You can make a difference... even when you aren't on foreign soil!

Everyone has a part to play in sharing the gospel. So many believe that if they aren't going on an international mission trip, they aren't as important. But that's just one of Satan's lies. When a team is on the mission field in another country, we all have a role to play... There are those that helped financially to send the team, there are those who gave of their time and helped the team prepare for the trip, but there is something we can all do no matter our age, race, gender, denomination, or income... PRAY! 

Hardee County has two youth teams out in the field this week. They are finishing up the work they've been called to do and will begin preparation to come back to the U.S. Departing from a foreign country after falling in love with the people is always bittersweet.

• Pray for each of the team members as they say goodbye and return to their home mission field in Hardee County. 
• Pray for the conversations they will have with other students next week as they return back to school and that God give them the same boldness they have in Haiti and the Dominican Republic at Hardee Senior High School. 
• Pray for safe travels home. 
• Pray for their spiritual walk with the Lord and their conversations with Him throughout the next few weeks. May they apply what they've learned and seen to their every day walk with Christ.
• Pray that the impact of this trip forever change their lives and that they always seek opportunities to share the gospel with others and show love. 
• Pray that each team member recognize that they are always on mission for the Lord and that our mission field is where we are each and every day. 

He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out worked into his harvest field." - Luke 10:2

Haiti Mission Team - Florida's First Assembly 

Dominican Republic Mission Team - First Christian Church

Spring Break Mission Trips for Hardee County Youth

For many, Spring Break means vacation or time off, but for two of our local youth groups, it means leaving the country to serve others.

Pray for both of these teams as they will be leaving Saturday morning and returning later on in the week.

Florida's First Assembly Haiti Mission Team

First Christian Church Dominican Republic Mission Team 

Feliz Navidad de Guatemala! Merry Christmas, Marvin!

We are so excited about our child sponsorship with Orphan's Heart! Thanks to the proceeds from your poinsettia purchases, SendMeMissions sponsors Marvin, a little boy living in Guatemala.

Last December Marvin and his family were invited to a Christmas party for all of the children in Guatemala sponsored through Orphan's Heart. 480 children and parents enjoyed games, door prizes, a Guatemalan Christmas dinner, and each child received a present. In addition, the Christmas story was told so that everyone could hear the Good News of Christ our Savior.

We are grateful for Orphan's Heart and the ministry they have in Guatemala and across the globe. If you'd like to read more about their mission or see more pictures from the Christmas party, check out the Orphan's Heart blog. Pray that the Lord would continue work in the lives of Marvin and his family.

Hardee County Mission Teams Update 1-22-2017

First Baptist Church Bowling Green - Ecuador 
January 20, 2017 

It has been a rainy day here in Tabacundo. We started the day with half of our group having a Bible study with a gentleman whom the group unanimously agrees has been showing a positive change in his openness to the Lord. Satan is attacking him and his family presently and they are in need of much prayer.

The other group went up to the ministry above Cayambe that does work with the elderly. The ministry had a presentation of which they wanted us to be a part.

The first team made arrangements to visit with another family later in the day and that fell through because of a family health issue. We will keep trying to get over to see them. Pray for this family as well. We sense, but are not certain, something is in the air between them and our ministry. This family has been a vital part of our work here the past three years and things have just been different this trip.

I mentioned that it has been rainy today. Some would even say chilly or even cold. As a result, we only had 7 people make it to our Bible study tonight and 4 of them were new for us this week.

The young man who received Jesus last night was 1 of the 7. The man who brought him last night also came back and he brought another friend with him. At the end of the night these 3 were still with us until 10 p.m. talking. The new friend has not received Jesus as his Lord and Savior, but we encouraged him to truly think about it and we invited him back to the remainder of our studies.

1 of our repeat Bible study attenders has brought us a great deal of joy this week. We have seen some amazing growth in her life and she told us that her entire family did the Bible study lesson together and that her husband really enjoyed it. The mere fact her husband did the study with her is huge and an amazing praise report. Pray for God to do a work in his life.

Tomorrow is a "free" day, but we are already making plans for more contacts and trying to build on the work we have already done.

May the Lord be brought glory throughout the remainder of our time. - Pastor Scott Tharp 

January 21, 2017 

This is Saturday and our fourth update. The pastor has passed the duties along, so the content may lack some continuity with the previous ones. :-)

The team had hoped to have an off day today up on Mt. Cayambe, but the weather prediction for the mountain was for heavy rain all day, so we cancelled that and spent the biggest part of the morning trying to see and encourage those we have yet to make a connection. Part of the team was finally able to spend some quality time with the wife of the family that has been so vital the ministry the last three years. The husband and wife have both made professions of faith, but it seems satan is working on choking out their growth with the busyness of life. We left a copy of the Bible study we have been covering each night and encouraged her to try to include the whole family when completing it. At the the same time the other team mates made a couple of visits and shared some scripture on the other side of town.

We were all then treated to lunch with our sweet Ecuadorian family in Cayambe. It's so neat that we have friends in our own church at home that have family here that we can have such a special fellowship with.

With the cool, rainy conditions continuing, the number attending tonight's study was eight besides the team. But, among those were three new faces. Now the wonderful thing is that the new faces were not invited by us, but by others who have attended during the week! It was especially sweet to see one of our preadolescent friends, who's family has been attending for several years and who's mom has been baptized, show up again tonight but this time with a friend of his! They immediately sat down and, with heads together, began working on the study. (Prov. 22:6)

Quite a few who have been attending, have said they will be joining us for worship tomorrow. This includes the family in the previous post who has been in Satan's crosshairs for several months now. We know that our God is greater so join us in praying for restoration of this marriage.

Once again our pastor has been invited to share the message in the morning. Pray not only for the message and open hearts, but for our translator as she shares the message for us.

We have a full day of visits after church tomorrow that include two in La Esperanza. Please pray for those on our team with some cold symptoms to improve. (As my Sharon often says, "Ain't nobody got time for that!")

Praying for you all at home as well as you meet for worship tomorrow!

Bendiciones! -Janice Durrance 

January 22, 2017 

One of our other members has written tonights post, but I am typing what they wrote.

We began this beautiful Sunday morning meeting some friends and walking to church. Where a member of our team had the opportunity to share the gospel. We learned that we need to have a relationship with God on His terms instead of our terms. We also learned that we need to pray believing that God can and will answer our prayers, instead of just half believing. After church, we were invited to visit some friends for a meal.

In the afternoon, we went to visit a family and shared the gospel and gave our testimonies. Some members of the family were very interested in what we shared with them. Please pay their interest would grow and they keep learning more about God.

We also ask prayers as one of our team members is a little under the weather.

Chris Bishop & Family - Nicaragua 

January 21, 2017 

Since it has been a couple days since we posted I will try to be quick. Friday was a very full and busy day, we did two bible clubs on at 9:30am and one at 2pm and it was also the warmest day so far. btw the weather has been unseasonably cool and we are still getting the occasional rain shower but Friday was definitely warmer and sunnier so after a late night Thursday preparing and an early morning preparing, we went to morning club, then to lunch at a friends home, then to pick up our supplies for the afternoon club from the house and then back to the school for another couple hours. When we finished we cleaned the school as a thank you for letting us use their facilities, swept, mopped, clean windows, wipe down walls, doors and desks and donated the cleaning supplies to the school as well as a few tools for their projects with the students. We had planned on eating at home but After the long day we went out for pizza!

Yesterday we took as many helpers a spas could go to the river and waterfall near Juigalpa, it was beautiful and a fun day for those who could come. It is a blessing to bless those who serve so faithfully all year pouring in to the lives of these kids and their families in this neighborhood.

Today I am teaching Sunday School, then we will go town for the afternoon to Maxi Pali and the local market then to evening service. Hope everyone in the states has a great Sunday! Glory to God

Disaster Relief Updates from 2016

DISASTER RELIEF UPDATES In 2016 so many of you said, "Here am I. Send Me," when we called for volunteers to serve with us during 2 different Disaster Relief trips. Thank you for your willingness to serve! We wanted to provide both teams with some updates from just a few of the families we impacted... Please also keep those who are currently experiencing bad weather, including tornadoes, as the night begins to fall and the winds pick up.  LA - Penny & David (House #1)   Penny & David have kept in touch with SMM since we worked on their home in August. So we wanted to share with you all how they are doing... Below are a few pictures that show their house coming along... One of the pictures also shows a painting that was donated by a local Hardee County Artist that we mailed to Penny & David just before Christmas as a reminder to them that God is faithful even during hard times. They've asked for prayer in the following ways: Flood insurance is not paying enough for people to rebuild their homes. Pray we make very wise financial decisions and that God will bless and multiply the funds we do have. There are only so many Louisiana state licensed workers so most of them have inflated their prices. We had a painter that stole from us yesterday so we are trying to find an honest painter at reasonable price. Still a lot of work to do and pray for honest workers. Thank you so much for your prayers, work and continued support. - Penny        FL - Nanette Hill (House #1)  Ms Hill sent a card to us recently with the following update:    11-18-16 Have to apologize to you great folks - taking so long to send from my heart a most grateful THANK YOU. You were a God "send" to me, I couldn't have asked for better people that surrounded me with the Lord's blessing. I have been going since the hurricane trying to get back to some sort of "normal." Today is the first time I haven't done something to clean or mend from the storm. I can now breath and slow down but my body have a much needed rest. My house is safely enclosed. I have continued to feel his blessing with others that have crossed my path. Thank you very much! God Bless you all, Nanette Hill (Mims, FL)  Trip Photo Albums  We were able to complete a photo album from the Melbourne Trip. If you did not get one and would like one, they are $23 each. Click here to view. *We are still working on one for the Louisiana Trip.* Disaster Relief TrainingFor those of you who are interested in Disaster Relief Training, there are several dates and times available in 2017. Currently SMM has not decided on 1 specific date that we will be attending. We will however, include this information in our monthly newsletter and post online via social media, when we have decided.  Click here for Training Dates

Hardee County Mission Teams Update 1-20-17

There are two teams serving on the mission field from Hardee County this week. Below are some updates from their trips so far...

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BOWLING GREEN - ECUADOR 
Jan 18, 2017
We have finished our first full day on the mission field. The morning was spent making phone calls inviting people to our Bible study tonight. In the afternoon we went and met with a lady who we met for the first time on the street in Cayambe back in August. We met her and her daughter and invited them to the Bible study tonight. They came with two others. Later we had a wonderful meeting with the local pastor and had a sweet time of prayer with him. After that we began preparing for the Bible study. We had 12 people show up and most of them were first time attendees. We went through the Bible study material we handed out in October. After the Bible study, we had one individual stay behind and speak us. This person was needing some advice and we gave the best answers we could and took them to the Scriptures. Pray for all that came tonight to return as we continue our study through this material we gave them and those in October. May more come even tomorrow to grow in God's grace. Thank you for your prayers and support. -Pastor Scott Tharp 

Jan 19, 2017 

It has been an adventure today. One of the things we did not mention yesterday was that our apartment floor had some damage (we believe from water). Our landlord brought a repairman to the apartment today and he spent the majority of the day fixing our floor. As a result, we were only able to use a very small portion of our apartment for this evenings Bible study. We had 15 people and it was VERY crowded. The day consisted of lots of contacts with people throughout Tabacundo. We also had a divine appointment with the local pastor with whom we are doing work. It was wonderful to see how God orchestrates events.

The main news of the day to report was the Bible study itself. We had the local pastor with us tonight and I hope the evening was a blessing to him and his congregational members who were present. At the end of the Bible study I asked if anyone needed to receive Jesus into their hearts as Lord and Savior. One young man said he needed Jesus. I asked the pastor to take him into and the friend that brought him to go back to one of the bedrooms and talk about receiving Jesus. After a little bit of time, they came out and he said he had prayed to receive Jesus. Pray for this young man to grow in his relationship with Jesus.

We also had three other ladies pull FBC Bowling Green's pastor aside and ask for prayer as well. Their prayer requests were not for salvation, but did regard very serious life issues. Because of the nature of Facebook we are not willing to share the specifics, but I would request you to prayer for these three ladies and for God to do an amazing work in their lives.

We have a full day in front of us again tomorrow. Our free day this trip will be on Saturday morning/afternoon, but we will have a Bible study that evening. On Sunday the local pastor has asked our pastor to preach and he has accepted. Sunday afternoon we have a meeting in La Esperanza. We resume having Bible studies on Monday and Tuesday. We have a few meetings in the day times as well. We need your prayers. Pray the Lord to show His favor on us. -Pastor Scott Tharp 

CHRIS BISHOP & FAMILY - NICARAGUA 

Jan 18, 2017 

Bible club day 1 began by doing some work on the family's home where Maricela does her Bible club every week... This is a very giving and loving family who's home essentially needed rebuilt. So the crew of guys worked all morning on the house came to bible club to help out there, got the whole house torn apart and the roof put back. Tomorrow they will finish the inside. 

At the bible club we had 152 name tags distributed and some additional moms there with their kiddos. It was a good day teaching about Jesus' birth!

Jan 19, 2017 

We spent the early morning choking on the house the Nicaraguan guys began repairing, Rebuilding yesterday, dropped the kids off with some of Mariicela's family and they spent the morning playing at one of the parks then we returned the house to make preparations for Day 2 of bible club getting snack. Drinks, and craft ready to go then it was an adventure just getting there because we are getting rain showers every 3-4 hours some for only a minute or two but today was for like 20 minutes and it made the roads bad enough our driver Miguel had difficulty navigating some roads, he is a great driver but his van has limitations. A good friend and servant of God, Sebastian came to the rescue with his flatbed cargo truck and loaded up our supplies and about two dozen of us on his truck, no problemo! 

At the bible club we had 148 kids and over 40 of them were different from yesterday. The bible story was about Jesus' last supper, death and resurrection. 

I want to say a special thanks to Maricela and her family for her hospitality as we are staying with her in her neighborhood and a special thanks to her team of volunteers they are awesome. 

Tomorrow we are doing 2 lessons in one day at 9:30 and at 2pm, that will be a busy day our team of volunteers here spent evening preparing the snacks and drinks and we went to an evening women's church service with some great music fun games and me preaching. Some impromptu ministry needs and prayers are needed for a few families here who we have gotten to know over the last few years and are facing some challenges. Greeting to all y'all back home! buenos noches.

Ecuador Mission Team Update (Day 5, 6 & 7)

October 8, 2016 - Day 5
We have had such a fun and great day. Do we sound like a broken record? Today we began our day with an incredible devotional, followed by a wonderful breakfast, and then we had one of our team head to Cayambe to encourage a Christian Sister of ours, and the rest of the team began their "down time" day. Earlier this week we were invited to visit the lakes at the top of the mountains behind Tabacundo. At about 11:30 our friend came to the apartment to pick us up. We grabbed water and blankets and jumped in the back of pickup truck. Maybe I should rephrase that last sentence. Ten of us climbed into the bed of the pickup truck, then scrunched ourselves down so we wouldn't be pulled over, and off we went to the Lagunas de Mojanda. It's about an hour drive to the lakes, with the majority of the ride on a well kept dirt road. On the trip we experienced sunshine, clouds, rain, hail, more rain, cold, but most of all we enjoyed the beauty of God's creation and the fellowship of believers. The lakes are nestled in the mountains, originally created by volcanoes, and absolutely breathtaking. We probably spent about an hour up at the lake, taking pictures, laughing, getting soaked in the rain, drinking hot chocolate and coffee to try to warm up, and then finally headed back to Tabacundo. The return trip was dry, faster, and filled again with laughter and fellowship. Back in Tabacundo we changed into dry clothes, ate lunch, and then prepared the apartment for our evening meeting. And what a meeting it was!!!!! We had 19 people join the team in our apartment to learn more about discipleship and sharing their testimonies. We had a packed house! We recapped "one verse evangelism ", shared testimonies, and then officially closed the meeting making sure anyone who had questions was welcome to stay and talk. And stay and talk they did. The 11 year old girl from yesterday's post confirmed her understanding of salvation, expressed her desire to be baptized, then had her little heart broken because her dad and she are leaving Tabacundo in the morning to head to the coastal region to live, meaning she would not be able to be baptized tomorrow. After reminding her that obedience to her dad is more important than baptism, we gave her her own personal Bible, and her beautiful smile returned. Other conversations involved encouraging church attendance, confirmation of salvation, and just plain fellowship. It was an incredible evening! Tomorrow is our last full day here and as much as we miss our families and friends, we really wish we had more time. Now sleep must come, so we close wishing you grace and peace.

October 9, 2016 - Day 6 
This was our last full day in Ecuador! We can't believe it has passed so quickly. We're pretty sure this will be the last update, so hang on tight. We began our day with a surprise. The first interpreter we ever had in Ecuador was on his way to Otavalo, and popped by to say hello. What a sweet reunion! We then walked to the Iglesia Cristiana Betesda with one of our Ecuadorian friends and her three kids and worshipped our Lord and Savior, even though most of us couldn't understand a word of what was said. We did sense the Spirit who lives in us as we joined their service. Afterwards we went to lunch with a few friends, whom we met at church, and then went to the apartment to start the packing process and prepare for our last evening meeting. At 4 pm we headed to Cayambe to visit with one of our own's family, and then back to the apartment for our evening discipleship meeting. Perhaps because this was our last meeting, the discipleship training did not really occur. Instead our friends came and went, and we had one on one conversations and a short devotional. Although it was not what we had planned, it was a very good time, and we felt God's promptings throughout the meeting. We have now finished packing, cleaned the apartment and are as ready as we can be for our departure in the morning at 7:30. Thank you again for your prayers this past week. We could not do God's will without your prayer cover. Blessings to you all!

October 10, 2016 - Returning Home 
We have landed in Orlando and are on the van heading to Bowling Green. Today we began the day with an awesome praise time which we ended by singing Jesus Messiah. We are truly thankful for all He did this past week. We then loaded up the van and headed to Quito. We ate breakfast right outside the Middle of the World Museum, followed by an enjoyable tour of 00'00'00 Latitude. Then off to the airport where we ate lunch and then boarded our plane to Panama. Our plane from Panama to Orlando was slightly delayed, which might help you understand why we got in later than expected. Otherwise the flights were in essence routine. We are all tired, yet our hearts are so full of God's goodness. We have been so blessed to see growth in our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in Christ. To God be all the glory!

Ecuador Mission Team Update (Day 4)

Ecuador Team Update - October 7, 2016 (Day 4)
We have had a great day!!!! May we stop right there? OK, OK... I know that isn't enough. After our morning devotional and breakfast we hit the streets. Some of the people we intentionally sought out, many we simply encountered on our walks from here to there. ALL we invited to join us for tonight's discipleship meeting. Just before noon we handed out tracts to the elementary and high school kids just below our apartment. For those of you who don't know, for reasons that are not completely known by our translators, school is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. Right around noontime some kids are going home for the day, and the others are headed to school, and this means the streets are teeming with kids. It was fun to hand out the tracts and we did not find any thrown away after the fact. We then continued with our visits around town, prepared the apartment for the evening, and rested just a bit before heading to eat some "quimbolitos" at one of our Christian sister's homes. Quimbolitos are little cakes cooked in leaves with steam and are delicious! Then back to the apartment for our meeting, which went very well. We had 16 plus the team and translators smushed in our living room. We recapped the previous evenings and then broke up into groups to practice sharing the one verse evangelism with one another. After some initial hesitation, everyone participated. YAY!!!!! We then shared testimonies, starting with one of our team, and then opened up the floor to anyone else. A few took us up on the offer and shared. It was very encouraging. A big shout out goes to a few on our team who took charge of the kids so the adults could pay better attention. THANK YOU!!! After the meeting was officially over, a man and his 11 year old daughter stayed behind for some more teaching. Please pray she grasps the difference between works based salvation and doing good because you love God. Now we are heading to bed. We can't believe we only have two full days left in this beautiful country. Please pray we accomplish God's will. May you be filled with peace.