5 Weeks of Missions - Team #5

Northside Baptist Church of Wauchula and their missions team is headed to Haiti. They will be serving at Cabaret Baptist Children's Home this week.

Please continue to pray the team's safety, health and effectiveness while serving.

Aug 5th & 6th - DR Team Update

Yesterday we spent our time in several villages playing with the children, sharing with them about what Jesus' love means to us, and walking ALOT! A small group spent some time painting one of the local churches that Pastor Craig works with (you can see more about his ministry at www.facebook.com/craigmac25) Another group made their way to another village in the afternoon and started a game of baseball with the kids. We didn't have a ball with us so the kids went and picked some fruit off the tree and that became our ball for the game. Then 3 of the FL team members made their way down the village streets to stop and talk with the families in the area. We were able to pass out tracks and pray with the families.

Today we spent the morning in the Capital being "tourists." For lunch we went to a local restaurant and experienced some of the cultural food here in the DR, it was so delicious! Then we went to Pasitos de Jesus, which is a girls home that Score International oversees. Our team played volleyball, played on the playground, sang songs and Tina had the opportunity to present a Worship Painting. The kids even helped with the painting and it was beautiful! Before we left, the kids sang to us and shared some of their stories. Tomorrow is our last "ministry" day with the NY team. Please keep praying for our team as we finish out the week strong and make our way back to FL late on Saturday.

Aug 4th - DR Mission Team Update

Today our team headed out to Emanuel House again to finish painting the chair legs, table legs and the outside of the building. There were 2 additional smaller groups that had the privilege of going to the village to visit with some more families. Pictured above is Pastor Theodore and his family. They have 10 children ranging in age from 2 to 22. Pastor Theodore shared with our group about his church, different customs within the congregation, and about their need for water. We had the opportunity to pray with them, asking God to provide an abundance of rain and water.
 

NY Team Member, Paul, playing baseball with Pastor Theodore's oldest son, Jackson.

 After returning to the Score Complex and eating lunch, we made our way to the Lily House which is a ministry of Score that rescues exploited women and empowers them to work with dignity as they work creatively with their hands! While there are no pictures allowed at this location, team members and Lily House guests shared their testimonies and gave us a tour of the facility.

Aug 3rd - DR Mission Trip

Our 1st work day began with preparing bags of food for families that Score International works with. The bags consisted of rice, fish, beans, oil, pasta and the hygiene bags that were made at First Christian Church and here at the complex.  After preparing the bags we made our way out to Emanual House which is located in Quisqueya about 30 minutes away from where we are staying. It serves as a school for about 150 kids. Many of these children are not allowed to attend public school because they do not have a birth certificate or their parents can not afford the uniforms and supplies.

 

Once arriving to Emanuel House, the teams split up into several groups serving with different projects that needed to be completed before the next school year begins. Pictured above the group was responsible for sanding and repainting all the tables and chairs for each classrom.

Although team member, Brek McClenithan's favorite quote is... "If you ain't sweating, you ain't serving," we did capture this moment of interation with one of the kids at the school.

Another group was responsible for scraping and spackeling all the classroom walls to be repainted tomorrow.

Some of the groups had a chance to go into the village of Quisqueya to help deliver the food & hygeine bags from this morning. They were able to talk, witness, and pray with the families that had children attending Emanuel House.

Sunday, August 2nd DR Mission Team

This morning, we got to attend a church service in the town of San Pedro (it's about the size of Lakeland and 20 minutes from the SCORE complex in Juan Dolio). The name of the church is Juan 3:16 and is pastored by Sadrac who is a Score missionary. The music and message was amazing! A group from the New York team got up and sang "How Great is Our God" in Spanish in front of the church. When combined with people also singing it in English, it was a beautiful joyful noise singing praises to the Lord! All of the music was sung in Spanish. Pastor Sadarac gave the message in English and had a translator for the Dominicans there. He started the message by reading Matthew 10 talking about all of the disciples, and how Simon the Zealot was just mention once in the entire Bible. Then he used 1 Corinthians 12:21 talking about the importance of all of the body parts, and finished with Matthew 19:27-28. The meaning behind the message was to be faithful in whatever God calls you to do, whether you are a known or unknown soldier. Your reward will be received in Heaven for the Kingdom work done on earth. It was awesome to be able to worship with the church members there despite having a language barrier.

After church we made our by a local store and picked up some items, then we headed back to the Score Complex. We ate lunch and then met as an entire team to introduce ourselves and get to know each other a little better. After that it was time to work! We began unpacking the supplies that were brought by both the FL & NY teams. We formed an assembly line and started making 200 hygeine bags that will later be distributed to families that Score works with throughout the year.

We got to visit the beach for few hours after packing all the bags right before coming back to eat super and have devotion. We can't wait to share with you all tomorrow about the amazing things that God has shown us. Continue to pray for our team, both FL & NY!

5 Weeks of Missions

We're about to lead into Week #4 which means you've all been praying for these teams, hearing all about what God's been doing and you're ready for more KINGDOM NEWS!

It's certainly exciting to watch our Brother's & Sister's in Christ follow the call to go into all of the world and share the good news. Here are some pictures and updates of the trips so far...

WEEK #1 - FBC Wauchula (Toronto, Canada) 
To view more about their trip and the work they are doing, visit http://www.fbcwauchula.blogspot.com

WEEK #2 - Florida's First Assembly (Cite Soleil, Haiti)

This team brought Kidz Muzik Kamp to Haiti!!! 

WEEK #3 - First Baptist Church of Bowling Green (Ecuador) 

This team is still on the mission field and people are coming to know the Lord. Baptisms will be held tomorrow! (updates are posted on FB frequently) 

WEEK #4 - Oak Grove Baptist Church & First Christian Church (Dominican Republic) 

This team leaves on Saturday. Most have never left the country and this will be there very first missions trip. More updates for the SMM DR 2015 Missions Team coming soon... 

WEEK #5 - Northside Baptist Church (Haiti) 

Pray for this team as they still have another week to prepare for their trip. Each of the team members will be leaving behind family and small children which can be hard. 

The Rouse Family who live in Haiti 

A Visionary Trip to the Dominican Republic

On January 27, 2015 I will fly to the Dominican Republic with my 14 year old grandson Isaiah and a lady from our ministry staff. I'm looking forward to introducing Isaiah to the mission field and hoping a flame will be lit in his heart for those who live in third world countries as well as those in his own community of Liberty, North Carolina. One mission trip can change a heart forever.

It was in 2008 a group of missionaries came to Lydia's House wanting to tour the home for women we had opened in Wauchula. They saw the hand of God in the ministry as they listened intently to the amazing stories of God's provision. In fact Jesus was all we had when we responded to the call. We stepped out in faith and led us every step of the way. 

One of the missionaries spoke up saying, "I have never done this before, but I want to invite you to go with us to the Dominican." "There is a lady who pastors a small church in the Dominican. She believes God is calling her to start an orphanage and she is praying because the need is so great." "Perhaps you could encourage her," the missionary said.  

In a matter of days I was flying to a third world country where my heart would be broken as I realized the difference between American poverty and third world poverty. Pastor Anna greeted me warmly and before long we formed a friendship that continues to this day. We put down roots, invested and committed to support the orphanage until the Lord releases us. 

When I returned home our ministry board decided to tithe from our ministry to the Dominican and in doing so we have been able to provide funds to open and maintain an orphanage for girls. First with a rented building and today with the generous help of others the home has been bought and paid for. Little girls who would other wise have no place to live now have a place to call home and an education as well as an opportunity to hear the gospel message. 

Each year we take supplies and provide beans and rice for the impoverished community. I am praying about the possibility of opening an orphanage for young boys. You never know what God might do.   Thank you for keeping us in your prayers as we continue this work in the Dominican Republic. 

Sherry White

Sherry White Ministries, Inc. 

We Can End Modern Day Slavery!

Greece Mission Trip: Day 4 "In Her Shoes" 

Today we started by crossing the Greece border into Bulgaria and touring through small poor villages. We saw first-hand the life of a typical girl/women before they are trafficked. After spending the morning in the villages it was easy to understand why people from the villages are easy prey for traffickers. 

Traffickers search for vulnerable people who they can trick into leaving their villages for better job opportunities but then force them into sex slavery. In these villages there are no job opportunities, education is extremely low, and the need to make money is very high. 

After returning back to Greece we went on a red light district tour. We witnessed where human trafficking sex slaves are forced to work through street prostitution and brothels. We drove down the busy street of Thessaloniki that was covered with sex shops and strip clubs. Then we turned down a road and followed a sign with an arrow pointed right that read "sex➡️". As we made our way down the road, for several blocks, on both sides of the street, it was covered with legal and illegal brothels. The brothels all had small red lights above the door and had open signs. We could see guys walking in & out of these doors. 

I was overwhelmed by what I saw but then I was reminded of what an A21 staff shared with us. 

Annie (A21 Staff) told us that there are 27 million girls that have been sold into sex slavery but there is also 3 billion Christians in the world. That is an 85:1 ratio; for every 85 Christians in the world there is 1 victim. If the church can come together we can outnumber the amount of victims and we can end modern day slavery!  

- Gloria Solis 

Today as we toured a very poor village in Bulgaria I found this soccer ball and goalie box behind a run down school. In this village many young girls become victims of human trafficking. I wonder how many times soccer has been a place of refuge for the kids here, or a has given them joy from their brokenness. #fcaeverywhere#sisterhoodgreece2014