5th Grader at TSC Helps Provide Water for Thousands...

My name is Elizabeth, and I am a 5^th grader at Thompson Station Church. In late November, I went to the Global Impact Conference at my church. I thought it was going to just be pretty boring. That definitely was not the case.  

That night my heart was opened when a guy named Spencer got up to talk. He told us all about how the water people drink in some parts of the world is basically mud and how people walk miles just for water. But what really pulled on my heart was that so many little children were dying every day from it.

That put the worst thought in my head. If my little sister, Emily, was living there she would most likely die.  I couldn’t imagine seeing her one day and her being gone the next simply because she had unclean drinking water.

God must have really wanted me to hear this message because the next morning Spencer showed up in my Sunday school class too.  This time I knew that God was trying to tell me something.

That is when I told everybody… my family, my friends and even my school. It had a major impact on my life.

Within a few months this was a major project that my school became interested in.  My school is now working to pay for the cost of at least two wells but there is certainly no limit to what God might do as more people get involved.

It also had a great impact on my family.  I asked my parents if we could not take our usual trip over Christmas break and use that money to fund a well.  After praying about it, we knew what the best use of that money would be and our family funded our first well for people in India. 

It has been a really cool experience to see this whole project go from something I just heard about at a conference and in my Sunday school class, to now something that my family and whole school is taking part in.   

I am so glad I am at a church where I get to hear about organizations as awesome as Neverthirst.  God has put me in a very special place. 

(For more info on NeverThirst, go to http://www.neverthirstwater.org/. In 2011, TSC plans to also build at least three wells in Northern India and also in Sudan through GOCTW funding.)

I Saw Hope in Haiti

Thousands of tents lined the countryside… Millions of souls searching for clean water… devastation and despair was all around me… but there was also hope in the midst of this destruction.

…Our interpreter Ron was one of the hardest working men of God I have ever seen. Ron believes in ‘putting feet to his prayer’. He not only works for World Orphans, Haiti Customs, and Sweet Sleep, but he also devotes his free time to working with orphanages through all of Haiti-not just in Port-Au-Prince. He gives 10% to his church, 9% to an orphanage in poverty, and many other venues that have slipped my mind. This man away basically all that he receives, and finds joy in doing so! I will never forget Ron…

…Our first orphanage we visited was in the hills of Port Au Prince, and a palace compared to those we saw later. Nearly 35 children found shelter here from the leadership of another godly man. Through the eyes of a comfortable American, this would seem life threatening, but through the eyes of a little Haitian boy-this was a safe haven… this was his ‘promised land’. Ouid Va was his name, and he was 7 years old…

…During one of the days Ron was able to give us a tour of the land of Providence. Through the rain forests, mountains, and thin and muddy back roads, we discovered an extremely poverished orphanage that held nearly 30 children. As we arrived, their voices started singing praises to our Creator! Tear’s started flowing as their voices became louder!

…Pastor Emmanuel was his name, and he had been praying for God to send someone his way. Pastor Emanuel has been working in the ministry for over 35 years. He has an old three room rock hut with one light bulb powered by a battery. 15 children live with him in two of the rooms while he and his wife sleep on the rugged cobblestone dirt floor in the third. When asked what his calling was, he replied: “The LORD has commanded me to suffer for the children,” and that “in his suffering, he finds the joy of the LORD.” He works as much as he can to help feed these children and keep them healthy.

I saw HOPE in spiritual leaders… I saw HOPE in the eyes and voices of little Haitian children… I saw HOPE in the midst of poverty… I saw HOPE in Haiti.

(TSC took its first vision team to Haiti over New Year’s. Jon was on this first team. TSC also partners with Mobile Medical Disaster Relief (www.mmdr.org ) and Baptist Global Response (www.baptistglobalresponse.org) in Haiti.)

Feeding the Leaders...

from John Owen

Since becoming a Christian, I’ve been that guy that sits with his family in the church pew for an hour or two depending on the Sunday, at times gives of our resources (time and money) to the church and/or the needy, prays, reads the bible, has a quiet time daily, and am considered the “Christian guy” at work.

So basically for the past 21 years, I’ve been comfortable believing in the gospel “period”. You know, the “Jesus died for my sins so I may have everlasting life.” (Period). I assumed that after accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, my public affirmation of faith and my subsequent baptism and living “good”, that I had received my “get out of hell free card”.

Recently, I’ve gone through quite an ordeal health wise and God opened so many doors through it for me to be able to make a mission trip to East Africa:

Here is a quick synopsis of my personal road to serve in East Africa:
• Weighed 230lbs on 1/20/10, BP 160/100, high stress job….doctor very concerned
• Started walking & dieting in Jan per doctor’s orders…. weight starts dropping off
• My wife has minor surgery and I decide not to go to church on a particular Sunday
• Daughter really wants to go, wife says go. Turns out to be the Sunday of the "Beautiful Things- East Africa" video.
• I sit in the back of TSC, tears streaming down my face… totally convicted – all in.
• Doctor says I must get down to 195 lbs, and get my BP down to go to East Africa in Aug.
• By March, walking 5-7 miles a day. When I don’t feel like walking, I think of East Africa.
• Friday night, July 9... wake up thinking I’m having a heart attack
• Emergency surgery Sat 3am for ruptured gall bladder and chest infection.
• Sunday, a 2nd procedure to get .75 inch stone from liver (liver beginning to shut down)
• Pancreas lacerated while stone is removed…full blown acute pancreatitis.
• 28 days in the hospital, miss the Aug East Africa trip and am told no Africa for at least a year.

I was heartbroken to miss the Aug trip, and truthfully confused over God’s will for me. The doctors did tell me that if I had not lost the weight (I was 195 lbs when I entered the hospital) that there was a good chance that I would not have survived the ordeal. Although disappointed and confused, I was beginning to acknowledge that this wasn’t about my health issues and belief in going… This was all about my learning to listen, trust and to faithfully submit to the Lord.

I had gotten to know the August trip leader, Derek. He visited me in the hospital and continued to stay in touch afterward. I knew if I could get well enough, that going on Angela’s January trip was a possibility, but I really felt strongly that the Lord was leading me to go before that and in a much smaller group. There was a pull to go and to work with the church leaders at Great Hope Church in East Africa. Feeding the children today is very important, but feeding the leaders so that the Gospel is shared in that community daily, feeds those children for eternity.

Too many things had fallen into place for all this to be coincidental. This trip was ordained by God from the beginning. It was as it was supposed to be, without intrusion from the planning of men. From my health, to Derek’s schedule, to this being literally the only time that the pastor there and all nine church leaders could gather for two hours a day, four consecutive days to be refreshed in the Lord…..and so on.

As you might expect, this trip definitely changed my life, but so did the road to it. I learned that our God is big, really big. I learned that “awaiting God’s will” was a cop out for me, a way to avoid true action for the kingdom. Its plain what God’s will is for us - just read John 3:16-21, Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27 and Matthew 28:16-20. But read them with your heart, just like it was the first time.
In my study for this trip I noticed that throughout the Bible very seldom did the Lord tell the believer that he sent the entire itinerary for the next month or year of their life… He simply said “Go”.

This trip is the most important thing that I’ve ever done. Not just because of what God accomplished through us, but also because maybe for the first time in my 53 years I trusted and obeyed. I learned that all blessings have a purpose and a cost. And that I am not to ever again be that “comfortable Christian” that feels that I need not be actively seeking God’s will for me each and every day.

Please pray today for the church leaders in East Africa, and in all places around the world where people are in need and the gospel is not known. And please prayerfully consider just “believing and going” when nudged. God Bless…

John Owen

Grace Fellowship Buying Land, TSC Gives 10K

Steve Chamblee, Grace Fellowship
www.gracefellowshipaz.org

Greetings from beautiful sunny Vail, AZ!

We are so grateful to be serving Jesus here! He has blessed us in so many ways! He continues to draw people to Himself out here in the desert as we seek to make disciple who make disciples...

God continues to open new doors of ministry here in Vail/Tucson.... On Thanksgiving Day we partnered w/ Old Vail Middle School to feed the community Thanksgiving Dinner. What really jolted my heart was to see our people step up and serve. We had a huge amount of Grace people come out with a desire to bless & serve their community. For me that we so affirming that God really is transforming people's lives.

Most of you know by now that we are in the process of acquiring land.
God has opened the door to purchase 6.2 acres just across the street from where we presently meet at Old Vail Middle School. Our vision is to build a community center whereby the community of Vail, especially children can come and be ministered to in a variety of ways. This facility would also function as our worship center on Sundays. We are asking our prayer partners to really pray that God would provide the funds for this purchase. The cost of the land is $500, 000. Our goal is to bring at least $200, 000 to closing in March. God is blessing...and we have raised aprox $50,000! Would you pray that God would provide the funds in His own way for His own glory? We are absolutely confident that God is going to provide. If it His will...He will provide! We do believe that..but we also want to be faithful on our end to allow you the opportunity to be a part of His process.

I often argue w/ myself about asking for financial help from friends & partners beyond what they are already generously giving. But this is an exciting endeavor and a great cause! When I think about what God has already done in these last two years...and what He is going to do, I can hardly contain myself. I look at that piece of property and envision:

- a facility where kids can literally walk across the street after school and be mentored
- a safe environment for kids to do homework and receive tutoring ( in my city only 1 out of every four children live w/ both parents)
- a facility that will house a community food bank for hurting families
- Kingdom headquarters for Vail, the West and the World!

(Through GOCTW funds, Thompson Station Church is giving $10,000 to help Grace Fellowship buy land in Vail, Arizona. TSC will also be sending two mission teams to partner with Grace in 2011.)