Our Latest Newsletter

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.

Night Shuttle Launch Feb. 8, 2010

News From YWAM Samoa--Tsunami Story

YWAM SAMOA TSUNAMI RELIEF & REBUIDLING

It has been over a month since the day the Tsunami devastated Samoa. The first phase has passed and we are already in the second phase of this tragic disaster.

YWAM Has been very involved since it happened on September 29th, 2009. We had the Rescue Net and Marine Reach during the first phase. What a wonderful job they did in Samoa. They really served well and really opened the eyes of the medical professionals people here in Samoa on how to be thorough in doing medical help.

After these two teams left, more teams and individuals arrived to help out. It has been not only a great blessing to Samoa but also a great encouragement to us here in YWAM knowing that you, our family and friends are behind us as we help Samoa recover well. We have a DTS team from Adelaid Australia, a team of counsellors from YWAM Fiji, Claire from Family Ministry at Matamata, We have more people arriving on Friday and Saturday this week and later on this month, and others coming later this year and also 2010.

THANK YOU SALVATION ARMY
While we are working at the Tsunami affected locations, Salvation Army NZ Director Bryant Richards and the Salvation Army Director for International Relief from USA, George, purchased a Toyota Dyna Truck for YWAM to help our people with the relief and rebuilding work at the Tsunami affected locations and use for other YWAM work. Salvation Army also donated 2 chain saws to help with the clearing of lands for victims to build their houses. Thank you Salvations Army.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.
We also like to thank all of you who gave financially to help with the relief and rebuilding. Individuals like Tielu & Helen Petaia, Mark Tillman, David Skeat, Celona & Naomi, just to mention a few. Also organisations lie ARMS, Tasmania community represented by Jannelle and Shari, individuals represented by Isabel Betts, to mention a few.
Our friends Andy & Leone Forsgren and their families who donated 4 chain saws, and all of you who have given in all kinds of ways including prayer etc. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STANDING WITH US AND SHOWING YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT TO OUR SAMOAN PEOPLE AS WELL AS YWAM SAMOA.
We pray that God will remember you and make His face shine on you all the time.

YWAM'S APPROACH TO THE REBUILDING
We are forming a more or less a Holistic type approach to the affected areas. The rebuilding is not only a physical one but all areas of live inclusive of the spiritual, emotional, mental, etc.

So as we go to the affected locations, the whole team consist of a medical team, Team to minister to the kids, Team to visit with adults, and a team of strong and weak men and women to play with chain saws, axes, machettes, hammers, etc., to clear big trees and help build shelter for families to await the government promised building for the all the victims. The truck and the pick up truck would drop off the teams for their specific roles and then the truck is then used to transport material from the people 's ruined houses (timber and iron roofing) to where they are now building new homes.

All of us who go to minister to these people wish we have the strength of a thousand people to help these people and millions of dollars to get these people on their feet. But with what we have we will serve these and bring glory to our Lord.

THE LORD HEARS PRAYERS AND DELIVER THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM.
Here is A great story to encourage you, told by a young man who was also a victim of the Tsunami Samoa.

When the earthquake happened, his grandmother immediately got up and start singing a popular hymn in Samoan. This hymn has 5 verses. The first verse goes like this : "When the sea of this life becomes rough, and we fail because we get discouraged and lack faith, but think of all the blessings God has blessed us with, we would only be amazed..." The family saw the wave while this old woman still sings all 5 verses of the hymn, and the family started to worry. The grandma's sister and her husband ran for their lives at the site of the great wave before the grandmother finished praying. The grandchildren kept bugging grandma saying, "nana the wave the wave" but grandma did not care. She finished all 5 verses of the hymn, and after that she prayed. By then the wave was getting closer and closer but she kept praying commiting everyone of her family to the Lord naming them one by one. When she finished praying with the AMEN, this young man got up grab her and the children by the arms, rush them into the car, close all the windows and when he was about to open the door to drive away, the wave hit him and washed him up to the hills. As he was hanging there by a tree on the hill, he was wondering what had become of grandma and the children. He thought he lost them, when all of a sudden, he saw the car floating and riding the wave and grandma and the children were sticking their heads into the top of the car where there was space for them to breath some air. The car floated onto a tree where the front was leaning and the tail rested on dry ground. The young man ran over, quickly opened the car and water spilled out while grandma and all the children were all safe without any injury.

The sad thing though was that the grandma's sister who ran before the prayer was finsihed was killed by the wave and her husband was fighting for his life in the hospital.

The young man said in his testimony that never in his life did he really believe in the power of prayer and faith but now, he knows that God hears prayer and will never be the same again.

Where there is no doctor....

This email came in from Zambia. It is an amazing example of what our Rescue Unit facilitators deal with.

> Greetings,
> Yesterday I sat in the office listening to Mike Monze and Mathews Shikishi and just shock my head. The plight of the people when there is no doctor is just tragic. Mathews said that last week a lady came by the Mukema unit for medical help. She had walked about 7 miles to come to the unit, crossing two rivers. She couldn't really say what was wrong just that she was having pains. Mathews wasn't really sure what to do as she didn't really share anything that he could recognize as wrong. He referred her to the clinic at St Mary's and she left. Her younger sister was with her and also a young boy. They hadn't walked but a short distance from the unit when they had to stop because of the pains. They went behind an ant hill and found a place for her to lie down. While there she delivered a baby. Out in the open, with only grass and leaves for a bed, there was no doctor not even a mid-wife. Mathews helped her and they got her to St Mary's clinic. The mother and baby come by the unit the next day and thanked Mathers for his help and the new mom left to continue the long walk home. Just another day where there is no doctor.
>
> Mike then shared that recently people brought a lady to Luswishi on a bicycle ambulance. She had just delivered a baby and the baby was fine but she hadn't delivered the placenta. The lady was in pain and extremely weak, unable to talk. While they were trying to assess the situation the lady stiffened up. They saw her eyes roll back into her head and she became limp. Queen rushed up to her and began praying, rebuking death and commanding life back into her body. They immediately prepared her and began the long journey to the clinic. Queen continued to pray. Maybe about half way there the lady opened her eyes and seemed to revive and short time later she began to talk and shared that she had died but now was feeling fine. I don't know how true, in fact, that was except that is what the lady shared. They did get her to the clinic but the clinic wasn't able to help her either and they took her to Kitwe where they were able to remove the placenta. The mother and baby have since returned to the unit and they are indeed fine. Life and death can hang in the balance where there is no doctor.

Latest Video

Check out this video of our summer in Nicaragua!!!

http://bit.ly/4btBkv

Soccer and Glamour

Saturday, Maddie and Zoe both had soccer games in the heat! They played hard! Afterward, Zoe was invited to a birthday party at Snip-its for her friend, Kenya. They girls enjoyed getting their hair done and dressing up! It was a fun Saturday.