Global Outreach Website

Oct 25

I received a text message from Carolyn last night.  They made it safely to Tanzania but they don\'t have internet service at the hostel.  However, she will be sure to post a blog when she is able or she may text again and I can pass on their news.  By the way...she said the luggage made it and to thank everyone for their prayers in that regard. 

Please continue to pray for the team as they coach the Tanzanian leaders through their first \"solo\" clinic.

Lori for the team in Tanzania

Jul 21

OK, so we\'re not really \"home\" but it is certainly beginning to feel like home. The people of Guatemala are so warm and accepting. The whole team has commented on how great it is to be greeted with a hug and kiss from those we have only just met. It was late when we arrived \"home\" last night (10:00ish) and the computer was down so we didn\'t get a chance to share about our three days sleeping out. ~

What an amazing reception we received in each village!! The people were so happy to see us. The first church we arrived at after a 6.5 hr drive on Monday gave us the opportunity to meet so many people. The needs of the people ran the gammet from simple headaches to demon possession. It is a good thing Hermann prepared us with 2 hours of devotionals that morning. We certainly needed that time with God to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead. God was faithful and carried us through our inadequacies and we were able to pray with and share Jesus with one and all. As we worked through the evening there was a group of girls (around 12 yrs old) that just LOVED our three blond headed boys. They are quite the novelty here. They spent most of the evening trying to get them to come to the window to talk to them. The boys turned beet red at all the attention. :)

We had the luxury of staying in a ministry center in San Pablo that offered indoor toilets and semi-indoor showers. This I am told is NOT the norm when sleeping out. Again, God showed us His favor. When I say that I mean...no bugs. You think I joke. Nope. So here we spent our first night out all sleeping in what amounted to a porch, yet safe and secure behind the gated walls of the ministry center.

Morning devotions with Hector, Mario and Geovani were so wonderful. These times fortified us, drew us together as a team wiht the doctors, translators and each other. Without these times of sharing in worship and God\'s word there is no way that we could have seen the miracles of healing and people coming to Christ that we each saw.

Tuesday was a day filled with rain, patients, heat, rain (yes, I know I already said that but it rained A LOT!) and hope. The hope of Christ that the people needed so badly. To look into the eyes of these that came for a doctor and met with the Great Physician was something marvelous to behold. To see pain, fear and hopelessness replaced with joy, light and the hope of salvation is, in a word humbling.

Wednesday was a quick clinic day (we only saw 60 people) since we had the long ride \"home\" but we still managed to meet and serve many. The church there in the village hosted our breakfast and dinner and were just so welcoming and greatful that we would come to meet with them. One personal miracle I witnessed was when a man sat in my counseling station and I asked him if he had ever heard of Jesus. The answers I had recieved up to this time were,\"yes, yes\". This man had not. I was amazed that I got to be the one to introduce him. How humbling! Was I prepared for that? Absolutely! I asked if I could tell him the story about Jesus and he said yes. As I walked through the Evangicube he sat quietly and listened. When I finished I asked if he had ever heard that story before. \"No\", was his reply. Do you believe what I have told you? \"Yes\" was his quiet answer. Would you like for this Jesus I have told you about to live in your hear? With tears in his eyes he nodded his head. Together with one of our ever present, ever faithful translators we prayed the sinner\'s prayer. As he wiped tears from his eyes I then asked if I could pray for his healing. He had been working and fell from a tree and hit his head. His head had been causing him pain ever since (about a year now) and he was unable to work because he would often fall down due to the injury. I prayed, Maryann translated and he wept. When we were done praying I asked how his head was feeling. \"Better\", was his simple answer. In the space of a few moments, a soul was added to the kingdom and a witness to God\'s power was born. Amazing!!!

Some of the most beautiful people God has made live in Gautemala and they came to our clinic today. Most of the people with whom I prayed today were Christians. Not in the nominal sense of the word but truly loved God with all their hearts. When asked if they believed that God would heal them when we prayed I would get a resounding, \"Yes!\". It was another day filled with God\'s presence and power. Truly life changing and faith affirming.

Be sure to search for Tracy Baird\'s name and read her blog too. I\'m sure she has just as many stories to share as I and has great perspectives that were different than mine. She has been such a great leader. Leading, rather than pushing, guiding and defering to our preferences when she could. She also got perspectives from the rest of the team that I have not included in this blog.

Tomorrow is market day. While I am looking forward to it, at the same time I know that it will be the final time we get to spend with our wonderful Guatemalan family. Our translators and the doctors have taken us into their arms and loved and served us with such passion and humility. Always preferring us to themselves and truly representing the God whom they serve. We have been SO blessed by them.

More tomorrow if technology cooperates with us. :)

Lori

Jun 19

Jun 16

We are ready and we are set.  On Saturday we get to GO!  Our team is trained, we have been prayed over and commissioned to go and now we are anxiously awaiting GO time. 

We may be out of pocket for a few days without the ability to blog since we will be \"sleeping out\" as they say in the villages on Monday and Tuesday night, returning to the Ministry Center late on Wednesday. 

We will get up bright and early on Monday morning and after devotions and some time spent with the One sending us we will drive to the first village where we will set up our medical mission.  Keep an eye out for our next opportunity to blog on Wednesday night (if we can keep our eyes open long enough to do it.).  By then we should have some awesome stories to share.  Tracy Baird (our team leader) and I will post the blogs but I\'m sure the rest of the team will give us lots of stories to share.

Keep us in your prayers and we will keep you in ours.  Thank you so much for your prayer support and financial support so that we could GO on this journey.  Your support means so much to us!

GOing to serve,

La

Jun 15

So, as you have heard, we got to Tanzania safe and sound. At the airport we were greeted with wonderful team members of Imara who have become some of our greatest friends in Christ, even in this short time. After sleeping in the Women’s Center (for training and loving women in abuse), we went to the village of Karanse the next day. Many of the team has sponsored children, some have sponsored them up to 8 years, and got to visit face to face with “their kids”. Sharon and Will Bryan got to see the coloring book they had recently sent that had been completely filled in (every single page) with the crayons they sent, and it showed them first-hand what the child had meant about liking to draw.

Much of our time here has been spent watching this graceful, always-grinning children play, to try to speak Swahili to them, to tell them “Mungu ni pendo” (God is love) and other words of encouragement, and to speak with teachers to see how best to support, walk alongside, and pray for them.  Bailey Fortman was very touched by seeing her family’s sponsored child that her and her mom, Cindy cried over their short time with her. Though they are so blessed to have seen their child unlike many sponsorers, that they could not ignore her reality of life and the fact they had to leave her.

Making kingdom connections has moved each and every member at a different time and in different ways. These people have no shame praising God (“Bwana asifiwe”), even when they are living with issues that can make people question and doubt the hand of God.

Going to church was truly a touch of Heaven. We walked in to hear a Kenyan pastor incredibly full of passion and power in his voice, being translated from English to Swahili by his wife (a powerful example of partnership within a marriage), and their booming voices set the stage. Then a worship team danced to a few praise songs, followed by all of us singing / dancing / letting loose and praising God in a way that much more matches what He deserves and what we can do. The special widow ladies are there in full effect as they sing and dance and are dressed in beautiful skirts. There is one special lady that loves to collect flower petals before church and she throws them up, around, and even on you as the service goes on.  She is called the “blessing lady”.

The next day we went back to Karanse and were able to play with the kids, do some painting and assisting, and talked at length with the teachers to encourage them and get to know them. They are the ones that love on and build up the kids every single day. Another highlight was Tim Fortman, our only adult American male, speaking to the men through a translator. He explained some basic business and financial principles and lead into what leadership means, breaking down the walls that tell men leadership is strength without mercy.  He explained the importance of loving and playing with kids which is huge and something that Pastor Warieli (who started this who school/church) has been laying the foundation for all along.

Seeing Carter Rhea speaking the best Swahili of our team (he now seems like a Tanzanian to us J) and playing with the kids so energetically, and seeing Jaden Fortman being in her element of being a kid was truly a blessing. The younger boys, Jason, Josh Crawford, and Will Bryan, were such incredible examples of strong, mature, and loving young men. They played tirelessly and were completely fine with being tackled, touched, and tickled. We were all covered in dirt by the end of the day because of the field and the work. It was a blessing to feel we had worked hard loving and being energetic for these kids, and underlining what their teachers tell them every day.

Sarah Traynor was able to get to know her sponsored child very well over the days, and has been truly blessed to get a glimpse of her life. The last day we were in Karanse for the field day, Sarah found her child, Caroline, sick and later discovered she was diagnosed with Malaria.  Though this is prevalent and common in this region, it still tore at Sarah’s and Caroline’s heart. The blessing was knowing that Sarah’s support money covers all of the medicines for helping Caroline fight Malaria. Bwana Asifiwe!

Sharon Bryan was able to use her knowledge, experience, and heart to heal some of the children and her compassionate spirit was exuded. Stephanie Lindgren also got to stretch her training as she played and taught with the kids. She was amazed by their incredible patience and obedience and their overflowing joy.

Shelley Rames, as we all have, has been blessed by the “surrounding beauty of this country”, and she has loved building relationships with the team and especially with the Tanzanians. Her emotions have been so up and down, but that has made her dependent and more understanding of God’s beautiful and complex heart.

This last day at Karanse, we got to meet Ms. Miriam Johnson, who has taught at Perimeter (even has taught the team members, Carolyn Stewart, Carter, and Will!), was here to meet us and share her experience as teacher mentor. This was incredibly insightful because it revealed how much the paving of 10 years of love and support in this place has impacted the school, children, village, and country. These people are truly raising up a generation of strong, smart, and God-fearing Tanzanians.

None of these wonderful stories touched on or un-told would be possible without the careful and wise planning of Pam Willis and Kathy Stewart. Their preparation before and during this trip has smoothed and prevented things so we can best serve here. Their flexibility, encouragement, and love for us and from God flows freely down to all of us. These leaders have, as the pastor said in church, “the heart of a mama.” They have both been here multiple times and their consistency and heart has truly impacted the staff there.

Carolyn Stewart, having been here before, was incredibly refreshed and enlightened to see these loving and humble people again and to serve here. Seeing the beautiful parts of the culture meshing with the un-changing and culture-less principles of God’s Word has been a huge eye-opener. The whole team is praying for drastic heart-changes as we return to the US and to this very different environment that doesn’t encourage appreciative hearts and contentment. We are hoping to be quick to Praise the Lord and quick to stay content so our immense overflow of resources will be used as a conduit for God.

Apr 13

The July Poland GO Journey team will conduct their first training this Sunday, April 17, in the Uptown Auditorium from 12:30-2:30.  If you are interested in going to Poland please feel free to stop by.  All those already confirmed to go should be present as this training is full of great information.

Aug 12

I hate it that we didn\'t get a chance to blog while we were in Poland.  It was a wonderful trip and we had lots to share with all of you.  Let me share just a little bit about what we did while were there.

We worked in the city of Lodz.  It is the second largest city it Poland and it is very old and poor.  The residents are mainly blue collar workers when they can find work.  Our partner in Poland, Luke Bajenski, orchestrated all the work that we would do in and around the city while we were there.  There were over 100 volunteers from all over Europe and the US that worked at 23 different work sites.  We worked in orphanges, nursing homes, women\'s shelters, individual apartments and help an outreach event for the week for the children of Lodz. 

Our team of 8 was split up so we only knew one other person on our work team but it was great to connect with so many others in the larger group.  The teams we were split into worked in orphanges, apartments and nursing homes.  We sanded, painted, cleaned and generally made living conditions better for those that used those facilities.

I noticed that at the beginning of the week the Polish people were a bit stand-offish and skepticle of what we were doing and why we were there.  But...by mid-week we received smiles and welcomes and \"dzien dobray!\" (Good day!).  Polish thank-yous were also heard from those we were able to help.  The great thing about what we were able to do was that the Polish people saw someone besides the state or the Catholic church working to help them.  They consider the Evangelical church to be a cult and so seeing the love of Jesus poured out to them in a tangible way went a long way to dispelling that notion. 

By the end of the week we were the good kind of tired from working hard all day and meeting in the evenings at a local church for praise and worship and a sermon from several of the volunteers.

We also had the opportunity to visit the city of Krakow one day and to go to Auschwitz.  While it was a solemn place and very difficult to see the work and death camps it taught us a lot of the suffering the Polish people have endured and how very fortunate we are as Americans.  The Polish people are proud, and rightly so, of their heritage.  They suffered first under German tyranny then under the Communist regime but they are strong people.  When you take time to talk with them and listen to them you find that they are warm and gracious people.  We are much the same.  We love our families and friends and we need Christ in our hearts and lives.

It was wonderful to be part of this Compassion in Action trip, or as Luke\'s group calls it \"Hope in Action\".  It was good to see at the end of the week that we were able to bring hope to those who so desperately need it.  It was even better to share with them that the real hope is Jesus!

Thank you for supporting us financially so that we were able to go and work, but even more for your prayers while we were there. 

May 03

Initial blog for Guatemala BPI

Well, we are off to Guatemala again on May 12 and return on May 16. At the basic level, the objective of our trip is to help poor members of a partner church congregation to start successful small businesses.

But, if God is in it, the ultimate objectives are: economic development at the grassroots level; empowerment of the poor; enhancing church leadership and resources; marketplace discipleship; and, ultimately, cultural transformation.

Anyone who has spent time with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ comes back in awe of their faith and their hearts for the Lord. We are conscious of preserving these in the transition to the business world. While we strive to share with the entrepreneurs the best business tools and wisdom with which to start a business, the primary objective is the creation and management of businesses that conform to God\'s will.

We will conduct the program in three phases.

Phase 1 (May 12-16) shows them how to define their business and leaves them with research assignments and the task of drafting their business plan.

Phase 2 provides them with one-on-one counselling to refine their strategies and business plan and to develop their 3-year financial plans in a comprehensive spreadsheet.

Phase 3 teaches them how to manage their business once it is up and running.

Based on the subsequent assessments of the instructors and the in-country ministry team, a select few of the entrepreneurs will receive start-up funding as a loan from a revolving fund. If you are interested in donating to that fund - or you are interested in participating in a future trip, please click here to email us and let us know.

As in everything, we need prayer for this ministry during this trip and on an ongoing basis. Please pray that God would teach through us, that the students\' hearts and minds would be open, that the in-country team and our partner church, Showers of Grace, would be blessed and that God would bless the entrepreneurs and the resulting businesses and that He would work through them to expand His Kingdom in the Guatemala marketplace and culture.

We thank you for your support and prayers.