord IS their strength!
5. Caroline - resident with diabetes. Former school teacher. Don't know if she knows the Lord or not
6. Support for Pam and Lee's Mozambique trip. We need to raise over $5,000!