Team is home!

The team is back in Wooster!

I praise God for their safe return. May God help them adjust to our time zone and to work through the culture shock of what has happened while they were away.

Please keep them in prayer for the next week as they recalibrate their lives to life back home. It's not easy to encounter a BIG world, to expand your vision, and then to resume life as it was. Life will be different now. May the Lord be praised with their new commitments to develop into fully devoted followers of Christ.

A couple comments/and pictures from FB from the team:

"Back home safe and sound, praise God for such an awesome opportunity and great time with the 2012 Team Hope Asia Trip! Missing my new friends in Cambodia & Thailand... ready to sleep in my nice warm bed =)  Thank you for all who prayed for me on my trip it was greatly appreciated! The Lord was able to do many awesome things threw our team (Carlin Tiano)."

"Great, not only am i in cleveland with sandals on and it's snowing, I just realized i left my jacket in Korea (RAD)."

Steve Knight changed his profile picture.

[Guest Post] Melissa shares about our time with the school children

Waiting for the bus

What an experience our family has had. Two days ago we learned again how schedules are different in the DR.  We took a 20 minute walk to meet the bus again. This time we walked in the daylight.  We praise God for our family as they greeted every Dominican passing-by with a smile and an "hola."

We arrived at the bus stop "on-time." The target time was 3pm. We arrived at 2:59pm.

We waited.

We waited.

We waited.

Getting on bus

A good lesson in patience emerged because we waited for over an hour before the bus arrived.

Excitement and nervousness stirred in our kids--uneasy about the unknown. We arrived at the school. The schoolyard was filled with children dressed in blue & white uniforms. The sheer numbers of students amazed us.  Six years ago only 40 students attended. Today almost 600 students attend in two sessions--morning and afternoon.  The wealthy Dominicans and nationals pay for their kids to go to school in the morning session. Then in the afternoon session the poor families especially the Haitian children go to school for free.

Johanna, the Principal

The principal Johanna gave us a tour of the school and we interacted with the students during on of their recesses.  The girls painted fingernails and faces. The boys played a pickup game of basketball.  Our children showed brave hearts as they tried to communicate with the students.

The most stretching experience was the bus ride after school. Imagine 90 kids plus 12 US Citizens packed into a 66 passenger bus. The afternoon session had Dominican and Haitian children to take home.  So we felt  surrounded. The school children wanted attention and love, so they crowded closer and closer--pushing each other out of the way to touch us. Of course, our children were overwhelmed.  Personal space is different here in the DR.

Our family was taken-aback by the visible poverty and odorous filth as we dropped children off at their homes. But there was hope.  On each child's face hope shines through. Praise God for this school's dedication and love for the children who attend the school. We look forward to spend more time with them and possibly sponsor one of the children as a family.

Thanks for your prayers. We leave in four hours for the airport. We are scheduled to arrive at 10:30pm tonight. Adios!

"Catch a Wave...And your out of your comfort zone"

Missions trips s-t-r-e-t-c-h you.

Every day we have experienced new things: new foods, new schedules, and new activities.

The Dominican Republic is on the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The country is surrounded by water. I am a Navajo and our traditional lands is surrounded by four sacred mountains on high desert plateaus.  So it is a stretch to engage the water as one who's ancestors engaged the desert.

So when my bro-in-law Jeff asked us to go out-of-our comfort zone and go surfing. Part of me was excited for the new adventure. And the other part of me was a bit uneasy.

However, our family has been on a quest from the first day of 2011. On Jan 1, 2001 we jumped in the iced-over Winona Lake with other "polar bears" to declare that we would go beyond our comfort zones this year.

Rafi & Gustavo of Macao Surf Camp

Our family took another step out-of-our-comfort zones. Each child had fears. But each one overcame them. We praise God for new Christian friends from the Macao Surf Camp--Rafael & Gustavo. They minister to Dominican youth by training them to be surfing instructors. Each youth has dropped out of school in junior high because high school demands extra money to pay for transportation. Please check out their fb page and pray for their upcoming Christian Surf Camp in October. 

My favorite story is Carissa. Her countenance had traces of tears forming in her precious little eyes. But she cautiously listened to the instructors, followed her personal trainer's directions, and after two wipeouts, rode her first wave onto the beach. I was so proud of her. The smile that glowed from the beach out to me was priceless. 

So when you take your missions trip with your family. Take the lead. Experience new things. Then debrief with them to instill confidence in the Lord and to guide them as they experience challenging obstacles.

[PHOTOS] Family missions trip to DR

Some pics of our journey so far to the Dominican Republic (DR).

Old part of airport as you enter

Paperwork to enter the country

Roads in Punta Cana

Bus ride to church

10:30pm Post service farewells

Melissa thanks Robinson our translator

Update from Jim & Stephanie in Haiti

Bonswa!
We are doing well. Internet wasn't good for most of our trip. They got a new router today. :) Facebook on my phone seems to work the best....but that depends too on connectivity.

We have been encouraged by what we have seen and our discussions with Greg. Barshaw of Connect2Ministries in Haiti.  So much to do here!

We thank everyone for their prayers. The tropical storm Emily disipated, but much prayer still needed for all those in the tent cities!!! Yet CNN shares that TS Emily has been downgraded to a tropical depression. All watches and warnings have been canceled (@cnnlive).

We saw a couple churches in Cap Haitian and an orphanage. We already saw three churches in PAP and two orphanages. We were to see three more churches today, but postponed because of the weather. Please pray we can do this tomorrow (Fri Aug 5). 

Blessings!

From Connect2Ministries

Sunday, July 31 with the Harley's in Thailand

Sharing in worship @ Asia's Hope Doi Soket

Sunday was another great day, very busy, but wonderful. We started out the day at church with the Asia's Hope kids here in Doi Saket. Nathan, Zac and Val had spent last evening practicing with the worship team.  Nathan and Zac were invited to play guitar and drums with them. Then Val joined the boys along with David, Tutu's son (on keyboard), for special music.

The G.R.O.W. family

As soon as we returned from lunch, Faa picked us up to spend a couple more hours with the GROW kids.  On Sunday, the kids all take their Thirty-One bags with their names on them to church.  Two of the new girls didn't have their own bag yet; because the rest of the kids received their bags before the new girls arrived in the home.  So Faa explained that to them when the new girls asked, "why don't I have a bag with my name on it."  Then we showed up with their bags.  They were so excited. Thank you Sarah!  We played "hillbilly golf", soccer, water balloons and and bean bag toss.  Lots of smiles, lots of fun!

For Sunday evening worship, we went to the college ladies Bible Study group.  I should mention that it started raining before we arrived.  They meet under an aluminum roof.  And it rained hard.  So we had to sing really loud to even hear each other.  Then the gal leading the group had to almost yell for anyone to hear. 

Tim sharing with Mike translating

After several worship songs and a song by our kids, Tim and I had the opportunity to share with the ladies.  I felt God putting on my heart to share that even though there are many languages, there are two voices, the voice of lies and the voice of Truth. I shared examples from the Bible of Timothy who was told he was too young, of Esther who was only a woman, and the woman at the well who had a sinful and shameful past.  Then I talked about what the voice of Truth has to say.  Paul tells Timothy to not let anyone look down on his youth but to be an example.   Esther ended up saving her people. Jesus talked to the woman at the well and she ended up telling everyone in her village about Jesus and many came to Christ. I shared other things the voice of Truth says as well as how do we hear the voice of Truth when the voice of lies is also talking to us.  I wanted to both challenge and encourage these women.  I told them that one day I want to hear stories of how God has used them for His kingdom. Tim shared about how God was preparing each one of them for what He has for them to do.

Still raining, we took a covered river boat ride and spent some and more time with Tutu, her son, David, and Pastor Mike who helps Asia's Hope here in Thailand.  He was also our translator for their Bible study.

We head out to the airport Monday to take Faa on a little vacation for a couple of days in Pucket.  She will be coming to the States soon and she will be working very hard.  She works very hard here too, so we wanted to minister to her by letting her get away and relax for a few days.  Then on Thursday, we will begin our journey home, arriving Saturday afternoon.

I will try to make one more entry or so before we leave though!  Thanks to everyone following us and praying for us.  Pray for luggage issues we may have at the airport today and when we leave Bangkok.  We are praying that we can get our luggage checked all the way to Ohio even though we have separate tickets.  This would save us a lot of money we would have to pay for luggage fees once we get to the States. Please pray!!!!

Love you all, Jeana

Crazy faces

Jeana shares her heart

Pa & Ami receive their bags

Harley's visit Grace Place Thailand & G.R.O.W.

Thailand Greetings

Hey Everybody.  Wow, we had a great time with the kids this week. We headed up to Grace Place: Thailand on Thursday.  We spent the afternoon and evening playing with the kids and having a great time.  They greeted us as we pulled up.  They were all in a line waving American flags.  They are so cute.

Lots of hugs awaited us and we were happy to give those out to each child over and over again. One of the first things we did after arriving was go over to Tutu's parents' house to see the pig that they just slaughtered for our dinner.  As we watched them weigh each piece, Val commented that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.  Yes, we are so far removed from this type of lifestyle where we need to kill our own food.  But it is still a reality here. Don't worry, I didn't include any pictures of that.

On Friday, Faa joined us to take us to her village.  This trip was such a joy as we had the opportunity to get to know her more by seeing where she grew up and how she lived and what she overcame.  Here sister -in-law prepared us an Akha lunch.  We had to laugh though because there were several dishes that she didn't know the English word for, so she just called it a green vegetable.  There were several of those! You know, same same but different. Same green color, different plant. She then took us around her village, to her church, to where her parents are buried, to the land she bought to eventually build a place where she can come and bring the children to see their parents. We also saw the Christian orphanage where she went to live after her mother died. Then we took a hike up into the "Unseen Thailand" to a beautiful waterfall.  It was a very hot hike, but the mist off of the waterfall was delightful.

Worshipping God with all you got

On that night was spent in worship with our kids at Grace Place.  Nathan played guitar for the kids.  Then after worship, Zac had all the boys get up with him and imitate some crazy funny dance moves to some really fun music.  They girls laughed and laughed, and the boys had so much fun.  Then it was Val and the girls' turn.  She had some other fun dance moves that the girls followed.  Ok, they will never forget us now. We shared  a few words with the kids, brought greetings from all of their sponsors, then headed for bed.

The next morning, we headed out to be the kids as early as we could.  They were already waiting for us.  We played for awhile, teaching them some new games we brought.  Then we gave everyone small gifts.  They were so excited.  Then we filled some water balloons and the kids had their first ever water balloon fight.  We also took turns dumping buckets of water on them which was just as fun.  They loved it!

I am including a picture of Sutinun for the Roselers with a gift they sent, one for the Chapmans of Kanyarat (she loved her dress), and one of Wi-lia for Pastor Bob and Roxanne with the jewelry they sent.  Thanks to everyone from the kids.

"Ready, set, go!.."

Soaked after water fun

Kanyarat

Sutinun

Wi-la

With Sutida

Wiang Pa Pao Water System Install

More pictures from the Harley's in Thailand

Contrast of darkness & Light in Cambodia

Internet wasn't working last night, so tonight I am writing for two days.  Yesterday we visited Angkor Wat which is a large complex of ancient temples and cities.  This helped us to understand a little more about the religion of many people here.  I am including a picture that sums up our thoughts on this day.  Here you see a tree's roots clutching the temple rocks. These are everywhere.  It reminds me of how the Evil one takes people into his clutches, destroying lives, and not letting go.  This is what I saw with people bowing down before stone statues.  Satan has them in his clutches for sure. We even saw an elderly couple with a flashlight searching in a dark part of the temple looking for a water well that supposedly contains holy water that will heal them.  They dipped a bucket into the dark well and pulled out the water placing their hope in that. Very sad.

 

Today was a much brighter day!  The day we have been waiting for.  The day we get to go to Grace Place and see the kids.  Vannak surprised us when we arrived at the hotel with about 25 of the kids there to greet us.  That was so awesome to have them there hugging us already.  After spending some time with them, they returned for lunch and we checked into our hotel.

 

After lunch, we met Pheakdey and headed out to visit some children that GROW is looking to bring into a new GROW home in Cambodia.  We had to walk quite a way due to the rain making the roads bad then down a bike path to meet the three children.  They are living with their aunt and uncle and their two kids on $3 a day.  The children do not have enough to eat and are in desperate need of being cared for.

 

We then traveled to Grace Place. Wow what fun we had.  Nathan played guitar while Zac drummed out a beat on the chair and Val sang, we played snakes and ladders which we brought (a big hit), we ate dinner with them, and danced.  Zac spent about an hour with Nga imitating everything she said in Khmer.  Most of the kids gathered around and laughed at the scene. It then went to mimicking motions and soon broke out into dance. Volleyball, soccer and lots and lots of hugs rounds out the list of things we did with the kids.  We were exhausted when we left tonight.

 

Hope all is going well at home.  We miss everyone, but couldn't't be happier than to be at Grace Place.

 

Mealtime at Grace Place Battambang

 

Sharing with our kids at Grace Place Battambang

 

 

Our Kids!

 

 

Zac trying to repeat Khmer words to everyone's laughter

 

Surprised by Vannak & kids at TEO Hotel

 

Orphan Children to Rescue

 

 

Road to Village

 

Angkor Wat