I certainly wish I could send you greetings from warm, sunny Florida, but the first two weeks of January have felt more like Ohio winter days. This morning is was 25 degrees and we saw sleet yesterday! When we left Ohio, we were so anxious to get back to warm weather. Boy, were we mistaken! I have missed the warmth of my sister, Dawn's family room, and her wood burning stove. When it is this cold, there is such comfort in a warm fire! This is just like the Lords blessings that warms our hearts when we need to be warmed.
The cold has been really difficult on so many things around here. One thing that concerned our family was how the homeless would survive during the cold nights. Since returning from his summer missions trip, Canaan has had a real burden to reach out to the many homeless in our area. So, yesterday, we gathered blankets and sweatshirts from our closets and cooked hot dogs and then Shannon, Canaan, and some other folks from TMI delivered them to some homeless men. While there, they share their faith and asked the men if they knew the Lord.. Canaan then asked them what items they needed the most. He is working to collect some of the items on their list and deliver them soon. I am so proud of his compassionate heart and his courage to share his faith with others. God is doing a mighty work in His heart and I can't wait to see the plans He has for him!
We spent two and half weeks in Ohio over Christmas visiting with friends and family. Out trip to Ohio was certainly scenic this time. We started north on I-95 and in South Carolina, we received a call from my niece's husband that all roads north of Charlotte were closed due to a huge snowstorm. So we decided our only route was to detour to Atlanta and follow I-75 north. Our 15 hour trip turned into a 20+ hour one. We are thankful that we arrived safely and that we were able to dodge the bad roads and snow. We heard that some people were stranded for over 20 hours in West Virginia. God was certainly watching over us!
Our time in Ohio was such a blessing. We were able to visit several churches. We want to thank everyone who so gratously welcomed us and allowed us to share about the minstry of Teen Missions.
Our schedule included:
December 20th--Storms Chapel
December 23rd--Storms Chapel
December 24th--Christmas Eve Service at Bainbridge UMC
December 27th--Liberty Hill Christian Union AM service
Buchanan Christian Union PM service
December 29th--Oswego Community Church, Otway, OH
December 30th--Mt. Tabor Community Church
January 1sr--Buchanan CU Church Famine for AIDS orphans
January 2nd--Our "Thanks for Giving" Spaghetti Dinner
January 3rd--New Bethel Christian Union Church AM service
Bethel Chapel Christian Union Church PM service
We are so thankful for the time we had with so many wonderful people, but we wish we had more time because there were so many more people we wanted to see. - -they are at the top of our "must see" list for next year! :) We plan to spend at least three full weeks in Ohio next December.
We were blessed by the 92 people who came to our Thanks For Giving dinner. What a privilege to serve those who so freely give so we can serve the Lord here. Thank you so much for all you do for our ministry at Teen Missions.
The new year brings some exciting changes to our lives here at Teen Missions. Shannon has been busy packing bags and preparing for the adult teams that will be traveling to minister in Africa over the next few months. Shannon is also making plans to train our bible school students how to ride motorcycles so they will be prepared when they serve their one year internship overseas. He has also been "commissioned" to build an ark for an obstacle course here at the Lord's Boot Camp. I (Vikki) have been asked to oversee the Personnel Dept. here and attend to the needs of the many staff not only here in Florida, but overseas as well. It is an exciting opportunity, but a bit overwhelming also. I have also been teaching a class for the BMW school and cooking for the students on Friday's. Please remember us in prayer that we will honor God in all that we do.
This summer, we have been asked to lead a team back to Samoa to do tsunami relief. The Island of Western Samoa was devastated by a wave of three tsunamis in October 2009. Many of the areas we visited and work-in were completely destroyed. We hope to help to rebuild this nation and share God' love with those hardest his by this tragedy. Canaan plans to travel back to Russia. His team will help to run a boot camp to send out Russian teams on missions work. His team will also use soccer and volleyball as an evangelism tool in nearby towns and villages. Taylor will be an assistant leader on team to China where they will do building projects at a Christian camp. Please remember our family in prayer as we prepare for our summer ministry and raise the necessary expenses for our children to serve on their summer teams. We will need to raise over $10,000.00 for the cost of our four children.
