Casting Crowns - Sing until the whole world hears!

Huge Praise!!

Huge Praise!!

As you all know we had a wonderful person offer us a $1000 matching grant for Ebenezer!!

Today we got an awesome donation that by passed that by quite a bit!!!


Lord, we are so thankful!!!

More on Ebenezer

Written by Nate.


On our recent trip to Haiti we spent a couple nights in a guest house in PAP. We were able to meet other missionaries there with many stories and reasons to be there. One group I met was there to look for land to start a mission on. He was dejected as the only thing he could find was between $300,000 and $400,000.
This is typical for desirable land in Haiti. When we felt certain that God was calling us to start this mission we looked for facilities to purchase that would be able to sustain the kind of usage that would be needed. We found one place in particular that we thought would be perfect. The cost? $250,000.

What seemed to be our biggest mountain, God turned into the greatest victory and testimony. The thought of raising that kind of money for facilities was overwhelming. At this point was when Gladys first talked to Troy about the need for well trained pastors. She mentioned the possibility of a place that we would be able to use.

In February Troy and I met with Gladys in the house that she was offering us to use. It was perfect. We then went a couple blocks up the street where she showed us a church that is the biggest church I have ever seen in Haiti. She offered this to use as well. When asked about the cost she said, "no cost". Wow! In a couple short months we went from wondering how we could ever start to having perfect facilities in place.

The house is set up perfect to start the mission. On the second level there are 3 smaller bedrooms, one large bedroom, two bathrooms, and a large deck. Downstairs is a large foyer, dining room, bedroom suite, and a huge room that is being used for classes. There is also a kitchen, (charcoal grills) outdoor atrium, and a large storage room. There is also a house in the yard that was damaged in the hurricane last year and has since collapsed. The house is on the ocean and has a large yard. Electricity is on 24 hours a day without batteries or a generator, so no diesel to buy or expensive generators to maintain.

For now the plan is to increase the yard size by about 1/3 by walling in the total area owned by Gladys. We will then build Pastor Marc a house to live in as he is commuting 5 hours right now to work at Ebenezer. (He stays at the mission while his family is at home) We also want to build dorms with bathrooms over the large room with rooftop access for a gathering place, as well as a outdoor gazebo for prayer.

The house sat vacant for a while so it needs some TLC but could not be more perfect for Ebenezer. We are also able to stay there with teams, so we have been blessed twice by this facility.

The church is very large. At one time they worshiped there with over 1000 people. Now they are at around 250. Still that gives you an idea of how big the building is. It was damaged by Gustov last year and desperately needs some roof work and a beam fixed. In the rear of the church is a big wing that we plan on turning into 6-8 big classrooms. The goal is to have the house be lodging and the church be where classes are held.

All this will take some time of course, but the great thing is that we are still well enough equipped to handle the first two phases of Ebenezer. The other great thing about this is that we do not have to fund facility costs. Besides the cost of power and other minor upkeep, we do not need to invest major money into facilities. We give God all the honor and glory for this and praise Him for His great provision. Please take a look at the photos of the ground to get a better idea of what has been given.

Nate wrote up a new post today on the Ebenezer page on Facebook and I wanted to share it here for those that are not on facebook or are not a member of the group page.

If you are interested in getting updates you can search for the Ebenezer discipleship training center page on facebook and join the group.


Well, it is hard to believe the trip is already behind us. I have so much information to share that it will take a few emails to get everything out.
Being able to spend a week in Petit Goave, build relationships with the pastors and congregations of Ebenezer, and getting to know the staff at Ebenezer dtc was a huge blessing. What I came away with most is the excitement that is buzzing around the area because of the training center. Wherever we went there were meetings with the pastors and elders over what is going on with this new mission. The pastors would come out all smiles as they heard the vision that was cast.
The first thing that happened was a meeting with the national committee of Ebenezer where Troy and I shared what we saw God doing with this mission, and how our goal was to see the Haiti changed from within through Christian leadership. You could see the light in their eyes as they processed this information and realized that this is completely contrary to what they have heard in the past.
There are 3 aspects of the mission that are in full swing right now, including, the training, team trips, and facilities. For now I want to give you a little information on the training.

The first group of pastors are now into their second month of training. I will post pictures soon. They are excited to have the opportunity to read for the first time and are working hard to achieve this goal. There are 5 employees at this time including Pastor Marc Sorel who is the head trainer and overseer of the mission. Pastor Jacob is the second trainer and also worked hard with us the week we were there. There are 2 cooks, Esther and Ruth, and a groundskeeper who's name keeps escaping me. All are hardworking, humble servants who are laying a great foundation of leadership.

Instead of giving you specifics of how the training is going, I want to share with you a story of our first "graduate". Again, I was not given his name yet, but I will have a name and picture soon.

This pastor's life long dream was to be able to read the Bible for himself, and then preach from what he had read. For his whole life he would have his kids read the Bible to him, and then he would preach from what he heard. Two weeks ago we sent Bibles down that were donated by the Haitian church here in Grand Rapids. When the Bibles arrived they had a celebration at Ebenezer giving thanks for God's provision for opening the mission, and for giving the pastors the opportunity to read. At the conclusion of the event the pastors were given their new Bibles. When they went in to eat supper, this pastor opened his new Bible and started to read it out loud, and as he read he started to preach to the other pastors around the table. As he was preaching he slumped over and died.

This may seem like a sad story, but it has energized the pastors as they are thankful to God that this brother was able to recognize his dream before God called him home. He has become a catalyst to the other pastors who are currently training and those that will follow. God's ways are higher than ours and we praise him for this brother and the testimony that has come from his life.

You see what I mean, there is so much to share. I will end here as to not overwhelm you. I thank you all for your support this far, and covet your support in the future. We currently have a $1000 matching donation. If you would like to help us reach that goal please let me know or go to the World Wide Village web site. They have made it much easier to donate.

I will update more on team trips and facilities soon. God bless!

More on Ebenezer

For those of you that may be new to this blog I thought I would give you a little run down on Ebenezer.

Later in the summer of 2009, the Ebenezer Discipleship Training Center, located in Petit Goave, will open in Haiti. This exciting new ministry is intended to serve thousands of Haitian pastors, many of whom struggle to fulfill the directive given in Matthew 28:19. They have had little, if any, formal training, and many are also shamed by illiteracy.

The goal of the Ebenezer Center is to equip and energize native Haitian pastors as they seek to fulfill God’s calling in their lives – delivering the message of salvation to the Haitian people.

The Ebenezer Center’s two-step approach to training is to first teach basic literacy, preparing pastors to read and understand God’s holy word. After completing the literacy course, pastors will be enrolled in training sessions where they will learn the fundamentals of Christian faith and discipleship training. Upon successful completion, certificates will be awarded and well-equipped pastors will be commissioned to shepherd their congregations.

Global statistics show that effective evangelism is achieved by transferring knowledge from one person to another. Phase II of the Ebenezer Center will be for newly trained pastors to identify leaders in their churches who are “on fire” for Christ and His Kingdom. The selected leaders will receive community based discipleship training. The resulting army of native missionaries will be sent out to win and build up the people of Haiti for God’s glory.

Empowerment of the Haitian leaders will be achieved by engaging only native Haitians as trainers, teachers, and staff at the Ebenezer Discipleship Training Center. The estimated cost for each pastor is only $200 USD, including the training, lodging, food, and paying the pastor’s salary while attending the training.

Please join the growing team of supporters to raise up well-trained, well-educated Biblical pastors who are equipped to fulfill God’s Great Commission. For questions email: ebenezer@worldwidevillage.org.

Matching donation fundraiser

We had a very generous individual offer to do a matching fundraiser for the Ebenezer Discipleship training center. This person has offered us $1,000 if we can raise $1,000



If you have a blog we would so appreciate it if you would put this on your blog and pass this on to anyone that you know. Especially those that have a heart for sharing the Gospel in Haiti. You can use this link to post on your blog. http://www.chipin.com/mywidgets/id/b6a454f679f902ea

When we were at the training center we could feel the excitement from the people in the area that Haitians would be discipling Haitians and that they would be the ones that would be spreading the Gospel. Our teams go down to encourage them and help with what ever is needed but the Haitians are the ones that will be doing the training and working with the Haitian pastors! It truly is exciting to see where God is leading.

Back from Haiti

We arrived home from Haiti on Friday at about 3:30am. We flew into Detroit, Mi and then had about a 3 hour drive home. We did not have internet down there so I could not update my blog at all. I am still processing what went on but I can tell you that it was my favorite trip to Haiti so far!! God is awesome, the team was awesome, Ebenezer Discipleship training center is awesome!!! We were able to meet the pastors that are going through the literacy program right now and they are a wonderful group of guys. We will begin updating the webpage soon so please check back often. www.ebenezerdtc.org

VBS went very well. We went up into the mountains twice. The views and the people are worth what it takes to get up there. Nate drove the truck up a VERY STEEP and WINDING path and he did an awesome job. Hard to look over the edge sometimes but what a wonderful feeling to know that God was taking care of all of us. Even if something happened what an awesome feeling to know that we would have been with Him in that instant.

The men
The View from the top of the mountain
My two favorite palm trees
The whole team plus our translators in front of
the Ebenezer church

I do not have my pictures uploaded yet so thanks to those that let me borrow these few.

Hope to update more later. Thanks for the prayers that you all gave us! They were very much felt!!

July 2009 Haiti team

This is our July 2009 Haiti team!! We have a great bunch of people going. In this picture is also our drivers. Please pray for them as they are going to be getting picking us up at 1:00am to bring us to Detroit. They will then come back next Thursday to bring us home. Also in this picture is our wonderful prayer warrior!! We are so blessed to have her!!!!

Please pray for those going on this trip. They are:
John and Bobby Hays, Lance Gates, Tiffany Gates, Karry Mills, Mike, Diane and Tori Westrick, Marg Kidd, Mari Goebel (her parents are driving us) and Nate and Brenda Yonker. We are so excited to see what God is going to be doing with us in the next week!!!!

Nate's birthday

I have been gone way to long from the blog. I kind of took a break as I was not taking many pictures and just was having writers block.

I figured I would first start with these pictures. Nate had his 40th birthday on June 14th. Some friends decided to drop by while we were gone and decorate our bedroom!!! They did a nice job!! They are the SAME friends who decorated our house in the past!!!! Its nice to have good friends!!!!

Gone for TOO long!!

June 20th was Katie's 11th birthday!! Happy Birthday Katie!!!

This picture is really behind!! These were flowers that I received for Mother's day this year!!
The carnations and the bouquet in the middle were flowers that I received from the Haitian church we go to quite a bit. They were doing a fundraiser so Nate bought flowers this year from them!!! They were SO beautiful!!!

Happy 9th birthday

Happy 9th birthday sweetheart!! Hard to believe you have only been with us 3 years. You have grown and changed so much in that short time and we just want you to know how much we love you and are so blessed to have you as our daughter!!! This is also your gotcha month. June 13th is the day that your adoption was final and so we want to wish you a big happy Gotcha day as well!!!!

Fundraiser

I know its seems as this info has been plastered everywhere lately but this training center is so awesome and we are so excited for it to open. It looks like the the literacy part will be opening on July 1!! That is VERY exciting. I know lots of you have been praying for this and we thank you very much. God has been moving mountains to get this up and going and it is amazing to be a part to it!! I want to include the flier for the fundraiser event that is happening on June 13th. I know a lot of you will not be able to come but if you could keep this night in your prayers we would really appreciate it. Ebenezer is also on the world wide village website and you can see it here.

We also have our own email ebenezer@worldwidevillage.org

We will be posting more about the opening and what is happening in the future! thank you for all your support. Please email us at the address above with any questions!!

Check out link

Please check out this link.

Marathon for Haiti

Troy and Tara are good friend of ours that live in Haiti and this is such a worthwhile cause!!

They are raising funds for Medika Mumba. I actually was able to try it when I was in Haiti last summer. It is really, really good!!

This is what Troy wrote about it:

We are excited about a current project being funded by World Wide Village . Through WWV, funds have been made available to purchase 'Medika Mamba' - an energy dense peanut butter, significantly fortified with protein and nutritional supplements. The name Medika Mamba means “peanut butter medicine” in Creole. It is produced by an organization called Meds & Food For Kids - you can learn more about them on their website at www.medsanfoodforkids.org.

We have seen firsthand that this product is culturally accepted, very effective, and in our opinion truly amazing. The Medika Mamba is also locally produced, which helps Haiti even more by providing many jobs in production and bolsters the economy and encourages agricultural development.

Worldwide Village is partnering with MFK and Real Hope for Haiti (the Zachary's clinic and rescue center) to provide Medika Mamba for malnourished children in the village of Cazale, near Cabaret. We hope to expand the capacity and number of locations very soon. There are two other clinics currently being considered for Medika Mamba locations as soon as funds are available.

The pilot project in Cazale has been very successful - out of the ten children who started the program three 'graduated' in less than one month and five more have been added. One of the children currently in the program is HIV positive, and one of the original 10 children died last week due to complications from HIV. His name was Max Wildy. He was and is an angel. His story will be told in a later blog post.

Fundraisers!!

As you all know I am going to Haiti on July 29th with a group of 14 people and we will putting on about 5 or 6 different VBS for the kids in several different areas. We usually have between 100-200 kids at a time so we are raising money not only for us to go but for all the supplies and things that we will need on the trip.

I need to raise about $850 between Nate and I. by June 14th.

I have decided to do an Avon fundraiser for this trip

30% off every order will be put in a fund for this trip. I can also get you a tax donation letter from our church.

Avon orders are due on Wednesday May 13th. I can still take email orders on May 14th until about 11:30.

You can order from www.youravon.com/byonker at anytime. (you can also order from this link for the fundraiser)

You can order from these catalogs:

C11 Notice in the campaign you can win a Wii!!

http://youravon.com/static/catalog/2009/11/en/index.html

C10

http://youravon.com/static/catalog/2009/10/en/index.html

C9

http://youravon.com/static/catalog/2009/09/en/index.html

You can also donate directly of my blog.

On the right had side their is a paypal donation button or checks can be made out to lighthouse mission mobilization and sent to:

7364 Forestview Drive

Hudsonville Michigan 49426

Or another friend of mine is also doing a fundrasier for me with Usborne books.

Here is the link for that.

www.ubah.com/AFF11203

Thank for the many prayers I know you will be lifting up for our team!!!

Great flood of 2009

This is for all of you not on facebook! I got a call yesterday from my neighbor below that curious as to why my phone was busy. My phone should never be busy. ( have call waiting and DSL) We knew that the water levels were getting VERY high in our neighborhood so we had been preparing for the worst. Well the worst came yesterday. We blew a breaker in our basement while I was gone and I came home to what you see below. So far we lost our carpet and a couch for sure. Our treadmill and Freezer most likely are shot. Everything on my treadmil works except for the track. Anyone know if these have a fuse on them that could have blown. The motor part was really not that wet when we got it out of there but it was plugged in.

Something weird is going on because until about 3 years ago our sub pump NEVER ran. Maybe for a little bit if we got a huge rainstorm. The last 3 years it has run every spring and now this this year it has been running non-stop since February. Every year it is getting worse. Yesterday alone I believe 4 basements in our neighbor hood flooded.

Thank you Terri, Maryanne and Amy K for coming to help us!! You guys rock!!

Thankfully ALL of our kids toys are up in a huge play area that is about a 5 foot storage area. We had no worries about their stuff and for that I was greatful!!!

Fun weekends!!!

We have declared Saturday as a family day. A few weeks ago we went to Cabela's in Indiana. A week ago Saturday we went to a place called Hemlock Crossings and had a wonderful day on the trails and then went to Muskegon to show the kids the submarine that is docked there called Silversides. They loved that. (I should say all except Heather)

These pictures are from the day at Hemlock crossings.

This past weekend we went to a town called Saugutuck. We went through some stores and then spent a bunch of time on the sand dunes and playing on the beach! What a fun relaxing day. We then stopped for dinner on the way. The kids are loving this and I love spending the day with the family!!!

Cannot wait to see what is up for next Saturday!!

WAY BEHIND!!

I am SO way behind in posting to my blog. I just have not been in the mood to blog for some reason.

Last month Heather invited me to go with her on their class trip to Lansing. I was excited because you know she is getting into that pre-teen area where she does not always want me along! I of course jumped at the chance to go with her!!! The hard part was not being able to go with both girls that day. We went to the Capitol and to the museum near there. It was a really nice day and we had a lot of fun. Heather took a ton of crazy pictures at the museum but I will not bore you with a ton.


This is one of Heather's best friends.

Where my heart is.......

Nate bought a new CD this past weekend that I just love. I never was much into rap but this CD has such an awesome message. The band is Lecrae. Tonight we were messing around on youtube and Nate came across this video. The song is called Send me I will go. If you ever wonder why we go on mission trips this song answers it. Please listen closely to the whole song. Even if you do not like rap please listen to the whole thing. The words to the song are listed below video:





Lyrics to Send Me :
Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i seen it with my own two,
there's no way i can show you
a perfectly poverty stricken people with no view.
And i bet you can't believe this,
they never heard of jesus.
Heard young butler, lil wayne, and young jeezy.

No one's signing up to go on missions this summa.
Rather sit at home and watch exibit pimp in a humma
while a nine year old is shot down.
No one's screaming 'stop now!'
no bridge illustrations for criminals who on lock down.

People deep in africa
looking for an answer bra'.
In china man,
they're dieing man,
until they know who died for sins.
So look what grace did.
Not for us to stay here
inside our comfort zones
at home in mama's basement.

Get out on the grind y'all.
Ain't no better time doll.
I know y'all read the great commission.
Let me just remind y'all:
make disciples of the nations.
Teach'm to obey the lord.
Have to lead someone to christ before i face the lord.

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

hey! After, 1,000 years in the west and the churches
get'n bigger daily without understand'n worship. (say what?)
Some regenerate but a lot ain't saved.
You walk outside and be surprised cuz the block ain't changed.
And the numbers they be get'n me.
Something just ain't hit'n them.
America ain't christian they practice'n the ritual.
That's why we should be mission though.
Hey, what you think i'm spit'n for?
The united states is die'n
and in the east is looking pitiful.

Some places if they catch you
they'll arrest you.
They'll serve you,
but they still need the word too.
The gospel should be heard too.
We claim we ain't ashamed,
but we ain't hit the block up.
Were in our christian bubble,
while our brotha's get'n locked up.
Lord i wanna stock up,
pack a bag and walk up
in a country where my faith may get me shot up
anywhere i go, whether my city or far abroad,
i just wanna show' christ the risen holy god.

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i know they're die'n in the streets over in the middle east.
Some kids sink in piece
others hold'n up a piece.
If the violence doesn't cease,
then at least the deceased
might know jesus as their savior as their bodies hit the streets.
And i know this is a graphic view.
And i pray that it's attack'n you.
Track'n you to act and do
what you see in the back illusion.
Mathew twenty-four and fourteen.
We should read it twice
before we think that life is just a battle
see we free in christ!
Look dawg! Life is more than church work and football!
What if you were dead and seen that christians overlooked y'all!
This is why we leave the couch
and leave the comforts of our house
to show a die'n world a god they'll probably never read about.

The great commission says make disciples of all nations.
Have we even made them in our own nation?
Come on christians!
Missions exist because worship doesn't.
People don't worship the god who made them.
We're ambassadors.
Let's go!

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

Ebenezer discipleship training center flyer!!

With the help of some wonderful people we now have our Ebenezer Discipleship Training center flier is now done. Our hopes are to get this out to the different churches for prayer and fundraising possibilities.

I am having issues with getting it uploaded into my blog but I would Love to share it with.

If you would be willing to show it to your churches and to your family and friends we would really appreciate it! We want to get to the word out to as many people as possible!! Let them know they can contact us anytime with more questions and we would be very happy to talk to them about it!!

If you would like to see a copy please email me at telltheworld5@gmail.com

Thanks for all the prayers you guys have been giving this new training center!!

My next mission trip

al
At the end of July we will once again travel to Haiti. This year will be a little bit different as we head to another part of Haiti called Petite Guave. It is in the southern part of Haiti. This is the location of the new training center that God has shown us will be opening soon. The name is Ebenezer discipleship training center. The plan is that part of the team will be doing a short training session with some of the pastors in Ti Guave and the rest of the team will put on VBS for the kids of those churches.

We also will travel to Luly, La Digue, and do VBS with these groups of kids combined with kids from Bwa Dom. One of the highlights is that we will be showing the Jesus film in each village that go to and we will be going on prayer walks in those villages as well. This is always a highlight and last year a village witch doctor was converted. That is a great story! Just ask us about it sometime!!

The tough part is I again have to raise my own funds. However, I truly feel God has called me to go on this mission trip and I have NO doubt He will provide every penny that I need!! I know this has been a tough economic time for a lot of you so I completely understand if you are NOT able to give. Any money that I receive above and beyond I plan to donate right into the training center to be used to the train the pastors and the native missionaries that the center will be training. The amount that I need is around $1100.00. and I need to raise it by the first part of May. It is tax deductible . Checks should be made payable to Lighthouse Mission Mobilization and can be sent to:

Brenda Yonker
7364 Forestview Drive
Hudsonville Michigan 49426

You can also donate via the paypal button on the right hand side of my blog. This is also tax deductible.

We are also asking for prayers for this new mission, and for this mission trip. God is doing amazing things! Please join us as we continue to be His hands and feet!!!

Email me if you have any questions. telltheworld5@gmail.com

you can also read about our trip this past January on the blog. http://journeyforhannah.blogspot.com Just scroll down.

We would also love anyone on of you to someday come down on a mission trip!! Your life will NOT be the same!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Shout out to God - The enemies been defeated

I have not had a ton to blog about lately. I have had a heavy heart for awhile and have been doing lots of praying. Nothing really specific to share just different things that have been placed on my heart.

However this song reminds me that the enemy has BEEN defeated already! No matter what we are going through it is of this world. This world will be destroyed and God will remain and we will be with him!! That is cause for praise.

Resurrection day is coming and that is a HUGE cause for praise!!!! Death could not hold Jesus down and as followers of Christ it will NOT hold us down either!!!!

New website launching!!!

When I was in Haiti on this last trip I was able to work at an amazing program at Heartline Ministries. They have an AWESOME woman's program. They work with the pregnant women and the new moms and really try to keep them healthy.

One of the programs they have is the woman's sewing program. I was in awe of what they are doing to help these woman. Please check out this new website that was just launched. I have seen these purses first hand and was able to meet some of the women that are sewing them. This program really does help these women to have a much better life and they have it set up so that each women even has a bank account.

So Please check it out and pass it on to your friends. You can even have purse parties. It is really neat! Click on the Link below!


Haiti Purses