Sisters In Service works to restore the lives of abused and exploited
women and girls in high-risk places, equipping them to live in freedom and
faith for a strong future.
Overseas SIS intervenes through practical grassroots programs of
rescue, health and hygiene, education, economic empowerment and spiritual
development.
In the U.S., through our Advocacy Program, we compile research, publish
and organize to equip people to take action on the hard-hitting issues
least reached women and girls face: child marriage, malnutrition,
illiteracy, poverty, and exploitation. SIS's advocacy program trains and
deploys volunteers across the nation as passionate advocates and
intercessors for best practice interventions.
The Return To Glory film has now been
translated into French, Spanish and Portuguese. The objective is
to donate a copy of the film to every school in America. It is
also the objective to donate a copy to every prison, jail and
rehab center in America. The two interview video clips will help
the viewer understand the vision for Black history galleries
designed to educate and inspire young people of all ages.
Lee and Carol Short
Life Savers Ministries International www.LMSI.org
Founders of Vida Internacional and associate missionaries
with Globe Missionary Evangelism .. Lee and Carol are making disciples by
producing and distributing video teachings in Spanish to pastors through
out the Spanish speaking world where many ministerial leaders desperately
need solid Biblical training. They are developing 4 years of studies, with
1 &1/2 years now completed. These courses are helping pastors grow in
knowledge and ministry skills so that they can effectively share the
Gospel and grow their churches in their native lands and around the Globe.
Lee ministers in Cuba and through out Central, South America and in
Spanish communities in other countries. Lee and his family are currently
based in Texas.
What will matter a million years from now? Whether you and I
are in heaven or hell- that will be the issue! That’s why we are
passionate about Making the Gospel Known. People are perishing at an
astonishing rate. We live in desperate times. Therefore, we will go and
preach the gospel, and give ourselves to train and equip as many as we can
to do the same.
At the same time, the homes of Christian families are the
greatest harvest field in the world. Through parenting seminars and
courses, we will give ourselves to equip parents, helping them to raise up
young disciples of Jesus Christ.
In November 2008 YWAM in Ireland was re-unified to become one work.
Since that time we have negotiated a challenging year where there has been
unprecedented vision, and unprecedented challenges. I personally feel like
it has been the hardest year of ministry that I have ever faced. Yet two
weeks ago I sat in a room with my wife Jenn, and Rob and Anne Clarke, and
about 7 or 8 members of a Trust … and something quite amazing happened!
The Trust has owned one of Ireland’s most famous, and most beautiful
retreat centers, right on the border between the North and South of
Ireland. This Trust proceeded to tell us that they had universally felt
that God was leading them to transfer ownership of the amazing centre and
it’s 35 year spiritual legacy to YWAM Ireland!!
The Christian Renewal Centre in Rostrevor has
been a beacon of light for Protestants and Catholics from all over
Ireland since 1974. In the midst of one of the darkest periods in
Ireland’s history, it has become synonymous with reconciliation,
prayer, and spiritual renewal. It is a stunning facility, nestled in
Northern Ireland beneath the Mourne Mountains, overlooking the
Carlingford Lough, and the Irish Republic to the South. It has a
meeting area that holds up to 180, a bookshop, prayer rooms, seminar
rooms, self contained apartments, as well as numerous rooms for
hospitality. More importantly it has an incredible legacy of spiritual
life that is known by people from all Christian traditions in Ireland.
God spoke to us 2 years ago to build on one foundation in Ireland,
and to have a vision for the whole island North and South. In quite an
amazing, and unexpected way He has given us a very valuable property half
way between Belfast and Dublin. This allows us to develop a ministry that
will hopefully minister to the whole body of Christ here, as well as
providing a centre for training for new teams of YWAMers to go into every
major city in Ireland, as well as from this island to cities in war-torn
and conflicted nations all over the world.
L to R:Garry (16), Dania (11), Louina (14), friend
they brought from the previous
Haitian village
(girl in white T-Shirt), Robinson (19), Moline,
and Jeff (6) is in front.
SCC members provided everything in the photo (dishes & table) They prepared a bit of rice & beans and meat to celebrate
their first night in their new home!
Notice the sparse conditions. No refrigerator. No electric
stove. In spite of the uncertain conditions
they still brought a young girl from their previous Haitian village to live
with them. Giving out of their own need.
Above you can see a photo of "moving day" day for Robinson's
mom (Moline) and family. The extra $500.00 allowed them to purchase
beds, a few storage bins, dishware, glasses, utensils, dining room
with 6 chairs, cookware, utensils, some food, light bulbs and
candles, shower curtain for the toilet area, laundry soap, sheets,
buckets, mop & broom, charcoal, trash bins with liners, a couple of
locks for the doors, wood with concrete blocks for shelving and a
few other items. This family is all smiles. "Thank you Severn
Covenant Church"
G E N E R A T I O N A L
L E G A C Y Ways we can help...
Please pray and ask God to include
this family in your heart. "Lord, help me remember to pray for them by
name..."
For US$75 a month we can
provide the bare minimum of food for this family -- three meals a week.
We can send a person to College
(UTESA) for about US$65 per month!
For about US$50 a month we can
send a child to school.
An entrepreneurial project: For $500
we can purchase a sewing machine, thread and material for a sewing
business.
For about $400 we can purchase a
laptop for Robison so that he can do his schoolwork and develop a
business.
For about $800 we can purchase a
motorbike so that Robinson can have greater mobility to get a job.
Robinson can speak English quite
well. The rest of the family speaks French and can use any materials that
help them to learn English and Spanish.
They can use more living essentials:
clothing for each family member, kitchen utensils, bedding, candles, etc.
Any more ideas?
Joel Freeman's brother (Steve), his
wife (Pam) and family live in the Dominican Republic six months out of the
year, about 20-30 minutes from this family. Anyone who wants to visit
Moline and her family have a standing invitation to stay with Steve and
Pam in their beautiful home.
Pam states: "In addition to
getting the clothing sizes of the children, I checked on the yard area and
asked Moline if she had ever planted a garden. She has so it would be
great to get her a bunch of black soil and some seeds. It would be best
probably in the fall. Louina (14 years) is a size 14 and has a size 38
shoe (size 8 US). Dania (12 years) is a size 12 and also wears a size 8
shoe. Jeff would wear a size 8 in clothing and a 10 or 12 shoe. Garry is
easily a size 16 in clothing. Moline comfortably wears a size large and
prefers a simple sleeveless dress. The girls had four months of sewing
classes and would very much like to continue. I will find out this week
how to arrange for that. At the moment they are spending a lot of time
learning Spanish. I was amazed at the size of the blackboard they had
gotten! It had Spanish all over it!! They are taking their Spanish very
seriously."
Ideas For Local Churches
Interested in Intercultural Missions ____________________
"Some Motivate to Mobilize. Why not
Mobilize to Motivate?"
-- Quote from Rev. Phillip Nelson, SIM
By Joel Freeman: Thank you for taking the time to check out this web site. If you have
accessed this as the first page, feel free to visit the main website
after you have finished reading the contents of this page --
www.BlackChurchMissions.org -- Also, I do hope
that you will
email us with your experiences in global missions.
It is my
heartfelt prayer that this web site can be an encouragement to
hundreds of churches. It seems like the Holy Spirit is stirring many churches to move more
intentionally toward actively participating in intercultural
missions. Writing checks to help missions is wonderful and a valid
use of funds, but it is truly rewarding when we develop
face-to-face, heart-to-heart relationships that last a lifetime.
What if every
church touched by this web site gave the opportunity for every
member to go out on a short-term mission trip?
"Some pray, some give, some go" is a common response and this
statement contains a measure of truth. It is my dream that everyone
(who is physically able) can experience at least one short-term
mission trip in his or her lifetime, regardless of age. It's a
life-changing experience!
My
philosophy on missions has been shaped by intensive study in the
Word, prayer, travels around the world and a simple determination to obey the
simultaneous vision outlined in Acts 1:8 -- "Jerusalem, Judea and
Samaria (town/city, county, State/Province, region) and the
uttermost part of the world."
One of the things I avoid like the plague is the somewhat typical
ugly American approach. Even though we may not be conscious of
it, we may project this attitude -- "We're
rich, you're poor. We're strong, you're weak." It's this
type of paternalistic, patronizing attitude that I reject. But it
can so easily and almost unconsciously creep into our mindset
regarding intercultural missions. This type of mindset can even creep into
our North American outreaches -- suburban church reaching out to
urban church. I have had to confront this thinking in my own heart
and mind.
A
short term mission occupies a wonderful niche when it comes to
evangelism. It is especially designed for people who want to get
their feet wet in missions. While I thank God for short term
missions, I believe that we can develop a long term partnership with
an indigenous church that is based upon relationship, flexibility,
integrity and mutual respect.
When I pastored (1975-1993), we developed a model that I believe may
work very well in your church. Here are some points that will
illustrate the model that I have personally tested and have seen
work over the years:
-- 1. The
developing nation church is encouraged to address the
spirit/soul/body aspects of the Christian message on their
own, without looking to a rich North American sugar-daddy
to bail them out of their financial and structural
challenges. This establishes a Christ-centered
relationship vs. a need-centered relationship. And, by the
way, we as Americans generally possess the need to give.
It just manifests itself in a more socially-acceptable
manner. The need to be needed can be a powerful
intoxicant. This can be an inhibitor to building genuine
relationships and will get smoked out during the process.
-- 2. The
North American church is encouraged to "cool their jets"
-- to not foster the idea that they are going to
immediately build a clinic, fix something, or dig a well.
This builds patience, teachability and humility. We think
we are going to give. But in the midst of the process we
realize that we are receiving much more than we are
giving. The church we are "ministering to" generally has a
depth in Jesus we have never experienced. We all know how this works. The first year is
dedicated to developing a solid relationship with the
church members. The first year may include digging a well,
because sometimes excellent relationships are developed
when everyone is sweating. But the most important aspect
is to build a relationship where both entities are coming
from the position of strength.
-- 3. Two
times a year can be dedicated to sending teams over to the
country of choice. Perhaps a team can be sent every Spring
and every Fall. Twelve years of age is the youngest person
I have ever taken on a short-term mission trip. At that
age it is a case-by-case situation. Some kids are more
mature than others at that age. Some may say, "That kid
is probably going on this trip just because of the
excitement of traveling to another country." My
response is that I could care less about the motivation of
some who are going on the trip. I just want them to go
with a team of people who want to serve the Lord. God has
a way of challenging and changing lives regardless of the
initial motivation for going -- even those who went with
the right motivation!
Every team will have to
commit to pre-travel training and then will have
debriefing for a couple of weeks after they come back to
smoke out any reverse culture shock issues. Each team can
present a short slide or video presentation at a Sunday
morning church service so that the entire
congregation feels a part of the entire mission. The goal
will be to provide the opportunity for everyone to at
least dream about going on one of the trips. This on-going
mission will impact the fervency, passion for the
lost, and the prayer life of our church. It has a way of
purifying the spirit of a church like few things can. I
have witnessed it up close and personal.
--
4. As a part of the church's Mission's Budget, a church
can develop a scholarship plan. I do not believe in giving
"freebies" to people. There has to be some
character-building sweat equity. This alone helps
to expand personal faith and perseverance. When I pastored
we matched 50% of the actual costs of airfare, ground
travel, three meals a day and lodging. All other
costs were borne by the individual. For instance R/T
airfare may cost $600, while lodging, food and ground
travel may cost $60 a day for, let's say, 10 days. That
makes a grand total of $1200 for the entire trip. The
church matches the $600, which is raised by the
individual. The local church's financial investment in
these mission outreaches will pay dividends for years to
come. And what a positive way to fight negativity, gossip
and foolishness! The perfect antidote for the
small-mindedness that rules some churches.
For the youth, car washes and bake sales can be sponsored
to provide avenues for them to raise funds. This
type of use of church funds makes an incalculable
investment in the lives of people in our church, which
will impact many for the rest of their lives. Some people
haven't even ventured more than 50-100 miles from their
homes in their lifetimes.
Just the travel experience alone will open eyes and
hearts. In 1869 Mark Twain said, "Travel
is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness
and many of our people need it sorely on those
accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men
and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one
little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." I
agree.
--
5. Some churches are getting into a global mindset for the
first time. I encourage those churches to think about
going to an English-speaking country like Jamaica,
Barbados or Belize.
Why? Because so many more people in the congregation can
feel a part of what is happening. A language barrier
provides its own wonderful cross-cultural experiences, but
I am thinking that a common language can provide many more
ministry opportunities for more people. Try the Ladder
Method:
THE
LADDER METHOD
1st Rung:
Develop an awareness of the need for Global Missions.
Send some
members of the congregation to a Missions Conference. 2nd Rung: Start praying for different
countries around the world. Operation World and
WindoWatchman are two excellent resources. 3rd Rung: Invite "missions-minded" speakers
to to your church to communicate
on the topic
of global missions. 4th Rung:
Develop the Mission, Vision, Core Values, Operating
Principles of your
church that include the Simultaneous Vision of
"...both Jerusalem, Judea
& Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth..." 5th Rung: Send a small group of leaders
from the church to a country on a kind
of a reconnaissance
mission to check out the viability of the church's
involvement in Global
Missions. 6th Rung: Send your first short-term team
and then see how God will expand the
missions perspective
in your church. 7th Rung: Continue to keep hearts tender
toward Jesus and to keep the eternal
perspective in clear
view...
"What could be worse
than being born without sight? Being born with sight and
no vision." Helen Keller
How are you involved in Global Missions?
For details contact:
The SCC Missions Team
Box 305, Gambrills, MD 21054
410-729-4011
email
Something To Think About
As of December 2005, over 40 million people in the world are living
with HIV/AIDS.
About 26 million of those infected live in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2005, over 3 million people died from AIDS.
In 2005, 5 million people were newly infected with HIV.
Over 2 million children (under age 15) are infected with HIV, with 2000
more children newly infected each day! More than 14 million children have lost one or both parents
due to AIDS.
In
an ki ji ba a ki gani ba.
Hausa proverb meaning: If you refuse to listen, you cannot refuse to
see what will happen.
