Short Term Missions Trip to Alabama

NEWS

Tornado Southern US Relief: Informational Meeting to send a team to Alabama to help in the relief efforts. Please join Pastor Daron @ Wooster Grace 4599 Burbank Rd Wooster, OH.  We will gather in Room 425 on Sun May 29 at 12:15pm. More information to be added later.  Pass the Word!

In his own words: Wooster Motor Ways truck driver helps those in need

This is a first-hand account from the Wooster Motor Ways truck driver re: delivering aid to the Christian Service Mission in Birmingham, AL. We praise God for Wooster Motor Ways help.

Hi Pastor,

I am the Wooster Motor Ways driver that picked up the trailer Monday for Birmingham, AL. I just wanted to let you know that all went well.

The Christian Service Mission was a busy place. It was so busy that Birmingham Police were actually there to help direct traffic.

Truck & Trailer arrived 7pm Tue May 10

I had 6 or so volunteers helping me unload my truck. Those helping me were as far away as South Bend, IN helping on a missions trip. Volunteers were helping from everywhere, it was quite an amazing sight to see.

I do not remember the names of the people that I talked to when I got there, but they were very happy to get this, and amazed at how much there was on the truck. Several of the volunteers were amazed as well. Everything was much appreciated, and well needed.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this. At one time I was the youth leader at my Church, we went on trips every three years, we did a lot of service projects, it was an amazing feeling to help someone in need.

  

Sincerely,

Trucker Driver Brad

28,000 Pounds of Generosity

On Wednesday, April 27th, Pastor Bob Fetterhoff e-mailed me about ideas to encourage people to respond to the disaster in the South. I came out with six or more specific responses. I didn’t realize then that I was actually making up a “to-do” list (for myself!). On Thursday Pastor Bob came into my office and told me that he was going to mention all those ideas in the sermon and put some of them on the response card.

On Sunday, May 1, Pastors Bob and Steve preached and many people responded. Several indicated they were interested in helping. Someone told me they were willing to help us put a drive together. Another person had a contact with the owner of Wooster Motor Ways (WMW) and he offered a trailer, truck and a driver to take stuff down, provided we could contribute to help pay for the fuel on the way there.

On Tuesday, May 3, I made a decision to go ahead with the drive, during lunch, with much encouragement from Pastor Bob, as enjoyed some Chipotle’s food. The moment I said, “Yes, let’s do it,” I realized I shouldn’t have said it – my assistant was getting ready to leave town, the Outreach Coordinator was out of town, and we were getting ready for “Second Saturdays.” What was I thinking?

I called our contact to WMW and he spoke to his friend there. I immediately put together a list of potential volunteers and critical tasks that needed to be accomplished. I had to make sure that we had a connection in Alabama, a trailer on the church parking lot the next day, enough volunteers to receive, sort, pack and load the stuff into the truck, and a myriad of other small and big tasks. I spent quite a bit of time phoning people that day and “phoning” the Almighty. He was easier to get a hold of…

On Wednesday morning, May 4th, I set up the the little white tent, with the help of Sarah Martin, who owned the tent and was kind enough to let us borrow it. It was a heavy duty tent that is set up and supported by heavy weights. That same afternoon the trailer was brought and parked on our parking lot. By now we had changed the church sign, ordered a huge banner, designed by Sorg Sign, advertised all over Facebook, the website, via press release to the media and even radio stations in the area. On Friday morning I actually did a live interview on the radio.

On Thursday, May 5th, Craig Winey showed up to volunteer and brought a brand new chain saw. He said that when the owner of Smith Dairy heard about what we were doing, not only did he authorize for a flyer to be made and circulated around the company, he also gave Craig a credit card and told him to go a buy a new chainsaw to send along. That piece of equipment alone was over $300.00.

By Friday, May 6th, the donated items began to trickle in but by Friday afternoon one gush of strong winds toppled and broke our tent. That was bad news not only because we would have to replace it but also because they were calling for rain over the weekend. Well, contrary to prediction, that was the last time through the remainder of the weekend that it rained. We were kept dry through the end of the project, except, maybe, for a few sprinkles on Saturday afternoon...

At the end of that day Tim Thorpe gave me a total for the money which had been specifically donated for the relief fund so far and on that same night Tim and Jeana Harley and their family went shopping at Sam’s Club. They made quite an impression on the clerks at the store. The main lady helping them said that it was the largest order she ever processed. They spent over $3,700.00 that night, primarily on baby diapers, wipes, food, formula, various juices and paper goods. Harley Drilling also made a generous contribution toward the purchases that night.

On Saturday, May 7th, Rob Miller showed up with a huge Smith Dairy trailer filled with 1,920 gallons of water, and he helped us load it onto the WMW trailer. The money for the water was provided by the InterAct and the Fidelis ABF’s.

I was by the trailer most of the day on Saturday but very thankful for the volunteers who came. We had a grill going and offered free burgers and hot dogs to people who brought stuff. It was wonderful to serve those who were serving and even "Pontius Pilate" showed up to help!

On Sunday, May 8th, I was in church by 7:00 a.m. Prayer meeting at 7:30 and a meeting with visiting missionaries, Rob and Nicole Plaster, just opened the door of what ended up being a memorable day. Steve Crisafully showed up to volunteer at 8:00. He was supposed to help until 10:00 but he ended up staying until 7:30 p.m., mostly inside the truck loading boxes.

Steve's wife, Nancy, came around noon with pizza and coffee, then she joined the crew and worked until the end. At one point, as I was thanking her for helping and letting her husband stay for the whole day on Mother’s Day, she said, “Oh no, this was the best Mother’s Day of my whole life.”

Nancy helped Jeana shop for goods at Wal-Mart and a couple of other stores in town. Yes, people came to the trailer area and handed me checks. Based on that I gave Jeana the green light to spend another $1,500.00, which she did, again with the help of the younger member of her household, Zac, who stayed with her through the end and did a great job. And though the size of the bill on the picture is substantial, this is not really the whole story. This here is the size of the bill, 40 feet and all between Wal-Mart and Sam's Club...

The preaching on Sunday morning got a lot of people motivated to donate. Some people actually stopped by on their way out of the church either to give a check or ask what we still needed and how long we were planning to be there. Some made two trips to the store because they wanted us to fill the trailer as much as possible.

One lady went back home and brought back several teddy bears, which we packed with much care in one box. A couple of ladies from the Smithville Brethren Church brought about 25 new blankets they make as part of their ministry in the church. They were nice, large, warm, and comfortable handmade blankets. They said, “We decided we wanted to share some with those in need.”

As we sat by the trailer waiting for the ladies to finish shopping, Bruce Imhoff called his boss at Wayne Health and somehow got them to donate a trailer full of stuff – wheel chairs, walkers, canes, mattresses, adult pads, etc. We gladly helped him unload that stuff and put it inside the trailer.

On Monday I called the owner of Wooster Motor Ways and he sent a driver over who picked up the trailer. Pastor Matt Carter and I stood around the driver and prayed for him and for the load to be delivered safely and to be a source of encouragement to many people. Then we watched the truck slowly leave the parking lot and hit 83 heading south, carrying 28,000 pounds of generosity.

What a blessing to see all of this come together in such a short period of time. Let’s pray that each item finds a need family, a lonely child, a grieving mother, and brings them some relief, at least for a while in this time of tremendous sadness in their lives. I go to sleep tonight knowing that Jesus approves of this. Thank you all 30 plus volunteers who made this a huge success. May God reward you for your efforts.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
Associate Pastor of Outreach
itrindade@woostergrace.org
PS.: As I finished writing this. I received a nice e-mail from the driver saying that all of our stuff was delivered safely to a very good Christian ministry which is doing an outstanding work helping people affected by this disaster. He was very impressed by the operation and people expressed their thankfulness and amazement at how much we had sent. More on this later.

Txs Buckeye Container for boxes & Sorg Signs for pick up ... on Twitpic

Txs Buckeye Container for boxes & Sorg Signs for pick up ... on Twitpic
"Many hands make light work"
We thank Paul Williams of Wooster Motor Ways for donating trailer, tractor, and driver to transport relief items to Tuscaloosa, AL. Likewise, we appreciate Buckeye Container for donating boxes to fill with relief items. In addition, we are grateful for Sorg Signs for loading up boxes and getting them to the Wooster Grace parking lot; Dave Sorg also made the huge banner out on US 83.

Find the list of items here. Bring donations to the corner of US 83 & Smithville-Western Rd, North of Wooster.

Wooster, Ohio will do its part in tornado relief

Hello everyone,

Wooster Motor Ways helps out

We are scrambling to put together a relief drive here at our church. The relief drive starts today Wed May 4 at 1:00 p.m. and is scheduled to end on Sun May 8 at 1:00 p.m so we can ship a load of items to help families in the Southern States. Thanks to Wooster Motor Ways for being willing to donate a tractor & trailer to transport relief supplies (see list below). 

Juana is putting together a schedule for people to volunteer to be in the tent area for two hour shift starting today.  If you would be so kind as to help us, we would appreciate it very much. Look at the schedule on the office board and/or contact Juana if you have questions (330) 264-9459 x246.

For your information, here is the list of "approved" items you can donate

Items Needed

• Gatorade
• Juice (packaged)
• Toiletries (teeth care, deodorant, soaps, etc.)
• Toilet paper and paper towels
• Diapers and wipes
• Baby food / formula
• Packaged food for distribution (non-perishable, not expired)
• Tarps
• Rakes
• Shovels
• Chainsaws
• Other large yard tools
• Snack food
• Aluminum pans
• Serving trays
• Canned food (not expired)

So purchase and collect the items. Then bring them to the tent set up next to the Wooster Motor Ways trailer. If there is no one tending the tent, then please come to the church office to drop off your donations. Please note the church offices are open Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm.  The tent will have attendants over the weekend too. If you have questions please call Juana (330) 264-9459 x246.  Let's fill up the trailer to help families who live in the aftermath of the violent storms that ripped through the Southern USA. 

You can donate through Wooster Grace or online with Samaritan's Purse or Worldvision.  I have embedded a video from Franklin Graham showing the devastation so you can respond with thousands to help families recover.  

Wednesday

Clearing land for the pond

Well our last two days have been filled with work on the pond.  Nothing really exciting but digging as fast as we can because we all wanted to leave with the pond at least functioning.  We worked long hours both days to reach the point where the pond is ready to be filled by a small stream.  We faced challenges with some of the equipment but our team remained positive and did the best we could to keep the project moving forward.

Today was our last day of project work so we took time at the end of our day to say our good byes to the group of guys who we worked with from ICDI.  Through our translater we expressed our joy in serving along side of these men and their hard work to help us.  We also spent some time in prayer committing the work we accomplished together to God.  We also prayed for God's blessing on the continuing work both with the water well drilling compound as well as the agricultural work.  We prayed for the men and their families.

Pond is ready for next phase

It is wonderful to know that our partnership with ICDI will continue with the goal not only to provide for the physical needs of Central Africans but to tell them about the "Living Water" and the "Bread Of Life".  Spreading the love of Jesus is why we come all this way, sacrificing vacation time and time with family. While the projects we accomplished encouraged and inspired those working with us and observing us,  we want them to see Jesus in the way we live our lives. 

It is always hard to convey to you on the blog how God works in each one of us when we step out in faith and watch God do His projects through us, so I encourage you to ask us.  Please be patient with us however, it takes a while to process everything we have experienced but I can promise you each one of has seen God work during our short stay here in the CAR.

Tomorrow is a fun day so we will be visiting the orphan care center as well as touring Bangui.  We will begin packing and be ready to begin our journey back home Friday morning.  Please continue to pray for us and all of our flight to come.  We arrive in Cleveland around 2pm.

To God Be the Glory
Tim

Bloggers NOTE: the team got their flight canceled in Wash DC. No flights to Cleveland for two days. So team is driving home to OH from DC. Pray for safe travels. 

Wonderful birthday surprise: new shoes and a dress

Monday

Backhoe/Skidsteer Txs Tom Peters & Brent Hollinger

Today we went back to work just like all of you.  We continued our work at PK-22 by completing arrangement of the shipping containers in between a heavy rain storm.  Although we got wet the rain cooled everything down nicely.  We began a large project to construct a fish pond.  Normally in US we would have large digging equipment to accomplish this but here we must use what we have so we are using the backhoe and skid steer.  We hope to finish before we have to leave to come home. 


As we began our digging we attracted a crowd of observers.  One little girl was wearing a tattered dress that was so wore out that she had to hold it on.  She was very shy but Dale asked Nanga about this little girl.

She is an orphan. Both of her parents died. She is staying with her grandmother who has very little income.  Dale then asked Nanga if it was alright if he could buy her a dress and new shoes.

A birthday gift for you

Once Nanga approved, a couple of Africans went to town to buy some new clothes for this precious little girl.  When they returned, it was a very touching scene to watch the girl receive the clothes. She went into the weeds, out-of-sight, to change. When she emerged, a huge smile was on her face.  She probably has never received new clothes.

Dale then noticed an untreated wound on her leg.  He immediately went to get a first aid kit and treated her wound putting a band-aid on the treated wound.

Afterwards, Dale asked the girl, "When is your birthday?" She shyly replied, "April 12!"  How cool that God gave this girl a birthday present from Dale! This is a great story; definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Dale Imhoff & Piangba Florine

We discovered her name. Her name is Piangba Florine. So please pray for Piangba. Ask God to continually provide for her needs and maybe in His will we can have more interaction with her as we continue our work here.

In His Service,
Tim

 Please leave a comment on the blog to encourage the team or visit one of their facebook accounts to send them encouragement.

3000 words: 3 pictures from Africa that reflect our values

Please view three pictures of what the team is experiencing.  But most of all, consider how what they do reflects biblical values--values we seek to develop in everyone who attends our church (G.R.A.C.E.). I wonder if your actions everyday reflect biblical values.  

CONNECT: Build Relationships to establish Connection

ACT IN SERVICE: Eat "African Fast Food" to use as fuel for serving

EXALT: See God's creation to worship the Lord of Creation

Team blesses Africans with transportation and protein enrichment

PK-22: Saturday

Nanga in training

Today we had the opportunity to conduct training for Nanga and Kevin of ICDI to maintain and operate the backhoe and skid steer.

There are a lot of details to pass on but our goal is for the ICDI staff to continue the work with the equipment after we leave.  As with anything new, it will take them awhile to learn and feel comfortable.

They did a good job and Nanga said he did not want to stop because it was fun feeling powerful to dig and pull things with the big backhoe.  We enjoyed our time with all of the guys helping us.  After our training we continued the work on the arrangement of the shipping containers until it was time to head back for lunch.

This afternoon we did a couple fun things.  The first was to finish the long journey for a very special bicycle that has travelled with us from Ohio.  Rick, with the help of Bill Buckwalter, carried a bike through airport security check points, with the intention of giving the bike to Andre' who is the ICDI cook here in Bangui at the guest house.

Rick presents Andre with bike

So after lunch we put the bike back together and Rick presented Andre' with his bike.  A huge smile came over Andre' and he gave Rick a big hug.  Andre' said that saying thank you was not enough to express his greatfullness to Rick for this wonderful gift.

The next fun thing was to visit a farm which grows a crop called spiralina.  We got to tour the farm and see this production in action.

Bruce Imhoff, who came with me to the CAR last March, invested in this farm and they were excited to show us the dividends of that investment.  They had constructed a larger area for a spiralina pond and have cleared land for two more ponds that they hope to construct with the proceeds from their harvest from their farm.

Dale Imhoff with spirulina farmers

The spiralina has the highest concentration of protein in the world (70%).  This end product can have an awesome impact on the malnurishment probem.  In addition to the spiralina the farm also has fish ponds and banannas trees.  When the farmer found out Dale was Bruce's brother they could not contain their appreciation and did not stop thanking him.  It was great moment!  Thanks Bruce!!

We enjoyed Andre's pizza tonight for supper and we are going out to have some ice cream later

Thanks
Tim

Spirulina pool

What's on your menu for lunch? Roasted Snake?

PK-22: "Fry-Day"

PK-22: Photo courtesy of Tom Peters

Friday was our second full day at PK-22, we felt like we made good progress on our projects today.  While we waited for supplies for the skid steer loader, we began placing large shipping containers to be used as the shop area for the water well team. 

Backhoe moving containers at PK22

Shipping containers are not only for shipping supplies in from all over the world but they also serve as buildings and storage facilities for the work of ICDI.  We used the backhoe to move and arrange the containers. 

For lunch we went to a local restaurant which we had placed our order the day before.  Our meal consisted of chicken, cucumber salad, rice, gozo, and mango for dessert.  The food was actually pretty good and it gave Dale a chance to try the local delicacy of Gozo which has a unique local taste.  I encourage you to ask any of us who have eaten it before to tell you what it's like. Usually it's not a favorite for non-locals. :)

After lunch our supplies arrived for the skid steer so Dale and Rick worked to get the problems correctly.  Thankfully there efforts were successful and we finally were at full working capacity.

Dale and Rick worked on the plant nursery leveling dirt and making water diversion ditches.  I took the backhoe and began clearing a road back to where there is an abandoned building which Nanga hopes to build an office for PK-22. 

As part of my project I demolished what remained of the old building. Part way through my efforts I scooped up a funny looking tree branch which I quickly realized was a 6ft long poisonous snake.  Thankfully for me I was safe in the backhoe!  The snake retreated under some of the rubble I had just removed from the building.  John Hocking went and got a machete and then I moved the rubble to find the snake so we could make sure it did not cause any problems.  I can give more details later but I will just say the snake is dead.  One of the guys wanted to take a picture of the snake but the Africans working near us had already started cooking the snake.  They were excited that I had provided them a tasty meal.

FYI The temperature was 130 in the sun!! (At that temperature you can cook a pork loin in a rotisserie grill. Check out Ehow, step 4. Wow, that's hot! by Pastor Daron)

Thanks for your prayers
Tim

SEE what team did the night before departing the country (Picture post)

Night before leaving out of the country. Pizza in DC

PK22 is not just a Danish leather lounge chair

PK-22

PK22 Danish Lounge Chair

 Today was our first day to visit ICDI's new land called PK-22.  This land is under contract from the CAR government to ICDI to develop agricultural and development projects that will impact the people of the CAR. 

 It was our joy to receive the grand tour of the 360 acres from Nanga Kaye, ICDI's chief agronomist.  It does not take long to hear the excitement that Nanga has for the potential of this land.  The passion is infectuous and we are excited to join him in developing ICDI's fields of dreams.  Nanga was excited to show us all sides of the land which also helped us with our excercise program because we walked and walked and walked as Nanga shared his dream for each area of the land.

PK-22: Land provided by CAR government

Oh, did I mention it was around 100 degrees and very sunny!  It was hot but it was awesome to see  all the land has to offer.  Some of the dreams include: developing fields of corn, soybeans, peanuts, and other crops that will provide seeds for a seed bank as well food to eat.  Other plans are for an orchard with fruit trees.  Ponds to grow and harvest fish will also be dug too.  The new land will also provide another base camp for the water well drilling teams.  Shipping containers are already here and are going to be used to store equipment and much needed parts.  A tractor and farming equipment as well as a barn and well drilling equipment is on its way across the ocean from Ohio and will end up here at PK-22.

Our projects while we are here will involve clearing land for fields, helping with drainage, arranging and setting up shipping containers, diggings fish ponds and clearing paths making the land more accessible.

Nanga Kaye-ICDI Ag Director

After lunch we began some of our work with ICDI's backhoe and skid steer loader.  Our plan is to train the ICDI staff how to properly operate this equipment as well as use the equipment ourselves.  As our work began, we soon experienced working in Africa, that means things don't always work the way they should.  We spend most of the afternoon trying to fix the skid steer.  Rick and Dale did their best to diagnose the problems but with no success.  While they struggled with that I began to clear land with the backhoe at least it worked.  The land I worked on will be used as a plant nursery so it needs to be flat as well as protected from run off from heavy rains.

Thanks to a call to Jason Steiner of Lowe and Young farm equipment, we now have better ideas to diagnose and fix the skid steer tomorrow when we return to PK-22.

Another goal of ICDI is to be a blessing to the village that is next to PK-22 so today Tom Peters and Ted Rondeau of ICDI spent time talking to village leaders hoping begin building relationships.  We also stopped at a local restaurant to see about getting food for future days lunches. Not a fast food place but we hope to eat there tomorrow.  We put our order in today so it will be ready for lunch tomorrow.  We ordered two chickens, (yes whole chickens) cooked to order, rice, and drinks (#1combo meal).Smile!

Well, I will give you a food review for tomorrows blog entry so stay tuned.

Thanks for all of your prayers
Tim

Today in the CAR [guest post by Rick Ratzel]

PK22 land provided by CAR government

From facebook today (Thu Apr 7) "Today in the CAR..We walked around the new ICDI ag center land today checking out the 360 acres there.

(We) came back after lunch and started working on clearing land till the skidsteer shut down..Worked on it till it was time to leave,so yes I got dirty already.

Thankful for my leatherman cause tools are scarse..Should sleep good,it was hot today..Again,thanks for all your prayers,we sure appreciate them."

Please leave a comment for the team so that they can gain encouragement from your visit at the blog. 

Thanks to Pastor Tom Peters for the pictures of PK-22 from FB.  Pictured below are the tools Rick used for the day. These are the kind of things the team is working with in Bangui, CAR.  Please pray for their great health, physical stamina and rest, and godly relationships.

Skidsteer

 

 

 

 

Leatherman

 

Team arrives in Central Africa [Guest post by Tim Harley]

Bangui C.A.R. airport txs Wikipedia

Hey everyone, wanted to send a note to let you know we are here in Bangui, Central African Republic(CAR).  We arrived around 3pm local time which is 5 hours ahead of Ohio time.  We had around 24 hrs of flying time which took us from Cleveland to Washington DC to Addis Abbaba Ethiopia to Duala, Cameroon, to Bangui, C.A.R.  If you look at a globe you will realize we covered a lot of miles.

We are all tired but glad to be here, we are looking forward to getting started tomorrow morning on our main project which is called PK-22.  PK-22 is the kilometers from the center of Bangui.  By tomorrow, I will try to send pictures to post and offer more details regarding the projects and the people we will be working with.

Thank you for all of your prayers, all of our connections went well and all of our luggage arrived including a bicycle provided by Rick and prepared for shipping by Bill Buckwalter, Ride On in Wooster, OH. 

God Bless,

Tim

On to Central Africa [Guest Post by Tim Harley]

11am service-Wooster Grace commissions team

[Tim Harley will send updates on the team serving in Central Africa]

Our journey has begun!  We left Cleveland in route for Washington D.C. We have a lay over here with our next flight leaving Tuesday at 12pm for Ethiopia and then Bangui.  We will arrive at our final destination, Bangui, Central African Republic, on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30pm.  We will be six hours ahead of Ohio time. Tonight we had some time to share dinner together.
We have been joined by our ICDI team leader, John Hocking. We spent time sharing and getting to know each other.  We each shared about God's faithfulness in allowing us to be a part of this team.  We look forward to watching God work on behalf of our team to use us to impact those in the CAR.
My next communication will hopefully occur Wednesday night which will be the next time I will have access to the internet.

Thanks for all of your prayers!!

Tim Harley

9:45 Service Wooster Grace commissions team

The G.R.O.W. Kids Sing!

So one day early in the morning I showed up at the G.R.O.W. home and took the kids to school. I wish you could have been there to see the surprise look on the face of the kids as they started shouting to each other, "Adasala is here! Adasala is here." Note: "Adasala" is the name they gave me in Akha. It means something like "Father-Pastor." I felt so happy that day but my happiness trailed in comparison to their joy and excitement. It almost makes me cry when I think that for most of these kids it would have been the first time ever that "Daddy" took them to school. A moment they will probably never forget. I drove the truck with the small children in the cab (the older ones are very proud to ride on the back, with the cover and the benches we've provided for them).

The whole time from the G.R.O.W. home to the school they were singing worship songs. On the way back, I caught them singing this song about the time Jesus calmed the storm when he was out on the boat with the disciples. I thought to myself, "How fitting. These children are singing about Jesus keeping them safe from the storms of life." And that's what rescuing children is all about. No more fear of the evil person who comes like a bad storm in the middle of the night. No more pain from having an empty stomach. No more hopelessness. They are "home now." Sing on, children!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

No One Sings Like This...

One of the reasons I love going to Asia is that when I get there I witness some of the purest, unadulterated, "raw" kind of worship anywhere on this planet. And it appears to me that every time I come these children have ratchet up their volume, devotion, expression and overall experience by a couple of notches. They sing their hearts out, they are not embarrassed in the presence of strangers -- for them worship is a body and soul experience and they give themselves totally to it. You will see what I mean when you see the two clips below. FERVOR. That is the word that comes to mind. And I have to confess, the only other times when I have felt kind of like this free to worship, is when I am in Macapa, northern Brazil, worshipping with the folks in the church where I grew up, but even then it is not as on fire as when these children open their little diaphragms and let it loose. I can only imagine how God smiles broadly at these precious ones when they enter into His presence with songs. (By the way, see if you can pick out the word for "Jesus" repeated a couple of times in one of the videos).   

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org

Voices from Heaven 1

Yes, I close my eyes and keep hearing the sounds of beautiful voices. Then I wake up and I realize I am not in heaven but just dreaming about our children in SE Asia. Here I am going to try to post one of my favorite songs from Thailand, a traditional song that Christian children learn from the time they are little about the different things in nature that God created. I haven't heard other children singing it, but I am going to go out on a limb here to say that nobody on the entire planet can sing it as well as our children from Grace Place, Thailand. Enjoy it!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org

Post by Holly Clark

Blogger's Note: My apologies to Holly. I just saw this post in the edit file and realized it was never published. Well, I think it is still worth the read.

Hi everyone. This has been an incredible experience. Very emotional...every emotion. It hasn't been easy, but I can now see 1st hand the poverty and need in Cambodia. I shared with 132 children who live in a state run orphanage and the staff. Told them how much God cares about each and everyone of them. I asked if anyone had a Bible. Not 1 person had a bible. Not one. The conditions were filthy, rubble, dust, depressing like a concentration camp. I asked for the bathroom and the lady said she would take me to the "good bathroom." The good bathroom was the worst bathroom you have ever seen in USA. These kids are never touched by a loving parent, never asked how their day was, only fed and clothed and forced to live in these filthy conditions, yet they are beautiful. You look into their eyes and see beauty. Not one is forgotten by God, but unfortunately, they are forgotten by us. This is a labor of love...it's tough to see this...but it's reality and a wake up call for our "fat" lives in the USA. Don't take anything for granted, love your family, your friends and thank God that He sends teams of people to touch these childrens lives. Now I know that one person, really can make a difference. When a child throws their arms around you and calls you "mommy," and feels a loving physical touch, he/she will never forget that. Never!

Holly

And It Ends as It Started -- unpredictably!

Here I am on my last full night here in SE Asia and it is not the way I had planned it. I am sitting at the lobby of a hotel I had never stayed in, thinking about the events of the last few days. After the team left I made a visit to Faa's village and the town closest to it, where her dad had been hospitalized. I was supposed to go to a couple of other villages but it was not meant to be. Faa's dad passed away today and she, her sister Ning and several other family members (7 people and two dogs!) are already in the village for all the preparations for funeral and calling hours. This will be a whole community affair and the family looks up to these two young women, and especially to Faa, for guidance, decision making, and comfort.             

I met Faa's dad last year in his humble house. He served me a wonderful Akha meal of vegetables, rice, and some some chicken. I had a marvelous conversation with him, through Faa and her brother. We talked about Faa, how she was like when she was younger, and what she has been allowed to do. He told me one story that not even Faa knew in detail, a story about how God miraculously saved her from certain death (indeed, technically, it would have been a case of infanticide but I don't have time to go into that now).

When I asked Faa's dad whether he ever imagined she would travel the world one day, he said "no," and added that he was surprised at the very fact that she was alive, considering what almost happened to her. I will remember this man a lot, even though I only met him once.

Please pray for Faa and Ning as they minister to family members in the next days ahead.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org