Buenos Dias!
Here in Pichilemu Chile it is a beautiful morning and shortly we will be headed out to Espinillo to work. Espinillo is a rural town of about 40 people about an hour’s drive on mostly dirt roads from Pichilemu. This where we have been working on building 4 houses alongside some local pastors and other relief teams. The 4 houses are in different stages of completion with 2 almost finished, one under roof, and one framed. The people we are building for had their old adobe brick homes destroyed by the earthquake. It is estimated that there are still around 400 destroyed homes that have yet to be rebuilt or even touched in the countryside surrounding Pichilemu. Which means at least 400 families are sleeping outside in tents with the cold and rainy winter season rapidly approaching.
Everywhere we go, we hear the stories of the people who lived through this experience. One of the ladies we are building for was able to get out of her house with her daughter just minutes before the roof collapsed onto the bed where they had been sleeping. Others were knocked to the floor unable to move because of the strength of the tremors. Still others know whole families that died. My heart breaks for these people. Please pray for healing among the people of Chile.

Pray also for:

* Building materials and money for the materials needed.
* Unity between the various leaders of relief projects through YWAM
* The people of rural Chile

Dios te Bendiga!
Kim, Dale, and the rest of the IMPACT team

We are truly winding down here and preparing for our re-entry back to the United States. We said tearful goodbyes to our dear friends in Sumbe yesterday and drove to the capital city, Luanda where we will spend our last six days in Angola. It seemed like most of the church was there to see us off. Such incredibly warm, gracious people and it was difficult to say goodbye. Gloria was especially sad to say goodbye to all her musician friends. She left part of her heart in Sumbe.

We had a number of highlights last week that we want to tell you about. Mary organized a “kid’s day” and Tuesday afternoon we all piled onto the back of a truck and headed to a small village outside of Sumbe. We walked along the main path in the village and invited all the children to join us. They seemed to come from everywhere! Mary and Cleber told them the story of the Good Samaritan with the rest of the team providing the visual re-enactment of the story. Then we divided up the kids and while Malcolm, Cleber and Lori took half of them to run relay races, Riaan, Fipi and Christiane took the other half and entertained them with music and dance. Camila, Mary and Gloria were busy getting a snack ready. It was like VBS (vacation bible school) in America…only modified to fit Africa. Most of the time there was mass chaos but it was a good chaos. The kids loved it. There were so many kids that we were concerned we wouldn’t have enough food for everyone to have some; but we remembered that if Jesus can feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, He should be able to handle a snack for a bunch of kids in Angola. So we prayed and we had plenty of crackers and juice to spare. Mary’s heart for the children of Africa really shone and it was wonderful to see God use her to bless these kids who have so little.

Another highlight this past week was Saturday’s baptism. Mary, Malcolm and Gloria all helped with teaching the final discipleship classes. It was especially rewarding for Riaan, Fipi and Lori who led the discipleship classes to see their students take such an important step on their journey with the Lord. One of the girls came up to the three after the baptism and told them “Because of your classes, I am happy now”. What an amazing change from the shy, downcast girl who started the first class. Another one of the girls in the class has a challenging situation with her family not being supportive of her involvement in the church. She has so many pressures from family and friends but is determined to grow in the Lord. Cleber suggested she go to complete a DTS (Discipleship Training School) at the YWAM base in Benguela. Through several generous donors who have paid her way and through Cleber and Christiane’s working out the details, she is off to Benguela on Friday to start her DTS. We are so excited to see her taking this next step in her walk with the Lord.

Camila spent each afternoon with the young adults in the church. She imparted to them many truths on hearing the voice of God. They took a lot of notes and asked a lot of good questions. They did some practical exercises and are already working on applying it to their own lives. Camila challenged them to begin now with applying the things they’ve learned in their own church with the tools God has already given them. They rose to the challenge and prepared a moving drama that they performed in the service on Sunday morning.

Mary and Evelyn led the team in another painting project. They put their creative genius to work and we painted the two gazebos behind the church. The school next door uses it for kids’ classes so we used lots of random shapes and bright colors. We got to visit the school one morning and see the kids in their classes.

Our farewell service in Sumbe was on Sunday morning. In true African fashion the service lasted over five hours. It was a great way to end our time there. The focus was on family and we asked all the families to sit together. Christiane and Malcolm started with a baby dedication. The whole team was on stage holding babies, complete with two tiny twins named Jacob and Esau. Camila prayed a beautiful prayer for a special needs child that had many of us in tears. Mary called all the children up and prayed a blessing over them. Her heart for the children of Africa was once again evident and there may have been tears shed then as well! Gloria led a prayer of blessing over the teenagers. Evelyn ministered to all those in the church who don’t have family with them for one reason or another. Camila prayed for the youth. Lori led a prayer for the ladies and Riaan ended it all with leading the fathers in praying a blessing over their families.

After the service the team stood in a line at the front of the church and said goodbye to every single person there. Lots and lots and lots…did we mention…LOTS of hugs, kisses and even some tears. Beautiful, beautiful people who gave so much more than we were able to repay. We can only pray that the Lord will take the little we were able to give and multiply it for them.

This will be our last update from Angola. We will try to post again when we arrive in America. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please pray that our final days here would be good ones. We will be leading services in a church here in Luanda on Saturday and Sunday before flying to South Africa on Tuesday. We will be staying with Riaan’s aunt and uncle for one night before traveling on to America on Wednesday.

Another week has come and gone and this one was the busiest one yet, due in part to the missions conference we had here at the church. More about that in a moment.

Riaan, Fipi and Lori continued the discipleship classes, teaching on things like relationship with God and surrendering rights. The students have been very consistent in showing up for class. They do their best to show up on time which for their culture is quite a challenge. The next week of classes will be the last, culminating in their baptism on Saturday. We have learned their names and are feeling a real connection with them by now. We will be sad to see the classes come to an end.

Wednesday was our day off and Christiane took us to a beautiful waterfall outside the city. We had a barbeque and enjoyed relaxing in a gorgeous setting. Most of us were able to overcome any reservations we had about the dirty water and various “creatures” in the water and actually ended up thoroughly loving the climb up the waterfall and playing in the water. It was a nice break in the middle of a busy week. Mary couldn’t get enough of the waterfall…she was definitely in her happy place.

Several of us witnessed an event on Tuesday that really impacted us. We were traveling to a nearby village and came up on a traffic accident immediately after it happened. There was a wounded policeman lying in the road. He had been thrown from a motorcycle. The other man on the motorcycle was also injured but he managed to run away and disappear. We jumped out of our car and went to check on the policeman who was bleeding and unconscious. We could see that he was breathing so we didn’t want to move him in case his neck was broken. So we stood next to him, while a crowd gathered, curious about what was going on. We prayed while we waited for an ambulance to arrive. We were quite shocked when the medics came. They hopped out and in a very light-hearted manner (one of the medics was actually laughing) tossed the unconscious policeman on a stretcher and threw him in the back of the van. It all took maybe 30 seconds. The medics and the crowd all seemed to have a very “oh well…another one down…who cares?” outlook on the situation. It highlighted for us the tragic disregard for life that so many have. Death has become too normal and the tragedy here on this continent has numbed many people into an attitude of passivity and inevitability.

It was something that we believe the Lord allowed us to witness as it gave us a real passion for sharing the things the Lord put on our hearts for the missions conference that began on Wednesday. Evelyn spoke the first evening and issued a challenge that ALL of us are to be involved in helping the world we live in. So many people dying and we as a church must be the ones to bring hope. Fipi spoke the next night about being a hero (complete with an impromptu drama on David and Goliath. And yes, 6’ 4” Malcolm was Goliath. Who would ever have seen THAT coming, right?). It was not only entertaining but it emphasized the message that Fipi had to share. There are many different spheres and we are not all called to be in the church. We are, however, all called to be salt and light in the sphere God calls us to whether that is education, media, business or even the family. On Friday evening Malcolm gave an inspiring message on fulfilling our destiny. Saturday morning, Lori spoke about the family being the first mission field and the importance of getting that right in order to have authority in other spheres. Christiane spoke Saturday evening on cross-cultural missions. On Sunday morning, Riaan led the final session and wow…what an incredible service! He was going to speak on making disciples but the Lord changed the whole topic during the service. Riaan spoke from his heart to his fellow Africans. The challenge he issued was to speak life over Africa, over Angola, over the people and especially over the children. There is too much death and the enemy has long had his way here. He led in several prayers of blessing over the people. What an incredibly powerful time. It was exciting for us as a team to witness the Lord using Riaan to challenge and inspire the church here.

It was also encouraging for us as a team to hear how blessed the band members from Benguela were at the missions conference. They had come to play and lead worship at the conference. They told one of the pastors here that their plan was to bless others but they went away feeling refreshed and encouraged and are still talking about the conference days later.

The painting project is very near completion. Malcolm did a stellar job of leading the project. Not an easy task when you have to improvise with all the supplies. The school looks great. We painted all afternoon on Saturday and into the evening until we had to stop for the evening session at the conference.

Gloria has been enjoying singing with several of the musicians here in the church. In her free time, she can usually be found near the keyboard singing and playing.

This next week is our last full week in Sumbe so we would appreciate your prayers for a strong finish! It will be hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people here. Several things for you to pray with us about:

Thank the Lord for restoring the health of the team.
Pray for the discipleship class who will be getting baptized on Saturday. This is the last full week of classes so we are asking the Lord to help us teach them important foundational truths.
Pray for Camila who will be teaching the youth every afternoon this week.
Pray for Christiane, Cleber and Camila who continue to give the rest of our team a voice. Translation is hard work and is exhausting so please pray for clear minds and stamina.
Pray for next Sunday’s service. It’s our last Sunday here and we will be leading a special service focused on building strong families. We really want the Lord to use us to bless and encourage the church here so they can impact their city and their nation in a powerful way.

Until next week…warm regards from Angola.

What a crazy week we had, so hang on for the ride while we try to tell you all about it without turning this post into a book. It started with us as a team taking on a more active role in planning the outreach activities. We had a team meeting on Sunday and worked out our schedule for each day and who would be responsible for what activities. Camila and Evelyn were the team leaders for the week and did a fabulous job keeping us all informed on what was going on.

As mentioned in last week’s update, we had the privilege of starting a discipleship class this week. To say we are excited about it would be understating it. We have anywhere from 8 – 10 students and they come every weekday at 5:00. We spend an hour with them teaching them the basics. The first day they came, we saw mostly sad, downcast faces. They are very shy so that was part of it, but it was more than that. We sensed a real sadness in them. Riaan, Philip and Lori taught classes on the character and nature of God, the fall of man, Jesus and the work on the cross. By the end of this first week, we have literally seen countenances change before our eyes. It’s very rewarding and we can hardly wait for the next week’s classes. Several of them don’t have a Bible so Christiane is working on getting them each a Bible.

One afternoon Malcolm and Evelyn spent a few hours with the teenagers in the community. They spoke to the kids about holiness and did some fun activities with them to help them remember the lesson.

We also started a massive painting project this week. During our meeting on Sunday we really felt as a team that we wanted to serve the people here with our hands in some way. The school right next to the church badly needed a paint job so we started that late last week. Hmmm…let’s just say it was an interesting experience. As you might imagine, the culture here is completely different from what we all are accustomed to in our home countries. But when in Rome…do as the Romans, hey? The good news is that we got to work side by side with some of the young people here in the community who came to help us paint. The not so good news was that we had to just grin and bear it when paint got slapped onto walls in ways that would make most of us in the Western culture shudder. We still have a lot of work to do but we did get a good start on the school. We will continue the process next week.

So you can see we had a good week and got many things accomplished but it was not without its trials. On Tuesday the team started dropping one by one, sometimes two by two with sickness in one form or another. By the end of the week, Riaan and Fipi were the only two left unscathed. Christiane was kept busy making trips to the clinic and the pharmacy for the proper medication for all of us. Not to worry…we are all back up and on our feet again, and we are grateful to the Lord for getting us through it.

The highlight of the week came on Saturday evening when we visited another church led by a Brazilian pastor Edson. For most of us it was the best service yet. We were unbelievably encouraged and blessed by the people there. And very, very humbled when they took up an extremely generous offering of over $ 1,000.00 (one thousand dollars) for our team. We had been asking the Lord to provide for our needs and He certainly has done that. Not in a way that we expected, but our hearts were so touched by the generosity of people who have so little. What a challenge to all of us!

Please continue to pray for us. We only have three more weeks and we really want to accomplish everything the Lord has for us to do.

Boa Noite (that’s “Good evening” for all the non-Portuguese speaking among us) from Sumbe. Yes, we are back “home” in Sumbe after spending the last week in Benguela. It was our most intense week to date, bringing both great difficulty and great reward. As we mentioned last week, the living conditions (sleeping quarters, food, restroom facilities) were quite challenging. We learned how to live with less and were even able to laugh (ok…and maybe cry too) about the situation.

We spent the week in Benguela working with a YWAM Angola Director Pastor Lidercino, group of pastors from Brazil as well as a large team of volunteers from right here in Angola. We were there to support and serve the other teams who came to do outreach at the football tournament. Mornings were spent in preparation and intercession and then in the afternoon and evening we went out into the city, either to the market or the stadium. It never took long for a crowd to gather. Several of the team enjoyed meeting two of Nigeria’s football players and chatting with them. Actually we got ticket for free and we went a game, for many of us was our first time in the soccer game… was fun

Last week we asked you to pray for the supernatural in our lives as we minister to others. Your prayers were answered in a big way! On Thursday morning, we had a wonerful time of prayer together as a team prior to meeting with the larger group. Afterwards Riaan led the Bible study and spoke to them about forgiving those who hurt them. Our team then began to pray and minister to them and amazing things started to happen. Many tears were shed as the Holy Spirit began to minister to the deep hurt and rejection in those who were there. One young lady who was plagued by a demon came to the service on Thursday. When the ministry time began, it became obvious by her actions that she was in bondage. Two of our team prayed in the name of Jesus and took authority over the demon and then ministered to her. We had a sense on Thursday morning that God was going to do something special, but getting to witness firsthand the incredible love and power of God was a very special experience for us. When this beautiful young lady came back on Friday, it was incredible to see her so happy and free.

We were all really tired by the end of the week but it was a good kind of tired. What an encouragement for us to know that if we show up and allow the Lord to use us, He can and will do it. Physically, our situation was very challenging but this past week’s experiences opened our eyes to the intense spiritual battle going on in this country. We feel privileged that God would allow us to partner with Him in the work He is doing here.

Several of the team battled some stomach illnesses this week but at the moment, we are all doing well and so grateful to the Lord for His protection and for health.

Back in Sumbe we have an intense week ahead of us. We will be starting a discipleship class for new believers and teaching in a number of churches. We will be doing home visits as well as working with the youth and the kids.

Prayer Needs:
- Thank the Lord for the unity He has given our team. Living, working, sleeping, eating and spending almost every waking moment with each other keeps us challenged but we love each other and have been working very well as a team. We recognize that it’s the Lord in us.
- Protection for us as we follow the Lord’s leading this week.
- Wisdom and direction for the new discipleship class and for each of us as we prepare our sermons and bible studies.
- For the supernatural in our lives as we minister to others

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We know your prayers are what is keeping us encouraged and able to accomplish what God has for us here.

Christiane

Dear Friends,

We are doing well. Right now we are at the YWAM base in Benguela. The Africa Cup of Nations football tournament began today in Angola.  Our team is here in Benguela preparing to do a week of ministry and outreach at the games this week. These games are already tainted by tragedy. On Friday, militants in the north of Angola opened fire on the bus carrying the football team from Toga. Several people were killed and more were injured. Angola is just beginning to get back on her feet after so many years of civil war and was eager to host the Africa Cup of Nations to show the world they are recovering. This incident was clearly a blow to the nation of Toga as well as Angola. If there was any doubt that there are still issues in Angola, this is certainly proof that God’s love is desperately needed here. Here in Benguela our life is totally different than in Sumbe. We as a team are learning how to lay down our rights and live with less. It has been extremely warm and some of us have a hard time sleeping in the huts we are staying in. Everything from the showers to the food has been a challenge but we are in good spirits and ready to tackle the week.

This past week Mary, Evelyn, Riaan and Camila preached in different churches. God used them to bless the people. We also were able to visit people in their homes and bring clothes and toys for the kids. Every family we visited was blessed and so happy to receive us in their homes. Some even offered us food and sodas. On Thursday after two long days of travel Lori came. It is such a blessing to have her with us. We really missed her and now we feel that our family is complete. On Friday we drove to Benguela and then on Saturday we had a service here on the base. Around 200 people came and the team sang a song and did a drama. It was amazing. Praise God Philip and Cleber are feeling better and everybody is doing well.

Please pray this week for:

- Cleber’s America visa (he has a visa appointment on Tuesday at the Embassy)

- Protection for the team’s time in Benguela

- Protection during our trip back at the end of the week. We will be stopping in another town for a service on our way home to Sumbe.

- For the supernatural in our lives as we minister to others

Thank you for your support. We really need it.

In Jesus name,

Christiane

Hi DTS! Just saying hello! Happy 2010

These are some pictures from our first day and church service here in Angola. [pictures posted in the “Gallery”]. Our team performed a drama and everybody enjoyed seeing them.

We brought from USA a keyboard to bless the church worship team, a Brazilian family offering it for them. In this service also the members of the church gave us an offering: food, gifts and money. They offered more than 400 dollars. It was amazing to see these poor people give us with joy what we can call the widow’s offering.

I preached and after that the team prayed for the people. We went to the beach and the guys were having an amazing time there… they really enjoyed to be there. Every morning they are going to beach to do calisthenics. We are inviting the church’s members to join us.

I know my English is not good enough, but until Lori comes we are trying to do our best. Please Lori come soon! We miss you!

In Jesus Love,
Christiane

In a little over 24 hours, we are off to Angola! We have had a busy, wonderful few days here in Newark, New Jersey. Here are just a few highlights. Saturday morning started with sad farewells to the legend that is Daniel Brick. He is moving on to the next assignment God has for him. Daniel was more than a staff member to us over the past three months. Mentor. Teacher. Confidant. Friend. He served us so unselfishly and it was really hard to say goodbye, but we know our loss is going to be gain for those he touches next. We love you, Daniel. We miss you already.

Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent in prayer and preparation for the services we held in the evenings. We had a powerful time of prayer on Saturday morning. All along we have been reminded that we need to “show up and be available” and God will do the rest. That certainly is what happened in the services on Saturday and Sunday. We got to see the Holy Spirit use us to encourage others. Philip and Lori led the worship time assisted by members of the church band. We presented a drama in both services which the church loved. Mary, Gloria and Malcolm had lessons for the children and Camila and Riaan gave excellent sermons that both inspired and challenged. Karine shared her testimony which was also very powerful. Our team had a chance to pray for people and several were deeply touched by the Holy Spirit. It was encouraging for us to see what God was able to do through our lives this week.

Our hosts continue to feed us well. More gracious people you would be hard-pressed to find.

Monday we had another goodbye. Karine will be completing her outreach phase working with the Hopi tribe in Arizona. We know God is going to continue to use her life to bless those around her. We are already looking forward to reuniting with her in a few months.

On our day off we did a day trip to New York City. We made good memories: singing with a group of carolers in Times Square, traipsing through Chinatown, window shopping and even accidently stepping into puddles of melted snow. The toes were unhappy for the remainder of the day. Avoid melted snow puddles. Take our word for it.

It is hard to believe that we leave for Angola tomorrow. Finally it’s time! The next update will be from across the ocean so we will talk to you again from there. We are posting some pictures in the gallery so check it out. Thank you for your prayers, for your support and for your encouragement. We can’t wait to see what God will do next. The adventure continues. Merry Christmas to all!

And we’re off…

Finally! The much anticipated, much discussed, much prayed about DTS outreach to Angola began with us packing (cramming is probably a more accurate description) our bags into the vehicles and waving goodbye to those who came to see us off. We are so grateful for our friends at the Richmond base who have loved and encouraged us these past few months. Thank you to all of you for coming to see us off and for the prayers, hugs and words of encouragement. And yes, for the help you gave us in getting all those bags into the car!

We will begin our outreach phase in Newark, New Jersey working with a wonderful Brazilian church for several days before leaving for Angola on Christmas Eve. We are fairly certain most of the populace on the East Coast were also driving from Richmond to New Jersey…we were stuck in traffic a good portion of the trip. But to quote one of our favorite phrases: “Thank the Jesus” we arrived safely, ahead of the snow. Reports from back home in Richmond are that we missed out on 11” of snow that started falling right after we left.

We made it to Newark hungry but in good spirits. We were fed like kings and queens and all slept well in our hosts’ homes. The hospitality we have been shown here is truly incredible. We woke up this morning eager to see what God has for us today. Please check back often…we want you to enjoy the adventure with us!