our family life and God's blessings on us
Jenn just left on a week-long mission trip to New Orleans with her Wesley House Christian group from Stetson University. They just arrived in New Orleans early this morning until the 10th to help with Habitat for Humanity in rebuilding homes devastated by the hurricanes. Thank you for safety for the eighteen students, good health, and the ability to minister to families still struggling.
We hope to post pictures and a blog entry when she gets back home.
Bonnie is on her two-week mission trip to Brazil. We hope to post pictures and a blog entry when she gets back home.
Although this is Bonnie’s sixth mission trip (fourth international trip), this is her first time as a co-leader of a team. The team of eleven are from Ben and Bonnie’s church. The mission team will be visiting schools and holding events for children in association with Open Arms Brazil.
Most of the kids they will be working with come from broken homes or are orphans. The children often get involved in crime, drugs, and prostitution at an unthinkably young age. Pray that God would rescue them and they would give their lives to God (as many have in the past and are now working with Open Arms).
Pray that God would guide Bonnie and Joe (the other leader) and their decisions. Pray that the team would be unified, safe, and healthy. (Bonnie had a cold before she left.) Pray for safety in traveling and that God would prepare the hearts of the children they work with.
Thank you for praying for her.
NOTE: This photo is from a mission trip she took to Ethiopia in 2008.
Ben with Haitian kids
Guest Post from Ben about his mission trip to Haiti…
Thank you so much for keeping my team and me in your mind and in your prayers while we were in Haiti. The trip went very well, and God answered all our prayers. Only one person on the team was sick while we were in country, and then only for one day. Also, while the heat was intense at times, we had plenty of water and energy. We interacted and spent time with many children and adults, and passed out food and hygiene kits at several locations. In addition, we had enough energy to assist the missionaries we were staying with by removing rubble from the earthquake so they could complete the re-building of the walls around the compound.
Ben distributing hygiene kits
A typical day in Haiti begins with the sunrise, or just before it, when the birds begin calling. After breakfast, we would go to a “tent city” (an area of people living in tents because their homes were destroyed). The children gathered to watch us sing to them, enact stories from the Bible, and teach us some songs. We played games with them, gave them piggy-back rides, and kicked soccer balls around. After we passed out lunch to the kids, we went back to the missionary compound we were staying at (the missionaries we were working with were David and Beth Watters, who work for World Hope International). Some days we helped them out by clearing rubble so they could finish rebuilding the wall around the compound for security.
The children loved this re-enactment of David and Goliath
Other days, children from the nearby fishing village came over to play with us. Many of the children we saw were under-nourished or worse, but they all had a great deal of joy, even in the midst of destruction and poverty. One of the things that touched me the most was the enthusiasm the kids had to help us out when we were working. They had an energetic work ethic that motivated us to work even harder. At the end of each day, we were tired, but gathered together to reflect on the day and on what God was teaching us.
Children helping rebuild the wall
“The people here don’t need your pity; they need your love.” In addition to sharing her inspiring testimony, Beth shared the above wisdom on how best to serve the people of Haiti. Please pray for the children we spent time with, that God would provide for their needs and protect them. Please pray for David, Beth, our translators, Wilner and Wilson, and all the other workers in Haiti who are trying to show love to everyone around them. And please pray for the country, that God would begin to turn things around and the people would get the aid they need.
How much can you load on to a truck?
NOTE: See more photos when you visit our family’s online photo albums. Visit this earlier post to learn more about what God is doing in Haiti.
Ben just returned from a week-long trip to Haiti. Thank you for praying for him on his first missions trip. He said the people were awesome. You can read about his trip and see a few more photos here and/or see additional photos on our family’s online photo album.
You might also like to read Miracles in Haiti and be encouraged about what God is doing!
Click here for information about Haiti and about Campus Crusade for Christ’s ministry and opportunities in Haiti.
We have read a lot of books as a family. Sus started a virtual bookshelf of over 500 books we have read that we recommend for family reading. If you would like to know more, go to follow this link.
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