Mission Movers: Eric & Lyn Taylor – Makanalani Kids, Kauai, HI
We have had an amazing October here at Makanalani and we have seen God at work in the lives of so many.
Early in the month a group of pastors from several churches in Kauai met for three days and enjoyed a time of fellowship as well as being refreshed & energized.
Following was a group from Oahu. Navigators brought young military men & women who serve in Oahu to Makanalani for a time of getting into the Word and serving. These young adults ages 19-25 from all over the mainland. Some come from very difficult situations & Navigators does a great job of mentoring & teaching them about God’s love.
Next group were the leaders and support staff for Camp Agape. A great Christian organization who serve the kids of parents who are incarcerated. They had just completed a camp & were able to take time to regroup & prepare for 2017. The group included young adults being mentored and trained up.
As the Camp Agape people left; 24 beautiful young women arrived. All “beautifully flawed” as the camp was called due to amputation of limbs. Friends of Bethany (Bethany Hamilton of Soul Surfer) brought these amazing young people to Kauai from all over the USA. It was very humbling experience to meet these courageous young women see how they were able to use the adversity & turn it into an opportunity to show how they were loved by God.
Moms in Prayer group arrived as they were packing up which was very quick turn over! The island is small and many of the moms stepped in to help them pack up and clean. The power of prayer for our children, both young and adult, is amazing. The Hawaiian islands is fortunate to have a group of very passionate leaders for Moms in Prayer who are constantly encouraging women to join and pray for their children & also for their schools and teachers.
Surfing the Nations followed Moms in Prayer with a few hours to prepare. Vans arrived with 35 college age youth from all over the world including the USA. None of them knew where they were going to be staying while on Kauai so to see the expressions on their faces was priceless. Some were even crying!! These youth are part of a 3-month internship program through STN in Oahu where they stay and learn about Christ, serve others & learn to surf. They spent a day helping us a Makanalani cleaning & clearing the property and the house. Such a blessing to us.
Mission Movers: Godfrey Sr. & Gloria Catanus
The ministry events of the last several months could well be described as “affirming”. We are truly experiencing the hand of the Lord in our ministry here. We had been host to the special ministry of our Brother Jonathan Smith & his family to our pastors here in July. Also, the visit of Bill & Elizabeth Barthelemy in August (our missionary-pastors with the Commission to Every Nation, Kerrville, Texas). They too, had a ministry of inspiration and encouragement to our pastors and partners in ministry. And lately, the coming of Dr. & Mrs. Richfield Cudal, the professor of Biblical languages of Hark Theological Seminary with which we share our facility for the graduate studies of some of our pastors. We have eleven students enrolled in Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew courses.
This month of October has been for us – historic! In July we had a “soft launch” worship service. We started with twenty in attendance and by the next month of August we had an average attendance of sixty. In September, we organized our Leadership Team and decided that we hold a special celebration and dedication of our building, The Hope Christian Center after which we will have our first and official worship service.
These had all been accomplished, and we give God the glory. Our building dedication service on October 1 was special as Rev. And Mrs. Rick Malm, founder and President of the Commission To Every Nation came to conduct a “Marriage and Family Seminar” and then dedicated our building for “ THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO JESUS CHRIST WHO IS OUR HOPE”. Our joy has truly been full because on October 2, for our first official worship the Lord has blessed us with ONE HUNDRED FIFTY PEOPLE in attendance.
The construction project is still going on. We are still praying for about twelve thousand dollars to bring this to completion. We are still organizing our children, youth, young professionals, and seniors’ ministry. We will still survey the area for possible cell-groups in every community (subdivisions- we are in the middle of thirteen communities). We want to “attempt great things for God and expect great things from God”.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and for your generous financial support. We are in this work TOGETHER.
Please pray for us as we seek to evangelize the lost, edify the believers, and equip the saints in the fullfilment of the Great Commission.
Gordon & Becki West: KidZ at Heart International, AZ
We want to share with you, our friends and supporters, some unexpected news that we received recently. In early June, Becki had a routine surgical procedure followed by a pathology report that revealed internal melanoma.
This news has rocked me to the depth of my soul, but I have repeatedly heard God say two very important truths:
“I am (still) God, just as I have shown you over, and over, and over.”
“I love Becki even more than you do.”
The past few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for our whole
family. Our days have been filled with scans and tests and visits to various doctors. In the midst of this, we have seen God’s hand in providing brilliant and compassionate caregivers and miraculous openings in appointment books.
The best news is that a post-surgery, full-body PET scan revealed no active melanoma. Therefore, Becki will not need chemotherapy or radiation at this time. The sobering news is that we do not know what tomorrow brings. We will now maintain a vigorous surveillance regimen of visits to the oncologist & dermatologist.
We are blessed by your friendship, and we would like to invite you to join us in this faith-building season. While we do not believe that getting more people to pray somehow gets God to do what we want, we do want to share with you our needs and our journey and ask that you watch, with us, to see what God is doing and will do in our lives.
We ask you to pray that each member of our family would continue drawing upon his strength, trusting in his goodness, and enjoying his blessings for
today. Please pray that we are able to trust God for tomorrow and leave those cares in his hands. And, of course, please ask God to stop all growth of cancer and to rid Becki’s body of every last melanoma cell.
What’s next? We will be leaving (July) on an international training trip (So. Africa, Uganda & Moldova) to graduate our first class of the KidZ Ministry Certification Program’s Basic Teacher Certificate recipients, certify our first set of certification program trainers, and join representatives of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as we train leaders to reach kids through sports camps.
After the work is over, Becki and I will be continuing on for a vacation visiting the Holy Land & the pyramids to celebrate our 35-year love affair.
And we are thankful for you, your friendship and support.
Philippines Mission 2016 Report
Highlights in iRC (Ikthus Redeemed Community). 7/20 – 26
iRC Cabacungan ministers to more than 2,000 people through their satellite churches.
They have a strong discipleship program using stories (orality method) because many are illiterate.
> The team met with Pastor Steve Indino at iRC Cabacungan, his staff & volunteers, &
the 28 kids in the orphanage. The team encouraged the iRC team and loved on the
kids in the orphanage.
> The team worked with iRC staff & kids in making ginger tea & sweet potato chips,
which are the income-generating project of iRC Cabacungan.
> Ministered & taught worship songs & helped with their worship equipment.
> Painted 3 houses that were built through Bahay-Buhay (Home-Life) Project funded by
WCC. These houses were burned down last March 2016. We also give an additional
fund to build one more house.
> Conducted Teachers’ Training & taught around 100 kids about our Lord Jesus.
> On Sunday, we visited 3 satellite churches and shared testimonies, sang & ministered
to the main service in iRC Cabacungan through skits & a message from Pastor Vince.
> Traveled by land to the southern part of Negros & visited iRC Valencia & Du –
maguete. Took a ferry the following day to go to Cebu island to visit iRC Algeria
& iRC Cebu and met with leaders/pastors of iRC Carmen & Danao.
Highlights in Breakthrough Church in Payatas in Quezon City. 7/27 – 31
> Taught (80) children about Jesus to the areas where we have the Feeding Program.
> Conducted medical/dental outreach to the children of Breakthrough Christian
Academy. The number of people seen was 373 for medical & 230 for dental.
> Distributed 250 grocery bags (rice, canned goods, noodles).
> Visited homes and prayed for people who are sick.
> Traveled to Trece Martirez (2 1/2 hr. drive outside Manila) for a Medical/Dental
outreach. The team shared Jesus & prayed for people. The village was so thankful for
our visit.
> The men in the team ministered to around 50 men/dads & our moms/daughters
ministered to the moms/daughters in Breakthrough church.
> The team ministered at Breakthrough’s evening youth service. One of our youth
shared the Word. People were blessed.
Pastor Frank Encourages Police And Civilians Alike: “We need to do good in this world…”
This week, Pastor Frank lead prayers uniting the police force and the citizens they protect under the banner of The Holy Spirit. The Orange County Register cover it:
A week after the killing of five police officers, civilians and religious leaders as well as police already are coming together in an effort to resolve the tension between many African Americans and law enforcement.
In a prayer thread ceremony at Christ Our Redeemer Church in Irvine on Thursday, Orange County sheriff’s deputies, Irvine police, elected officials, Jews, Muslims and Christians tied string around each other’s wrists and vowed to tie diverse communities together.
“It’s wrong for five police officers to die in Dallas,” the Rev. Mark Whitlock said. “It’s equally wrong for two men to die. We are here today to hold a love fest.”
-David Whiting, Orange County Register