Colombia

We had an interesting route here. Our first flight was delayed due to a broken landing gear light. Then there was a medical emergency on the flight, so we needed to allow the medical team to exit the man to an ambulance. We had ½ hour to reach our connecting flight, only to have a fire alarm go off in the airport with an announcement saying wait for future instructions as the fire dept. checked it out. But we made it to Colombia on time with our hosts excitedly waiting for us at the airport. We took a bus followed by a taxi to their apartment in middle of the city.

We left bright and early for the boys farm this morning. We walked 1/2 hour to the tram, rode the tram for another 1/2 hour. Then we had to wait for our bus for an hour. It had broken down. When the bus came, we rode for another hour up 8,000 ft. in the mtns. Then we walked another couple miles to get to the farm.
It was well worth it. The boys' farm now house 37 boys from ages 9-26. Each boy has a story and if there is one problem, it is that there is not enough help. We enjoyed a full day up in the mountains with these boys. Each boy was taken off the streets. Parents are dead, drug addicts, or even worse. It is a hard work, but they are beginning to see some fruit of their labor. the older boys are being trained to work in the ministry. Below is one of the many homes where they house the boys. They were very organized and clean.
Here is Pat with one of the younger boys. They all loved all the attention they could get from the adults. Today brought visitations, encouragement, children's ministry for the younger boys, discipleship for the older boys, lunch, tutoring, and then soccer. The boys were excited to practice their English with us, and Pat practiced her Spanish with them.
Before the boys could start their soccer practice, they had a devotional with their coach. Below is a picture of some of the boys on the soccer field.
All in all today was exhausting but wonderful. Tomorrow morning Terry is preaching to the staff at the foundation. Please keep us in your prayers for strength and wisdom.

COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN

This Tuesday we will be traveling to Medellin, Colombia. We have been invited to work with Open Arms Ministry, a ministry to impoverished street children. This ministry rescues children from a life on the streets of begging, drugs and prostitution. They go into very poor areas and invite the youth to their swimming pool. They also feed them and do a bible study. The work is difficult and has 4 stages, from bible studies to housing and mentoring them into adults.

The parents and drug lords are their worst enemies. They do not like loosing their greatest source of income. We have met children who were beat so badly their bones were even broken because they did not bring home enough money. Girls as young as 8 years old were in prostitution and young people so addicted to drugs they could not function. How can you not do something to help when the Lord allows you to see such things?

Here is a picture of Enoc and Cristina, they are in leadership in Open Arms Ministry. We will be staying in their home. Enoc is Colombian growing up as a pastor's son in a very poor neighborhood has enhanced his heart to reach the street kids. His wife Cristina is from Brazil and works endlessly for the hurting and lost in this area. Here is our latest correspondence:
"Hello my family from away
I am so thankful to God to bring people like you both into our lives and ministry.
I am organizing my schedule...And believe me there will be a lot things that you are going to be able to help. Waiting for you with OPEN ARMS"

A picture of some of the girls in the home. Note how young they are.

The boys' ranch houses many boys. These boys below are playing soccer with their coach, a young man who grew up on the streets and spent time in jail. Once he found the Lord, he volunteered to help these boys develop a better life for themselves. Each one has a story that would break your heart.You can follow our work on this blog when we have Internet access. Please keep us in your prayers. Colombia is not only a developing country, it is listed by Voice of the Martyrs as the only country in South America with great persecution against the Christians. The guerrillas and drug lords do not like anyone that could get in their way of extortion and drug trafficking.

CFL Returns

Champions for Life Kids' Camp will continue to be a part of our home mission's project. We have over 24 churches represented in our community that volunteer at this faith based camp. This camp is specifically designed for foster children and children at risk. Most of these children have been through very painful situations in their home life. These children learn to realize that they were created by a loving God and that He has a specific plan for their future.

CFL training is starting back up again. 20 new volunteers are now meeting once a month to train for the CFL 2009 summer camp. They will join the other 100 returning volunteers in June.

Here are some pictures from previous years at camp. There are many special moments where the children get specialized attention. Moments matter at this camp.

Children, who were forced into growing up too soon, come to camp and are encouraged to just have fun. They learn that there are adults whom they can trust. They also learn that they have a God who will always love them unconditionally.

There is a special moment where we write down our bad memories of the past. As we burn these memories, we ask Jesus to heal the pain of our past.

Sometimes the life of a foster child is very unstable. As they move around a lot, their birthday is sometimes forgotten. Therefore, we have established each year to have a birthday celebration where each child receives a personalized birthday cake, presents, and love for whom they are.

Please keep these children, some with horrific backgrounds and stories, in your prayers.

Prison Ministry

Think about how many stories in the Bible involve a prison or a jail. The word "prison" actually occurs 77 times throughout the Bible. Recently, we have had the opportunity to minister at one of our state prisons, the Macomb Correctional Facility. The prison sits on a 100-acre site and contains security levels I, II, and IV.

Our son-in-law, Tommy Sheerer, is the chaplain there and has developed a strong church within the prison. There are 4 services every Sunday with the prisoners themselves leading the worship. Each service has about 50 prisoners who come in search of a loving and forgiving God. It has been a joy and pleasure to minister to these men. Please join us along with Chaplain Sheerer in prayer for revival in the prison.

India 2009

In the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, a young boy from the slums of India becomes a millionaire and leaves the slums. In contrast, we consider ourselves "Slumdog Missionaries" using our resources to go the slums of India, where we love every minute of it.

We traveled to India early this year. While we were there, we ministered at four separate pastors' and leaders' conferences. Each conference was located in a different remote village and lasted 3 full days.

Pastor Terry also prayed over and commissioned the graduates of Alpha Bible College. These students know they must be willing to pray, preach or die at any given moment. They took their call very seriously.

There were also times of ministering to specific national ministers who needed much encouragement.

Pastor Terry was asked to preach at the mother church of Alpha ministries and was greeted by his great friends of over 20 years. Here is a picture of Pastor Pat with Dr. Matthews Cherion, the founder of Alpha Ministries.

Pastor Pat was invited to minister to 53 children with Hindu background at a bible study.

During this trip, God far exceeded our expectations of His faithfulness! Here is a video of one of the passionate worship services.