India Update Week 2

Hey everyone,

I am on the plane writing this update fresh off the trip to India. It was a great time once again and there were several good things that came out of it. Here’s a little review of the time there and what we are looking at for the future.

LENT

Of course I am practicing Lent this year but it’s not been the typical Lent season for me. I have not been able to engage as I would normally. However once I got to India I realized they were having prayer meetings as part of Lent each morning at 5am-6am. This was not what I wanted to hear after 29 hours of flying and then another 4.5 driving. But the next morning I got up and went to prayer and it was great.  Lent isn’t just about giving up something like sleep but about embracing sacrifice knowing that it is worth it. Even before the trip, I’ve been trying to engage in prayer more diligently and intentionally and I have noticed a marked difference in my life because of it.  I shared a devotional several times during the prayer meetings over the last 13 days and plan to continue my early morning prayers throughout Lent at least. Hopefully the practice will lead to a habit that will lead to more intimacy with Christ.

CHURCH

The first Sunday, I preached a couple times in the main location but we didn’t go to all the locations. We went out to Vellaturro in the evening, which is about 40 minutes away. The last Sunday we did all the locations but canceled the Nuanna service because of sign practice.

The churches are doing well and growing. Everyone was happy I was there and I conveyed all of our love and prayers for them. A couple of prayer concerns for the churches:

• Snakes. One of the locations is constantly being disturbed by poisonous snakes slithering in during the service. This last Sunday it happened once again 5 minutes after I departed! Pray they can get rid of them and or close the building off in such a way as to keep them out.
• Building. A couple of the churches are meeting outside and really need a location more permanent and unaffected by weather changes. Pray they can secure these things in the coming months.

WAVE

The WAVE conference was great this year, with many commenting about how much they learned and how fun it was to be part of the event. We had 55 on the first day with several of those being first-time signers. Our numbers dropped to about 30 on the second day because unfortunately we were hosting during a time when many are studying for exams and don’t want to miss school or course.

The conference expanded this year by adding a Skype session from the USA with Trevor leading a session on student leadership. This was an exciting thing to offer as we try to amp up our value for those attending.

We worked on several songs but highlighted “Awake”, “No One Like You” and “A Better Way”. They really have picked up so much from watching YouTube and the couple of sessions we have done via Skype. The India WAVE team has only been together for about 15 months but seem like much longer as they have gelled and sign pretty cohesively as a group. I am very proud of their progress.

WEBSITE

One of the other things that was a huge accomplishment on this trip was the relaunch of the SAC website. About a year ago, SAC launched a site but in that time it had suffered from the need of additonal content and updates. On this trip I was able to help them create a new site and get the information updated, as well as create a couple of new pages for them to begin soliciting donations and keeping donors better informed. Take some time and check out www.sacministries.com

SUMMER

We have a return trip planned for the last part of July until about August 10. The schedule will include hosting a 5day camp for the orphans and children who live in the nearby villages. We are estimating about 100 kids each day.

While there we will also be sharing with the churches and WAVE team as well teaching and preaching during several meetings. One other major hope is to be able to get a radio tower installed so that Pastor Rajendra can broadcast services each week. He is already on TV daily as they are recording services and using those to broadcast. We want to be able to round out the media outreach by getting a radio station set up for him to share the gospel from the home location.

I don’t have much information on other aspects of our ministry at this point but hope to catch up and better update you with that next week. Thanks again for all your prayers and support of our ministry in India. If you or anyone you know is interested in serving in India this summer or on any other trip with us, please notify me. All trips must have commitments by the end of March. Thanks!

India Awakening 2016

Having just returned from El Salvador and had a great trip, we are now planning for the next leg of the mission tour to kick off the 2016 year with the trip to India.

The V2H WAVE Team of India just celebrated their 1 year anniversary on Christmas Day. It was a wonderful time to check in with them via Skype and teach them a couple of new songs and share in the festivities of what God has done. It was also about a year ago, Mike Liebler and I were there hosting the WAVE conference for them, pouring into students and adults, teaching them songs and Bible as part of our ministry.

 

The time has come now to make the trip back and host the 2 WAVE Conference: AWAKENING and teach them new songs, disciple more students and prepare for the summer camp in August. I am looking to generate about $1500 for this trip to cover travel, the WAVE Conference with supplies, and bring some of the donated school supplies to the orphans. Would you help me get back to India and encourage our sister ministry there? If you would like to help in this effort, you can make a tax-deductible gift through paypal.com

Thanks so much for your generosity and love!

George

Final ES Update January 2016

I’m back from El Salvador and what a great trip it was! continue to pray for Angela, the college student from Messiah College, who is still there until January 25. Here are a few final details about my trip.

Prostitutes and Gangsters

It was a great opportunity to reach out to people just down the street from where the mission house is located. One of the stories I heard when I arrived was that the missionaries living in the mission house hosted a dinner for the local prostitutes (comprised of male and female), for the Christmas dinner. What a message of Christ! When I heard this, I knew we needed to do it once again and I wanted to be part of exhibiting Christ’s love. Last week, we were able to fund a meal for 8 prostitutes and some of the missionaries helping us un ES. It was uncomfortable, yes, but great at the same time. Of course I was limited in my communication to all but through a translator communicated my desire as someone coming from the States in Jesus’ name, that my goal with helping sponsor the mission house is to bring change to El Salvador which is done only through the love and power of Jesus Christ. There was no “preaching”, no “judging”, just sharing a meal with people who are not like us. In fact, that night was one of their birthdays and we got to celebrate through song. Pray as we continue to develop loving relationships with some of those who are the outcasts of El Salvador…and ask how and what we can about it the States as well!

On the last day in ES, I went with Daniel to visit the children he works with in La Colonia. This area is one of the more dangerous areas in ES, and it’s where Daniel grew up and currently lives. It was truly impressive to see his report with the kids and “gangsters” of that community.

The children of gangsters getting school supplies.

As we strolled down the narrow streets I was able to shake hands with some of the gangsters and asked permission to take pics of the area and people. Like the Pied Piper, Daniel had kids trailing us through the passage as we invited them to the day’s event.

Once we gathered everyone, (which took a little while), I shared a few sign songs and then a message about Jesus and my story of how I ended up in ES doing al of this kind of stuff. Needless to say, these kids were roudy. With many of them living without a father in the home or spending much of their time exposed to violence, it’s no wonder. However, after a while they did calm down and by the end were very grateful and appreciative of the school supplies given to them.

Let me give you a few stats I learned about ES on this trip:

It’s been called the “most dangerous country in the world”. With an average of 30 people being killed a day, one can understand this moniker. 

Gangs and gang violence have been rising over the years and many kids have become victims from this growth.

Many businesses are pulling out of El Salvador and relocating to other countries because of the violence.

The average family V2H is working with makes less than $7 a day.

God is still powerful and mighty and doing great things in and through the people of El Salvador. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us as we seek to help the deaf students and children or gang members achieve all that God has for them? They need your help and we want to be part of a solution. Thanks for your support of Vision 2 Hear and helping us make a difference in ES. I’ll be posting pics of the deaf students we want to help and if you’d like to “sponsor” one, there will be info on how to do that. Also Daniel has a working budget for teaching the kids of gangsters English and reaching them for Christ. We will have a way you can give toward that project. And if you’d like to travel with us during the summer, we’d love to have you. Currently, our trip is scheduled for late June.

More info coming soon!

George

 

Vision 2 Hear Update January 11,2016

 

I’ve been in El Salvador for several days now. It’s been a great trip thus far. From spending time with old friends to making new ones, Vision 2 Hear is off to a great start for 2016. Here’s some of what’s been happening.

Before we even left from the USA, we were already excited about being able to offer this trip for Angela Lowe, a college student from Messiah College in PA. She found Vision 2 Hear online, actually looking at sign videos from YouTube. Needing to have a cultural “deaf experience”, she contacted me to see if there was any way we could help. With El Salvador being the primary place we have ministry with deaf people, we were able to work things for her to be part of this trip and spend the required days she needs in order to graduate on time. If this didn’t work for her, there was a very good chance she would have to postpone her graduation until December…So we praise God for His mighty power and the use of the internet to connect us so that she could benefit and help us in ES. The first time we met was at the airport in Atlanta.

Even though the plane was delayed several times, the overall trip wasn’t too bad. But we were basically awake with travel for about 24 hours.  We were met at the airport and made our way to San Salvador, discussing possibilities for the week. Angela is here to learn about deaf culture and interact with the deaf primarily and I am here to assist with teaching music for the WAVE Team, which is primarily made of deaf students, preach at a church, host a couple of meetings and plan for the summer.

We plan to disburse the school supplies to several groups of people since the primary school we were going to give them out at has closed down. These school supplies were collected from Christ Fellowship in Palmetto Bay last October while I was there for Spiritual Emphasis Week. We brought down three suitcases of glue, pens, pencils, markers, etc. and still have more to bring back in June.

Because the school were going to go to has closed down, we thought we would have the students all deaf, along with their siblings come over and spend time with us at the mission house. So for three days last week they came over and we worked on music, signing songs, playing games and watching Netflix. They have loved it. Most of the don’t get to do things like this, so it’s a big deal for them to be able to come and have fun and build community as well.

As we met and talked about the things that happened with the closing of the deaf school we explored the idea of having the students meet at the mission house for some of their educational needs. It was a wonder to me why couldn’t we do this? So after talking a bit and finding out what the real problems might be, we decided to move forward with using the mission house as a temporary location for these students to gather, learn, continue their education and get tutoring on the weekends, until they find a different location sometime in the future. School technically is just starting back so the timing is perfect! God knows what He’s doing! Because we were here, I was able to use some of our ministry donations to help provide the chairs, tables and school supplies they will need to use this facility. We give God praise for what He’s doing!

 

Another thing that is really coming together is the work Daniel is doing with several children teaching them English and of course sharing the gospel. These kids all live in the area where Daniel grew up and are faced with gang-related violence everyday. If you didn’t know, El Salvador has about 40 people killed each day!!! We have been supporting Daniel with his college education and now he’s investing in the lives of others. We are very pleased to see and hear of all he is doing. He’s given me a budget and we are going to have the Love Feast Fundraising event on Valentine’s Day weekend, a 30-hour fast to generate some funds for his program.

 

 

 

I was able to get a filling for one cavity while here, which was a huge blessing as I had started to feel some pain and discomfort from it. Also one of the local church plants had me speak and share the message yesterday, which was very well-received.

Last night I met with some of the Vision 2 Hear El Salvador staff and a couple of missionaries from Oregon who support the work here. We had a great open and honest talk about the future work in Suchitoto, which is growing tremendously. Some of that work includes helping with water irrigation, discipling families by providing special meetings for men, women and children. Jorge and his whole family are deeply involved in this work there and they have seen God’s hand moving in people’s lives. So please keep that ministry in your prayers. They travel to Suchitoto twice a month for programs. Only twice because it’s a couple hours away in the mountains.

So that’s a quick update with what’s been happening here. Thanks for your prayers. Another update to come soon!

George

 

 

Ministry Updates: India and El Salvador

This has been an exciting month for a couple of our sister ministries. In India, Pastor Rajendra and the community near the orphanage was able to get the long-awaited playground installed. This is a project we have been anticipating since the children’s ministry at New Vision Church generated the funds to donate this to the orphans.

As you can see from the pictures, the playground has several ways for the children to play and no doubt the children will be very excited to have this area to enjoy. The orphanage currently has 16 children residing (to my knowledge) and Vision 2 Hear along with a couple of other churches are helping to support them. If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan, please contact us at vision2hear@gmail.com for more information. We hope to update you soon from Pastor Rajendra with more pics of the WAVE Team and churches there. Until, continue to pray for Sion Assembly Church.

Vision 2 Hear El Salvador is moving into their 8th year of ministry. They will celebrate the “official” birthday in October. Recently, Jorge and many of the V2H members have continued their weekly visits to Suchitoto to work with the rural farming community and share Christ’s love. V2H ES has been instrumental over the last several years in providing physical assistance along with spiritual discipleship.

Jorge Campos, President of V2H ES continues to work at the state congress as an interpreter for the deaf, as well as serve V2H and organize the ministry efforts. We are very excited about all that God is doing through him and the members of V2H ES. He will be updating us soon with what projects they hope to accomplish in 2016. Continue to pray for them and all the work with the skater outreach, Suchitoto, and mission house ministry. If you would like to donate to V2H ES, you can do so through paypal.

Korean Children’s Church Service

Korea: 2015

We have been at the Pilgrim International Christian School all week, working with students who are learning English. We have been able to teach them several songs in signed English and help with chapels and recreation. 12 will graduate from school on Saturday, when they will also perform two songs for the graduation ceremony: One Thing Remains and Lay Me Down. Here are a few pics from the week so far.

Project One:27 Days 1&2

This week I am in Ringgold, GA at Burning Bush Baptist Church helping with an event called Project One:27. The origin for the mission and project is taken from James 1:27 that says:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

This week there are several crews working on different homes and assisting them by repairing roofs, putting in wheelchair ramps and repairing flooring. Teams of students and adults from Burning Bush are impacting their city and community in a huge way by making this event possible.

Each day teams rise and head to the work site by 7:15am and work until 3-4pm, sometimes even later. Then each evening there is a worship time and Bible study, which I am leading. Students stay at the church and hang out each night until 11pm and then head to bed to be rested for the next day’s work.

Tomorrow we only work until noon, as there are fun activities built into the schedule. Also, I’ll be speaking at another church in TN in the evening and all students from the project have the night off anyway because it’s Wednesday. The project ends on Friday night with a community wide outreach. Here are a few pics from the first couple of days to show the work we are doing. Keep in mind that the temp has been mid 90’s 🙂 I give props to all those who are working so hard on these projects for these families. It’s awesome to see what God is doing!

Venicia, Nicaragua

For the last couple years of visiting Nicaragua, we have gone to a remote village called “Ten Tall”. However, this trip, we went to a different remote village called Venicia. It’s similar to Ten Tall, in that we took a boat to get to it, it has solar panels for electricity, which is only used sparingly. There is no running water or many people who come from outside to visit it. We were the first group in three years to travel there with mission supplies from Together Works, Nicaragua. We were very happy to be able to share food, clothes and other supplies with them. We also shared the gospel through music and message. Here are a few pics from that day.

Project One:27 Day 1

We arrived at Burning Bush Baptist Church this afternoon close to 5pm. The service had already begun before we arrived but we had plenty of time to get settled and ready to do our part. I spoke for a few minutes about God having His reasons for each person being here this week. Then Noah and I shared a few songs in sign.

After wrapping up the service, we went to the Baptist association for a pool party and cookout. Everyone had a great time. Then the group had some cake and sang Happy Birthday for me. That was very thoughtful. We are looking forward a great week with all the students here and getting to know everyone. It’s exciting to be part of the ministry here that is reaching out into their community to serve and show Jesus!

Here are just a few shots from today.