July 30th a few hours before we are being picked up our daughter ,Stacy, sends this message:
Take a journal and write down the daily small and large miracles you will see. Don't miss them. They will be all around you. Journal them and continue to ask and thank God for them. The people their will touch yhour life and by the Holy Spirit it will change you. Pray daily against the enemies schemes to destroy and hinder the teams ability to teach and love the people of Africa. Claim some verses to armor yourself with truth against the evil that permeates that land with witchcraft and demonic forces. God is bigger and stronger and remember demons flee in the name of Jesus. Blind people also see in His name. Faith is the most important gift and prayer without faith isn't fruitful so believe that the Lord will do powerful things among you and your team and hem you in against the evil one who seeks to raise up anxiety and division and confusion among you. Peace through the Lord's Holy Spirit will give you the peace and strength to endure and conquer for Jesus to be glorified. God bless you,
Love to you and Dad,
Stacy
Monday, 30 July 2012
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Friday, 27 July 2012
July 27th - 3 days til lift off!!! Hope you all comment on our blog so we can correspond with you all when we are away. You do not have to keep joining the site - just click on comment under any of the posts. Can whoever has joined three times, can you eliminate two of those to make room for others - you do not need to join more than once. Thank you. Have a blessed day and again thank you for all your prayers and donations to help these orphans. Our bags are packed with most of the space going for items we are bringing to the orphans, mamas, translators and our team. We are excited to experience what the Lord has in store for us and we will take you all with us in our hearts and minds and return to tell you all about what the Lord is doing here on earth before our very eyes. This is James Tai and he is the young man we are sponsoring and we are so excited to meet him. We get to spend the day with
him and meet his family in My Fathers House #2 in Chongwe. What a blessing and a privilege to be with him. Blessings to you all, Shann and Les
him and meet his family in My Fathers House #2 in Chongwe. What a blessing and a privilege to be with him. Blessings to you all, Shann and Les
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM LIFT OFF - AN 18 HOUR FLIGHT!!!!
Teleconference changed to tonight, July 17th Our daughter, Holly, read from "Valley of Vision". Sovereign God, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart, and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns, Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice, for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire. I adore thee that thou art God, and long that others should know it, feel it, and rejoice in it. O that all men might love and praise thee, that thou mightest have all glory from the intelligent world! Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name! To the eye of reason everything respecting the conversion of others is as dark as midnight, But thou canst accomplish great things, the cause is thine, and it is to thy glory that men should be saved. Lord, use me as thou wilt, but, O, promote they cause, let thy kingdom come, let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus! let me see that glorious day, and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;let me be willing to die to the end and while I live let me labour for thee to the utmost of my strength, spending time profitably in his work, both in health and in weakness. It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own. O , answer, thou my request.!
Will talked about Matthew 11;25-30, this is a message on rest for the weary and that in preparation for this mission trip we should rest at Jesus's feet. There are many things that can stress us when it is just two weeks away from leaving on such an important mission. Jesus invites us to come rest in him. Jesus said, " father you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children for this was your good pleasure. We must be like children as humble followers of Jesus.
We reviewed the AfricaTrek Code of Honor which we were to sign. We were also given good tips for traveling the long distance such as making sure to hydrate ourselves often and get plenty of rest.We received song sheets of African songs which we will be singing with the children. I recognize some as my Saili, youngest granddaughter, taught the first one to us. She has quite the memory for a 6 year old.
We were told we needed to have clean bills newer than 2,000 in Africa. Travelers Checks are not allowed. When trading, we are to barter and pay no more than 20% of asking price and then give items to them after that we brought along such a pencils and sharpeners, little flash lights. Our culture walk in the morning on Saturday will include our interpreter going with us. In the afternoon we will have a field day with My Fathers House Children. Will and Holly collected 150 kites for the children and there will be kite flying on that day. What fun!!!!
We were also told no cameras Monday thru Thursday but Friday we can. We were also told that we could not wear watches or sunglasses when we are with the children. If they cannot see our eyes, they get fearful. Wearing watch signifys American - always worrying about the time.
We are staying at The Abundant Life Guesthouse - part of a church in Lusaka. 180 Roan Road, Lusaka,
Again, the focus is on their needs and not ours. We are there to serve!!!
Monday, 16 July 2012
It is July 16th
Update on our need for bibles and blankets - the Lord has provided thru wonderful people like you enough bibles now and almost enough blankets - we are getting close to having enough blankets to keep these children warm at night. Thank you, thank you ---
So far, in preparation now I have made 150 book marks for their bibles, some for the translators and team members and mamas and I have memorized the scriptures the children are expected to learn - teachers should be expected to do what the children are asked to do, right? I have gone through the lesson plans and written a few devotionals and my testimony. I have purchased candy for the kids and Les and I are each packing 6 bibles in each suitcase - paying extra to bring two a piece - for a total of 24 bibles. We found a website where you can purchase in bulk - 24 to a case and so there were enough people to do that and we had all we needed in a short time. We purchased compression bags so we can get as much in the suitcase as possible for these kids. We are bringing stickers, craft items and lots of kleenex for us at night. I believe after reading the lesson plans once again, I see that we need prayers for dealing with leaving these children - at the end we wash each ones feet just as Jesus washed his disciples feet and they will know that we will always be a part of them and that Jesus is with them always. More in a few days as our next teleconference is this Wednesday.
Thank you angels on earth, again, for all your prayers and donations.
Update on our need for bibles and blankets - the Lord has provided thru wonderful people like you enough bibles now and almost enough blankets - we are getting close to having enough blankets to keep these children warm at night. Thank you, thank you ---
So far, in preparation now I have made 150 book marks for their bibles, some for the translators and team members and mamas and I have memorized the scriptures the children are expected to learn - teachers should be expected to do what the children are asked to do, right? I have gone through the lesson plans and written a few devotionals and my testimony. I have purchased candy for the kids and Les and I are each packing 6 bibles in each suitcase - paying extra to bring two a piece - for a total of 24 bibles. We found a website where you can purchase in bulk - 24 to a case and so there were enough people to do that and we had all we needed in a short time. We purchased compression bags so we can get as much in the suitcase as possible for these kids. We are bringing stickers, craft items and lots of kleenex for us at night. I believe after reading the lesson plans once again, I see that we need prayers for dealing with leaving these children - at the end we wash each ones feet just as Jesus washed his disciples feet and they will know that we will always be a part of them and that Jesus is with them always. More in a few days as our next teleconference is this Wednesday.
Thank you angels on earth, again, for all your prayers and donations.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
26 DAYS TO LIFT OFF!!!
Its July 4th . Our last teleconference was June 27th and I forgot to blog. Now my notes don't make sense. See - this is a lesson for all you bloggers - get your notes posted right away while thoughts are fresh in your mind. Yes, you heard it right!! Our daughter Holly and her husband Will are the team leaders for our August group. We parents will be taking direction from our children. How quickly the tables turn. Will opened our conference with a prayer and devotional on James 1 :19-27 about listening to the Lord God and doing. Living out our faith, to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. To listen what the Word says and then do it, live it out. Will referred to a book , Missionary Methods which sounds like a book I will want to find and read.
Since we are the last group into the camp for the year they have run out of a few things for the children so THIS IS AN URGENT REQUEST - blankets at $5 each for 150, bibles for 150. We have 26 days to get all of this. We found a website that ships NIV bibles in bulk at $2.67 each - 24 in a case. We also have an area in Zambia where we can purchase the blankets for the children at $5 each. So, if your heart leads you to help make a check out asap to Every Orphans Hope and designate for August team and what it is for. You can also put our short term missionary names also in the memo but be sure to say what the money is for. Les and I have already purchased a case of bibles (24) and it ends up to be $65. We must carry them in our suitcases as we cannot ship to this third world country. We are told we would never see our shipment but do not have that confirmed. We have all made this huge commitment and now we are praying that God would open a few doors to get us these very important items to make it worth our commitment to go. .
We have been busy memorizing scripture - 8 verses to be exact. It get harder to memorize the older one gets but it is coming slowly but surely. We have received our lesson plans for the week and have been busy studying them. We were told to make another copy for our translator which we have done and have been busy getting gifts ready to give to our translator, our sponsored child and his mama, our leaders. Shann has also been busy making 150 book marks for the children and some for the translators.
We received our packing list and then another revised one from Will and Holly with very helpful ideas.
It is interesting to note that we need compression bags to pack clothes and we need to spray them down with permethrin to element getting malaria before we pack them in our suitcase.. We need to take the cardboard rolls out of toilet paper , compress them and put them all around our suitcase because we will need it in areas we go to. We were told to pack pens, tooth brushes, granola bars, etc. to use to trade at the market place and also snacks for the 13 days in mission as the food they will give us is good but we will need extra during the day to keep our strength up. We were also asked to prepare two 5 minute devotionals to present to our team to help out with our morning and evening devotionals for the team.
During our teleconference we were given websites to view. One was about leading children to Christ. It was about "Can a young child understand the meaning of salvation?" It said we are misled into thinking that a child must "understand" rather than "believe" the message of salvation. Where does it say in the bible that we must "understand" in order to be saved? It does say, however, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." Salvation is Gods gift to us and children accept gifts much quicker than adults do. Children never wonder what it is they need to do to earn it. This information was very encouraging to us who will only have a week to present this to our group of children.
Our amazing Cheryl Greif shared a story about a child named Grace whom she refers to as Amazing Grace and every time she sings that song she thinks of her. Her message to us was we plant the seed, Jesus is the harvest. We are to pray for the child's heart to be open. That circumstances will come again that triggers memory of the seed we planted. We are just to be the Lords instrument. This was helpful to us especially if some of our children choose not to receive Christ during our week.
We were told to start a prayer journal for ourselves and others and to reread them later and thank God for those that are answered and recommit to prayers that are ongoing. We are to record words of encouragement, a vision or prophecy from someone else and to reread them to see how God is moving in my life and those around me. Reflect on bible verses.
We are to pray for our interns that have gone ahead of us to prepare - Christina Cates, Elise Rowsell, Kate Colwill, Shelbie Ney, and Michelle and Jake Jackson. Michelle is our director of sponsorships.
Our next teleconference is July 17th. Please keep us in your prayers. Blessings Shann and Les
Since we are the last group into the camp for the year they have run out of a few things for the children so THIS IS AN URGENT REQUEST - blankets at $5 each for 150, bibles for 150. We have 26 days to get all of this. We found a website that ships NIV bibles in bulk at $2.67 each - 24 in a case. We also have an area in Zambia where we can purchase the blankets for the children at $5 each. So, if your heart leads you to help make a check out asap to Every Orphans Hope and designate for August team and what it is for. You can also put our short term missionary names also in the memo but be sure to say what the money is for. Les and I have already purchased a case of bibles (24) and it ends up to be $65. We must carry them in our suitcases as we cannot ship to this third world country. We are told we would never see our shipment but do not have that confirmed. We have all made this huge commitment and now we are praying that God would open a few doors to get us these very important items to make it worth our commitment to go. .
We have been busy memorizing scripture - 8 verses to be exact. It get harder to memorize the older one gets but it is coming slowly but surely. We have received our lesson plans for the week and have been busy studying them. We were told to make another copy for our translator which we have done and have been busy getting gifts ready to give to our translator, our sponsored child and his mama, our leaders. Shann has also been busy making 150 book marks for the children and some for the translators.
We received our packing list and then another revised one from Will and Holly with very helpful ideas.
It is interesting to note that we need compression bags to pack clothes and we need to spray them down with permethrin to element getting malaria before we pack them in our suitcase.. We need to take the cardboard rolls out of toilet paper , compress them and put them all around our suitcase because we will need it in areas we go to. We were told to pack pens, tooth brushes, granola bars, etc. to use to trade at the market place and also snacks for the 13 days in mission as the food they will give us is good but we will need extra during the day to keep our strength up. We were also asked to prepare two 5 minute devotionals to present to our team to help out with our morning and evening devotionals for the team.
During our teleconference we were given websites to view. One was about leading children to Christ. It was about "Can a young child understand the meaning of salvation?" It said we are misled into thinking that a child must "understand" rather than "believe" the message of salvation. Where does it say in the bible that we must "understand" in order to be saved? It does say, however, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." Salvation is Gods gift to us and children accept gifts much quicker than adults do. Children never wonder what it is they need to do to earn it. This information was very encouraging to us who will only have a week to present this to our group of children.
Our amazing Cheryl Greif shared a story about a child named Grace whom she refers to as Amazing Grace and every time she sings that song she thinks of her. Her message to us was we plant the seed, Jesus is the harvest. We are to pray for the child's heart to be open. That circumstances will come again that triggers memory of the seed we planted. We are just to be the Lords instrument. This was helpful to us especially if some of our children choose not to receive Christ during our week.
We were told to start a prayer journal for ourselves and others and to reread them later and thank God for those that are answered and recommit to prayers that are ongoing. We are to record words of encouragement, a vision or prophecy from someone else and to reread them to see how God is moving in my life and those around me. Reflect on bible verses.
We are to pray for our interns that have gone ahead of us to prepare - Christina Cates, Elise Rowsell, Kate Colwill, Shelbie Ney, and Michelle and Jake Jackson. Michelle is our director of sponsorships.
Our next teleconference is July 17th. Please keep us in your prayers. Blessings Shann and Les
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